[HarleyD]

I'm not Catholic, BTW - see my profile page.

Thank you. I listened to some of the sermons. Interesting.

Here are New Church Live's statement of beliefs:

1) God needs you. The world needs you.

2) To live into those gifts we need to step up. - Stepping up means growing closer to God and closer to others. That entails actively and purposefully working on repentance (rethinking), reformation (restructuring), and regeneration (recreating). It means developing an awareness of the need to live purposefully and deliberately in the present.

3) Stepping up to grow closer to God means embarking on a journey with hills and valleys.

4) To help us along the way, God gave us His Word.-... New Church theological canon, authored by the scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg, helps us to more fully understand God’s Word.

5) The promise is eternal life in heaven if we so choose. - If we have consistently chosen evil on earth, we will continue to choose it in the next life. If we have tried to live good lives here, regardless of religious denomination, then that choice of a God centered life will be confirmed in the next life and we will be led to heaven, where we will become angels.

That's it! No scriptural verses or systematic theology for how these doctrinal beliefs were arrived at. Instead they stem from Emanuel Swedenborg who "talked to the angels". From Wikipedia, we find the following about Emanuel Swedenborg:

This culminated in a 'spiritual awakening', in which he received revelation that he was appointed by the Lord to write a heavenly New Church Doctrine to reform Christianity. According to the New Church Doctrine the Lord had opened Swedenborg's spiritual eyes, so that from then on he could freely visit heaven and hell, and talk with angels, demons and other spirits; and that the Last Judgement had already occurred, in 1757, although this was only visible in the spiritual world, where he had witnessed it.[8] New Church Doctrine states that The Last Judgement was followed by the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which occurred, not by Christ in person, but by a revelation from Him through the inner, spiritual sense of the Word[9] through Swedenborg.[10] Swedenborg then argued that it is the presence of that spiritual sense which makes the Word Divine.[11] However, he tells us that at this day it is very dangerous to talk with spirits, unless a person is in true faith, and is led by the Lord.[12][13].

New Church Doctrine rejects the concept of salvation through faith alone, since he considered both faith and charity necessary for salvation, not one without the other

While I appreciate the fact that Swedenborg claims to have died 15 times and conversed with angels, Joseph Smith also made the same claim-at least the part of conversing with angels.

I will admit that I was wrong. Perhaps it would be better if you were Catholic.

[DaveMSmith]

While I appreciate the fact that Swedenborg claims to have died 15 times and conversed with angels, Joseph Smith also made the same claim-at least the part of conversing with angels. I will admit that I was wrong. Perhaps it would be better if you were Catholic.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas.

I'm not sure that I know of your source for 'died 15 times' never heard of that. I do know that in Heaven and Hell, he is put through the process of dying so he can document it - but he didn't actually die.

I certainly don't believe the Lord has stopped talking to us after John on Patmos. Many have recorded visions and have had mystical experiences, myself included. What happened to Swedenborg and the fact that he documented 35 volumes of his 27 year experience should give anyone - believer or non believer - pause.

Better off Catholic? And believe: The Old Testament Foretold that Mary Would Give Birth Without Pain (Catholic Caucus)?