Distance Learning Course (with tutorials) from Swedenborg Open Learning Centre
According to the proverb, marriages are made in heaven. How true this is, according to Swedenborg in his late-published book Conjugial Love, sometimes translated as Marriage Love. Conjugial – is it a misprint? No – Swedenborg used the Latin word conjugialis which is derived from the Latin conjugium ‘marriage’ and is distinct from conjugalis which is derived from conjux ‘a married partner’.
Conjugial Love tells us that a marriage between one man and one woman is not just a physical, external union but is also an internal union where there is a merging of minds as well as bodies.
Physical attraction may be the start of deeper feelings, but if a couple relies on the sexual aspect of their relationship to keep the marriage together, the initial thrill of the union will soon wear off and the marriage will founder.
Instead, a conjugial couple will continue to grow closer to each other as their love and their marriage develops, even when the first flush of sexual activity is past, and the couple are facing together the problems of life in the world of the 21st century.
But there is a more significant principle of the conjugial marriage. Many wedding ceremonies include the phrase “till death do us part”. But why should it all end there? In Conjugial Love Swedenborg writes that a truly conjugial relationship will continue when both partners are in heaven, and they will draw closer to each other to eternity.
This module studies the book Conjugial Love in some detail, looking at the conjugial relationship, and its opposite, the adulterous relationship. Many additional topics are covered, including human sexuality, promiscuity, concubinage and betrothal, amongst others.
This course consists of sixteen sessions. More information
