Man also was created with a capacity of becoming more and
more interior, and thereby of being introduced or elevated nearer and
nearer to that marriage, and thus into love truly conjugial, and this
even so far as to perceive a state of its blessedness. That religion is
the only means of introduction and elevation, appears clearly from what
was said above, namely, that the origin of the church and of conjugial
love are in the same place of abode, and in mutual embrace there, and
that hence they must needs be conjoined.
239. From what has been said above it follows, that where there is no
religion, there is no conjugial love; and that where there is no
conjugial love, there is cold. That conjugial cold is the privation of
that love, maybe seen above, n. 235; consequently that conjugial cold is
also a privation of a state of the church, or of religion. Sufficient
evidence of the truth of this may be deduced from the general ignorance
that now prevails concerning love truly conjugial. In these times, who
knows, and who is willing to acknowledge, and who will not be surprised
to hear, that the origin of conjugial love is deduced hence? But the
only cause and source of this ignorance is, that, notwithstanding there
is religion, still there are not the truths of religion; and what is
religion without truths? That there is a want of the truths of religion,
is fully shown in the APOCALYPSE REVEALED; see also the MEMORABLE
RELATION, n.
Pages:
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467