What do you think?
Spiritual Life and the Word of God
An Unabridged Edition To Include: How Spiritual Life Is Acquired - Goods Of Charity - Shunning Evils - Cleansing The Inside - What Religion Consists In - The First Commandment - The Second Commandment - The Third Commandment - The Fourth Commandment - The Fifth Commandment - The Sixth Commandment - The Seventh Commandment - The Eighth Commandment - The Ninth And Tenth Commandments - The Commandments In General - Goods And Truths And Their Opposites - The First Kind Of Profanation - The Second Kind Of Profanation - The Third Kind Of Profanation - The Fourth And Fifth Kinds Of Profanation - The Holiness Of The Word - The Lord Is The Word - The Lord's Words Spirit And Life - Influx And Correspondence - The Three Senses Of The Word - Conjunction By The Word - The Sense Of The Letter
108 pages, Paperback
First published November 11, 2004
About the author
Emanuel Swedenborg
1,850 books325 followersEmanuel 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his life, he wrote and published 18 theological works, of which the best known was Heaven and Hell (1758), and several unpublished theological works.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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 21, 2013
This book was a hard read. I definitely had to sit with a sentence often just to understand technically what he was saying (not the kind where you feel like you just learned something profound). However, I did gain a few new insights and would agree completely that we do live on a planet that gives us a real glimpse of both heaven and hell. This author also believes that good works without faith do not count as good works. I can't agree with him on that. Good works always have good effects, that good comes from God so as far as I can tell God must still find value in that person's deeds. I don't think I would recommend this title.
February 21, 2016
Absolutely brilliant.
To help understand the works from this author this book has the best of all the modern day translations of his works.
It should be the stepping stone to his other works.
The detailed narrative to the Ten Commandments are a delight to read.
The importance of understanding the Bible is explained in a unique way. This makes the book very enjoyable as it highlights the impotance of the Word in it's truest form.
This book is a real treasure and food for the soul.
To help understand the works from this author this book has the best of all the modern day translations of his works.
It should be the stepping stone to his other works.
The detailed narrative to the Ten Commandments are a delight to read.
The importance of understanding the Bible is explained in a unique way. This makes the book very enjoyable as it highlights the impotance of the Word in it's truest form.
This book is a real treasure and food for the soul.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews