Spiritual Freedom: From “Divine Providence” by Emanuel Swedenborg (vegetarian), Part 1 of 2

Today, we are delighted to present excerpts from “Divine Providence” by Emanuel Swedenborg (vegetarian), revealing the laws of Divine Providence governing God’s Care and Guidance of human beings, and understanding these laws, we can acknowledge that everything good and true comes from God.

THERE ARE LAWS OF PROVIDENCE THAT ARE UNKNOWN TO MEN

“[…] The laws enable one to know the nature of Providence, and only one who knows its nature can acknowledge Providence, for then he beholds it. The laws of Divine Providence, hitherto hidden with angels in their wisdom, are therefore to be revealed now.”

IT IS A LAW OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE THAT MAN SHALL ACT FROM FREEDOM ACCORDING TO REASON

“As is known, man is free to think and will as he wishes, but not to speak whatever he thinks or to do whatever he wills. The freedom meant here, therefore, is spiritual freedom and natural freedom only as they make one; for thinking and willing are spiritual, and speaking and acting are natural. […]

Since few know, however, that the law above can be a law of Divine Providence, principally because a man is also free then to think immoral and untruth (still Divine Providence is continually leading him to think and will what is good and true), for clearer perception we must proceed step by step and shall do so in this order:

The human being has reason and freedom or rationality and liberty, and has these two faculties from the Lord. Whatever a man does in freedom, whether with reason or not, provided it is according to his reason, seems to him to be his. Whatever a man does in freedom according to his thought, is appropriated to him as his and remains. A man is reformed and regenerated by the Lord by means of the two faculties and cannot be reformed and regenerated without them. A man can be reformed and regenerated by means of the two faculties so far as he can be led by them to acknowledge that all truth and good which he thinks and does are from the Lord and not from himself. The conjunction of the Lord with man, and man’s reciprocal conjunction with the Lord, is effected by means of these two faculties. In all the procedure of His Divine Providence the Lord safeguards the two faculties in man unimpaired and as sacred. It is therefore of the Divine Providence that man shall act in freedom according to reason.”