From The Doctrines For Spiritual Christianity
If the minds of men did not form the idea that God is prime substance and form, and that His form is the very form of man, they would easily fall into fantastic, ghost-like, ideas about God Himself, the origin of man and the creation of the world. They could not avoid thinking of God as the primeval nature of the universe, and consequently as its expanse, or as it were a void or nothingness. They would think of the origin of man as if it were a fortuitous concourse of atoms to make such a form; of the creation of the world as owing its substances and forms to geometric points and lines, which since they lack attributes are in themselves non-existent. (True Christian Religion 20{2})
It is an illusion of the senses, a purely natural one, that the power which seeds have to grow into trees and flowers and to reproduce themselves was conferred on them when creation first began, and that that initial conferment is what causes everything to come into being and remain in being. People may be told that nothing can remain in being unless it is constantly being brought into being, in keeping with the law that continuance in being involves a constant coming into being, and with another law that anything that has no connection with something prior to itself ceases to have any existence. But though they are told all this, their bodily senses and their thought that is reliant on their senses, cannot take it in. Nor can they see that every single thing is kept in being, even as it was brought into being, through an influx from the spiritual world, that is, from the Divine coming through the spiritual world. This gives rise to another illusion of the senses, a purely natural one, that single entities exist called monads and atoms. For the natural man believes that anything comprehended by his external senses is a single entity or else nothing at all. It is an illusion of the senses, a purely natural one, that everything is part of and begins in the natural creation, though there are indeed purer and more inward aspects of the natural creation that are beyond the range of human understanding. But if anyone says that a spiritual or celestial dimension exists within or above the natural creation, this idea is rejected; for the belief is that unless a thing is natural it has no existence. (Arcana Coelestia 5084{3-4})
Ends are in the first degree, causes in the second, and effects in the third. Who does not see that the end is not the cause, but that it produces the cause, and that the cause is not the effect, but that it produces the effect; consequently that they are three distinct things which follow in order? The end with man is the love of his will, for what a man loves, this he proposes to himself and intends; the cause with him is the reason of his understanding, for by means of it the end seeks for mediate or efficient causes; and the effect is the operation of the body from them and according to them. Thus there are three things in man, which follow each other in order, in like manner as the degrees of altitude follow each other. When these three things appear in act, then the end is inwardly in the cause, and the end through the cause is in the effect, wherefore the three coexist in the effect. On this account it is said in the Word, that everyone shall be judged according to his works; for the end, or the love of his will, and the cause, or the reason of his understanding, are together in the effects, which are the works of his body; thus the quality of the whole man is in them. They who do not know these things, and do not thus distinguish the objects of reason, cannot avoid terminating the ideas of their thought in the atoms of Epicurus, the monads of Leibniz, or in the simple substances of Wolff, and thus they close up their understandings as with a bolt, so that they cannot even think from reason concerning spiritual influx, because they cannot think concerning any progression; for the author says concerning his simple substance, that if it is divided it falls into nothing. Thus the understanding stands still in its first light, which is merely from the senses of the body, and does not advance a step further. Hence it is not known but that the spiritual is a subtle natural, and that beasts have a rational as well as men, and that the soul is a breath of wind such as is breathed forth from the breast when a person dies; besides many things which are not of light but of thick darkness. (Interaction of the Soul and Body 17{15})
God is present in space apart from space, and in time apart from time because He is always the same from eternity to eternity, the same before the creation of the world as after it. There was neither space nor time in God and in His sight before creation, but after it, so that because He is the same, He is in space apart from space, and in time apart from time. Hence it follows that nature is separate from Him, while yet He is omnipresent in it, just as life is present in every substantial and material part of man, yet does not mingle with them; or as light is in the eye, sound in the ear, and taste in the tongue, and also as ether is in land and water, by which the terraqueous globe is held together and made to revolve, and so on. If those active factors were removed, the substantial and the material things would immediately collapse and be dispersed. Indeed, if God were not present in all its parts and at all times in the human mind, it would dissolve like a bubble in the air, and both divisions of the brain, in which it acts from first principles, would melt away like froth; thus all that is human would become as the dust of the earth, or as an odour wafted away on the breeze… That God is everywhere present in the created universe, while yet there is nothing of the world in Him, that is, nothing of space and time, can be perceived by the observant and attentive reader in many other places in the Word, as in this passage from Jeremiah: “AmI a God at hand,… and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him?… do not I fill heaven and earth?” Jeremiah 23:23-24. (True Christian Religion 30{2,3})
Key Points From The Video
A Materialistic View: Materialistic thinking aims to explain the world solely through physical processes, which shapes our understanding of existence, consciousness, and creation.
The Limits of Materialistic Thinking: A purely physical perspective reduces human consciousness to an emergent property of matter, suggesting that thoughts, emotions, and desires are byproducts of brain activity and external circumstances.
The Consequences of Reductive Thinking: Adopting a strictly physical view can trap us in the belief that we are merely physical entities, with consciousness arising from atomic arrangements.
The Naturalist’s View of Creation: According to materialism, the world and all life forms arose from lifeless atoms through a series of physical processes, supported by natural laws.
The Consequences of Naturalism: This perspective implies that matter predates conscious life, and that a deity exists within and progresses through space and time.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What does materialistic thinking attempt to explain?
a) The Divine nature of existence
b) The world through spiritual processes
c) The world through physical processes
d) The limits of human perception
Answer: c)
2. What is one consequence of adopting a purely physical worldview?
a) Understanding the spiritual basis of life
b) Seeing consciousness as a byproduct of matter
c) Gaining a deeper appreciation for metaphysics
d) Achieving a balanced view of existence
Answer: b)
3. How does a naturalistic view perceive the creation of life?
a) As a spiritual manifestation
b) As a series of physical processes
c) As a direct intervention of a deity
d) As an illusion
Answer: b)
4. What does the materialistic perspective suggest about the existence of a deity?
a) A deity transcends space and time
b) A deity is a human construct
c) A deity does not exist
d) A deity exists within and progresses through space and time
Answer: d)
5. What does the conclusion suggest we should seek regarding our understanding of reality?
a) A more materialistic view
b) A return to naturalistic thought
c) A nuanced understanding that acknowledges complexity
d) A dismissal of all previous beliefs
Answer: c)
Reflective Questions
1. How does your current understanding of consciousness align or differ from the materialistic perspective described in this material?
2. What are the potential limitations or consequences of viewing human experience solely through a materialistic lens?
3. How might considering a more nuanced understanding of existence affect your view of the relationship between mind, matter, and the Divine?
Experiential Integration
Contemplative Journaling: Spend 10 minutes reflecting on a personal experience, emotion, or thought. Write down how a materialistic perspective might interpret it, and then explore alternative interpretations that consider other dimensions, such as the spiritual or metaphysical. Notice how these different perspectives influence your understanding and feelings about the experience.