d hates evils as sins, and acknowledges in heart and worships the
Lord only, and His Divine in the Human. This is a summary. (A.E., n.
944.)
When a man is in that state he is raised up from what is his own
(proprium); for a man is in what is his own (proprium) when he is only
in the natural external, but he is raised up from what is his own
(proprium) when he is in the spiritual internal. This raising up from
what is his own man perceives only by this, that he does not think
evils, and that he turns away from thinking them, and takes delight in
truths and in good uses. And yet if such a man advances further into
that state he perceives influx by a kind of thought; but he is not
withheld from thinking and willing as if from himself, for this the Lord
wills for the sake of reformation. Nevertheless, man should acknowledge
that nothing of good or of truth therefrom is from himself, but all is
from the Lord. (A.E., n. 945.)
It follows from this that when man shuns and turns away from evils as
sins and is raised up into heaven by the Lord, he is not longer in what
is his own (proprium), but in the Lord, and thus he thinks and wills
goods. Again, since man acts as he thinks and wills, for every act of
man goes forth from the thought of his will, it follows that when he
shuns and turns away from evils he does goods from the Lord and not from
self; and this is why shunning evils is doing goods. The goods that a
man does in this way are what are meant by good works; and good works in
their whole complex are what are meant by charity. Man cannot be
reformed unless he thinks, wills, and does as if from himself, since
that which is done as if by the man himself is conjoined to him and
remains with him, while that which is not done as if by the man himself,
not being received in any life of sense, flows through like ether; and
this is why the Lord wills that man should not only shun and turn away
from evils as if of himself, but should also think, will, and do as if
of himself, and yet acknowledge in heart that all these things are from
the Lord. This he must acknowledge because it is the truth. (A.E., n.
946.)
V. What Religion Consists In
Religion with man consists in a life according to the Divine
commandments, which are contained in a summary in the Decalogue. He
that does not live according to these can have no religion, since he
does not fear God, still less does he love God; nor does he fear man,
still les
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