TCR 754
There are various ways in which a church comes to an end.
It happens principally through circumstances
which cause falsity to look like truth;
and when this happens, the good which is inherently good,
what is called spiritual good, can no longer exist.
What is then believed to be good
is only natural good, the product of a moral life.
The reason for truth coming to an end,
and good with it,
is principally the two natural loves
which are diametrically opposed to the two spiritual loves;
these are called self-love and love of the world.
When self-love is dominant,
it is the opposite of love to God;
and when the love of the world is dominant,
it is the opposite of love towards the neighbor.
Self-love is wishing well to no one but oneself,
except for selfish reasons;
and likewise the love of the world.
Once those loves have got a grip,
they spread like mortification through the body,
and stage by stage destroy every part of it.
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