DOCSLIB.ORG

The Messenger Published by the Swedenborgian Church of North America Volume 241• Number 5 • May 2019 Beauty and the Anthropic Principle

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Messenger Published by the Swedenborgian Church of North America Volume 241• Number 5 • May 2019 Beauty and the Anthropic Principle the Messenger Published by the Swedenborgian Church of North America Volume 241• Number 5 • May 2019 Beauty and the Anthropic Principle By Carl von Essen harmonic resonance of atomic struc- It has been said that without beauty, tures. The physicist, Paul Dirac states there would be little point to existence. n a keyboard, other instru- that, “There is a fundamental harmo- What is it? The sensation of beauty is ment, (or a smart phone app), ny connecting the way nature runs and entirely subjective and largely inde- play the following notes: general mathematical principles.” scribable. Beauty is truly in the eyes OMiddle C The concept of a universe in beauti- of the beholder, but also in the ears, Middle C plus C ful harmony has captivated the imag- nose, tongue, and skin. Beauty is a ba- Middle C plus G ination of poets and philosophers sis of sexual selection as well as part of Middle C plus E through the ages. Swedenborg, too, de- the fabric of daily existence not only Middle C plus F scribes a certain most beautiful harmo- by humanity but evidently also by ani- The musical chords you hear were ny, a very lovely wave-like movement mals and plants. The bioluminescence once plucked on ancient lyres, 2500 toward oneness, and the beauty of the emitted by archaic marine bacteria is years ago. It was about 590 BC, in melodic progression ending up in uni- a shining example. This life phenom- the Greek colony of Croton, on the ty being beyond all description. enon is reflected in the sight of our southern coast Calabria where disci- night sky, blazing with light, a cosmos ples of the philosopher Pythagoras had Swedenborg, too, describes that evokes awe and epiphany, its beau- gathered. One of the goals of these a certain most beautiful ty perhaps exceeding all else. Pythagoreans, shrouded in the mists harmony, a very lovely There are also forms of intellectu- of time, was to study the relationship wave-like movement toward al beauty. For example, Bertrand Rus- of musical sounds with each other. By oneness, and the beauty sell wrote that, “Mathematics right- varying the lengths of vibrating strings of the melodic progression ly viewed, possesses not only truth and hearing the relationship between ending up in unity being but supreme beauty—a beauty cold sounds thus created, they found that beyond all description. and austere.” Herman Weyl asserted certain combinations that we now call that mathematics “lifts the mind into chords were pleasing to the ear, what The harmonic studies by the closer proximity with the divine, the we could call beautiful. The lengths Pythagoreans formed the beginnings beautiful, and good than is attainable of the strings producing those chords of the science of mathematics, which through any other medium.” were found to be simple ratios of whole has led to the discoveries of the laws of The creation of poetry and figura- numbers, such as 1:2, 4:3 and 3:2. nature. The Pythagorean belief of the tive and musical art represents forms The Pythagoreans considered that relationship between nature’s hidden of beauty derived from nature but ex- these and other numbers possessed a codes and God’s mind strongly influ- pressed through the power of human function of order and beauty that com- enced Plato’s thought and eventually imagination. For example, recall the posed the laws governing the whole the world of science and religion. The ancient paintings found in incredibly universe. They believed that, like mu- musical harmonies that were pleasing remote parts of caves in France, Spain, sical harmony, there was a harmo- to our ears add further to the under- and elsewhere. What were our ances- ny of the spheres. This belief has now standing that our senses are effected tors trying to create? Beauty? been verified multiple times by science, in a strange and sublime way by some- It is possible that we have tried to for example, by the discovery of the thing we call beauty. Continues on page 74 A Short History of the Swedenborgian Church of North America: Part 1 More Inside FNCA Work Weekend: Lessons in Preparedness and Flexibility Contents: page 66 Resurrection Pageant at Pawnee Rock 66 the Messenger May 2019 would be a minute and woke up the Come to me. Get away with Guest Editorial next morning. My body is trying to me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll tell me something, and I was barely show you how to take a real rest. Surviving Our Walk with me and work with me— Stress Culture listening. Caregivers, including doctors, nurs- watch how I do it. Learn the un- forced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay You proba- es, teachers, and pastors, appear to suf- anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. bly didn’t need fer this stress intensely. In each of these Keep company with me and you’ll the World Health lines of work the demands rarely stop. learn to live freely and lightly. Organization to I have learned as a caregiver that Use this summer to find down-time. tell you this, but other people will never really protect Don’t wait for it to happen. Put it on stress from work you; you’ve got to set up boundaries your schedule. It doesn’t need to be an has moved from “burnout” to a “syn- and take down-time. Often, the per- expensive trip somewhere, just find drome” in the book they just released son who lectures me about working too time for yourself and to be with those that categories disease. The reason for much is the person who calls me on va- you love. the change in name is to highlight the cation with “just one quick question.” Happy Summer 2019. growing challenge for humans to han- We can only imagine what it was —Rev. Rich Tafel dle their stress at work. like for Jesus and his team. But the I am a co-founder of the Workplace gospel writers go to great lengths men- Wellness Council of Mexico. What tioning that Jesus slipped away from the Messenger has surprised me most is that Mexi- the crowd occasionally to get some © The Swedenborgian Church of North America cans work longer hours than Ameri- down-time. Published monthly except July and August by the Standing Committee for Communication and cans. And the biggest spike in health The fact that God rested and taught Information of the Swedenborgian Church of issues there are among people under us to observe a Sabbath is another pro- North America (founded 1817, incorporated 1861 as the General Convention of the New Jerusalem thirty-five, who report stress as impact- found teaching. We are supposed to in the United States of America), Rev. Jane ing their health. take time off. Siebert, president. This past week, I did something I love this modern rendition of Jesus May 2019 odd for me. After work, a reception, speaking in Matthew 11:28. Volume 241, No. 5, Whole Number 5440 Editor, design and production: Herbert Ziegler the gym, and then coming home and Copy editing and proofing: Robert Leith, eating dinner, I felt incredibly sleepy. Samantha Johanson, & Trevor I lay down at 9 PM for what I thought To subscribe to Standing Committee for Communication and Information: Kevin Baxter, Elizabeth Blair, & Val the Messenger online, Brugler scan this image with a Printing: Gnomon Copy, Cambridge MA QR reader on your cell Contents Editorial Address: phone or tablet. Herb Ziegler, the Messenger Beauty and the Anthropic Principle ...... 65 2 Hancock Place Surviving Our Stress Culture .................... 66 Cambridge MA 02139 Tel: 617.388.0252 Letter from the President .......................... 67 Email: [email protected] Nominations for Elected Positions Business and Subscription Address: in the Swedenborgian Church .......... 68 Church Calendar The Messenger, Central Office We Are Building, Daily Building!.............. 69 • June 29–July 3: 2019 Annual 50 Quincy Street Cambridge MA 02138 New Publications from the Swedenborgian Convention, Tel: 617.969.4240 Swedenborg Foundation .................... 69 Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN Email: [email protected] A Short History of the Swedenborgian • July 13–21: Almont Church Camp, Al- lerton, MI Subscriptions: free online subscription at Church of North America: Part 1 ...... 70 http://swedenborg.org. Printed and mailed to US FNCA Work Weekend: Lessons in • July 21-27: Paulhaven Summer Camp, address, $20/year; to Canada address, $30/year; Upper Mann Lake, Alberta, Canada to all other addresses, $35/year; single copies, Preparedness and Flexibility .............. 75 $2.00, Libraries & prisoners, free. Send check The Lord Cares For Us and About Us! .... 77 • July 28–August 3: International made out to “Swedenborgian Church” with Summer Camp for Teens, Purley “Messenger” on the memo line. Other requests, Resurrection Pageant at Pawnee Rock . 78 Chase, England write or call Central Office. Hello Lovely Folks ......................................... 78 • August 3–18: FNCA Family Summer Deadline for submissions is three weeks before the first day of the month of issue. “Reading Swedenborg” Camp, Fryeburg, ME Podcast Debuts ....................................... 78 The opinions and views expressed are • August 28–31, 2020: Gathering Leaves, those of the authors, not of the Messenger, Passages ........................................................... 79 Purley Chase, England the Communication Support Unit, or the Weaving Americans Together .................. 80 Swedenborgian Church. the Messenger May 2019 67 Edwin Reddekopp, is the president of the Western Canada Conference. Rev. Reddekopp served in Letter Edmonton for many years and retired to Kelow- na, British Columbia. His wife, Lisa Reddekopp, from the turned 100 last November and still attends the Edmonton Church. President There remain three churches in the Western Conference: Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta and Okangan in British Columbia.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • William Blake, Thomas Thorild and Radical Swedenborgianism
    William Blake, Thomas Thorild and Radical Swedenborgianism ROBERT WILLIAM RIX I. On 14 April 1789, the English poet and painter William Blake (1757-1827) and his wife, Catherine, attended the First General Conference of the Swedenborgian New Jerusalem Church at the chapel in Great Eastcheap (now Cannon Street) in London's East End. The conference was held in response to a circular letter of 7 December 1788, which had been distributed in 500 copies to "all the readers of the Theological Writings of the Hon. Emanuel Swedenborg, who are desirous of rejecting, and separating themselves from, the Old Church, or the present Established Churches." The letter drew up forty-two propositions outlining the terms for a separation and was signed by the Blakes as a prerequisite for attendance. The Swedenborgian Church is the only religious institution we have any record of Blake ever having attended. However, his affiliation was not lasting. His scathing satire on Swedenborg, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (produced in 1790, if we are to trust the date Blake scribbled in blue ink on copy K of this work), stands 1 It is important to note that the Blakes signed as sympathisers, not as Church members. Among the seventy-seven signers, fifty-six were actual members, while the eighteen other names (among which we find William and Catherine) did not commit themselves to membership. The document and other papers related to the New Jerusalem Church have been reprinted in "New Jerusalem" 121-32. 97 William Blake, Thomas Thorild and Radical Swedenborgianism as a testimony to the break.2 Blake had an interest in Swedenborg since the late 1780s when he annotated several of the prophet's books.
    [Show full text]
  • The Messenger
    the Messenger Published by the Swedenborgian Church of North America Volume 241• Number 3 • March 2019 Exciting Lineup of Mini-Courses for Annual Convention 2019 in Indiana! t every annual convention of This course will provide a rare oppor- that, when taken literally, discrimi- the Swedenborgian Church, in tunity for General Convention peo- nate against or negatively stereotype addition to business sessions, ple to glimpse the world of African groups of people based on race, gen- Aworship services, the annual meeting Swedenborgianism in one of its impor- der, religion or other generalized cat- of the Center for Swedenborgian Stud- tant story lines. egories. This session will discuss some ies, and ordinations, mini-courses are Rev. Tosin Ogunbodede received a B.A. of these texts, the history of their in- offered. There is always a variety of -ex from the University of Ibadan and an M.A. in terpretation, how other churches and citing and interesting courses to choose Public Administra- religions have thought about these is- tion from Ladoke sues, and our denomination’s official from, and Annual Convention 2019 is Akintola Univer- no exception. We have thirteen offer- sity, Ogbomoso. response, which will be voted on this ings for your consideration. Upon completion Convention. Members of the informal of the Diploma committee who have been studying The New Church in Nigeria: in Theology from the issues, who operate under the title History, Challenges, and Prospects The New Church “Manifold Angels” will be available to College of Theol- Bishop Tosin Ogunbodede ogy, Owo, he was share their thoughts. ordained in 2005 Rebecca Esterson is Assistant Professor A large New Church body in Nige- at The Lord’s New in Sacred Texts and Traditions and Dorothea ria was founded in 1935 by Africanus Church Cathedral, Owo, Ondo State, Nige- Harvey Professor of Swedenborgian Stud- ria, by the late Rt.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of the Swedenborgian Church
    2017 Journal of the Swedenborgian Church No. 195 THE SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCH UNITED STATES AND CANADA INCORPORATED 1861 THE GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE NEW JERUSALEM IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ANNUAL SESSION “ROOTED IN OUR HISTORY, GROWING IN THE WORD” JULY 8 - JULY 12, 2017 WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY, WEST CHESTER, PA ANNUAL THEME THE YEAR OF THE NEW JERUSALEM JULY 1, 2017-JUNE 30, 2018 RECORDING SECRETARY KAREN CONGER 314 APOLLO CIRCLE BISHOP, CA 93514-7051 P: (760) 872-3392 E: [email protected] CENTRAL OFFICE SAMANTHA JOHANSON, OPERATIONS MANAGER 50 QUINCY STREET CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138-3013 P/F: (617) 969-4240 E: [email protected] W: www.swedenborg.org C The Faith and Aims of Our Church .......................................... 1 The Offi cers of The Swedenborgian Church............................ 3 General Council ....................................................................... 3 Council of Ministers .............................................................. 13 Roll of Ministers .................................................................... 16 Auxiliary and Associated Bodies ........................................... 28 Minutes From the One Hundred Ninety-Third Session .........30 Convention Preachers Since 1959 ......................................... 42 Memorial ................................................................................ 44 Reports of Offi cers, Boards, Committees, Support Units and Associated Bodies .......................................................... 48 Church Statistics ...................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of the Swedenborgian Church
    2020 Journal of the Swedenborgian Church No. 198 THE SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCH UNITED STATES AND CANADA INCORPORATED 1861 THE GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE NEW JERUSALEM IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ANNUAL SESSION “20/20 SPIRITUAL VISION: TRANSCENDING TIME AND SPACE” JUNE 26 - JUNE 28, 2020 VIRTUAL CONVENTION HOSTED ON FACEBOOK LIVE ANNUAL THEME THE YEAR OF THE LORD JULY 1, 2019-SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 RECORDING SECRETARY KAREN CONGER 314 APOLLO CIRCLE BISHOP, CA 93514-7051 P: (760) 872-3392 E: [email protected] CENTRAL OFFICE BRITTANY PRICE, OPERATIONS MANAGER 50 QUINCY STREET CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138-3013 P: (617) 969-4240 F: (833) 843-3611 E: [email protected] W: www.swedenborg.org LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Oh, what a year! The 2020 Journal is different due to the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the annual session of Convention, the requirement for our churches to move to virtual services, and our camps not able to gather in-person, due to health safety concerns. It is important to produce an annual Journal because it is our legal record of the business and gather- ings for the year between our annual sessions. The decision to cancel the planned 2020 Convention in Bridgewater, Massachusetts due to the worldwide pandemic was made by the Executive Committee of General Council, March 2020. By that time it was evident we would be unable to gather in physical presence due to mandated travel restrictions and worldwide health concerns for potential transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Our denomination came up with a “virtual” process to gather as a sa- cred community to worship, learn, share, and participate in many aspects of a regular convention over the same weekend previously planned, June 26-28, 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • OCTAVIUS BROOKS FROTHINGHAM and the Epistemological
    ‘FRAMING SWEDENBORG’: OCTAVIUS BROOKS FROTHINGHAM and the epistemological problematic of ‘immediate revelation’ C. (Elly) Mulder / s8035717 Master Thesis Theology & Religious Studies Leiden University Centre for the Study of Religion Universiteit Leiden Matthias de Vrieshof 1 2311 BZ Leiden First supervisor: Prof. dr. E.G.E. van der Wall Second reader: Prof. dr. A. F. de Jong Leiden, 30th August 2016 Development is God’s method in the education of the race. Whatever in religion is destined to endure must be the offspring of the past. It must be related to the old by natural descent. It must come as Christianity came, by providential agencies springing from the bosom of the Church and working in its name, and not by come-outers acting of the Church from without. All the reformers of the Church hitherto, all who have contributed anything effectual to correct its errors, to enlarge its views, to quicken its zeal, - Luther, Fox, Swedenborg, Wesley, Channing, - have been disciples and preachers of that faith which they have helped to new-mould and reform. – F.H. Hedge, from: Antisupernaturalism in the Pulpit, address delivered to the alumni of Harvard Divinity School, 1864. _____ All things in nature are beautiful types to the soul that can read them; Nothing exists upon earth, but for unspeakable ends, Every object that speaks to the senses was meant for the spirit; Nature is but a scroll; God's hand-writing thereon. Ages ago when man was pure, ere the flood overwhelmed him, While in the image of God every soul yet lived, Every thing stood as a letter or word of a language familiar, Telling of truths which now only the angels can read.
    [Show full text]
  • Swedenborg Rite and the Great Masonic Leaders of the Eighteenth
    SWBDBNBORG RITE AND THE GREAT MASONIC LEADERS EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. BY SAMUEIj, KESWICK. 1881 NEW YORK: MASONIC PUBLISHING COMPANY, 432 BROOME STREET, 1870. fr y. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1ST0, By Samuel Beswick, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the District of New Jersey. ' £%*£*: — PKEFACE The time and labor which have been expended in hunting up the mass of information which has been obtained in relation to Swedenborg and Free- masonry, and condensed into this volume, have not been slight. This addition to Masonic literature is the first attempt to satisfy a want which has long been felt in relation to the Masonic career of that wonderful man Emanuel Swedenborg. It is the only book which treats of the Swedenborg Rite, the Masonic career of Swedenborg and his followers, and the relation which the symbolic system of Swe- denborgianism has held with Freemasonry. Who- ever undertakes to write an elaborate treatise must travel over Germany, Holland, Denmark, and Swe- den, and make his journey a specialty. Everything said of Swedenborg and Freemasonry has been little more than a pouring from out of one vial into another. But I have aimed to write this 4 PREFACE. history with perfect independence, freedom of opin- ion, originality of conception, and an entire avoid- ance of the beaten paths. To do this successfully, I determined to investigate new sources of informa- tion and inaugurate new attempts. By this plan I hoped to write something worth reading, and pre- sent this wonderful man, Swedenborg, in a new light, and from new stand-points—the yery spots where his footprints are visible.
    [Show full text]
  • 2019 Journal of the Swedenborgian Church
    2019 Journal of the Swedenborgian Church No. 197 THE SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCH UNITED STATES AND CANADA INCORPORATED 1861 THE GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE NEW JERUSALEM IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ANNUAL SESSION “ROOTED IN SPIRIT EARTH IS SPEAKING TO US” JUNE 29 - JULY 3, 2019 VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY, VALPARAISO, IN ANNUAL THEME THE YEAR OF THE LORD JULY 1, 2019-JUNE 30, 2020 RECORDING SECRETARY KAREN CONGER 314 APOLLO CIRCLE BISHOP, CA 93514-7051 P: (760) 872-3392 E: [email protected] CENTRAL OFFICE SAMANTHA JOHANSON, OPERATIONS AND WEB MANAGER 50 QUINCY STREET CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138-3013 P: (617) 969-4240 F: (833) 843-3611 E: [email protected] W: www.swedenborg.org 1 T F A O C The Swedenborgian Church believes that a new epoch is opening in the spiritual life of mankind. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, as he promised to do, has come again, not indeed in a physical reappearance, but in spirit and truth; not in a single event only, but in a progressive manifestation of his presence among people. Our Church regards as tokens of his coming the burst of scientifi c de- velopment, the rise of the spirit of inquiry, the progress toward political and intellectual free- doms, and the deepening sense of a national and international responsibility which have characterized the last few centuries. These are more remote signs, however, of epochal reli- gious change. More directly denoting a move- ment of the spirit of God on the human spirit are the stirrings in world faiths, the revisions of thought and outlook in them, the searching after standards and spiritual power adequate to the needs and problems of the times, and this notably in the Christian faith.
    [Show full text]
  • “A New Heaven Is Begun”: William Blake and Swedenborgianism
    ARTICLE “A New Heaven is Begun”: William Blake and Swedenborgianism Morton D. Paley Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly, Volume 13, Issue 2, Fall 1979, pp. 64-90 64 "A NEW HEAVEN IS BEGUN": WILLIAM BLAKE AND SWEDENBORGIANISM MORTON D. PALEY PREFATORY NOTE: I began work on this subject in 1974 What we know factually about Blake's and delivered a paper on Blake and Swedenborg at the Swedenborgian interests may be summarized briefly. University of Lund. In the summer of 1978, thanks to Blake owned and annotated at leastthree of a grant from the Nordenskjold Fund of the Royal Swedenborg's books: Heaven and Hell, Divine Love Swedish Academy of Sciences, I was able to complete and Divine Wisdom, and Divine Prcvidence\ he mentions my research. I presented the results at a graduate two others in such a way as to suggest that he read seminar at the University of Stockholm in September them: Earths in Our Universe and Universal 1978. In undertaking this task, I was greatly Theology [True Christian Religion]. He and his assisted by librarians at the Royal Library, wife attended the first General Conference of the Stockholm; the British Library; and Swedenborg New Jerusalem Church in 1789. Then, turning House, London. I am also grateful for information sharply against the Swedenborgians, he satirized and advice from G. E. Bentley, Jr., Ray A. Deck, Jr., them and their Messenger in The Marriage of Heaven Morris Eaves, Robert N. Essick, Pastor 0. Hjern, and Hell (1790-93). After that he mentions Inge Jonsson, Peter Lineham, and Edward P. Thompson.
    [Show full text]
  • “To Bind up the Nation's Wounds”
    Published by the Swedenborgian Church of North America Volume 244 • Number 10 • December 2020 “To Bind Up the Nation’s Wounds” By Paul Deming t has been said that Abraham Lin- agents were in the city seeking to seemed to be turning into something coln thought his best speech was destroy it without war—seeking to akin to the demilitarized zone. We his second inaugural address, dissolve the Union and divide ef- best not talk about politics or it might IMarch 4, 1865—not the Gettysburg fects by negotiation. Both parties quickly dissolve into whose side God is address. The country was near- deprecated war but one of them on. Then we might be reminded that would make war rather than let the ing the end of a civil war that lasted nation survive, and the other would Joshua, when preparing for battle was four years in a greatly divided coun- accept war rather than let it perish. nearing Jericho and came face to face try. It was not to be a speech of victo- And the war came. with a man bearing a sword. He said, ry. It was not a speech of second term This is not about politics Whose side are you on, ours or promises. The speech was directed to or about war. It is about our enemies?” “Neither,” he said, one primary purpose which would be- “I’m commander of God’s army, come the phrase for which the speech healing. There has been I’ve just arrived.” Joshua fell, face was known: “To Bind up the Nation’s a collective sigh of relief to the ground, and worshiped.
    [Show full text]
  • THE REVEREND JACOB DUCHÉ and the ADVENT of the NEW CHURCH in ENGLAND* Al Gabay†
    JACOB DUCHÉ AND THE NEW CHURCH IN ENGLAND THE REVEREND JACOB DUCHÉ AND THE ADVENT OF THE NEW CHURCH IN ENGLAND* Al Gabay† n 1693 King Charles XI of Sweden received a letter from Fort Christina, I the first of three settlements established from 1638 on the western bank of the Delaware. New Sweden came under Dutch control in 1655, but life went on for the Swedes pretty much as before.1 Charles XI enjoined the assistance of the Rev. Jesper Svedberg of the Swedish consistory, father of Emanuel Swedenborg and Professor of Theology, and later Bishop of Skara, who sent the ministers Jonas Auren, Andrew Rudman, and Eric Bjork. Until his death in 1735 Bishop Svedberg remained “the special guardian of the Swedish church on the Delaware.”2 This fascinating if elliptical connexion with Swedenborg shows the smallness of the Early Modern world and reminds one of the reflexive influence of mundane * Address given at the One Hundred and Ninth Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association on April 29, 2006 † Dr. Al Gabay was born in French North Africa and educated in France and the U.S.A., where he emigrated with his family. He received a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, and following extensive world travel he settled in Australia, where he completed a Ph.D. in History and Religious Studies at LaTrobe University. In 1988 he participated in a Symposium and contributed to a volume celebrating the Tricentenary of Swedenborg’s birth. He has published widely in journals, including Australian Historical Studies, the Journal of Religious History, and The New Philosophy.
    [Show full text]
  • Fig. 3.1: Interior of Swedenborgs Minneskyrka, Stockholm. Courtesy of Swedenborgs Minneskyrka
    Fig. 3.1: Interior of Swedenborgs Minneskyrka, Stockholm. Courtesy of Swedenborgs Minneskyrka. Photo: Thomas Xavier Floyd, 2015. Open Access. © 2021 Devin Zuber, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110639476-004 Devin Zuber Chapter 3 An Apocalypse of Mind: Cracking the Jerusalem Code in Emanuel Swedenborg’s Theosophy The Swedish scientist-turned-mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) came to believe that the ideas contained in his mystical writings constituted the coming of the New Jerusalem, the dawning of a new age as foretold in the book of the Apocalypse. Both allegorical and yet tied to a specific historical claim – thataspiritual apocalypse, a “last judgement,” began unfolding in the year 1757 – Swedenborg cata- lysed a later generation of Romantic thinkers and writers (such as William Blake) who gravitated towards his millennial combination of Enlightenment empiricism with vi- sionary accounts of things “seen and heard” in heaven and hell. This chapter surveys Swedenborg’s conceptualisation of Jerusalem within his eschatological contexts, before considering how his delineations of alternative spiritualities, flourishing outside Christendom, galvanised later Swedenborgian and New Age imaginaries. Attention will also be given to how Swedenborg’s New Jerusalem led to distinctive artistic and ecclesiastical iconographies within the Swedenborgian church tradition. In 1743, the Stockholm-born natural scientist Emanuel Swedenborg was undergoing a serious spiritual crisis. He was in the midst of an ambitious project to locate the seat of the soul in the human body, applying years of his training in the various natu- ral sciences now to the labyrinths of brain and blood.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Church Swedenborgianism
    The New Church Swedenborgianism PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information. PDF generated at: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:35:37 UTC Contents Articles The New Church 1 General Church of the New Jerusalem 20 Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma 24 Swedenborgian Church of North America 27 Emanuel Swedenborg 28 Swedenborg Rite 49 Herman Vetterling 51 References Article Sources and Contributors 52 Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 53 Article Licenses License 54 The New Church 1 The New Church "New Church" redirects here. For the Amsterdam church, see New Church (Amsterdam). The New Church Classification New Christian Orientation Swedenborgian Polity congregational, episcopal Origin May 7, 1787 England Primary schools Bryn Athyn Church Schools, Secondary schools Bryn Athyn Academy The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is the name for several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious movement, informed by the writings of Swedish scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Swedenborg claimed to have received a new revelation from Jesus Christ through continuous heavenly visions which he experienced over a period of at least twenty-five years. In his writings, he predicted that God would replace the traditional Christian Church, establishing a 'New Bryn Athyn Cathedral of the General Church Church', which would worship God in one person: Jesus Christ. The New Church doctrine is that each person must actively cooperate in repentance, reformation, and regeneration of one's life.[1] The movement was founded on the belief that God explained the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures to Swedenborg as a means of revealing the truth of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
    [Show full text]