Heaven and Hell (Harley) n. 293

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293. The reason that spirits who communicate with hell are also adjoined to man is that man is born into evils of every kind, consequently his first life can only be from them. Therefore, unless spirits of a nature like his own were adjoined to man he could not live, nor indeed could he be withdrawn from his evils and reformed. He is therefore held in his own life by means of evil spirits and withheld from it by means of good spirits, and by the two kept in equilibrium. Being in equilibrium, he is in his freedom, and can be drawn away from evils and turned towards good, and good can also be implanted in him, which would not be possible at all if he were not in freedom. Freedom is not possible to man unless spirits from hell act on one side and spirits from heaven on the other, and man is in between. Again, it has been shown that so far as a man's life is from what he inherits, and thus from self, if he were not permitted to be in evil he would have no life, and if he were not in freedom he would have no life. Also he cannot be forced to good, and what is forced does not abide; further that the good that man receives in freedom is implanted in his will and becomes, as it were, his own (ejus proprium).# These are the reasons that man has communication with hell and communication with heaven. # All freedom is of love and affection, since what a man loves, that he does freely (n. 2870, 3158, 8987, 8990, 9585, 9591). As freedom belongs to man's love, so it belongs to man's life (n. 2873). Nothing appears as man's own except what is from freedom (n. 2880). Man must have freedom that he maybe reformed (n. 1937, 1947, 2876, 2881, 3541, 3146, 3158, 4031, 8700). Otherwise no love of good and truth can be implanted in man and be appropriated seemingly as his own (n. 2877, 2879, 2880, 2883, 8700). Nothing that is done from compulsion is conjoined to man (n. 2875, 8700). If man could be reformed by compulsion every one would be reformed (n. 2881). Compulsion in reformation is harmful (n. 4031). What states of compulsion are (n. 8392).


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