Lee Boyd Malvo: Human Justice vs. Divine Justice

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Lee — Leave a comment
Lee Boyd Malvo mug shot

Lee Boyd Malvo mug shot

Lee Boyd Malvo. To anyone who was living in the Washington, D.C. area in October, 2002, that name, along with the name of John Allen Muhammad, is indelibly associated with terror, pain, and death.

Muhammad was tried, convicted, and executed for the series of sniper attacks that killed or maimed thirteen people in the D.C. area that month. This killing spree was the climax of a series of robberies and shootings all across the country.

Muhammad’s accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, was seventeen years old at the time of the D.C. beltway shootings in 2002. Since the law does not allow the death penalty for people who were minors at the time they committed their crimes, Malvo was sentenced instead to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Please click here to read on about human justice vs. divine justice.

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Posted in Current Events, Pain and Suffering, The Afterlife

What Does Religion Have to Do with My Profession and My Daily Work?

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Lee — 8 Comments

What Business does Religion have with Business?

Many people think that religion and business have nothing to do with each other, and that money is somehow anti-spiritual.

But did you know that money is one of the most common subjects of Jesus’ parables? The Bible talks about money all the time because money means value. And though we may think of our work and the money we get for it only in terms of material value, the Bible looks deeper and sees their spiritual value.

In the Bible, we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to do good for our neighbor. Does this only mean volunteering and giving money to charity? If so, then the majority of our lives is spent doing something God doesn’t care about. That makes no sense. In fact, when we are doing our job honestly and faithfully out of a desire to serve our fellow human beings, we are serving God far better than if we merely attend church services.

Serving God is not just about words and rituals. It’s about loving and serving our neighbor. And that means getting actively involved in the world and its business dealings.

For more on practical religion, please click here to continue reading.

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Posted in Money and Business, Spiritual Growth

Doing Dishes

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Lee — Leave a comment

Though most of the material posted here will be new, I will also post some gems from my archives. With that in mind, here is a newly edited version of one of my more popular talks on daily living, which I gave back in 1999 when my children were still young. I hope they will forgive me for posting it so many years later.

Enjoy!

—Lee

­The theme “Doing Dishes,” came to me one evening last week when I was . . . doing dishes. We had spaghetti for supper that night—which can be quite exciting with a three-year-old and a nearly two-year-old! So there I was, standing at the kitchen sink after supper. Some of the dishes were piled up in the sink. The rest were on the kitchen table, where our family eats our meals, or scattered around on various countertops. First I washed what was already in the sink. Then I began to work my way outward through the kitchen, gathering and cleaning the various plates, cups, bowls, and silverware.

The moment I laid eyes on my younger son’s post-spaghetti bowl, I knew I wanted to talk about the Bible verse where Jesus says, “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean” (Matthew 23:26). As I looked at that bowl I said to myself, “Obviously Jesus never did the dishes for my two boys!”

Please click here to read on.

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Posted in Spiritual Growth

On Earth as it is In Heaven, by Lee Woofenden

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Lee — Leave a comment

Here is a book of sermons I preached in 2003, when I was pastor of the New Jerusalem Church in Bridgewater, Massachusetts:

 

On Earth as it is In Heaven

Reflections on Jesus’ Parables of the Kingdom
and Emanuel Swedenborg’s Heaven and Hell

For further description and review, please click here to read on.

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Posted in Books and Literature, The Afterlife

Can We Really Believe the Bible?

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Lee — 1,002 Comments

Some Thoughts for Those who Wish they Could

Our best modern science tells us that:

  • The universe is almost fourteen billion years old.
  • Our solar system formed gradually about four and a half billion years ago.
  • Life first appeared on earth nearly four billion years ago.
  • Humans evolved from lower animals about two and a half million years ago.

But the Bible says that:

  • The universe is about six thousand years old.
  • The sun, moon, stars, and earth were created instantaneously.
  • All life on earth, including humans, was created in less than six days.

So how can we believe the Bible?

If we read the Bible as a textbook of science and history, we must choose whether to believe the Bible or science. But if we read the Bible as a book about God and spiritual life, we can believe both science and the Bible. A rational person can believe the Bible, not as a schoolroom textbook, but as a guidebook to spiritual life.

That’s because the Bible’s literal meaning contains a spiritual meaning, like a locked chest that contains precious jewels. The key to unlocking the chest is understanding “correspondences”: the living relationship between heaven and earth.

For more on reading the Bible spiritually, please click here to continue reading.

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Posted in The Bible Re-Viewed

Dan Gheesling: Judas, Jesus, . . . or Jacob?

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Lee — 3 Comments
Dan Gheesling of Big Brother

Dan Gheesling of Big Brother

Dan Gheesling. To some, he will always be Judas. Others recount his miracles as if he were Jesus. But of all the characters in the Bible—Dan Gheesling’s favorite book—he most resembles Jacob.

You may be wondering, “Who in the world is Dan Gheesling?” Let me explain.

Dan Gheesling is one of the greatest players ever on the popular CBS reality TV show “Big Brother.”

For more on Dan Gheesling and the Bible, please click here to keep reading.

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Posted in Popular Culture, Spiritual Growth, The Bible Re-Viewed

Can Gang Members Go to Heaven? (Is Life Fair?)

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Lee — 48 Comments

A couple years ago a Swedenborg reader named Sue from San Francisco asked me a question. She had been thinking about an incident in which a 17-year-old gang member from Oakland had been shot and killed in a San Francisco ghetto.

Her question?

How is life fair when some kids grow up in comfortable, loving households while others grow up with poverty, violence, and abuse? Don’t kids who were loved and cared for have a better chance at heaven than those who experienced violence and neglect instead of love?

My first response was that no person who dies in their childhood or teen years goes to hell. They are all raised by loving and wise angel parents, and grow up to become angels in heaven themselves.

Why is that?

And what about those who make it to adulthood? Given that there is not a level playing field here on earth, is life really fair?

The key to understanding God’s eternal justice is conscience. If we live according to our own conscience we will go to heaven, not to hell. But that needs some explaining.

If questions of eternal fairness trouble you as well, please click here to continue on to Sue’s evocative question and my lengthy response.

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Posted in Current Events, Pain and Suffering, The Afterlife

Death and Rebirth, by Lee Woofenden

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Lee — 4 Comments

Here is a book that I wrote in 1995 when I was in seminary, and finally got into print a decade later in 2005:

 

Death and Rebirth

From Near-Death Experiences to Eternal Life

by Lee Woofenden

For further description and review, please click here to read on.

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Posted in Books and Literature, The Afterlife

Spiritual Insights for Everyday Life

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Lee — Leave a comment

Welcome to my new blog!

Here, my wife Annette and I will offer you spiritual insights on the world around us—and the world within us.

Check in once or twice a week for new posts and articles offering:

  • Satisfying answers to big (and small) life questions
  • Spiritual viewpoints on current events
  • A deeper look at popular culture
  • How-to articles on practical spiritual living
  • A Christian perspective that will engage your heart and your brain

For inspiration Annette and I turn especially to:

  1. The Bible, as seen from an intelligent, spiritual perspective
  2. The writings of scientist, philosopher, and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772)
  3. Our lifetime of experience in this amazing world!

Have a burning question? Feel free to post it in a reply. If we think we have something to say about it, we’ll comment on it in a future post.

Thank you, and enjoy!

—Lee

Posted in Spiritual Growth

Who is God? Who is Jesus Christ? What about that Holy Spirit?

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Lee — 109 Comments

For a video reading of this article on YouTube, click here.

The Lord God Jesus Christ

You’ve probably heard a lot about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit—maybe just enough to make you say, “Forget it! I can’t understand this stuff!”

But the basics about God are easy to understand. We humans are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27). If we look at how we are made, and we realize that the Bible uses symbolic language, we can understand what God is like.

  • “The Father” mentioned in the Bible is like our soul.
  • “The Son” is like our body.
  • “The Holy Spirit” is like everything we say and do.

Here’s another way of looking at it:

  • At our core is love. That’s because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). When the Bible mentions “the Father,” it is talking about God’s love.
  • We express our love through intellect or wisdom. In the Bible, the light of God’s wisdom is called “the Son” (see John 1:1–14).
  • We express our love and understanding through the things we say and do. In the Bible, God’s words and actions are called “the Holy Spirit.”

One human being is made of many different parts. In exactly the same way, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three different parts of one God.

For more on the Lord God Jesus Christ, please click here to read on

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Posted in All About God
Lee & Annette Woofenden

Lee & Annette Woofenden

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The Basics
"Christian Beliefs" that the Bible Doesn’t Teach

Christian Beliefs that the Bible Does Teach

Who is God? Who is Jesus Christ? What about that Holy Spirit?

Can We Really Believe the Bible?

Is Jesus Christ the Only Way to Heaven?

The Logic of Love: Why God became Jesus

What Happens To Us When We Die?

Heaven, Regeneration, and the Meaning of Life on Earth

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