DOCSLIB.ORG

2019 Journal of the Swedenborgian Church

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read 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. The Lord is everywhere at work, mov- ing to the reestablishment of his kingdom, and specifi cally to the renewing of Christianity with the power and understanding to serve and speed his kingdom. In any coming of the Lord, he brings about many things which people are slow to see. Our unseen, spiritual environment is made over as well as our visible world. A greater awareness of the good that there has been, a fuller justice and truer peace off er themselves for us to realize. Today, in a world that has contracted into a neighborhood, the responsibility to the neighbor makes its demands on all people of good will. Evils that have been long established begin to look as though they could be conquered. We believe that the Lord in his second coming has “reordered the heavens and subjugated the hells” as he did at his fi rst coming. This coming of the Son of man, “as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west,” making the salvation of all people possible, is the direct and sole work of the Lord—a redemption of the world by the Redeemer of persons. Our Church is also convinced that the Lord has given his followers word of all this, and done so by means of a servant from among them. We 2 believe that Emanuel Swedenborg thus served the Lord. A person’s destiny beyond the earthly life needed to be placed in fuller light; the Scriptures needed to be reestablished as the Word of God; and the Christian message was in need of renewed and contemporary expression. To supply these needs Swedenborg devoted half a lifetime, and an insight born of a regen- erating experience. He was enabled “by the Lord’s mercy” to inform the Christian hope of immortality with knowledge of the world of the spirit; in Old and New Testament he set forth a meaning which speaks timelessly of the spiritual life and can nourish it now; and he freed Christian teaching from many crippling errors and formulated it anew from the Word of God. In the theological works of Swedenborg the message of Christian- ity is restated to inspire the spiritual life of all anew. Its truths present themselves as truths of life here and hereafter. They invite inquiry and ask understanding. They open the door to spiritual renewal and urge upon everyone the personal responsibility to participate in this renewal. The Lord has taken initiative in his coming. We have our response to make. In that response three essentials are urged: that we acknowledge God in the Lord, and that he alone can bring about our redemption and regeneration; that we acknowledge the holiness of the Word and the inspiration which the Word gives us to seek and promote his kingdom; and that we live the life of charity, the exercising in all our relationships, large and small, the neighborliness enjoined by his commandments. The Swedenborgian Church believes, then, that under Providence the world has received, through the instrumentality of a man, a revelation which confronts it with the universally valid truth of the spiritual life of all human beings. It believes that the Lord Jesus Christ, availing himself of human agency to give us this explicit guidance, has done a sweeping if hidden work of redemption, and created a new heaven and a new earth about us. He is ushering in the epoch, if we will, which he foresaw and which he promised at his fi rst coming. In John’s vision on Patmos, the Ris- en Christ once more promised the dawn of this epoch in the descent of the Holy City, New Jerusalem, to earth. To signalize our conviction that the Lord is fulfi lling his promise, we originally organized under the name the Church of the New Jerusalem. The spirit and the humanity which longs to be united to the Lord alike cry, “Come.” We lift our voice and pray, “Come. Even so, come Lord Jesus.” Offi cers, Standing Committees, Representatives & Committees 3 T O T S C Rev. Jane Siebert, President Cell: (620) 727-2371 E-mail: [email protected] Tom Neuenfeldt, Vice-President Phone: (989) 285-2903 E-mail: [email protected] Karen Conger, Recording Secretary Phone: (760) 872-3392 E-mail: [email protected] Jennifer Lindsay, Treasurer Phone: (415) 706-6155 E-mail: [email protected] G C The General Council consists of the Offi cers of the Swedenborgian Church and the elected members listed below. (Constitution, Article II, Section 2.) The chair of the Council of Ministers has tradition- ally been invited to participate in General Council meetings. Numbers in parentheses are the terms currently being served for the positions so indicated, persons are limited to two consecutive three-year terms. Those fulfi lling unexpired terms are indicated by (*). Term Expires 2020 Term Expires 2021 Term Expires 2022 Lon Elmer (2) Rev. Jenny Caughman (1) Rev. Betsy Coff man (2) (206) 903-8043 (865) 482-9319 (937) 631-0899 [email protected] [email protected] bcoff [email protected] Barbara Halle (1) Stan Conger (2) Carl Helm (2) (219) 363-0528 (760) 872-3392 (620) 792-4295 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Rev. Thom Muller (*) Beki Greenwood (*) Susan Hulcher (1) (267) 351-0122 (413) 563-0091 (403) 585-4333 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 4 Journal of the Swedenborgian Church, 2019 S C (Constitution, Article II, Section 4 and Bylaws, Article X.) The President of the Swedenborgian Church serves ex-Offi cio without vote on all Standing Committees. STANDING COMMITTEE FOR COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION: Chair: Val Brugler 2021 (2) Rev. Kevin Baxter 2020 (2) THE MESSENGER: Editor: Herb Ziegler STANDING COMMITTEE FOR EDUCATION AND RESOURCES FOR SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY: Chair: Rev. Dr. James Lawrence, Representative of Center for Swedenborgian Studies, appointed by the CSS Board of Trustees Paul Deming 2020 (2) Rev. Julie Conaron 2021 (1) Rev. Robert McCluskey 2021 (1) Ex-Offi cio (without vote): Kurt Fekete, Youth Director, Swedenborgian Church STANDING COMMITTEE FOR FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY: Chair: Treasurer, Swedenborgian Church Carl Helm 2020 (1) Marjory Leas 2020 (2) Rev. Sage Cole 2021 (1) Rev. Lisa Solwold 2021 (1) Bill Coff man 2022 (2) Stan Conger 2022 (2) Ex-Offi cio (without vote): Rev. Jane Siebert, President, Swedenborgian Church Offi cers, Standing Committees, Representatives & Committees 5 SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCH YOUTH LEAGUE (SCYL): Youth Director: Kurt Fekete President: Lauren Doppke East Coast and Service Offi cer: Jack Cadden Midwest and Public Relations Offi cer: Josh Moore West Coast and Activities Offi cer: Nathan Hamilton Canada and Fundraising Offi cer: Gillian Harnadek Communications Offi cer/CBS Editor: Liv Hackett League Chaplain: Rev. Renee Machiniak B C STANDING COMMITTEE FOR NOMINATIONS: Convention Bylaws, Article X. Sec. 4. “...There shall be a Standing Committee for Nominations of fi ve members to serve for fi ve years each; one member to be elected each year, but not from any Association from which his or her predecessor or any other member of the Committee is a member. The unexpired term of any member may be fi lled from the same Association. A member moving to another Association shall continue to serve and shall be regarded as coming from his or her former Association; but no retiring member shall be eligible for immediate reelection. Whenever possible, the Standing Committee for Nominations shall propose slates representative of the Swedenborgian Church’s overall constituency. It shall be the duty of this Standing Committee to present, at each session of the Swedenborgian Church, nominees for the Swedenborgian Church offi cers (where applicable), vacancies in the elective members of the General Council and all other Boards and Committees, unless otherwise ap- pointed. Each year the member whose term is next to expire shall act as Chair of the Committee. Chair: Rev. Dr. David Fekete WCC 2020 Linda Kraus KS 2021 Bill Coff man OH 2022 Dr.
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]
  • 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.
    [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]
  • “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]