SWEDENBORGIANISM
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(Redirected from Swedenborgian)
'Swedenborgianism' is the ecclesiastical organization of beliefs developed from the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772). Many aspects are closely related to Christianity, and the movement is founded on the belief that Swedenborg witnessed the Last Judgment and second coming of Jesus Christ, along with the inauguration of the ''New Church'' and an explanation of the spiritual meaning of the literal sense of the Scriptures. Some Swedenborgian organizations teach that the writings of Swedenborg (often called ''The Writings'' or ''The Third Testament'') are a third part of the Bible and have the same authority as the Old and New Testaments. Other names for the movement are also used, especially by adherents, including 'New Christians', 'Neo-Christians', 'The New Church', and 'Church of the New Jerusalem'.
Swedenborg spoke of a "new church" that would be founded on the theology in his works, but he himself never tried to establish an organization. At the time of his death, few efforts had been made, but on May 7, 1787, 15 years after Swedenborg's death, the New Church movement was founded in England, a country Swedenborg often visited and where he also died. Its ideas were carried to United States by missionaries. One famous Swedenborgian was John Chapman, known as Johnny Appleseed. Early missionaries also travelled to parts of Africa as Swedenborg himself believed that the "African race" was "in greater enlightenment than others on this earth, since they are such that they think more interiorly, and so receive truths and acknowledge them." (''A Treatise concerning the Last Judgment'', n. 118) Although merely odd-sounding today, at the time these concepts were judged highly liberal, and so Swedenborgians accepted freed African converts to their homes as early as 1790. Several of them were also involved in abolitionism.[1]
In the 19th century, occultism became increasingly popular especially in France and England, and Swedenborg's writings were, by some, blended in with theosophy, alchemy and divination. What fascinated these followers most was Swedenborg's mystical side. Much emphasis was laid on his work ''Heaven and Hell'', wherein Swedenborg is led to Heaven and Hell by spirits to experience and report the conditions there (compare ''The Divine Comedy'').
In the U.S., Swedenborgianism was organized in 1817 with the founding of the ''General Convention of the New Church'' (sometimes referred to as the Convention), now also known as the ''Swedenborgian Church of North America''.
The movement in the United States grew stronger until the late 19th century, when a controversy about doctrinal issues and the authority of Swedenborg's writings caused a faction to split off to form the Academy of the New Church which would later become the General Church of New Jerusalem (sometimes referred to as the General Church), with headquarters in Bryn Athyn, a suburb of Philadelphia. In the 1930s, a doctrinal issue about the authority of Swedenborg's writings arose in the General Church. Members in the Hague branch of the General Church saw Swedenborg's theological writings as the Word of the Third Testament, which they wrote about extensively in their Dutch magazine De Hemelsche Leer. Actions by the leading Bishop of the General Church caused those holding this new doctrinal view to split off to form The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma.
Today, the General Church has about 5,000 members in 33 churches. The ''Swedenborgian Church of North America'', with headquarters in Newton, a suburb of Boston, now has 37 active churches with about 1,500 members in the U.S. The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma, with headquarters in Bryn Athyn, now has about 28 active churches with about 1900 members worldwide.
As of 2000 the most recent membership figures for the Four Church Organizations were[2]:
★ General Conference (Great Britain): 1,314
★ General Convention (USA): 2,029
★ General Church of the New Jerusalem: 5,563
★ The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma: 1,000
'The Lord's New Church' is primarily associated with South Africa, although roughly 200 members are found in the United States. It is noted for its concern for justice issues. The nations of Australia and Germany are estimated to have 504 and 200 members, respectively. When counting additional members in Asia, Africa, and South America, current sources put the total of Swedenborgians as between 25,000-30,000.
Membership in the United States has been in long decline since peaking in the 1850s, although it should be noted it was never a large organization. In 1911 the total US membership in all Swedenborgian organizations was estimated at roughly 9,400.[3]
The doctrines of the New Church are as follows:
#That there is one God and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Within Him there is a Divine Trinity.
#That a saving faith is to believe in Him and to live a life of charity.
#That all evils are to be shunned and originate in mankind.
#That good actions are to be done, because they are of God and from God, and are therefore necessary for life.
#That these good acts are to be done by mankind as if from him/herself; but that it ought to be acknowledged that they are done from the Lord with him and by him.
#That one's fate after death is according to the character one has acquired in life; specifically that those governed by the love of the Lord or the love of being useful to others are in heaven, and that those governed by love of self or the love of worldly things are in hell.
(see Swedenborg's ''True Christian Religion'', author's introduction [4])
Added to this the Swedenborgians believe that marriage is eternal. They state that an individual will be married to their spouse in the afterlife if they have a true spiritual marriage, and that if a person dies unmarried they will find a spouse in heaven. Robert Frost reportedly married in a Swedenborgian ceremony.
The term may also be used to refer to people inspired by some part of Swedenborgian philosophy or theology who nevertheless take an eclectic approach to such topics and so blend "pure" Swedenborgian thought with ideas from other systems, including Jungian psychology, Spiritualism, and "traditional" Christianity. Such Swedenborgianism bears little resemblance to the more ecclesiastical form usually referred to by the term. For various reasons, such as not believing in the trinity that is esteemed as a 3rd Century development by Tertullian, Swedenborg held to a Oneness view of God such as modern day Oneness Pentecostalism.
Swedenborgians have been viewed skeptically by fundamentalist Christian groups for the unorthodox aspects of their religion. These aspects are the rejection of the common explanation of the Trinity as a Trinity of Persons (Swedenborgians see the Trinity in One Person, the Lord Jesus Christ), and the rejection of the doctrine of atonement as an avenging justice (Swedenborgians see atonement as an act of love apart from revenge). They have been accused of being a fringe or even occult movement in which people communicate with spirits.[1] While the mystical aspect certainly appealed to some people, and still does, this is not the focus of most New Church members today. Interestingly, in contrast to accusations of occultism, the doctrine of the New Church actually warns against contact with spirits.
Notable persons influenced either by Swedenborg's writing or by the New Church include:
★ Johnny Appleseed – Swedenborgian missionary first written about by the Swedenborgian society of Manchester, United Kingdom.
★ Honoré de Balzac
★ Charles Baudelaire
★ Henry Ward Beecher
★ William Blake
★ Elizabeth and Robert Browning
★ Daniel Burnham – His parents were Swedenborgians
★ George Bush (biblical scholar) – Converted to Swedenborgianism and promoted it to his death.
★ Thomas Carlyle
★ Robert Carter III – Became a Swedenborgian in 1787 after his wife died and remained in the movement.
★ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
★ Alfred Deakin - Australia’s second, fifth, and seventh Prime Minister
★ Ralph Waldo Emerson
★ Robert Frost – His mother joined the Swedenborgian church and had him baptized in it [5], but he left it as an adult.
★ Scott Glenn
★ Gyllenhaal family:
★
★ Leonard Gyllenhaal – Entomologist and dedicated Swedenborgian.
★
★ Stephen Gyllenhaal – Descendant of Leonard who was raised Swedenborgian.
★
★ Jake Gyllenhaal - Descendant of Leonard. Moderately dedicated Swedenborgian. His sister Maggie is not known to be interested in Swedenborgianism.
★ George Inness
★ Henry James Sr. – lectured on Swedenborg's thought
★ Carl Jung
★ Helen Keller – wrote ''Light in my Darkness'' which advocated the ideals of Emanuel Swedenborg
★ James Tyler Kent - Homeopathic physician.
★ Stephen King
★ Fitz Hugh Ludlow
★ Lucius Lyon – “In politics he was Democrat, in religion a Swedenborgian.â€
★ Kristine Mann - American psychoanalyst.
★ William Rainey Marshall – Fifth governor of Minnesota and advocate for black suffrage.[6]
★ William Page
★ Coventry Patmore – Catholic after 1862.
★ J.M. Schneider – Meat/Sausage Business empire in Canada, influential in the spread of Swedenborgianism across Canada
★ Walt Whitman
★ James John Garth Wilkinson – “commemorated by a bust and portrait in the rooms of the Swedenborgian Society in London.â€
★ Lois Wilson – Founder of Al-Anon, raised Swedenborgian.[7](Her husband Bill W, of A.A. fame, married her at her family's Swedenborgian chapel. Still the influence of the faith on him is disputed)
★ NewChurchHistory.org Large collection of articles on Swedenborgian history, by Swedenborgians; a collaboration of:
★
★ Bryn Athyn College of the New Church
★
★ Glencairn Museum
★ HeavenlyDoctrines.org Complete Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg online
★ The Bayside Swedenborgian Church Scans of the First Editions of many of Swedenborg's books
★ Swedenborg Digital Library Contains electronic copies of many books by and about Swedenborg and the New Church
★ Swedenborg Foundation Publisher of books by and on Swedenborg
★ Swedenborg Society UK based publisher of books by and of Swedenborg
★ Swedenborg Open Learning Centre (SOLC), UK
★ The Academy of the New Church The educational arm of the General Church of the New Jerusalem
★ History of the Swedenborgian Church of North America According to the Church itself
★ Swedenborg, Revelation and the New Church, paper by Rebecca Kline Somewhat unstructured, it has some historical information about the schism in 1890.
★ Maine Lodge of Research : Swedenborg - The Church A well-written historical article
★ Rational Scientific Theories from Theism Science compared with Swedenborg's writings
★ Spiritual Wisdom There is a universal spirituality which can be expressed in many ways, but this site uses the insights of Emanuel Swedenborg to help explain the meaning of our lives.
★ Swedenborgian Community Online
★ General Church of the New Jerusalem (International)
★ The Lord's New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma (International) - This branch of the New Church accepts the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg as the Lord's Word, The Word of The Third Testament, Which contains all the Divine Truth of the Lord's Divine Human.
★ The Swedenborgian Church of North America formerly ''General Convention of the New Jerusalem''
★ The General Church of the New Jerusalem, USA
★ The Lord's New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma, USA
★ The New Church in Australia
★ Information Swedenborg Inc, Canada
★ The General Conference of the New Church, UK
★ Swedenborgian discussion board at Beliefnet
1. Swedenborgianism is a dangerous mystical non-Christian religion
'Swedenborgianism' is the ecclesiastical organization of beliefs developed from the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772). Many aspects are closely related to Christianity, and the movement is founded on the belief that Swedenborg witnessed the Last Judgment and second coming of Jesus Christ, along with the inauguration of the ''New Church'' and an explanation of the spiritual meaning of the literal sense of the Scriptures. Some Swedenborgian organizations teach that the writings of Swedenborg (often called ''The Writings'' or ''The Third Testament'') are a third part of the Bible and have the same authority as the Old and New Testaments. Other names for the movement are also used, especially by adherents, including 'New Christians', 'Neo-Christians', 'The New Church', and 'Church of the New Jerusalem'.
| Contents |
| History |
| Beliefs |
| Non-organized Swedenborgians |
| Other views |
| Influence |
| External links |
| Resources |
| Organized Churches |
| International |
| USA |
| Other English speaking countries |
| Miscellaneous |
| References |
History
Swedenborg spoke of a "new church" that would be founded on the theology in his works, but he himself never tried to establish an organization. At the time of his death, few efforts had been made, but on May 7, 1787, 15 years after Swedenborg's death, the New Church movement was founded in England, a country Swedenborg often visited and where he also died. Its ideas were carried to United States by missionaries. One famous Swedenborgian was John Chapman, known as Johnny Appleseed. Early missionaries also travelled to parts of Africa as Swedenborg himself believed that the "African race" was "in greater enlightenment than others on this earth, since they are such that they think more interiorly, and so receive truths and acknowledge them." (''A Treatise concerning the Last Judgment'', n. 118) Although merely odd-sounding today, at the time these concepts were judged highly liberal, and so Swedenborgians accepted freed African converts to their homes as early as 1790. Several of them were also involved in abolitionism.[1]
In the 19th century, occultism became increasingly popular especially in France and England, and Swedenborg's writings were, by some, blended in with theosophy, alchemy and divination. What fascinated these followers most was Swedenborg's mystical side. Much emphasis was laid on his work ''Heaven and Hell'', wherein Swedenborg is led to Heaven and Hell by spirits to experience and report the conditions there (compare ''The Divine Comedy'').
Bryn Athyn Cathedral
In the U.S., Swedenborgianism was organized in 1817 with the founding of the ''General Convention of the New Church'' (sometimes referred to as the Convention), now also known as the ''Swedenborgian Church of North America''.
The movement in the United States grew stronger until the late 19th century, when a controversy about doctrinal issues and the authority of Swedenborg's writings caused a faction to split off to form the Academy of the New Church which would later become the General Church of New Jerusalem (sometimes referred to as the General Church), with headquarters in Bryn Athyn, a suburb of Philadelphia. In the 1930s, a doctrinal issue about the authority of Swedenborg's writings arose in the General Church. Members in the Hague branch of the General Church saw Swedenborg's theological writings as the Word of the Third Testament, which they wrote about extensively in their Dutch magazine De Hemelsche Leer. Actions by the leading Bishop of the General Church caused those holding this new doctrinal view to split off to form The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma.
Today, the General Church has about 5,000 members in 33 churches. The ''Swedenborgian Church of North America'', with headquarters in Newton, a suburb of Boston, now has 37 active churches with about 1,500 members in the U.S. The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma, with headquarters in Bryn Athyn, now has about 28 active churches with about 1900 members worldwide.
As of 2000 the most recent membership figures for the Four Church Organizations were[2]:
★ General Conference (Great Britain): 1,314
★ General Convention (USA): 2,029
★ General Church of the New Jerusalem: 5,563
★ The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma: 1,000
'The Lord's New Church' is primarily associated with South Africa, although roughly 200 members are found in the United States. It is noted for its concern for justice issues. The nations of Australia and Germany are estimated to have 504 and 200 members, respectively. When counting additional members in Asia, Africa, and South America, current sources put the total of Swedenborgians as between 25,000-30,000.
Membership in the United States has been in long decline since peaking in the 1850s, although it should be noted it was never a large organization. In 1911 the total US membership in all Swedenborgian organizations was estimated at roughly 9,400.[3]
Beliefs
The doctrines of the New Church are as follows:
#That there is one God and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Within Him there is a Divine Trinity.
#That a saving faith is to believe in Him and to live a life of charity.
#That all evils are to be shunned and originate in mankind.
#That good actions are to be done, because they are of God and from God, and are therefore necessary for life.
#That these good acts are to be done by mankind as if from him/herself; but that it ought to be acknowledged that they are done from the Lord with him and by him.
#That one's fate after death is according to the character one has acquired in life; specifically that those governed by the love of the Lord or the love of being useful to others are in heaven, and that those governed by love of self or the love of worldly things are in hell.
(see Swedenborg's ''True Christian Religion'', author's introduction [4])
Added to this the Swedenborgians believe that marriage is eternal. They state that an individual will be married to their spouse in the afterlife if they have a true spiritual marriage, and that if a person dies unmarried they will find a spouse in heaven. Robert Frost reportedly married in a Swedenborgian ceremony.
Non-organized Swedenborgians
The term may also be used to refer to people inspired by some part of Swedenborgian philosophy or theology who nevertheless take an eclectic approach to such topics and so blend "pure" Swedenborgian thought with ideas from other systems, including Jungian psychology, Spiritualism, and "traditional" Christianity. Such Swedenborgianism bears little resemblance to the more ecclesiastical form usually referred to by the term. For various reasons, such as not believing in the trinity that is esteemed as a 3rd Century development by Tertullian, Swedenborg held to a Oneness view of God such as modern day Oneness Pentecostalism.
Other views
Swedenborgians have been viewed skeptically by fundamentalist Christian groups for the unorthodox aspects of their religion. These aspects are the rejection of the common explanation of the Trinity as a Trinity of Persons (Swedenborgians see the Trinity in One Person, the Lord Jesus Christ), and the rejection of the doctrine of atonement as an avenging justice (Swedenborgians see atonement as an act of love apart from revenge). They have been accused of being a fringe or even occult movement in which people communicate with spirits.[1] While the mystical aspect certainly appealed to some people, and still does, this is not the focus of most New Church members today. Interestingly, in contrast to accusations of occultism, the doctrine of the New Church actually warns against contact with spirits.
Influence
Entrance to the Wayfarers Chapel, which is dedicated to Swedenborg
Notable persons influenced either by Swedenborg's writing or by the New Church include:
★ Johnny Appleseed – Swedenborgian missionary first written about by the Swedenborgian society of Manchester, United Kingdom.
★ Honoré de Balzac
★ Charles Baudelaire
★ Henry Ward Beecher
★ William Blake
★ Elizabeth and Robert Browning
★ Daniel Burnham – His parents were Swedenborgians
★ George Bush (biblical scholar) – Converted to Swedenborgianism and promoted it to his death.
★ Thomas Carlyle
★ Robert Carter III – Became a Swedenborgian in 1787 after his wife died and remained in the movement.
★ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
★ Alfred Deakin - Australia’s second, fifth, and seventh Prime Minister
★ Ralph Waldo Emerson
★ Robert Frost – His mother joined the Swedenborgian church and had him baptized in it [5], but he left it as an adult.
★ Scott Glenn
★ Gyllenhaal family:
★
★ Leonard Gyllenhaal – Entomologist and dedicated Swedenborgian.
★
★ Stephen Gyllenhaal – Descendant of Leonard who was raised Swedenborgian.
★
★ Jake Gyllenhaal - Descendant of Leonard. Moderately dedicated Swedenborgian. His sister Maggie is not known to be interested in Swedenborgianism.
★ George Inness
★ Henry James Sr. – lectured on Swedenborg's thought
★ Carl Jung
★ Helen Keller – wrote ''Light in my Darkness'' which advocated the ideals of Emanuel Swedenborg
★ James Tyler Kent - Homeopathic physician.
★ Stephen King
★ Fitz Hugh Ludlow
★ Lucius Lyon – “In politics he was Democrat, in religion a Swedenborgian.â€
★ Kristine Mann - American psychoanalyst.
★ William Rainey Marshall – Fifth governor of Minnesota and advocate for black suffrage.[6]
★ William Page
★ Coventry Patmore – Catholic after 1862.
★ J.M. Schneider – Meat/Sausage Business empire in Canada, influential in the spread of Swedenborgianism across Canada
★ Walt Whitman
★ James John Garth Wilkinson – “commemorated by a bust and portrait in the rooms of the Swedenborgian Society in London.â€
★ Lois Wilson – Founder of Al-Anon, raised Swedenborgian.[7](Her husband Bill W, of A.A. fame, married her at her family's Swedenborgian chapel. Still the influence of the faith on him is disputed)
External links
Resources
★ NewChurchHistory.org Large collection of articles on Swedenborgian history, by Swedenborgians; a collaboration of:
★
★ Bryn Athyn College of the New Church
★
★ Glencairn Museum
★ HeavenlyDoctrines.org Complete Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg online
★ The Bayside Swedenborgian Church Scans of the First Editions of many of Swedenborg's books
★ Swedenborg Digital Library Contains electronic copies of many books by and about Swedenborg and the New Church
★ Swedenborg Foundation Publisher of books by and on Swedenborg
★ Swedenborg Society UK based publisher of books by and of Swedenborg
★ Swedenborg Open Learning Centre (SOLC), UK
★ The Academy of the New Church The educational arm of the General Church of the New Jerusalem
★ History of the Swedenborgian Church of North America According to the Church itself
★ Swedenborg, Revelation and the New Church, paper by Rebecca Kline Somewhat unstructured, it has some historical information about the schism in 1890.
★ Maine Lodge of Research : Swedenborg - The Church A well-written historical article
★ Rational Scientific Theories from Theism Science compared with Swedenborg's writings
★ Spiritual Wisdom There is a universal spirituality which can be expressed in many ways, but this site uses the insights of Emanuel Swedenborg to help explain the meaning of our lives.
★ Swedenborgian Community Online
Organized Churches
International
★ General Church of the New Jerusalem (International)
★ The Lord's New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma (International) - This branch of the New Church accepts the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg as the Lord's Word, The Word of The Third Testament, Which contains all the Divine Truth of the Lord's Divine Human.
USA
★ The Swedenborgian Church of North America formerly ''General Convention of the New Jerusalem''
★ The General Church of the New Jerusalem, USA
★ The Lord's New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma, USA
Other English speaking countries
★ The New Church in Australia
★ Information Swedenborg Inc, Canada
★ The General Conference of the New Church, UK
Miscellaneous
★ Swedenborgian discussion board at Beliefnet
References
1. Swedenborgianism is a dangerous mystical non-Christian religion
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