Parallel Passages Tool

A while ago Freya Fitzpatrick, who is working on a new, critical edition of the Latin text of True Christian Religion, sent me a parallel passages spreadsheet (.xls) that she put together. I've now finally figured out a way to make it available to people online.

Here's Freya's introduction to the document:

This is not a complete or definitive listing of all possible parallel passages. These parallels have been compiled over many years by different people for use in a variety of specific works. I have simply transcribed their work into a database. There may be other sources of parallel passages I am unaware of and have not included. There may be books of the Writings for which no-one has yet researched parallel passages. I have not checked for the original accuracy of the parallels. If someone else says a passage is parallel, I have taken his word for it. Nor have I checked the accuracy of my typing. So, please pardon any errors.

Now all we need is for someone to incorporate this into one of the search engines.

The Heroic Fight Against Lust

I just read a great short post by Solomon Keal about fighting lust like a hero fights a dragon, titled "The Husband, the Princess, and the Dragon." It's realistic and inspiring.

Just going to sneak into the lowest heaven?

In class today we were talking about how people sometimes joke that they're just going to sneak into the lowest corner of the lowest heaven. Theolog Pearse Frazier made the good point that thinking this way involves thinking of heaven as a destination rather than as a state. He said that what we should think instead is "how can I live in a heavenly way today?"

Web Sites for the Seattle Church Plant

Last summer Rev. Ethan McCardell moved out to Seattle to plant a church. You can hear about what they're doing out there on two web sites.

Seattle New Church Project (ncchurchplant.blogspot.com) is a blog site that mostly has newsletters on it. Recently their official congregational web site launched. The name that they're using for their church is Light for Life New Church and so their URL is LightForLifeNewChurch.org. Looking around this site it looks they're still filling in a few of the gaps—for example, there's a note on their sermons and media page that says that recordings of their services will be coming in May—but it's still fun to see what they've got so far.

Buildings that Look Like the Temple of Wisdom

In Heaven and Hell class today Rev. Andy Dibb pointed out that there are a couple of buildings that have some similarities to the Temple of Wisdom that Swedenborg describes in True Christian Religion 508:1-2 and True Christian Religion 387:2. The two best examples that I could find were Chiswick House and La Rotonda. Do these pictures look to you like these two descriptions?

One day there appeared to me a magnificent temple, square in form, the roof of which was crown-shaped, arched above and raised round about; its walls were continuous windows of crystal; its door was of a pearly substance. (True Christian Religion 508:1)

In form it was wonderful. It was elevated high above the ground; it was four-square, with walls of crystal, a gracefully-arched roof of transparent jasper; and a substructure of various precious stones. The steps for ascent into it were of polished alabaster. At the sides of the steps there appeared figures of lions and their whelps. (True Christian Religion 387:2)