Emanuel Swedenborg

  • Thread starter Thread starter Roman_Catholic_1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Roman_Catholic_1

Guest
Has anyone heard of this individual and if so what can you tell me about him? My wife and I were sent a very long refutation of the trinity written by him and I was just curious about who the author of the article was. I found some info on him from wikipedia but the section about his religious beliefs leaves a lot to be desired:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Swedenborg#Theology

Thanks and God bless
 
Swedenborgianism is a restorationist religion that denies the Trinity.
 
There are Swedenborg societies throughout the world. Here is the one in England:

swedenborg.org.uk/

And here is the church website:

swedenborg.org/

They are an interesting people who consider Swedenborg to be a great visionary and religious thinker.
 
ThuriferAcolyte said:
Swedenborgianism is a restorationist religion that denies the Trinity.
Click to expand...
The Swedenborgian Church and Its Teachings

The Swedenborgian church bases its teachings on the Bible as illuminated by the works of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), a Swedish scientist and theologian. Swedenborg envisioned a new Christianity coming into being, revitalized by the Spirit of the Lord.

We believe that there is one God, known by many names. We worship Jesus Christ as our Lord and our God. The Christian trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are aspects of God just as soul, body, and activities are aspects of each one of us.

swedenborg.org/beliefs.cfm

And then we have this:

Only One Divine Nature
Swedenborg asserts that Jesus Christ Himself was a manifestation of God, the Divine made flesh to enable humanity to be aware of a unique relationship with God. Prior to His Coming, God had been incomprehensible to humans beyond the capacity of our perception and understanding. Through the birth of Christ, humanity was given an overt expression of God’s reality in human terms. Christ is not seen as a separate entity, but as reflective of the multiple consciousness that is the oneness of God. There are not three divine beings comprising the trinity, but one Divine Nature in which the three aspects of God are present. Nor did Christ come to redeem us from original sin. Rather, His mission was that of revealing the nature and reality of the spiritual life, and to provide a living example of it.

swedenborg.org/tenets.cfm

Reading their site, I can see that they strive to be good people with their faith in Christ. I am sure that they would make wonderful neighbors and good friends.
 
why_me said:
The Swedenborgian Church and Its Teachings

The Swedenborgian church bases its teachings on the Bible as illuminated by the works of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), a Swedish scientist and theologian. Swedenborg envisioned a new Christianity coming into being, revitalized by the Spirit of the Lord.

We believe that there is one God, known by many names. We worship Jesus Christ as our Lord and our God. The Christian trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are aspects of God just as soul, body, and activities are aspects of each one of us.

swedenborg.org/beliefs.cfm
Click to expand...
Cool, yes this is a denial of the Trinity.
 
ThuriferAcolyte said:
Cool, yes this is a denial of the Trinity.
Click to expand...
I posted a second quotation from their site above in my editing. I think that they seem like wonder people who are striving in their own way to live a holy life. We may disagree with doctrine but not with result: good people to be sure.
 
why_me said:
I posted a second quotation from their site above in my editing. I think that they seem like wonder people who are striving in their own way to live a holy life. We may disagree with doctrine but not with result: good people to be sure.
Click to expand...
Yes, wonderful, however the OP is about the Trinity, not Swedenborgians personally.
 
Roman_Catholic said:
Has anyone heard of this individual and if so what can you tell me about him? My wife and I were sent a very long refutation of the trinity written by him and I was just curious about who the author of the article was. I found some info on him from wikipedia but the section about his religious beliefs leaves a lot to be desired:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Swedenborg#Theology

Thanks and God bless
Click to expand...
From reading some of their literature, it seems that this is a type of modalistic understanding of God, where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are “aspects” of God. They believe that the Trinity was invented at the First Council of Nicaea.
 
Roman_Catholic said:
Has anyone heard of this individual and if so what can you tell me about him? My wife and I were sent a very long refutation of the trinity written by him and I was just curious about who the author of the article was. I found some info on him from wikipedia but the section about his religious beliefs leaves a lot to be desired:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Swedenborg#Theology

Thanks and God bless
Click to expand...
What else are you looking for on Swedenborg? From the wiki page:

“In the 1730s Swedenborg became increasingly interested in spiritual matters and was determined to find a theory which would explain how matter relates to spirit. Swedenborg’s desire to understand the order and purpose of creation first led him to investigate the structure of matter and the process of creation itself. In the Principia he outlined his philosophical method, which incorporated experience, geometry (the means whereby the inner order of the world can be known), and the power of reason; and he presented his cosmology, which included the first presentation of the Nebular hypothesis”."

It seems that, at least initially, his theology began as trying to find a scientific rationale for religious views. This reminds me of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology.
 
What else are you looking for on Swedenborg?
Click to expand...
When I read anything I like to find out as much as I can about the author. When it comes to things on theology and religion I like to find out their faith traditions, if they are a member of a particular denomination so on and so forth. It looks like I have been given quite a few web-sites to accomplish this.

Thanks everyone and God bless
 
why_me said:
I posted a second quotation from their site above in my editing. I think that they seem like wonder people who are striving in their own way to live a holy life. We may disagree with doctrine but not with result: good people to be sure.
Click to expand...
A philosopy professor once remarked that when you call someone a “good person”, you are actually saying the LEAST you can say about him!

Except for a handful of those totally given over to evil, we’re all “good people”: well meaning, pet hamsters, kiss babies, sniff roses, and the like.

Even Adolph Hitler was a vegetarian who didn’t smoke or drink–and even liked dogs!

And the result of ANY of our life choices we will never know until the Last Judgement.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top