{"id":11096,"date":"2016-04-15T09:48:19","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T13:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/?page_id=11096"},"modified":"2016-04-15T09:48:19","modified_gmt":"2016-04-15T13:48:19","slug":"wisdom","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/spiritual-glossary\/wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merriam-Webster defines \u201cwisdom\u201d as \u201caccumulated philosophic<\/span><\/h4>\n

or scientific learning; the<\/span> ability to discern inner qualities and relationships; good sense.\u201d That sounds about right: It means knowing a lot, and knowing what to do with that knowledge. Right?<\/span><\/p>\n

Swedenborg<\/a>\u2019s definition, however, is a little different. \u201cDivine Love and Wisdom\u201d (a book with a bit to say on the subject), says that \u201cwisdom is nothing more than the image of love.\u201d The image of love? What does that mean? And how can it possibly relate to the sensible dictionary definition?<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine, though, that you\u2019re called on to settle a dispute between two co-workers. Each one offers a litany of grievances, nasty things the other has said and done. What do you do?<\/span><\/p>\n

One approach would be to seek out facts and judge on them alone. You could tote up the grievances, look at their severity, try to calculate who started it and who\u2019s had the worst of it and hand out some punishment. Another\u00a0approach would be to try to understand each person\u2019s feelings, the source of their anger, and seek a solution that will make both happy (or at least no longer angry).<\/span><\/p>\n

Which approach is the wise one? We\u2019d say the second. Why? Well, partly because it would be more likely to actually work, but more profoundly because it is the one that addresses love<\/a>, that addresses the emotional states of the people involved. A truly wise decision is one that seeks to create more love, one that seeks an atmosphere of caring<\/a> and respect. And could a selfish,<\/a> uncaring person be part of such a decision? Not really. In this situation, wisdom is a result of love: love for the people involved, the love of a caring solution, and love for the good<\/a> things those people could do if they worked together with mutual<\/a> caring and respect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Put that way, wisdom as \u201cthe image of love\u201d makes a bit more sense. Yes, it considers facts and involves knowledge<\/a>, but looks at them through a loving lens. Wisdom is love applied to life.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a deeper, more profound and philosophical answer to the question. This involves the idea that love \u2013 the Lord\u2019s love<\/a>, which is love itself \u2013 is the actual substance of reality, that it flows out from the Lord<\/a> to form spiritual <\/a>reality, and flows through spiritual reality to form physical<\/a> reality. That love molds itself into forms so it can function as the reality we know, but everything is ultimately made of energy that comes from the Lord\u2019s love.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a difficult concept to grasp, but it\u2019s actually reflected in modern physics. The leading scientific theory is that the universe started with the \u201cBig Bang,\u201d a moment of essentially infinite energy that ballooned out to form space and time. As the volume of the energy increased, it started cooling and forming patterns, and those patterns eventually got so tight and small that they began behaving as particles of matter \u2013 the particles that make up all the physical \u201cstuff\u201d in the universe. This means that matter \u2013 even the very stuff of our bodies themselves \u2013 is really just energy trapped in space. That\u2019s a strange thought, but it\u2019s well-demonstrated. It is, in fact, the underlying meaning of Einstein\u2019s famous equation \u201ce = mc2,\u201d and is the basis of atomic energy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the physical universe, then, there are really two aspects that are equally important and intrinsically intertwined: the energy that existed at the moment of the Big Bang, and the patterns and wrinkles that formed the energy into matter. And so it is with spiritual reality as well: There is love itself, which is the essential energy, and there is wisdom, which is the wrinkling and shaping that gives love a way of creating things and expressing itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

To put that in simpler terms, we could say that wisdom is a way of packaging love so that it can be used. The Lord does that on a universal scale: He packages his love in the form of all creation so that we can live and flourish and learn to love as well. And we \u2013 hopefully \u2013 do that in the scale of our own lives. Presented with a problem, we start pulling together little threads of love, little ways of caring, and weaving them together into a solution: a package of love; a little bit of wisdom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why, then, is the common idea of wisdom such an intellectual one \u2013 as Merriam-Webster would have it? That\u2019s because the physical world is a sort of twice-filtered expression of the Lord\u2019s love, and his love is hidden away to such a degree that we cannot see it or sense it in any way. Smack yourself in the head with a rock, and you don\u2019t feel the Lord\u2019s love \u2013 you feel a rock smacking you in the head. The fact that that rock is an expression of the Lord\u2019s love is pretty well hidden.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFacts\u201d are similar. They express reality, and reality is an expression of the Lord\u2019s love, but it is so deeply hidden that those \u201cfacts\u201d are about as soft and loving as that head-smacking stone. But, like that stone, those facts are very visible, very tangible. So when we think of \u201cwisdom\u201d on the physical plane, what we identify is the large collection of rocky facts involved. Thus wisdom seems like an intellectual thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

True wisdom, however, involves cracking open those facts to see the states of love they represent, and working with the love. That\u2019s harder to see, but much more important.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Passages from Swedenborg<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Divine Love and Wisdom (Dole) n. 34<\/b><\/p>\n

Divine love is a property of divine wisdom, and divine wisdom is a property of divine love. On the divine reality and the divine manifestation being distinguishably one in the Divine-Human One, see 14-16 above. Since the divine reality is divine love and the divine manifestation is divine wisdom, these latter are similarly distinguishably one.<\/span><\/p>\n

We refer to them as \"distinguishably one\" because love and wisdom are two distinguishable things, and yet they are so united that love is a property of wisdomand wisdom a property of love. Love finds its reality in wisdom, and wisdom finds its manifestation in love. Further, since wisdom derives its manifestation from love (as noted in 15 [14] above), divine wisdom is reality as well. It follows from this that love and wisdom together are the divine reality, though when they are distinguished we call love the divine reality and wisdom the divine manifestation. This is the quality of the angelic concept of divine love and wisdom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Divine Love and Wisdom (Dole) n. 35<\/b><\/p>\n

Because there is such a oneness of love and wisdom and of wisdom and love in the Divine-Human One, the divine essence is one. In fact, the divine essence is divine love because that love is a property of divine wisdom, and it is divinewisdom because that wisdom is a property of divine love. Because of this oneness, the divine life is a unity as well: life is the divine essence.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reason divine love and wisdom are one is that the union is reciprocal, and a reciprocal union makes complete unity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Divine Love and Wisdom (Dole) n. 39<\/b><\/p>\n

Even though love and wisdom seem to be two separate things in us, essentially they are distinguishably one. This is because the quality of our love determines the quality of our wisdom and the quality of our wisdom the quality of our love. Any wisdom that is not united to our love seems like wisdom, but it is not; and any love that is not united to our wisdom seems like wisdom's love even though it is not. Each gets its essence and its life from the other in mutual fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reason the wisdom and love within us seem to be two separate things is that our ability to understand can be raised into heaven's light, while our ability to love cannot, except to the extent that we act according to our understanding. So any trace of apparent wisdom that is not united to our love for wisdom relapses into the love with which it is united. This may not be a love for wisdom, and may even be a love for insanity. We are perfectly capable of knowing, from ourwisdom, that we ought to do one thing or another, and then of not doing it because we have no love for it. However, to the extent that we do the bidding of our wisdom, from love, we are images of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

True Christian Religion\u00a0350<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wisdom has no other source except divine truths that have been analytically divided into forms by means of light flowing in from the Lord. Human intelligence that is truly intelligent has the same source.<\/span><\/p>\n

Apocalypse Revealed 189<\/strong><\/p>\n

A person acquires wisdom from no other source than goodness gained through truths from the Lord. A person acquires wisdom through these truths because they are the means by which the Lord conjoins Himself with the person and the person with Himself, and the Lord is wisdom itself. Wisdom consequently perishes in a person when he stops putting truths into practice, that is, when he stops living in accordance with them. He also then ceases to love wisdom, and accordingly ceases to love the Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

By wisdom we mean wisdom in spiritual matters. From this as a wellspring flows wisdom in all else, which we call intelligence, and through this knowledge, which results from an affection for knowing truths.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conjugial Love (Rogers) 130<\/strong><\/p>\n

People are capable of knowledge, intelligence and wisdom. Knowledge has to do with concepts, intelligence with reason, and wisdom with life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarded in its fullness, wisdom has to do with concepts, reason and life at the same time. Concepts come first; reason is formed by means of them, andwisdom by both concepts and reason together - and this when a person lives reasonably or rationally according to truths formed as concepts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wisdom, therefore, has to do with both reason and life together. It is on the way to becoming wisdom when it is a matter of reason first and consequently of life; but it is wisdom when it has become a matter of life first and consequently of reason.<\/span><\/p>\n

The most ancient people in this world did not acknowledge any other wisdom than wisdom of life. This was the wisdom of those who were formerly called sages. The ancients, however, who came after those most ancient people, recognized as wisdom a wisdom of reason, and they were called philosophers. But today, many even call knowledge wisdom, for the educated, the learned, and the merely knowledgeable are called wise. Thus has wisdom fallen from its peak to its valley.<\/span><\/p>\n

Divine Love and Wisdom (Dole) n. 213<\/b><\/p>\n

As for love and wisdom, love is the purpose, wisdom the means, and service the result. Further, service is the composite, vessel, and foundation ofwisdom and love, such a composite and such a vessel that every bit of love and every bit of wisdom is actively present in it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Divine Love and Wisdom (Dole) n. 180<\/b><\/p>\n

It is even clearer that there are levels of love and wisdom if we compare angels' love and wisdom with our love and wisdom. It is generally acknowledged that the wisdom of angels is unutterable, relatively speaking. You will see later [267, 416] that it is also incomprehensible to us when we are wrapped up in our earthly love. The reason it seems unutterable and incomprehensible is that it is on a higher level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Divine Love and Wisdom\u00a0<\/b>358<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We read that we were created in the image of God and according to his likeness (Genesis 1:26). In this passage \"the image of God\" means divinewisdom and \"the likeness of God\" means divine love, since wisdom is nothing more than the image of love. Love actually presents itself to view and to recognition in wisdom, and since that is where we see and recognize it,wisdom is its image. Then too, love is the reality of life and wisdom is its consequent manifestation. This \"image and likeness\" of God is strikingly visible in angels. Love shining from within is their faces and wisdom in their beauty, with beauty as the form of their love. I have seen this, and I have come to know it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1226<\/b><\/p>\n

That 'the sons of Shem' means the attributes of wisdom is clear merely from the fact that 'Shem' is the internal Church whose sons mean nothing else than attributes of wisdom. The expression wisdom is used for everything that springs from charity, for it comes by way of charity from the Lord, the source of all wisdom because He is Wisdom itself. From that Wisdom true intelligence derives, also true knowledge, and true cognition.<\/span><\/p>\n

True Christian Religion\u00a0 242<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The wisdom of heavenly angels goes almost as far beyond the wisdom of spiritual angels as the wisdom of spiritual angels goes beyond our humanwisdom. The reason for this is that heavenly angels have a love from the Lord for what is good, while spiritual angels have wisdom from the Lord about what is true. Where love for what is good exists, there dwells wisdom also. Where truths exist, there dwells only as much wisdom as there is love for what is good.<\/span><\/p>\n

Divine Love and Wisdom (Dole) n. 287<\/b><\/p>\n

We can also tell that love and wisdom are human by looking at heaven's angels, who are people in full beauty to the extent that they are caught up in love, and therefore in wisdom, from the Lord. The same conclusion follows from what it says in the Word about Adam's being created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26), because he was created in the form of love andwisdom.<\/span><\/p>\n

All earthly individuals are born in the human form as to their physical bodies. This is because our spirit, which is also called our soul, is a person; and it is a person because it is receptive of love and wisdom from the Lord. To the extent that our spirit or soul actually accepts love and wisdom, we become human after the death of these material bodies that we are carrying around. To the extent that we do not accept love and wisdom we become grotesque creatures, retaining some trace of humanity because of our ability to accept them.<\/span><\/p>\n

True Christian Religion (Rose) n. 242<\/b><\/p>\n

242<\/span><\/p>\n

On the point that the angels receive all their wisdom from the Word, they themselves assert this. They have as much light as they have understanding of the Word. Heavens light is divine wisdom; before angels' eyes this divinewisdom takes the form of light.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the sanctuaries where their copies of the Word are kept, the light is fiery or shining white. There is more light in such places than anywhere else in heaven.<\/span><\/p>\n

True Christian Religion\u00a0 350<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Lord's Word is an ocean of truths, vast and deep, from which all angelicwisdom comes, although to those of us who do not know about its spiritual and heavenly meanings the Word appears to hold no more than a jug of water.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/p><\/div>

Who (or What) is Swedenborg?<\/span><\/h4>\n

The ideas on this site are based on the works of Emanuel Swedenborg<\/a>, an 18th<\/sup>-century Swedish scientist and theologian. Swedenborg claimed that his religious writings, the sole focus of the last three decades of his life, were done at the behest of the Lord<\/a> himself, and constituted a revelation for a successor to the Christian<\/a> Church.<\/p>\n

In keeping with Swedenborg\u2019s own statements, modern believers downplay his role as author, attributing the ideas to the Lord instead. For this reason they generally refer to Swedenborg\u2019s theological works as \u201cthe Writings,\u201d and some resist the label \u201cSwedenborgian\u201d as placing emphasis on the man rather than the message.<\/p>\n

Since \u201cthe Writings\u201d would be an unfamiliar term to new readers, we have elected to use the name \u201cSwedenborg\u201d as a label for those theological works, much as we might use \u201cIsaiah\u201d or \u201cMatthew\u201d to refer to books of the Bible<\/a>. The intent, however, is not to attribute the ideas to Swedenborg, any more than we would attribute the divinity of the Bible to Isaiah the man or Matthew the man.<\/p>\n

So when you read \u201caccording to Swedenborg\u201d on this site, it\u2019s really shorthand for \u201caccording to the theological works from the Lord through Swedenborg.\u201d When you read \u201cSwedenborg says,\u201d it\u2019s really shorthand for \u201cthe theological works of Swedenborg say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Merriam-Webster defines \u201cwisdom\u201d as \u201caccumulated philosophic or scientific learning; the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships; good sense.\u201d That sounds about right: It means knowing a lot, and knowing what to do with that knowledge. Right? Swedenborg\u2019s definition, however, is a little different. \u201cDivine Love and Wisdom\u201d (a book with a bit to say […]<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"parent":10647,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11096","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","blog-style1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11096\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}