1. THE FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH

A statement of faith, set out in both universal and particular terms, is placed at the beginning to serve as a preface to the book which follows, to be like a doorway leading into a church, and a summary presenting in a short compass what follows at more length. It is called the faith of the new heaven and the new church, because heaven, where the angels are, and the church among men form a single unit, just as the internal and external sides of the personality make up a single individual. This is why a member of the church who possesses the good of love which arises from the truths of faith, and possesses the truths of faith which arise from the good of love, is, so far as the interiors of his mind are concerned, an angel of heaven. Therefore too after dying he comes into heaven, and there enjoys happiness depending upon how far the good and truth are linked. It should be known that in the new heaven, which is at the present time being established by the Lord, this statement of faith serves as its preface, doorway and summary.

343. III. A person acquires faith by approaching the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living by them.

Before starting to show the origin of faith, which is approaching the Lord, learning in addition truths from the Word, and living by them, I must first present a summary of faith, which will allow a general idea to be formed on each detail of faith. For this will make more readily intelligible not only what is said in this chapter about faith, but also what will be said later on about charity, free will, repentance, reformation and regeneration, and imputation. For faith enters into each and every part of a theological system like the blood into the parts of the body, and gives them life. The teaching of the present day church about faith is widely known in the Christian parts of the world, and particularly among the ordained clergy of the church; for the libraries of the theologians of the church are full of books about nothing but faith, and about faith alone. Indeed hardly anything but that is regarded as really theological at the present time. But before the doctrines of the present-day church regarding its faith are taken up, scrutinised and evaluated (which will be the subject of an appendix), I present the general doctrines of the new church on the subject of its faith, as follows.