Inner struggles are a part of our process of spiritual rebirth. There are many words used to describe these spiritual struggles: Temptation. The dark night of the soul. Spiritual anguish. Depression. The book of Revelation calls these dark and troublesome times “the hour of trial” (Revelation 3:10).
Why is all this struggle and heartbreak necessary?
Why can’t our life just be easy and happy?
Because it is the times of darkness and struggle that sift our soul.
We all have parts of ourselves that are not so good. And we cling to them. Our times of trial and suffering bring us face to face with those destructive parts of ourselves. Through these struggles, their grip on us is loosened. We gradually let go of our self-centeredness and our focus on material things, and learn compassion for others and trust in God.
Our times of depression and despair are never pleasant. Yet these are the passages that define our life. These are the moments when we choose whether to move upward or downward.
As painful as they are, our times of spiritual struggle forge us into the deeper, wiser, and more compassionate person that God created us to be.
Why Is Life So Hard?
We all have difficult times. Sometimes they are sparked by a particular event in our life. Someone we love dies or becomes seriously ill. We become seriously ill ourselves. A relationship breaks up. We find ourselves out of work. A friend betrays our trust.
Other times we can’t put our finger on any particular event that brought on our depression and struggle. We just have a general feeling that everything is wrong. Or there may be a whole series of events that build up and build up until we’ve reached the breaking point.
Sometimes depression is brought on by the very thought that nothing at all seems to have happened in our life for much too long a time—that we are stuck in a rut. We may begin to wonder whether it’s really worth it to keep on going.
Whatever the reason, we all have times when the going is rough.
Why does life have to be so hard? Wouldn’t it be a lot better if only good things happened to us, and no bad things?
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) points us toward an answer to these difficult questions. He says:
Before being reduced to order, it is very common for everything to fall into confusion that looks like chaos. This allows things that do not go well together to separate from each other, and once they are separated, the Lord arranges them into their proper places. (Secrets of Heaven #842)
Things that don’t go well together
The fact is, all of us have things in our life that don’t belong there.
There are things we believe that just aren’t true. One of our most common wrong beliefs is that we are in some way better or more special than everyone else. On the other hand, some of us believe that we are the worst person on earth, which is also not true.
There are things we feel, or want to do, that just aren’t good. Impatience, unwarranted anger, self-centeredness. The list could go on and on. We all have parts of ourselves that do not fit in with the person God created us to be.
And we cling tenaciously to these parts of ourselves. We like to think we’re better or smarter or nicer than other people. We feel justified in being impatient and angry when things don’t go the way we think they should. And putting ourselves at the center seems easier than taking all those other people’s feelings into account.
On our own, we’re not likely to do anything about any of these flaws in our character. Unless something comes along to shake us up, these hurtful parts of ourselves will continue right along with the good parts.
There is death in the air . . . and in the blood
In fact, it’s worse than that. If something doesn’t come along to break us out of our bad habit patterns, they will build up and become worse and worse until they choke out our life.
Swedenborg gives us two memorable images of how this happens.
It is like the weather, he says. If there weren’t storms and wind, the noxious gases in the air would build up until they became deadly. City dwellers know that windless days and weeks mean smoggy, oppressive air. And we have all experienced the beautiful, clear, calm air after a raging storm. Without wind and storms, we lose our supply of fresh, healthful air. Without wind and storms, it could get to the point where we can’t breathe at all.
Inner struggles are also like the circulation of our blood. If the heart did not continually pump the blood around our body and mix it together on its way through, the natural processes of clotting and congealing would take over. Without the chaos of mixing that takes place in our heart and arteries, our lifeblood would literally freeze solid in our veins.
It is the same with the spiritual breath of our thoughts and beliefs, and with our spiritual lifeblood of love and compassion. As long as we have within us the pollutants and toxins of self-centeredness and materialism, and all the wrong thoughts and feelings that come from them, we need the storms of inner struggle and temptation to stir things up so that God can help us to remove the bad parts of ourselves while strengthening the good parts.
Completely abandoned?
In the Gospels we find a picture of what this struggle can be like:
They went to a place named Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter, James, and John, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. He said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. He said, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. And when he returned he found them sleeping again, because their eyes were heavy, and they did not know how to answer him. (Mark 14:32-40)
For Jesus, this struggle took the form of anguished prayer before he was to undergo his most difficult struggle of all: the crucifixion. Even his closest friends and followers, Peter, James, and John, could not stay awake and support him at that time. From a human perspective, he was all alone in his suffering. And that is just how we feel when we hit the skids of depression and despair: alone, without a friend in the world.
We may or may not have a friend in the world. Usually we do, but we may feel too paralyzed to turn to any of our friends. Of course, like Jesus, we do have a friend in heaven. God will never abandon us, even when we abandon God. But when we are in the hour of trial we usually don’t realize that. We feel that we must face the inner storm clouds on our own.
Whether or not we realize that God is still with us, the way we face our inner struggles will determine whether we grow as a result of them, or sink deeper into the pit.
Spiritual struggle or material anxiety?
Before looking into this further, though, it might be helpful to mention that not all of our tough times involve spiritual struggles. Some of them are simply material anxieties.
How can we tell the difference?
If we are upset only about physical or material things, such as being sick or having a financial setback, then it is material anxiety, not spiritual temptation that we are dealing with. Yes, we do have to take care of our material circumstances, but by themselves they do not affect our spiritual development all that much.
However, if our struggles are about spiritual things—about our relationships with other people and with God—then it is a spiritual trial that we are experiencing. If we are dealing with issues of whether we can believe in God and love God, and whether we can love, understand, and care for the people in our life, including ourselves, then we are struggling with the deeper aspects of our life.
The result of these struggles will deeply affect our spiritual development. If we come out with a renewed sense that loving others is what is most important to us, and that we have work to do, the spiritual course of our life will be very different than if we give in to despair, and let the self-absorbed and materialistic parts of ourselves rule our life.
Sooner or later, the outcome will affect the physical course of our life as well. When push comes to shove, we will act differently if we are motivated by love for God and the neighbor than if we are motivated only by self-love and a desire for material possessions and pleasures.
When it comes to spiritual temptations, the stakes are high: it is our eternal life that is in the balance. Will we spend eternity in the heavenly community that is formed within us and around us when we love and care for each other? Or will we spend eternity in the hell that we create for ourselves when we care only for ourselves and our own pleasure and possessions, and use others as a means to achieve our own ends?
Facing our spiritual struggles
With this perspective on our spiritual struggles, let’s look at a few things that might be helpful when we are faced with them.
There is no magic formula that will pull us through every time. The reason we are struggling in the first place is that we are facing issues that are deep and difficult for us. The chaos of conflicting emotions is an essential part of the sorting out process that must take place before calm and clarity can come to our inner life. It would be a mistake to try to short-circuit that process by jumping to quick solutions.
Still, there are things that help.
Simply knowing that these bouts of confusion and depression are a normal part of our spiritual growth can in itself help us to weather them through. It’s like seeing where we are on a map. It doesn’t make the trip any shorter, but it certainly is nice to know that we’re on the right road!
One of our best weapons in facing the hour of trial is the spiritual truth we have learned from the Bible, from our church, from spiritual teachers, or from any other source. When we are in the middle of an internal struggle, all sorts of arguments are flying back and forth in our head. One side is saying it’s not worth it, and we should just give up. The other side is saying it certainly is worth it, and we have to see this through to the end. If, in the time of struggle, we remind ourselves of what we’ve learned about God’s constant presence with us, about the vital importance of loving each other, and about the process of temptation and spiritual growth itself, we can strengthen the side of us that cares about what happens, and help ourselves to achieve victory in our inner battles.
A very present help in trouble
Another thing that can help is to break out of the isolation that we often go into when we are feeling down, and reach out to someone we love and trust. After all, one of the main lessons that we are here on earth to learn is how to support and care for each other. When we share our pain and confusion with someone else, we find that we are not alone. We also experience something of mutual love by the very act of letting someone else into our pain, and letting them show their love and concern for us. This strengthens the spiritual love within us, and weakens our self-absorption—which is the very thing that needs to be sifted out of us during this period of confusion and chaos.
In the end, though, it is only when we turn to God that we will fully experience the new life that can come after we weather the storm of temptation. God is the source of all love and understanding. Without a conscious recognition of God in our life, we can’t tap directly into the source of everything good that happens to us. If we do not recognize that it is really God who is fighting and winning for us, we will eventually fall back into ourselves, and plunge right back into the same mess we were trying to get out of.
We will not always feel God’s presence when we are in the middle of the struggles. But afterwards we can realize that without God’s help, we would never have been able to pull through. The trust and reliance on God that this builds in us lays the foundation for a lasting spiritual life.
The calm after the storm
We have all faced struggles of one kind or another, and we will all face them again. But we are not left without help in the hour of trial. The cup of anguish will not always be taken away from us. Yet if through the difficult passages of our life we gain more compassion for one another. And if we also gain greater faith in God’s presence within and among us, then the storm of temptation will eventually turn into the beautiful, calm, sunny day of mutual love and understanding.
Thoughts from Emanuel Swedenborg
We go through spiritual struggles only if we are being reborn. Spiritual struggle is psychological distress brought on by evil spirits when we do good things and have true ideas. We experience the anguish of inner struggle when these evil spirits stir up the bad traits in us. Since we do not realize that this is the source of these struggles, we have no idea where they come from. . . .
People who do not do good things or have true ideas can also have inner anguish, but it is materialistic, not spiritual. You can tell the difference because materialistic anguish is about material things, while spiritual anguish is about heavenly things.
Our inner struggles are fought over whether our good traits will have control over our bad ones, or the other way around. The bad traits that want to get control of us are in our outer, material self, while the good ones are in our inner, spiritual self. If our bad traits win, our material self will be in control of us. If the good ones win, our spiritual self will be in control. (The New Jerusalem #187, 189–190)
This article is © 2016 by Lee Woofenden
For further reading:
- If God is Love, Why all the Pain and Suffering?
- How does God Govern Humankind? Is God Actively Involved in our Lives?
- How can we have Faith when So Many Bad Things happen to So Many Good People?
- What does Jesus Mean when He Says we Must be Born Again?
- Heaven, Regeneration, and the Meaning of Life on Earth
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Lee Woofenden is an ordained minister, writer, editor, translator, and teacher. He enjoys taking spiritual insights from the Bible and the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg and putting them into plain English as guides for everyday life.
Spiritual Insights for Everyday Life 
Fantastic post Lee. Love the analogies about the cleansing nature of suffering.
So many stories in the bible about God’s people who went through lows and who came out of it with a better awareness of their spiritual state of being. Job, Solomon, Paul, etc.
A lot of new believers think that their problems will all go away after the initial high of believing but you are right in saying that the refinement process has only just begun.
Becoming spiritually mature is a process much more than just the study of scripture.
Hi Rohan,
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
What if you are faced with homelessness due to something like chronic fatigue? I quit my job of 20 years because I was so tired. When my money runs out then I’m homeless. I see nothing good in this life. I tried. I TRIED. I called out to God and asked him to heal me. He said no. I asked him to help me find better therapy. He said no. I asked him to help my to see it all in a way that will make me see the goodness of life. He said no. I am too tired to struggle anymore. Why did God curse me with life?
Hi Robert,
Thanks for stopping by. Sorry to hear about your struggles. But why do you think all of this is from God? It sounds more like you’re dealing with a pack of demons. I do hope you find some help to get you through.
I thought my requests to God were reasonable. Cure, better therapy or at least to find an outlook that could sustain me. But things just got worse and I let the stress and uncertainty overwhelm me and now here I am, many times worse. I really thought this part of life would be better, not stressing over dating and such, seeking God, things spiritual, but instead it’s been a disaster. I fear that God may have more suffering in store for me. I can say with my lips that God is good, but my heart fears him and thinks he is really mean. Or maybe simple doesn’t exist.
Hi Robert,
Well, I don’t believe it’s God doing all of those things to you. But you’ll have to decide for yourself what you believe.
I didn’t say that God was doing these things to me. I never said that. I did say that I asked him to either cure me (not unreasonable), help me find more effective therapy, or to help me to see past my physical woes, to have a vision of life that isn’t dominated by my chronic ailment. I was answered with silence. Now I’ve lost it all. Back in 2007 I read a book called “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea”, which looked at the philosophical and existential implications of Darwinism. I fell into a bleak depression where everything was meaningless. Utter, bleak horror. I wanted more than anything to believe that God existed. Now, after encountering Swedenborg, I’m not so sure. Now I feel abandoned by God (as if I was ever otherwise) and fear that my eternal existence will be pain and suffering. I asked for help and didn’t get it. I’m not going to lie in order to express some kind of sanctimony. I just wanted help from God and I didn’t get it; he left me flapping in the wind. Or maybe he’s just not there.
Hi Robert,
Once again, I’m sorry you are suffering these things.
Of course, you can attribute to God whatever you want. But that’s probably not going to help you in your situation.
You are being tested to the depths of your soul. And you have a very difficult and painful decision to make about whether you are going to go up or down. God is not going to rescue you from that decision, because making that decision is exactly why you are here on earth. God looks at things from an eternal perspective. I don’t know why you’re in the situation you are. You will need to seek help from those who can give it to you in person. And you’ll need to decide whether you are going to give up on life, or whether you are going to do the difficult and painful work of facing and dealing with the situation you’re in.
I’m sorry, but I can’t sugar coat this for you. You’re in a fight for your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual life. No one is going to fight that fight for you. You can seek help, but you’re still going to have to either do the work or give up in despair. That’s in your own hands.
I’m just too tired.
Just wanted to know one thing. Forgive me if this totally out of context or if I am posting this on the wrong topic, its because I have landed on this page from google.
I have seen videos about people saying that the Bible was written by Man and not God, by pointing out several discrepancies in it.
Now , If I am not mistaken, your whole website is based on the teachings of Bible and its verses.
How would you justify that the Bible is completely Gods Words and no human intervention has been ever done in the Bible.
I am asking this question because I am really curious to know what your motivation is and what makes Christian so firm in their belief in Christ, even though the Bible is written in English, which you are able to read and understand thoroughly.
I am also very curious because I myself have done a through research in Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, and have come to a conclusion:-
1. There is 1 God, certainly and He has not spoken to anybody, not even Prophet Mohammed nor Jesus Christ.
2. There is no Satan/Devil. ( Only people’s actions/thoughts can be deemed as satanic )
3. There is no judgement day/ Afterlife.
4. There is no separate Heaven and Hell, everything is on the this planet Earth.
5. Although I don’t believe the Buddha was God, but whatever has been told in Buddhism totally makes sense unlike all other religions.
Its also very commendable to see that you are writing on subjects like Afterlife, Pain and Suffering without touching any aspect of Karma and Reincarnation.
Technically I am a Muslim but after all my research in all religions, I have realized that Islam is man made and since then I have stopped following all Islamic Practices, but I do believe in GOD and I still call him ‘Allah’.
Eagerly awaiting your reply on what makes you so sure about the Bible and Jesus Christ.
Hi Ali Akber,
Thanks for stopping by, and for your comment and question. But “just one thing”?!? You might as well ask about the meaning of God, the universe, and everything! 😉
Of course, you’re free to believe as you wish. And I think it is a good thing to question the religion we were raised in, consider it for ourselves, and come to our own conclusions. Then, when we do settle on some belief about God, the universe, and everything, it will be more deeply rooted in our mind and heart.
As it turns out, I’ve written articles here that deal with most of the questions and issues you raise. I hope you don’t mind if I simply offer you some links to those articles.
You should be aware, though, that my understanding of God, the Bible, and Christianity is quite different from that of traditional Christianity. Having said that, here is my own statement about why I am a Christian:
The Logic of Love: Why God became Jesus
Although I am a Christian, that doesn’t mean I reject all other religions. I believe that God is present and active in all of the religions of the world, and that people who live faithfully by their own religion, loving and serving their neighbor as taught by their religion, will be saved. For more on this, see: If there’s One God, Why All the Different Religions?
About the Bible, my view is very different from that of traditional Christianity. Here are a few articles to get you started:
Now about your various points:
“1. There is 1 God, certainly and He has not spoken to anybody, not even Prophet Mohammed nor Jesus Christ.” On this, please see:
“2. There is no Satan/Devil. ( Only people’s actions/thoughts can be deemed as satanic )” Please see:
“3. There is no judgement day/ Afterlife.” and: “4. There is no separate Heaven and Hell, everything is on the this planet Earth.” Please see:
“5. Although I don’t believe the Buddha was God, but whatever has been told in Buddhism totally makes sense unlike all other religions.” I haven’t written anything here specifically about Buddhism. But in its best form it is a very good religion, just like the best form of all the other major world religions. However, since you come from a Muslim background, you might be interested in these articles:
Whew! That’s a lot of articles! But these should address most of the issues and questions you raise. If you really want to know, you’ve got your work cut out for you! 😛
And as for your specific question about what makes me so sure about the Bible and Jesus Christ, once again, please read: The Logic of Love: Why God became Jesus
Hi Sir,
Its been 2 years since my bestfriend left me and the I am going through the same pain as I went through back then. Is there any chance for her to miss me or atleast think about me when I cry deep physically and in heart? Like when I’m going through pain because of someone and crying on my bed thinking of them, is there a chance of getting connected to that person spiritually?
God used this heartbreak to bring back to him, but after two years, I have fallen again, this heartbreak is so big to me, I really can’t go to God. I feel like he understands my pain but is rather ignorant. I feel that he wants me to stay in this darkness forever. And I strongly doubt I will stick to God while being held by this horrific pain all my life. I am unable to be by God’s side. All I have on my mind now is “I need her back God, please”. I need her back. This pain is unexplainable, I couldn’t come of out it, I failed, God failed me, even if he is willing, he couldn’t because this pain is too huge for me to go through.
Hi Aruthra,
I’m so sorry to hear about your great ongoing pain. I know it feels like God is absent, and unable and unwilling to help. But please know that when we feel as if God is farthest away from us, and feel that we’re all on our own, that is precisely when God is closest to us, sustaining us through our time of darkness and struggle and pain. God knows about abandonment. All of the Lord’s disciples abandoned him at his time of greatest darkness, struggle, and pain.
These times of great inner anguish and trial are also the times when we make our biggest decisions, from the heart, about who and what we want to be as a person. When it seems as if everything is lost and there is no hope for us, what we do then will both show and determine our character.
Do we “curse God and die,” as the saying (from the book of Job) goes? Do we give up and give in to bitterness, anger, and toxic self-indulgences?
Or do we do the right thing anyway, even though there seems to be nothing in it for us? Do we still think of others, and act with understanding, love, and kindness toward them when we believe that we ourselves are lost forever?
These are precisely the times when we make ourselves into the person we will be.
I can’t say what will happen with your friend, and whether there will ever be a connection between you again. Not only do I not know the particular circumstances of your parting, but I do not know the future.
But I can say that even in your pain and anguish, you still have a choice, and a path, ahead of you. You can still move forward, rather than letting yourself slide backwards.
And I can say that “This, too, shall pass.” Your pain will not last forever. Weeping lasts for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Hi sir,
Will God heal my heart (which i think is impossible)? But since everything is possible for God, second question is, “Is he willing”? If he is, why am I not healed since past 2 years? Its because I loved her deeply. Can God do justice to my love? Its not fair that she gave me everything and leave me all at once just like that, even if there was misunderstanding, she could have spoken about it to me, but not leave me. The most hardest thing is that I don’t even understand why she left me. Or maybe cause she got new friends? If so, then I hate myself for being a use and throw dustbin for someone whom I thought is my life. I really feel so unlucky as I was thrown away so easily, like I was nobody. Losing someone whom I thought I will have forever, no!
Does God ever prevent evil or suffering from happening? Like if eternal benefit can come out of doing so? Swedenborg said that God’s actions work “invisibly and incomprehensibly”, so one can, in freedom, attribute to God’s doing, or to chance.
Hi K,
Yes. God is continually preventing evil and suffering from happening. If God weren’t doing this, we would all rapidly perish. It’s just that God cannot prevent all evil and suffering, because doing so would take away our freedom and destroy our humanity and any possibility of eternal life with God in heaven.
Hello Lee, I have two questions for you. They are not about the article above but I figured since my most recent comment that I can remember is on this article I figured I would just stick with it. I like Swedenborg’s theology in a lot of ways but there seems to be some important things he never mentioned. Granted I have only read two of his books so not even close to everything he wrote but I am hoping you can tell me if Swedenborg covered any of these topics and what he said about them. If Swedenborg is silent on the issue then maybe you can tell me what you think about these questions instead. These are my two questions:
These two questions also play off of one another. Lets say a person was living in a country where Islam was the dominant religion and Christianity was illegal. This person had the choice to be Muslim or Christian. It would be much easier to just be a Muslim and avoid problems. Would there be any benefit either in this life or the next to be a Christian in this context and suffer for it? If you have already made articles about this I’d be happy to read them. Thanks.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for re-posting your comment where it’s a little more on-topic. I’ll respond separately on your two questions. Swedenborg doesn’t explicitly address all your questions, but he does address some of them, and says things that provide answers for the others as well.
First, about the value and benefit of being a Christian as compared to following some other religion:
Clearly, Christianity as it currently exists is not for everyone. If it were, it would be the only religion on earth. But it’s the religion of only about a third of the people on earth—which is substantial, but not universal. God must have some reason for providing and allowing for other religions to exist. And that reason relates to people’s cultural and spiritual states.
In general, Christianity is a religion for people who can think spiritually, and act from spiritual principles. Not all Christians are fully able to do this. Christianity does have a vast array of fundamentalist and literalist sects and adherents. But overall, Christianity is a religion of “faith,” meaning a religion of internal understanding of and assent to the truth, and a commitment to live by it. The word “faith” in the New Testament, especially in Paul’s letters, would carry more of its original meaning if it were translated “faithfulness” where appropriate in the context.
The main contrasting type of religion, which characterizes most other religions on earth, is being a religion of behavior, or of external obedience to law. Judaism, Islam, and most other religions on earth fall into this category. They’re not about an internal understanding of and assent to the truth, as Christianity is, but about learning the religion’s codes of behavior (“Law”) and adhering to those codes in your actions. For people whose minds are largely limited to the earthly and material level, this type of religion is more appropriate than Christianity, which requires a higher level of thinking.
Of course, other religions also have their spiritual and mystical sects and adherents, and as I said, Christianity has its literalist and fundamentalist adherents. After all, different areas of the planet have different dominant religions, and if you’re born into a particular religion, you’ll tend to stay in it even if your mindset ultimately doesn’t match the dominant form of that religion. However, overall, Christianity is best for people who can think spiritually, whereas most other religions are best for people who think materially.
With that in mind, if I were at the Christian booth at the religion fair, the first thing I would ask is, “What sort of religion are you looking for?” If it turned out that they were looking for a religion that tells them what to do, and they’ll do it, then I’d probably send them down the line to the Jewish or Muslim table. But if they said they’re looking for a religion that can help them to understand life more deeply, and live a more spiritual and enlightened life, then I’d sit down with them for a nice chat about true Christianity.
In summary on this point, Christianity offers a deeper understanding than other religions of spiritual truth by which we can guide our lives from a position of faith and understanding. Other religions are more likely to simply prescribe proper behavior, which adherents are expected to abide by behaviorally whether or not they have any real internal understanding of why this sort of behavior is preferred by God.
However, an even bigger reason to choose Christianity over other religions is that it offers a close personal relationship with God, who has come to us in person as Jesus Christ. No other religion has this level of personal connection between God and individual humans. Yes, Hinduism has its avatars, but these are not “God’s only Son,” to use the metaphorical language of the Bible. In other words, they are just one historical appearance of God, and there are others we could have a relationship with. The Krishna people do have a personal relationship with God, but it is really just with one element or aspect of God that appeared as Krishna.
Christians, by contrast, have a relationship with the human side of God in which “all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). This understanding of Jesus has, unfortunately, been damaged and even destroyed in Nicene Christianity, with its Trinity of Persons. But in true Christianity, expressed in the Bible itself and in Swedenborg’s theological writings, Jesus is truly and fully “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). In other words, in Jesus, we have a relationship with all of God. Or put simply, in Jesus, we have a direct and personal relationship with God that is not offered by any other religion on earth.
This, I believe, gives Christians the strength and depth of relationship with God that allows them, if they are willing, to go much farther and deeper on the spiritual journey than is possible for most people in most other religions. Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus in John 3 about being born again is all about this process of personal transformation through the power of the Lord dwelling within us and working through us. It’s something that’s not entirely impossible in other religions, but in Christianity both the clear teaching and the personal power and relationship with God are available to us, making that path far more open and possible even for ordinary Christians than it is in other religions.
There are other advantages of Christianity that I could go into, but that’s enough for now. As for true Christianity vs. the false “Christianity” that has taken over in the wider world, please see this article, which I also linked for you in response to your original posting of your question on the other article:
Does Doctrine Matter? Why is it Important to Believe the Right Thing?
Hi Bob,
Now about your second question, “What is the purpose and end result of suffering and sacrifice as a Christian?”
Most Christians today no longer have to suffer physical attacks, torture, and martyrdom for being Christian. Yes, there are some isolated parts of the world where this still happens. But for the most part, it was a phenomena of the first few centuries of Christianity, after which Christianity became the accepted religion of a large part of the known and civilized world of the time, and Christians were no longer subject to persecution.
For the early Christians, who were only gradually emerging from a more external, behavior-based religion (Judaism), the early physical tortures and martyrdom served as test of their faith and a catalyst toward greater devotion to it. To be willing to suffer and die for one’s faith requires a far greater level of commitment to the faith than to live in ease in a culture where one’s faith is universally accepted and widely practiced. This is especially true, as I said, for people whose focus is on the body and physical behavior rather than on the internal psychological and spiritual aspects of the faith.
As time went on, Christianity became more spiritual, and both physical tortures and physical miracles became less relevant to the faith, and therefore mostly faded away. Even today, the Christians who are into miracles are mostly the fundamentalist and fleshly-minded ones. Mainline Christians aren’t looking for miracles to strengthen their faith because their faith is based on inner sight and convictions, not on external miraculous displays. Physical suffering may still be a test of faith, but the greater reality of faith is spiritual, not physical.
All of this is gathered and formulated from things stated in Swedenborg’s writings about the nature of the early Christian Church and what it became later.
About celibacy, there really is no benefit or utility to it. It is a wrong-turn, based mostly on a rather superficial and even wrong understanding of a few statements in Paul’s letters, and in the Gospels themselves. Jesus, though he never married, taught that marriage is something that was God’s intention from the beginning for created human beings. Please see:
Didn’t Jesus Say it’s Better to be Celibate than Married?
Indeed, many Catholic celibates will get to the spiritual world and say (in their own idiom), “Crap, I shouldn’t have been abstinent because nothing good came out of it!” Others, however, will maintain their celibate lifestyle even in heaven. But because the atmosphere of heaven is an atmosphere of marriage, they will live on the outskirts of heaven so that their comparatively morose atmosphere of celibacy doesn’t disturb the full joy of heaven and heavenly marriage. See Marriage Love #155a, especially the fifth paragraph in the linked translation.
Bottom line: contrary to Catholic orthodoxy, marriage is not only the state originally intended by God for human beings, but it is a much more spiritual state than celibacy, if the marriage is a spiritual marriage, and not a mere social, financial, or reproductive arrangement. See:
The type of sacrifice that survives in Christianity is sacrificing the evil and false parts of our desires, thoughts, and behavior, and replacing them with good and true ways of desiring, thinking, and acting. This usually does involve struggle, pain, and suffering because our natural ego and greed do not give up easily. We must fight to overcome them, doing it as if we were fighting on our own, but recognizing that the power to engage in that fight really comes from the Lord.
The benefit of engaging in that battle is that when we fight for something, we value it, and we think of it as our own. If God just handed us love, justice, and righteousness on a silver platter, without any effort on our part, as is believed in much of traditional Christianity, especially in its Protestant wing, we would not place any particular value on that love, justice, and righteousness, and we would not think of it as our own. It would therefore not become a lasting, eternal part of our character.
The above article goes into this a little more fully. See also some of the articles linked at the end. This is the process of “temptation,” or spiritual struggles, through which all people who are being reborn go as a necessary part of the process.
Again, there’s much more that could be said about this, but I’ll stop for now, and let you come back with any further thoughts or questions you may have. Please do read the above article and some of the articles linked at the end, which will fill you in on more of the issues involved in your question.
This is my repost from Where Does Our Soul Come From? When Does It Become Eternal?
(For those reading in, this is referring to the comment here.)
I am reading a book right now called Suffering, Martyrdom, and Rewards in Heaven by Josef Ton. This book is trying to create a theology of suffering and martyrdom from a protestant perspective. He says that God does not cause these things but one of the ways that God uses suffering and martyrdom whenever it does happen is that it magnifies and spreads the gospel. Usually whenever these things happen it is because the persecutors are trying to stamp out the gospel/Christian faith and stop it from spreading. Josef says that their efforts of killing Christians who won’t renounce their faith often has the opposite effect and ends up spreading the Christian faith all the more and that this is the work of God. The various persecutions of the Christians in the first few centuries of Christianity is a good example of this. The second thing that suffering and death for Christ accomplishes is it works within the person, the character that makes it possible for him to rule and reign with Christ. Now I am familiar with what Swedenborg says about power in heaven and ruling and reigning with Christ. He says heaven is not about ruling and reigning but instead about loving and serving our neighbors, power might be involved in this but it is just a consequence of wanting to love and serve people on a larger scale and I believe this. So I would phrase what Josef says a little differently and say that martyrdom gives people the character of loving and serving their neighbors. But aside from this little critique I would say what Josef says is good. Also Josef says that to suffer for the name of Christ is a gift or a grace that is given to people by God. Presumably for the purpose of developing their character so they are more able to love and serve their neighbors. And also for the purpose of spreading the gospel. I know that martyrdom by itself wouldn’t give character because character is something that is developed over time. So if a person was martyred for their faith it would be a big contributing factor to the spiritual development of their soul but it wouldn’t be the one changing event. But other than this I think the book is good so far, as I haven’t finished it yet. And about the celibacy of priests, I agree that celibacy is a wrong turn and doesn’t produce anything materially productive. However I think if a Catholic priest genuinely believed, for whatever reason, that to be celibate was the will of God and was good then for him to do that would produce in him the character of doing the right thing even when it hurts. Suffering for doing good is a biblical principle. Celibacy isn’t good necessarily but if someone truly believed it was good and made that sacrifice, then the daily sacrifice of celibacy would, for that person, make him into the kind of person who sacrifices for what he believes to be right. And this character would make him more capable of loving and serving his neighbors, both on earth and in heaven, which would ultimately give him more joy. It is absolutely possible to develop this character without being celibate but for this priest celibacy could serve this purpose. This could be a good example of God using something bad to produce something good. So ultimately the rewards for suffering or sacrifice or martyrdom for the name of Christ, even if misguided, is joy. This is because it is one possible way that God can make us into the kind of people who are more capable of service towards others which gives more joy. Also in the case of suffering and martyrdom being a way that God can use us to spread the gospel, if we are given the gift of being allowed to participate in spreading the gospel this would also increase our joy in heaven. Because spreading the name of Christ will ultimately give more joy to others and giving more joy to others increases our own joy in heaven. There is a lot I don’t understand about this however. I remember a story about one of the early church fathers, Origen. In this story when Origen was a teenager his father was arrested by the Roman authorities for his Christian faith because Christianity was illegal at that time in the Roman empire. The story goes that Origen was going to walk down to the Romans and turn himself in as a Christian so he could be martyred with his father. But his mom didn’t want this and so she hid all of his clothes. And so he never went to turn himself in because he was too embarrassed to walk through the streets naked. And so Origen survived. This is a very interesting and funny story and it teaches a lot. Maybe Origen wanted to turn himself in to the Romans and be martyred simply for his own glory, rather than from a genuine faith. And walking around naked wouldn’t have given him glory, it would have done the opposite by giving him shame. This story brings to light the fact that there are many facets to this topic and I don’t understand them all. I am basically trying to combine the works of Swedenborg and Josef Ton to attempt to fill in some of the gaps that appear to be in the works of Swedenborg. I really like most of what Swedenborg says and I have found more truth in his books then I have anywhere else but there does seem to be some holes or gaps in his works and so I am trying to complete my understanding by filling them in with other sources. What do you think of everything I said?
Hi Bob,
From what you have said, Mr. Ton has brought out some key elements of martyrdom. But as you also say, some things seem to be missing. Perhaps they are in the book, but of course you can’t summarize the whole book here.
One thing is that martyrdom is usually part of the early stages of a faith when it is new and the existing authorities and culture are resisting it. (But it can also happen when a regime turns against religion, or against a particular religion.) One effect of this is that it weeds out the “fair weather Christians,” leaving only those who are fully dedicated to the faith such that they are willing to put their lives on the line for it. This helps to build strong roots and commitment in the early days of the religion.
On the negative side, as you suggest with the humorous Origen story, sometimes people become martyrs for the wrong reasons, either personal glory or to stand up for a false and destructive type of faith. Sometimes it’s even to “impress the girls,” usually among men who aren’t making much headway in that department. There can be a lot of ego in martyrdom. Those who are in it for glory, Swedenborg says, in the afterlife think they are better than other people and want to rule over others, which is not heavenly, but hellish.
Spiritually, martyrdom is not about physical death, but about standing up for the truth, and putting it ahead of selfish and worldly desires and concerns. What must “die” in spiritual martyrdom is our own old self—the selfish and greedy one—so that a new, more heavenly self can emerge. As with physical martyrdom, the death itself is not really the point. The point is the dedication to the truth and the willingness to have it correct and guide our lives, even to the point of “killing” evil and false parts of ourselves that must die if we are to have eternal life.
In support of this, the primary meaning of original Greek word for “martyr” is “witness,” which is its most common meaning in the New Testament. A witness is one who testifies to the truth.
About celibacy, certainly Catholic priests who believe it is holy to be celibate (it’s not) will, like martyrs, have their faith tested as they pit it against a natural drive, though in this case the sexual drive rather than the survival instinct that martyrdom challenges. Both of these are very strong drives in us. Denying them requires considerable will and perseverance. In that sense, celibacy can build character in a person.
However, it’s sort of like building character by taking Jesus’ statement about gouging out your eye or cutting off your hand literally—which some fundamentalist Muslims actually do, though only as a punishment for others, not as something they willingly do to themselves.
Yes, going through life without an eye or a hand involves difficult challenges that have to be overcome, and can therefore build character. But is it really a good idea to cut off your hand or gouge out your eye for your own spiritual advancement? I don’t think so! Jesus never intended his words to be taken literally. There is no significant history in Christians taking them literally. Even the early Christians understood, albeit perhaps dimly, that he was talking about divesting yourself of evil and false parts of your character, not about literally cutting off body parts.
Spiritually, being a “virgin” is being devoted to the Lord, and not committing “adultery” with other gods. It is not intended to be taken literally, as a requirement for celibacy.
About being “married to God,” Swedenborg is careful to say that a husband and wife together are the church, and the Lord is their head. So the husband and wife together are, in a metaphorical sense, married to God. Though really, the Bible never says anything about individuals being married to God. This is an error of the Catholic Church. When the Bible speaks of humans as God’s bride, it is always the “church,” meaning the community of the faithful, that is God’s bride, or married to God. A husband and wife are the smallest “community” that can be married to God.
Really, the Catholic Church’s priestly celibacy requirement is simply one of those “heavy burdens, hard to bear” that the church has imposed upon its clergy for no good reason whatsoever. It was not the rule from the beginning. Though some early priests chose to be celibate, it was over a thousand years after Christ that celibacy finally became mandatory for all Catholic clergy.
Bottom line: there is no good reason for the Catholic celibacy requirement. Though it may have some effect on the clergy’s faith similar to literal martyrdom, they would become far more spiritual if they were married and experienced the spiritual growth that comes from a good, loving, and spiritual marriage. See:
How does Marriage Fit In with a Spiritual Life? Is There Marriage in Heaven?