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Emanuel Swedenborg

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born

February 08, 1688 in Sweden

died

March 29, 1772

gender

male

genre

Religion & Spirituality

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Emanuel Swedenborg (born Emanuel Swedberg; February 8, 1688–March 29, 1772) was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, Christian mystic, and theologian. Swedenborg had a prolific career as an inventor and scientist. At the age of fifty-six he entered into a spiritual phase in which he experienced dreams and visions. This culminated in a spiritual awakening, where he claimed he was appointed by the Lord to write a heavenly doctrine to reform Christianity. He claimed that the Lord had opened his eyes, so that from then on he could freely visit heaven and hell, and talk with angels, demons, and other spirits. For the remaining 28 years of his life, he wrote and published 18 theological works, of which the best known was Heaven and Hell (1758), and...more Emanuel Swedenborg (born Emanuel Swedberg; February 8, 1688–March 29, 1772) was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, Christian mystic, and theologian. Swedenborg had a prolific career as an inventor and scientist. At the age of fifty-six he entered into a spiritual phase in which he experienced dreams and visions. This culminated in a spiritual awakening, where he claimed he was appointed by the Lord to write a heavenly doctrine to reform Christianity. He claimed that the Lord had opened his eyes, so that from then on he could freely visit heaven and hell, and talk with angels, demons, and other spirits. For the remaining 28 years of his life, he wrote and published 18 theological works, of which the best known was Heaven and Hell (1758), and several unpublished theological works.

Swedenborg explicitly rejected the common explanation of the Trinity as a Trinity of Persons, which he said was not taught in the early Christian Church. Instead he explained in his theological writings how the Divine Trinity exists in One Person, in One God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Swedenborg also rejected the doctrine of salvation through faith alone, since he considered both faith and charity necessary for salvation, not one without the other. The purpose of faith, according to Swedenborg, is to lead a person to a life according to the truths of faith, which is charity.

Swedenborg's theological writings have elicited a range of responses. Toward the end of Swedenborg's life, small reading groups formed in England and Sweden to study the truth they saw in his teachings and several writers were influenced by him, including William Blake (though he ended up renouncing him), Elizabeth Barrett Browning, August Strindberg, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Baudelaire, Balzac, William Butler Yeats, Sheridan Le Fanu, Jorge Luis Borges and Carl Jung. The theologian Henry James Sr. was also a follower of his teachings, as were Johnny Appleseed and Helen Keller.

In contrast, one of the most prominent Swedish authors of Swedenborg's day, Johan Henrik Kellgren, called Swedenborg "nothing but a fool". A heresy trial was initiated in Sweden in 1768 against Swedenborg's writings and two men who promoted these ideas.

In the two centuries since Swedenborg's death, various interpretations of Swedenborg's theology have been made (see: Swedenborgian Church), and he has also been scrutinized in biographies and psychological studies.(less)

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Books by Emanuel Swedenborg

Average rating: 4.17 · 198 ratings · 24 reviews · 437 distinct works

	HEAVEN AND HELL by Emanuel Swedenborg, George F. Dole (Translator), Bernhard Lang (Introduction) 3.89 avg rating — 76 ratings — published 1900 — 59 editions	My rating:
	DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM by Emanuel Swedenborg, Gregory R. Johnson, Jonathan S. Rose 4.64 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 1908 — 9 editions	My rating:
	Divine Providence 4.42 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2003 — 4 editions	My rating:
	TRUE CHRISTIANITY 1 by Emanuel Swedenborg, Jonathan S. Rose, Glen Michael Cooper 4.80 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 1936 — 20 editions	My rating:
	SWEDENBORG'S JOURNAL OF DREAMS: THE EXTRAORDINARY RECORD OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF A SCIENTIST INTO A SEER by Emanuel Swedenborg, Wilson Van Dusen (Commentary), James John Garth Wilkinson (Translation) 4.00 avg rating — 10 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	CONJUGIAL LOVE by Emanuel Swedenborg, Samuel Warren (Translation), Louis H. Tafel (Revision) 4.10 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 1979 — 6 editions	My rating:
	Arcana Clestia. the Heavenly Arcana Contained in the Holy Scriptures or Word of the Lord Unfolded Beginning with the Book of Genesis Together with Won 4.75 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 1968 — 51 editions	My rating:
	Conversations with Angels: What Swedenborg Heard in Heaven by Emanuel Swedenborg, Leonard Fox, Jonathan Rose (Translator) 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1996	My rating:
	THE HEAVENLY CITY: A SPIRITUAL GUIDEBOOK by Emanuel Swedenborg, Lee Woofenden (Translation) 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 1993	My rating:
	Afterlife: A Guided Tour of Heaven and Its Wonders 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	My rating:

More books by Emanuel Swedenborg…

Quotes by Emanuel Swedenborg

“Love consists in desiring to give what is our own to another and feeling his delight as our own”
― Emanuel Swedenborg

tags: love , spirituality

10 people liked it

“Kindness is an inner desire that makes us want to do good things even if we do not get anything in return. It is the joy of our life to do them. When we do good things from this inner desire, there is kindness in everything we think, say, want, and do.”
― Emanuel Swedenborg

9 people liked it

“The sky is an enormous man.”
― Emanuel Swedenborg

tags: man , nature , paganism , sky

3 people liked it

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Emanuel's Fans (8)

Emanuel Swedenborg

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Emanuel Swedenborg

Quotes by Emanuel Swedenborg

combine editions
Books by Emanuel Swedenborg