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See also: The New Church

Swedenborgianism is a name for the belief system developed from the writings of the Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772). Swedenborgianism The New Church is the name for a religious movement described in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772 (born Emanuel Swedberg; February 8 1688–March 29 1772 was a Swedish Scientist, Philosopher, Christian mystic, and Theologian Year 1772 ( MDCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a It is a new form of Christianity, and the movement is founded on the belief that God explained the spiritual meaning of the the Scriptures to Swedenborg as a means of revealing the truth of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin In Christianity, the Second Coming is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven to earth an event that will fulfill aspects of Messianic It is also believed that Swedenborg witnessed the Last Judgment in the spiritual world, along with the inauguration of the New Church. In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of every human who ever lived Swedenborgianism The New Church is the name for a religious movement described in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772 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. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. 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

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. Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses Year 1787 ( MDCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Its ideas were carried to United States by missionaries. One famous Swedenborgian was John Chapman, known as Johnny Appleseed. Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman (September 26 1774 – February 18 1845 was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apples to large parts of Ohio 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. Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies [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. The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine hidden secret referring to "knowledge of the hidden" This article is about the philosophy introduced by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky Alchemy a part of the Occult Tradition is both a philosophy and a practice with an ultimately unknown aim involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining What fascinated these followers most was Swedenborg's mystical side. Much emphasis was laid on his work Heaven and Hell, wherein Swedenborg visits Heaven and Hell to experience and report the conditions there (compare The Divine Comedy). Heaven and Hell is the common English title of a book written by mystic Emanuel Swedenborg in Latin, published in 1758. Heaven may refer to the physical heavens the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the Universe beyond Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering The Divine Comedy

Bryn Athyn Cathedral
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 Swedenborgian Church in North America (also known as the General Convention of the Church of the New Jerusalem)

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. The General Church of the New Jerusalem (also referred to as the General Church or just simply the New Church) is an international church based in Bryn Athyn is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə 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. The Swedenborgian Church in North America (also known as the General Convention of the Church of the New Jerusalem) The City of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, is an important residential Suburb of Boston, which abuts it on the east 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[1]:

The Lord's New Church is primarily associated with South Africa, although roughly 200 members are found in the United States. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It is noted for its concern for justice issues. Social justice, sometimes called civil justice, refers to the concept of a Society in which Justice is achieved in every aspect of society rather than The nations of Australia and Germany are estimated to have 504 and 200 members, respectively. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. When counting additional members in Asia, Africa, and South America, current sources put the total of Swedenborgians as between 25,000-30,000. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a

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. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link In 1911 the total US membership in all Swedenborgian organizations was estimated at roughly 9,400. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year [2]

Beliefs

The doctrines of the New Church are as follows:

  1. That there is one God and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ. God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Within Him there is a Divine Trinity.
  2. That a saving faith is to believe in Him and to live a life of charity.
  3. That all evils originate in mankind and are to be shunned. Evil, in many cultures is used to describe acts or thoughts which are contrary to some particular religion
  4. That good actions are of God and from God, and are therefore necessary for life and should be done.
  5. That these good acts are to be done by a person as if from him/herself; but that it ought to be acknowledged that they are done from the Lord with him/her and by him/her.
  6. 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 [3])

Added to this the Swedenborgians believe that marriage is eternal. They state that an individual will be married to his or her spouse in the afterlife if he or she has a true spiritual marriage, and that if a person dies unmarried he or she will find a spouse in heaven.

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. Analytical psychology (or Jungian psychology) refers to the school of Psychology originating from the ideas of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, and then advanced Spiritualism is a Religion founded in part on the writings of the Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772 Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings 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. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, Anglicised as Tertullian, (ca Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism

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). SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных The atonement is a doctrine found within both Christianity and Judaism. They have been accused of being a fringe or even occult movement in which people communicate with spirits. The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine hidden secret referring to "knowledge of the hidden" [2] 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
Entrance to the Wayfarers Chapel, which is dedicated to Swedenborg

Notable persons influenced either by Swedenborg's writing or by the New Church include:

External links

Resources

Organized Churches

International

USA

Other English speaking countries

Miscellaneous

References

  1. ^ Carl Bernhard Wadström: biography and bibliography
  2. ^ Swedenborgianism is a dangerous mystical non-Christian religion. Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry.
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