AC 8148 - persuasive faith, profanation

AC 8148 [2, 3, 4]
. . . persuasive faith is a persuasion that
all things that belong to the doctrine of the church are true,
not for the sake of truth,
nor for the sake of life,
nor even for the sake of salvation,
for in this they scarcely believe;
but for the sake of self-advantage,
that is, for the sake of getting honors and wealth,
and for the sake of reputation with a view to these.
They learn doctrinal things in order to acquire such things,
thus not to the end that they may be of service
to the church and the salvation of souls,
but to serve themselves and those who belong to them;
and therefore it is all the same to them
whether these doctrinal things are true, or false . . .
falsities can be confirmed
equally as well as truths.

This is the source of persuasive faith,
which, because it has not for its end,
and does not regard,
the neighbor and his good,
thus not the Lord,
but self and the world,
that is, honors and self-advantage,
is conjoined with evil of life,
but not with good of life;
for assuredly the faith that is conjoined with this
is saving faith.
This faith is given by the Lord,
but the other is from the man himself.
The one remains to eternity;
the other is dissipated in the other life,
and is also dissipated in the world if nothing is gained by it.
But so long as men profit by it,
they fight for it as for heaven itself,
although it is not for that faith,
but for themselves;
for the things of faith, that is, of doctrine,
are to them as means to an end;
that is, to eminence and opulence.
They who are in this faith in the world
can with difficulty be distinguished from those
who are in saving faith,
for they speak and preach
from an ardor as of zeal for the doctrine;
but it is an ardor from the fire
of the love of self and of the world. 

The evil is then like a fire,
and the falsities are like the light from it.
This kind of evil and the consequent falsity
is quite different
from other kinds of evils and the consequent falsities,
being more detestable than all others,
because it is contrary to the goods and truths of faith,
and therefore there is profanation in this evil.
(Profanation is the acknowledgment of truth and good
and yet a life contrary thereto,)