As I
sit down to write this paper, one thought keeps popping up in my head. I
really, really do not want to do this. I mean, the target word count is brutal,
there is way too much content to cover, and the fever from my second covid
shot, while reassuring that my body is working on strengthening itself to
protect me, is not exactly making things easier for me. I keep finding excuses,
but at the end of the day I have to write it, otherwise I will continue to be
in a state of damnation (more on that later).
Then I realize, I can use this
way-too-common dilemma as a connection point for my paper, and make it slightly
more interesting as a blog (maybe even hit that word count faster?). You see,
while it seems like a titanic task at first, I know that as soon as I sit down
to start typing, it will come easier than I expected. It is still hard work,
but I can push through it. After finishing this paper, I will have gained more
experience to deal with other assignments that are like this in the future, and
I will be better prepared for the next Scott Frazier class I have to take.
Although, the question arises: why should I bother working so hard, if I will
ultimately just have to do it all over again, and probably with even more
difficulty? Is passing the course really all that important in the grand scheme
of things? How is it making my life better?
This process of working through your
personal struggles and overcoming them only to jump to the next task is
spiritually relevant, since it relates to the process of regeneration of the
soul that we go through on Earth. Part of this process involves going through
the cycle several times, since it is never-ending for as long as we are alive
on the natural world. While some might get frustrated by the repetitive nature
of regeneration, it ends up being perfect for preparing us for the even more
important process of resurrection, through which our true nature is revealed in
the spiritual world and we end up being assigned to our eternal home, which can
be either in Heaven or Hell.
In the vein of a true Swedenborgian
scholar, I will emulate his writing style, and state that before we know how
regeneration in the natural world helps prepare us for the process of
resurrection in the spiritual world, and how they are related to each other to
the point of being two faces of the same coin, we need to know what these
processes are and how they are represented in the Writings and the Word.
Let us start with regeneration. There
are three fundamental states that we can go through in the natural world. When
we are born, we do so in the first state, which is a state of damnation. Every person inherits remnants
of the evils in which their parents engaged, and so as we go through life
unless we are regenerated, we maintain ourselves in a constant state of love of
self, and love of the world. For instance, I dislike writing papers, but both
my parents were teachers and so they hated grading papers, so that is probably
where it comes from. The second state is of reformation, which takes place when
the person begins to think about Heaven and God regarding the joy to be found
in these things. Mostly, however, the person is moved to do so by their love of
self, motivated by delight, and so they are focused exclusively on faith
without charity attached to it, or on charity for the sake of personal salvation,
participating on religious rituals with a goal in mind. For example, it is as
if I wanted to do this paper because I want to get a good grade and pass the
course, and not because I cared about what is being taught. The third state,
which will be the one we occupy ourselves with the most in this paper, is
regeneration. This process follows the previous state, and it starts when the
person begins to reject evils as being sins to the Lord, and not because of
personal gain. The person then progresses as they refrain from these and is
perfected as they push them away with the Lord's help. Overall, that process is
called regeneration. To follow with my paper example, I want to write this
because I do not want to be lazy, and because I want to learn more about the
truths that are being taught in this course which I can interiorize with the
writing of this blog, knowing that it is taking place with the help of the Lord
(DP 83).
Regeneration is represented in the
Word with the story of Jacob’s first sons with his wife Leah, in chapter 29 of
Genesis. Each son represents a different stage of regeneration, and the words
uttered by their mother at birth also have a significance in this process. The
first son, Reuben, represents the first stage of regeneration, which is the
recognition of the truth of doctrine that will direct the person to the good of
life later. The second son, Simeon, represents the obedience or will to put
into practice the truth of faith learned during reformation. The third son,
Levi, represents charity that contains the will for truth within itself,
because before practicing true charity one must pass through an external stage
of learning truths and willing them. Charity can be considered an affection for
truth, after learning this, since faith without charity is empty. The fourth
son, Judah, represents the final stage of regeneration, which is the celestial
good of love which comes from rejecting evils for being sins against the Lord,
and finally becoming regenerated (AC
3859-3882).
So, one could sum up regeneration in
these four stages: the recognition of truth; starting to live by that truth;
the development of new affections and rejection of previous ones; and the
recognition that God is behind it all. However, this process takes place with
one particular sin within the person, among the many inherited evils from their
parents. After finishing the process with one sin, there is a fifth stage to
the process of regeneration, which is restarting the cycle. After reaching a
new understanding and taking control over the problem that occupied them
spiritually, the person is now faced with the knowledge that there are other
sins that they need to work on that they did not notice before, and so the
process of regeneration starts once more. It is a never-ending cycle for as
long as we are alive since there are countless evils within ourselves.
The process of resurrection takes place after we die and arrive at the spiritual world. The first state is the state of his exteriors, the second state the state of his interiors, and the third his state of preparation. There are some people who do not pass through them and are immediately taken to either heaven or hell after death.
The first state is one of exteriors. Every person has an exterior and an interior in their spirit, and the exterior is the overall appearances that we have in the natural world to survive in a social setting, and to fit into a group or community when we are alive. In this state the person still thinks sometimes that they are alive, until they are presented with evidence that they are indeed in the spiritual world by angels and those they knew in the natural world. Sometimes they meet with friends, family, and spouses, so this first stage of their journey is merely a transition from the living to the dead, without that big of a shock (HH 491-493).
The second state of resurrection is called the state of interiors, because the person’s interiors, the most intimate thoughts of their will and intellect, are brought out to light while their exterior appearances are laid to sleep. The interior of a spirit is their true selves, their real nature that would only come out to life when nobody else was watching them and they would think freely without any restraint. So, the outward appearance of the person changes to that of their interiors, and so everybody around them can see their interiors under the clarity of Heavenly light. These spirits end up openly acting and saying every thing that they truly love and want. Basically, in the second state the spirits are unfiltered and unrestrained (HH 499, 502, 507).
The third state of resurrection after death is a state of instruction. This state is exclusively for those spirits that are good and destined to go forward into heaven and become angels. Evil spirits who are headed towards hell do not go through this phase and are sent straight to their final residence in a demonic community after passing through the second state of their internals. The reason why this happens is because evil spirits cannot be taught, because they are completely opposed to learning truths and reject them since they are opposite to their love of self and the world. Instruction is provided by the angels of many societies and are done for each spirit individually according to their beliefs and needs, being a hyper-personalized spiritual teaching experience. After being instructed in the truths of Heaven, the spirits are sent to communities that are related to their love so they can put their capabilities to good use for others (HH 512-513).
After having explained what
regeneration and resurrection are, I will proceed to explore how they compare
to each other. A quick analysis will bring to light several aspects that both
bind and separate a process with the other. They are both processes that are
related to the change of the soul, while regeneration is focused on changing
one aspect of the spirit, resurrection is the revelation of what is already
part of ourselves, and the ultimate elevation of that material to something
that is useful to the Lord. They are both processes that take place within the
human soul, while one occurs in the natural world and the other in the
spiritual world. Regeneration takes place when the person actively seeks to
change, while resurrection occurs whether we want to or not. While they are
somewhat similar, these processes are not equal. However, they are definitely
not opposites, and so complement each other to the point of being two sides of
the same coin.
If we were to compare the different
stages side by side, we could see that they are slightly parallel to each
other. The first two stages of regeneration are like the first stage of
resurrection, in that both deal with self-awareness; one being the fact that
the person needs to make a change within themselves and start living by truth,
and the other that the person is dead and in the spiritual world. The third
stage of regeneration relates to the second stage of resurrection, in that they
both deal with change; one makes a change in the spirit as they start to
develop new affections and distastes, and the other changes external
appearances for internal nature. The fourth stage of regeneration relates to
the final stage of resurrection, in that they both deal with acceptance; one
accepts that the Lord is the One behind their change and that they cannot do it
without Him, and the other accepts the truths being instructed to them by the
angels of Heaven.
Regeneration is necessary for us to change and become more suitable to go to Heaven. If we go through the process several times in our life, further controlling our inherent evils and growing in the process to be closer to what the Lord needs from us, the process of resurrection will be smoother, and when we enter the second state of internals, our soul will represent the results of that process of true regeneration that we went through when we were alive. Think about it this way: regeneration is the training regime of the soul to prepare us for the upcoming resurrection that will take place within us in the afterlife.
So no, I did not want to write this paper. But I did, I finally hit the word count, I used all the quotes I could find that were relevant to the topic without deviating too much from my main point, and I have, hopefully, managed to both entertain and educate you, the reader. Hopefully, after finishing this paper, I will be better prepared to write the next one, and one day, after I graduate, I will be able to put this accumulated knowledge to good use for the sake of others, after having changed and expanded my own mind.
2 comments:
Danny, I was thoroughly entertained through-out your paper, definitely gave me the laugh that I needed, so thank you for that. One thing that I was looking forward to in your paper that I did not see was how we could start the process of regeneration here on Earth. But, I liked how you explained the different stages that people go through when they have passed, I think as humans we feel at ease when we know what happens next, so I think if people read this a lot of people will feel at ease when they learn what happens when they pass even if they do not remember it.
Superb work Danny! This was an incredibly concise, witty, and graspable exploration of the connection between the process of regeneration and resurrection.
Many things stood out. For one thing, your meta-narrative, of tying the topic of the paper to the process of writing the paper, grounds the topic well and serves as a quality demonstration of the principles you are talking about. As well, in your concluding paragraphs your list of the connections of the processes of resurrection and regeneration does a great job of condensing the information you had already covered. While knowing they were similar in that they are both cycles, I did not see the connection until after your paper: first two stages of regeneration being like the first of resurrection being about self-awareness, second stage of regen. and third of resurrection being about a change of conditions, and the fourth state of regen. and the final state of resurrection ultimately being about acceptance. A clear presentation of points!
However, there were a couple moments that I might question in your logic. For instance, you argue that “They are both processes that are related to the change of the soul”, I might push back on this notion. While certainly they are related to the soul in some way, it seems that, of the two, only regeneration deals with a change of the soul: by the time people are undergoing resurrection, their loves—ergo, life and soul—are set, it is merely a process of putting off the external trappings to reveal the internals. So, in that sense, I would say that resurrection is less so a change but more so a revelation of internals. Angels and devils alike do still follow cycles in the afterlife, in a process of babel like spiraling, but this does not affect their esse, simply the condition of their existere. One other pedantic point, it is stated about regeneration, “further controlling our inherent evils and growing in the process to be closer to what the Lord needs from us”. Does the Lord need this process to happen, or does he want it to happen? Need seems to imply that there is an urgency and requirement for such a process to occur but given that there is a hell full of un-regenerated people, instead it is desired by the Divine. The Lord wants us to be angels, but his preference to preserve freedom negates the necessity for all people to become good.
I know the critiques outpace the praises, but the fact that I have so much to say is a testament to the quality of the presentation of your ideas. If resurrection is tied inherently to regeneration on earth, is there a minimum amount of regeneration that we must undergo on earth to remain at the lower rungs of heaven? In a sense, do you think there is a minimum RPM of regeneration that one must undergo to live a good-enough life for heaven?
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