Vol. 8, No. 3, 1991

Articles on Other Religious Topics

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) a mystic, scientist and religious philosopher, was born the son of a Lutheran minister in Sweden. He grew up to be an expert geologist, gaining renown in the areas of metallurgy and crystallography.

Believing he received a divine calling to expound on the hidden revelations of the symbolic meanings of the Bible, his life took a drastic turn at the age of 52.

Eventually, Swedenborg began to develop in areas of the occult including automatic handwriting and astral travel to the spirit realm. There he "conversed with persons whom he identified as Luther, Calvin, St. Augustine, and the Apostle Paul."

It was through these conversations that he became convinced that the responsibility for interpreting the Bible had fallen upon himself, and subsequently authored a Bible commentary and several lengthy treatises, including Arcana Coelestia: The Earths in the Universe.

In later writings he taught that there is no physical resurrection, but that spirits of the dead enter into an intermediate state where they are prepared for either heaven - where one becomes an angel - or hell - where one becomes an evil spirit.

In both cases it is taught that the soul maintains the physical appearance of each individual as they appeared as a young adult during their earth life.

Also, the orthodox concept of the Trinity, the atonement, and the personality of the Holy Spirit are all abandoned.

"Christ is affirmed as the true God," (The American Heritage Dictionary) and his death on the cross was only a "climax of a life of service," not a "debt of blood."

Swedenborgianism claims a following of about 100,000 members, 20,000 of that number being Americans. Their ministers represent one of the three main branches of the Church of the New Jerusalem.

These consider Swedenborg's writings to be divinely inspired.

The largest concentration of Swedenborgians are in England. Their U.S. church headquarters are in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and the Swedenborg Foundation is in New York.