Page:The Doctrines of the New Church Briefly Explained.djvu/25

Rh moral observation of God determine his spiritual status.

Now, if we go back to the year 1757, and inquire into the then prevalent beliefs of Christendom, we shall find that every just conception of the character of God was well-nigh blotted out. We shall find that the generally accepted theology of that day made the Supreme Being partial, unjust, selfish and vindictive. And we shall find, too, that this false conception of the Divine character was faithfully reflected in the creeds and the general character of professed believers. We shall find that the Christian nations and churches of that day were animated by the same partial, unjust, selfish and vindictive spirit which the generally accepted theology imputed to the Divine Being. Christendom was immersed in very thick darkness. There was a general and deep eclipse of faith, and the charity for which the primitive Christians were distinguished, had quite departed from the church. And along with the extinction of true charity and a living faith and a just conception of the Divine character, all knowledge of man's higher life and the way to its attainment, as well as of the nature and reality of heaven and hell and all things spiritual, had well-nigh perished. And thus was fulfilled, in its