Page:The Swedenborg Library Vol 3.djvu/149

is a God, that He is to be sanctified and worshipped, that good is from Him, that there is a heaven and a hell, that there is a life after death, and that the evils mentioned in the decalogue ought to be shunned: if he does these things and believes them, he is saved. And whereas many of the Gentiles perceive God as a man, and God-man is the Lord, therefore also after death, when they are instructed by the angels, they acknowledge the Lord, and from Him afterwards receive truths which they did not know before. (A. E. 1180.)

The Gentiles, although they know nothing concerning the Word, consequently nothing concerning the Lord, are still in possession of external truths such as Christians have; as that the Deity is to be worshipped devoutly, that festivals are to be observed, that parents are to be honored, that men ought not to steal, nor commit adultery, nor murder, nor covet what is another's.

Thus they are in possession of such truths as are contained in the decalogue, which also are a rule of life for those within the Church. They who are wise among them not only observe the same in the external form but also in the internal; for they think that such forbidden evils are not only contrary to their religious principles, but also contrary to the common good, thus contrary to what is internally due to man, consequently contrary to charity, although they do not so well know what faith is.