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Below we explore spiritual questions from the perspective of Emanuel Swedenborg.
Who was he? What did he have to say? Why does he get mentioned so much? Who are his readers?
Swedenborg has had a variety of both supporting and critical biographers. However, his development from scientist to mystic has greatly interested many people ever since it had occurred in the eighteenth century.
From 1745, when he considered himself to have entered a spiritual state, he applied his scientific methodology by meticulously describing his inner experiences, reporting accurately things he had subjectively noticed on his visionary journeys.
Swedenborg was able to learn his profound ideas by reflecting carefully on the words of sacred writing.
He came to believe that there is a relationship among the physical, the spiritual, and the divine and this can be seen in nature and in inspired sacred writing of the Bible.
With the aid of this scenario, he interpreted much of the Bible in a new light. He claimed that even the most apparently trivial sentences could hold a profound deeper meaning. He argued that it is the presence of this inner sense that makes the Word divine.
The relationship is shown in the vast and consistent use of Biblical confirmations in his books for his psychospiritual and theological ideas.
Some information is available below on who Swedenborg was in terms of his job, studies, vocation, inner experiences, and publications. Also his influence on other writers and the application of his ideas today for philosophy, spiritual education, and therapy.
Also available are articles that set out Swedenborg’s main spiritual principles. Included is what he said about human nature, potential inner growth of the individual, individual human destiny, the problem of innocent people suffering, his pre-Freudian account of dreams, his conscious experiences of a realm of spirit, the process of dying and what happens afterwards, his visionary experience of the universe of planets, his take on supernatural reality, an inner meaning of stories in the Bible and reasons for inconsistences, and why the Divine Being seems to be absent from the world.
Swedenborg wrote many fascinating books for those interested in profound issues. But where does one start? Which one to read first? Dr Jonathen Rose tackles this question in this 6 minutes video giving a brief summary of some of the main titles. And in his new book Garden of Theology he gives further advice. [youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG4ZF4DV_IU]
How do you know what to believe? What ideals to follow? Is it what makes sense, or what others tell you, or what you have experienced and felt? Or is it what holy scripture says? Dr Jonathen Rose tackles this issue in this short video from Outer Streams. [youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZijNGxBLSFY]
This short video briefly deals with how Swedenbrog’s ways of understanding God, Paul’s letters, and mysticism differs from that of orthodox Christianity.
It features Dr Jonathen Rose being interviewed by Andy Nesky
The idea that consciousness may exist independently of the physical body is often widely disputed from all sides and often ridiculed. In this short video Jonathan Rose describes Swedenborg’s different levels of universal awareness. There is a comment on this by Outer Streams’ interviewer Andy Nesky [youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhVdqqZHteo]
Someone suggested that if you talk to God, it’s prayer but if God talks to you, its schizophrenia. How could Swedenborg, with a European reputation as a scientist, turn to what seems like mysticism? This short video was produced by Science and the Outer Streams shows Jonathan Rose a prominent Swedenborgian scholar being interviewed by Andy Nesky about this … Continue reading Was Swedenborg a mystic?
Depressed or self-occupied? A Japanese therapy applies Swedenborg’s philosophy of usefulness. This video shows the primacy of love and shows his useful life and that of others like Helen Keller. [youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXyVw85lsHc]
Together Swedenborg’s spiritual ideas give a holistic theory – a very modern approach to human problems. By this, I mean his system of thought tackles the whole person — the heart, head and hands of daily living. Spiritual ideas of heart, head & hands Our heart is to do with what we feel and want … Continue reading Spiritual ideas of Swedenborg. Out of date?
The following video tells of several readers of Swedenborg’s books who have included Goethre, Blake, Emerson, Thomas Carlysle, John Ruskin, as well as the leaders of several social movements such as the antislavery cause, women’s rights, and the interfaith movement. [youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbexO5dGKq0]
In this video psychologist Dr Leon James answers this question using attribution theory focusing on Swedenborg’s concept of ‘as of self’ and gives a reason why not thinking about God makes what he says is the main aim of individual human life more difficult to accomplish. You might want to skip the first half minute … Continue reading Does it matter if I don’t think about God?
Swedenborg lived in the eighteenth century but many of the readers of his books think he has something to tell us today. This short video shows his experience of dying and what, according to Swedenborg, is in store for each of us after the death of the body. The speakers are some of the foremost scholars … Continue reading What is it like to die?
