PART 1. THE DIVINE LOVE. 11—12

This presence, which exists among the angels, constitutes heaven; and their thoughts proceed according to the form of heaven. Therefore, it is impossible for angels to think of God in any other way. Consequently, everyone in the world who is in connection with heaven thinks of God in this same way when they reflect deep within themselves or in their spirit. Since God is a Man original: "Man." In this context, the author refers to the Divine as the ultimate source of human qualities, form, and personhood, rather than a biological male., all angels and all spirits are human beings in a perfect form. This is a result of the form of heaven, which is consistent with itself in both its largest and smallest parts. The fact that heaven, as a whole and in every part, is in the form of a man may be seen in the work Heaven and Hell (sections 59 to 86); and that thoughts proceed according to the form of heaven is explained in sections 203 and 204. It is known from Genesis 1:26–27 that humans were created in the image and likeness of God; it is also known that God was seen as a Man by Abraham and others. The ancients, from the wisest to the simplest, thought of God only as a Man; and eventually, when they began to worship many gods—as in Athens and Rome—they worshiped them all as humans. What has been said may be illustrated by the following excerpt from a short book published some time ago:

"The nations outside of Christendom original: "Gentiles", particularly the Africans, who acknowledge and worship one God as the Creator of the universe, think of God as a Man; they say that no one can have any other idea of God. When they hear that many people imagine God as a small cloud in the middle of the universe, they ask where such people are. When told that there are such people among Christians, they deny that it is even possible. But in response, it is shown that some Christians form such an idea because God is called a 'spirit' in the Word The Bible, and they think of a spirit as nothing more than a thin cloud, not knowing that every spirit and every angel is a human being. Nevertheless, an investigation was made to see if their spiritual concept was similar to their natural concept, and it was found that for those who inwardly acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, it was not the same. I heard a certain Christian priest original: "presbyter" say that no one can have any concept of a Divine Humanity. I saw him led to various nations, moving successively to those who were more and more spiritually internal, and from them to their heavens, and finally to the Christian heaven. Everywhere, their inner perception of God was shared with him, and he observed that they had no other idea of God than as a Man, which is the same as the idea of a Divine Humanity."

12. The idea held by common people in the Christian world concerning God is that He is a Man, because God is called a Person in the Athanasian Creed original: "Athanasian doctrine of the Trinity," a foundational statement of Christian belief regarding the nature of God.. However, those who consider themselves wiser than the common people declare God to be invisible. They are unable to comprehend how God, as a Man, could have created heaven and earth and filled the universe with His presence. These and other details cannot be correctly understood as long as a person is ignorant of the fact that the Divine is not in space. But those who—