2021/03/07

에마누엘 스베덴보리 - 위키백과, Emanuel Swedenborg エマヌエル・スヴェーデンボリ

에마누엘 스베덴보리 - 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전

에마누엘 스베덴보리

위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전.
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에마누엘 스베덴보리

에마누엘 스베덴보리(스웨덴어: Emanuel Swedenborg, 1688년 1월 29일 ~ 1772년 3월 29일)는 스웨덴의 신학자이자, 과학자이다. 1734년에 태양계의 형성에 대한 가설인 성운 가설을 제창한 것으로 유명하며, 1741년에는 영적 경험을 시작한다. 그의 영적 체험은 27년간 지속되며, 그 모든 것을 35권의 신학적 저술로 남겼다. 신비주의로 알려진 스웨덴보리는 자신의 영계 체험을 신성한 계시의 수단으로 밝히지만, 자신의 저술에는 결코 신비주의적 체험을 부추기거나 옹호하지 않는다




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Emanuel Swedenborg

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Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg.PNG
Portrait of Swedenborg by Carl Frederik von Breda
Born
Emanuel Swedberg

8 February 1688
Stockholm, Swedish Empire
Died29 March 1772 (aged 84)
London, England
EducationUppsala University
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Theological work
Era18th-century
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Emanuel Swedenborg (/ˈswiːdənbɔːrɡ/,[1] Swedish: [ˈsvêːdɛnˌbɔrj] (About this soundlisten); born Emanuel Swedberg; 8 February [O.S. 29 January] 1688 – 29 March 1772)[2] was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic.[3] He became best known for his book on the afterlife, Heaven and Hell (1758).[4][5]

Swedenborg had a prolific career as an inventor and scientist. In 1741, at 53, he entered into a spiritual phase in which he began to experience dreams and visions, notably on Easter Weekend, on 6 April[6] 1744.[7] His experiences culminated in a "spiritual awakening" in which he received a revelation that Jesus Christ had appointed him to write The Heavenly Doctrine to reform Christianity.[8] According to The Heavenly Doctrine, the Lord had opened Swedenborg's spiritual eyes so that from then on, he could freely visit heaven and hell to converse with angels, demons and other spirits and the Last Judgment had already occurred the year before the 1758 publication of De Nova Hierosolyma et Ejus Doctrina Coelesti [Concerning the new Jerusalem and its heavenly doctrine], in 1757.[9]

Over the last 28 years of his life, Swedenborg wrote 18 published theological works—and several more that remained unpublished. He termed himself a "Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ" in True Christian Religion,[10] which he published himself.[11] Some followers of The Heavenly Doctrine believe that of his theological works, only those that were published by Swedenborg himself are fully divinely inspired.[12] Others have regarded all Swedenborg's theological works as equally inspired, saying for example that the fact that some works were "not written out in a final edited form for publication does not make a single statement less trustworthy than the statements in any of the other works".[13] The New Church, a new religious movement originally founded in 1787 and comprising several historically-related Christian denominations, reveres Swedenborg's writings as revelation.[14][15]

Early life[edit]

Memorial plaque at the former location of Swedenborg's house at Hornsgatan on Södermalm, Stockholm.

Swedenborg's father, Jesper Swedberg (1653–1735), descended from a wealthy mining family, the first known paternal ancestor being Otte Persson from Sundborn parish, mentioned 1571.[16] He travelled abroad and studied theology, and on returning home, he was eloquent enough to impress the Swedish king, Charles XI, with his sermons in Stockholm. Through the king's influence, he would later become professor of theology at Uppsala University and Bishop of Skara.[17][2]

Jesper took an interest in the beliefs of the dissenting Lutheran Pietist movement, which emphasised the virtues of communion with God rather than relying on sheer faith (sola fide).[18] Sola fide is a tenet of the Lutheran Church, and Jesper was charged with being a pietist heretic. While controversial, the beliefs were to have a major impact on his son Emanuel's spirituality. Jesper furthermore held the unconventional belief that angels and spirits were present in everyday life. This also came to have a strong impact on Emanuel.[17][2][19]

In 1703–1709, Swedenborg lived in Erik Benzelius the Younger's house. Swedenborg completed his university course at Uppsala in 1709, and in 1710, he made his grand tour through the Netherlands, France and Germany before reaching London, where he would spend the next four years. It was also a flourishing centre of scientific ideas and discoveries. Swedenborg studied physics, mechanics and philosophy and read and wrote poetry. According to the preface of a book by the Swedish critic Olof Lagercrantz, Swedenborg wrote to his benefactor and brother-in-law Benzelius that he believed he might be destined to be a great scientist.[20][21]

Scientific period[edit]

The Flying Machine, sketched in his notebook from 1714. The operator would sit in the middle and paddle himself through the air.[22] p. 32, or on the video clip at 5:48 on its timeline.[23]

In 1715 Swedenborg returned to Sweden, where he devoted himself to natural science and engineering projects for the next two decades. A first step was his meeting with King Charles XII of Sweden in the city of Lund, in 1716. The Swedish inventor Christopher Polhem, who became a close friend of Swedenborg, was also present. Swedenborg's purpose was to persuade the king to fund an observatory in northern Sweden. However, the warlike king did not consider this project important enough, but did appoint Swedenborg to be assessor-extraordinary on the Swedish Board of Mines (Bergskollegium) in Stockholm.[24]

From 1716 to 1718, Swedenborg published a scientific periodical entitled Daedalus Hyperboreus ("The Northern Daedalus"), a record of mechanical and mathematical inventions and discoveries. One notable description was that of a flying machine, the same he had been sketching a few years earlier.[21]

In 1718, Swedenborg published an article that attempted to explain spiritual and mental events in terms of minute vibrations, or "tremulations".

Upon the death of Charles XII, Queen Ulrika Eleonora ennobled Swedenborg and his siblings. It was common in Sweden during the 17th and 18th centuries for the children of bishops to receive that honor, as a recognition of the services of their father. The family name was changed from Swedberg to Swedenborg.[25]

In 1724, he was offered the chair of mathematics at Uppsala University, but he declined and said that he had dealt mainly with geometry, chemistry and metallurgy during his career. He also said that he did not have the gift of eloquent speech because of a stutter, as recognized by many of his acquaintances; it forced him to speak slowly and carefully, and there are no known occurrences of his speaking in public.[26] The Swedish critic Olof Lagerkrantz proposed that Swedenborg compensated for his impediment by extensive argumentation in writing.[27]

New direction of studies ahead of his time[edit]

During the 1730s, Swedenborg undertook many studies of anatomy and physiology. He had the first known anticipation of the neuron concept.[28] It was not until a century later that science recognized the full significance of the nerve cell. He also had prescient ideas about the cerebral cortex, the hierarchical organization of the nervous system, the localization of the cerebrospinal fluid, the functions of the pituitary gland, the perivascular spaces, the foramen of Magendie, the idea of somatotopic organization, and the association of frontal brain regions with the intellect. In some cases, his conclusions have been experimentally verified in modern times.[29][30][31][32][33]

In the 1730s, Swedenborg became increasingly interested in spiritual matters and was determined to find a theory to explain how matter relates to spirit. Swedenborg's desire to understand the order and the 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 by which the inner order of the world can be known) and the power of reason. He also outlined his cosmology, which included the first presentation of his nebular hypothesis. (There is evidence that Swedenborg may have preceded Kant by as much as 20 years in the development of that hypothesis.[34])

In 1735, in Leipzig, he published a three-volume work, Opera philosophica et mineralis ("Philosophical and mineralogical works") in which he tried to conjoin philosophy and metallurgy. The work was mainly appreciated for its chapters on the analysis of the smelting of iron and copper, and it was the work that gave Swedenborg his international reputation.[35] The same year, he also published the small manuscript de Infinito ("On the Infinite") in which he attempted to explain how the finite is related to the infinite and how the soul is connected to the body. It was the first manuscript in which he touched upon such matters. He knew that it might clash with established theologies since he presented the view that the soul is based on material substances.[36][37] He also conducted dedicated studies of the fashionable philosophers of the time such as John Locke, Christian von Wolff, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and Descartes and earlier thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus and Augustine of Hippo.[38]

In 1743, at the age of 55, Swedenborg requested a leave of absence to go abroad. His purpose was to gather source material for Regnum animale (The Animal Kingdom, or Kingdom of Life), a subject on which books were not readily available in Sweden. The aim of the book was to explain the soul from an anatomical point of view. He had planned to produce a total of 17 volumes.[39]

Journal of Dreams[edit]

By 1744, Swedenborg had traveled to the Netherlands. Around the time, he began having strange dreams. Swedenborg carried a travel journal with him on most of his travels and did so on this journey. The whereabouts of the diary were long unknown, but it was discovered in the Royal Library in the 1850s and was published in 1859 as Drömboken, or Journal of Dreams.

Swedenborg experienced many different dreams and visions, some greatly pleasurable, others highly disturbing.[40] The experiences continued as he traveled to London to progress the publication of Regnum animale. This process, which one biographer has proposed as cathartic and comparable to the Catholic concept of Purgatory,[41] continued for six months. He also proposed that what Swedenborg was recording in his Journal of Dreams was a battle between the love of himself and the love of God.[42]

Visions and spiritual insights[edit]

In the last entry of the journal from 26–27 October 1744, Swedenborg appears to be clear as to which path to follow. He felt that he should drop his current project and write a new book about the worship of God. He soon began working on De cultu et amore Dei, or The Worship and Love of God. It was never fully completed, but Swedenborg still had it published in London in June 1745.[43]

In 1745, Swedenborg was dining in a private room at a tavern in London. By the end of the meal, a darkness fell upon his eyes, and the room shifted character. Suddenly, he saw a person sitting at a corner of the room, telling him: "Do not eat too much!". Swedenborg, scared, hurried home. Later that night, the same man appeared in his dreams. The man told Swedenborg that he was the Lord, that he had appointed Swedenborg to reveal the spiritual meaning of the Bible and that he would guide Swedenborg in what to write. The same night, the spiritual world was opened to Swedenborg.[44][45]

Scriptural commentary and writings[edit]

Arcana Cœlestia, first edition (1749), title page

In June 1747, Swedenborg resigned his post as assessor of the board of mines. He explained that he was obliged to complete a work that he had begun and requested to receive half his salary as a pension.[46] He took up afresh his study of Hebrew and began to work on the spiritual interpretation of the Bible with the goal of interpreting the spiritual meaning of every verse. From sometime between 1746 and 1747 and for ten years henceforth, he devoted his energy to the task. Usually abbreviated as Arcana Cœlestia or under the Latin variant Arcana Caelestia[47] (translated as Heavenly Arcana, Heavenly Mysteries, or Secrets of Heaven depending on modern English-language editions), the book became his magnum opus and the basis of his further theological works.[48]

The work was anonymous, and Swedenborg was not identified as the author until the late 1750s. It had eight volumes, published between 1749 and 1756. It attracted little attention, as few people could penetrate its meaning.[49][50]

His life from 1747 to his death was spent in Stockholm, the Netherlands and London. During the 25 years, he wrote another 14 works of a spiritual nature; most were published during his lifetime.

One of Swedenborg's lesser-known works presents a startling claim: that the Last Judgment had begun in the previous year (1757) and was completed by the end of that year[51] and that he had witnessed it.[52] According to The Heavenly Doctrine, the Last Judgment took place not in the physical world but in the World of Spirits, halfway between heaven and hell, through which all pass on their way to heaven or hell.[53] The Judgment took place because the Christian church had lost its charity and faith, resulting in a loss of spiritual free will that threatened the equilibrium between heaven and hell in everyone's life.[54][a]

The Heavenly Doctrine also teaches that the Last Judgement was followed by the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which occurred not by Christ in person but by a revelation from him through the inner, spiritual sense of the Word[55] through Swedenborg.[56]

In another of his theological works, Swedenborg wrote that eating meat, regarded in itself, "is something profane" and was not practiced in the early days of the human race. However, he said, it now is a matter of conscience, and no one is condemned for doing it.[57] Nonetheless, the early-days ideal appears to have given rise to the idea that Swedenborg was a vegetarian. That conclusion may have been reinforced by the fact that a number of Swedenborg's early followers were part of the vegetarian movement that arose in Britain in the 19th century.[58] However, the only reports on Swedenborg himself are contradictory. His landlord in London, Shearsmith, said he ate no meat, but his maid, who served Swedenborg, said that he ate eels and pigeon pie.[59]

In Earths in the Universe, it is stated that he conversed with spirits from Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Venus and the Moon as well as spirits from planets beyond the solar system.[60] From the "encounters", he concluded that the planets of our solar system are inhabited and that such an enormous undertaking as the universe could not have been created for just one race on a planet or one "Heaven" derived from its properties per planet. Many Heavenly societies were also needed to increase the perfection of the angelic Heavens and Heaven to fill in deficiencies and gaps in other societies. He argued: "What would this be to God, Who is infinite, and to whom a thousand or tens of thousands of planets, and all of them full of inhabitants, would be scarcely anything!"[61] Swedenborg and the question of life on other planets has been extensively reviewed elsewhere.[62]

Swedenborg published his work in London or the Netherlands because of their freedom of the press.[63][64]

Swedenborg's crypt in Uppsala Cathedral

In July 1770, at the age of 82, he traveled to Amsterdam to complete the publication of his last work. The book, Vera Christiana Religio (The True Christian Religion), was published there in 1771 and was one of the most appreciated of his works. Designed to explain his teachings to Lutherans, it is the most concrete of his works.[65]

Later life[edit]

In the summer of 1771, he traveled to London. Shortly before Christmas, he suffered a stroke and was partially paralyzed and confined to bed. His health improved somewhat, but he died in 1772. There are several accounts of his last months, made by those with whom he stayed and by Arvid Ferelius, a pastor of the Swedish Church in London, who visited him several times.[66]

There is evidence that Swedenborg wrote a letter to John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in February. Swedenborg said that he had been told in the world of spirits that Wesley wanted to speak with him.[67] Wesley, startled since he had not told anyone of his interest in Swedenborg, replied that he was going on a journey for six months and would contact Swedenborg on his return. Swedenborg replied that that would be too late since Swedenborg would be going to the spiritual world for the last time on March 29.[68] (Wesley later read and commented extensively on Swedenborg's work.)[69] Swedenborg's landlord's servant girl, Elizabeth Reynolds, also said that Swedenborg had predicted the date and that he was as happy about it as if he was "going on holiday or to some merrymaking":[70]

In Swedenborg's final hours, his friend, Pastor Ferelius, told him some people thought he had written his theology just to make a name for himself and asked Swedenborg if he would like to recant. Raising himself up on his bed, his hand on his heart, Swedenborg earnestly replied,

"As truly as you see me before your eyes, so true is everything that I have written; and I could have said more had it been permitted. When you enter eternity you will see everything, and then you and I shall have much to talk about".[71]

He then died, in the afternoon, on the date he had predicted, March 29.[71]

Swedenborg House in London

He was buried in the Swedish Church in Princes Square in Shadwell, London. On the 140th anniversary of his death, in 1912/1913, his remains were transferred to Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden, where they now rest close to the grave of the botanist Carl Linnaeus. In 1917, the Swedish Church in Shadwell was demolished, and the Swedish community that had grown around the parish moved to Marylebone. In 1938, Princes Square was redeveloped, and in his honor the local road was renamed Swedenborg Gardens. In 1997, a garden, play area and memorial, near the road, were created in his memory.[72][73][74]

Veracity[edit]

Swedenborg's transition from scientist to revelator or mystic has fascinated many people. He has had a variety of both supporting and critical biographers.[75] Some propose that he did not have a revelation at all but developed his theological ideas from sources which ranged from his father to earlier figures in the history of thought, notably Plotinus. That position was first taken by Swedish writer Martin Lamm who wrote a biography of Swedenborg in 1915.[76][b] Swedish critic and publicist Olof Lagercrantz had a similar point of view, calling Swedenborg's theological writing "a poem about a foreign country with peculiar laws and customs".[77]

Swedenborg's approach to proving the veracity of his theological teachings was to use voluminous quotations from the Old Testament and the New Testament to demonstrate agreement with the Bible, and this is found throughout his theological writings, since he rejected blind faith and declared true faith to be an internal acknowledgement of the truth. The vast use of these Biblical confirmations led a Swedish Royal Council in 1771 to examine the heresy charges of 1770 against two Swedish supporters of his theological writings: "there is much that is true and useful in Swedenborg's writings".[78][clarification needed] Victor Hugo felt that Swedenborg had "lapsed into madness" in Chapter 14 of Les Misérables.

Scientific beliefs[edit]

Swedenborg proposed many scientific ideas during his lifetime. In his youth, he wanted to present a new idea every day, as he wrote to his brother-in-law Erik Benzelius in 1718. Around 1730, he had changed his mind, and instead believed that higher knowledge is not something that can be acquired, but that it is based on intuition. After 1745, he instead considered himself receiving scientific knowledge in a spontaneous manner from angels.[79]

From 1745, when he considered himself to have entered a spiritual state, he tended to phrase his "experiences" in empirical terms, to report accurately things he had experienced on his spiritual journeys.

One of his ideas that is considered most crucial for the understanding of his theology is his notion of correspondences. But, in fact, he first presented the theory of correspondences only in 1744, in the first volume of Regnum Animale dealing with the human soul.[21]

The basis of the correspondence theory is that there is a relationship among the natural ("physical"), the spiritual, and the divine worlds. The foundations of this theory can be traced to Neoplatonism and the philosopher Plotinus in particular. With the aid of this scenario, Swedenborg now interpreted the Bible in a different light, claiming that even the most apparently trivial sentences could hold a profound spiritual meaning.[80] Swedenborg argued that it is the presence of that spiritual sense which makes the Word divine.[81]

Prophetic accounts[edit]

Four incidents of purported psychic ability of Swedenborg exist in the literature.[82] There are several versions of each story.

Fire anecdotes[edit]

On Thursday, 19 July 1759 a great and well-documented fire broke out in Stockholm, Sweden.[c][83][84][85] In the high and increasing wind it spread very fast, consuming about 300 houses and making 2000 people homeless.[83]

When the fire broke out Swedenborg was at a dinner with friends in Gothenburg, about 400 km from Stockholm. He became agitated and told the party at six o'clock that there was a fire in Stockholm, that it had consumed his neighbor's home and was threatening his own. Two hours later, he exclaimed with relief that the fire had stopped three doors from his home. In the excitement following his report, word even reached the ears of the provincial governor, who summoned Swedenborg that same evening and asked for a detailed recounting.

At that time, it took two to three days for news from Stockholm to reach Gothenburg by courier, so that is the shortest duration in which the news of the fire could reach Gothenburg. The first messenger from Stockholm with news of the fire was from the Board of Trade, who arrived Monday evening. The second messenger was a royal courier, who arrived on Tuesday. Both of these reports confirmed every statement to the precise hour that Swedenborg first expressed the information. The accounts are fully described in Bergquist, pp. 312–313 and in Chapter 31 of The Swedenborg Epic.[86][87] According to Swedenborg's biographer Lars Bergquist, however, this event took place on Sunday, July 29 – ten days after the fire.[88]

(Bergquist states, but does not document, that Swedenborg confirmed his vision of the fire incident to his good friend, Consul Christopher Springer, "one of the pillars of the church, ... a man of enviable reputation for virtue and intelligence",[89] and that Swedenborg's innkeeper, Erik Bergström, heard Swedenborg affirming the story.[90])

It seems unlikely that the many witnesses to Swedenborg's distress during the fire, and his immediate report of it to the provincial governor,[91][92] would have left room for doubt in the public eye of Swedenborg's report. If Swedenborg had only received news of the fire by the normal methods there would have been no issue of psychic perception recorded for history. Instead, "when the news of Swedenborg's extraordinary vision of the fire reached the capital, public curiosity about him was very much aroused."[93]

A second fire anecdote, similar to the first one, but less cited, is the incident of the mill owner Bolander. Swedenborg warned him, again abruptly, of an incipient fire in one of his mills.[94]

Queen of Sweden[edit]

The third event was in 1758 when Swedenborg visited Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden, who asked him to tell her something about her deceased brother Prince Augustus William of Prussia. The next day, Swedenborg whispered something in her ear that turned the Queen pale and she explained that this was something only she and her brother could know about.[95][d]

Lost document[edit]

The fourth incident involved a woman who had lost an important document, and came to Swedenborg asking if a recently deceased person could tell him where it was, which he (in some sources) was said to have done the following night.[e]

Although not typically cited along with these three episodes, there was one further piece of evidence: Swedenborg was noted by the seamen of the ships that he sailed between Stockholm and London to always have excellent sailing conditions.[96] When asked about this by a friend, Swedenborg played down the matter, saying he was surprised by this experience himself and that he was certainly not able to do miracles.[96]

Kant's view[edit]

Immanuel Kant (pictured) wrote Dreams of a Spirit-Seer, a methodical investigation of Swedenborg's claims.

In 1763, Immanuel Kant, then at the beginning of his career, was impressed by accounts of Swedenborg's psychic abilities and made inquiries to find out if they were true. He also ordered all eight volumes of the expensive Arcana Cœlestia (Heavenly Arcana or Heavenly Mysteries). One Charlotte von Knobloch wrote to Kant asking his opinion of Swedenborg's psychic experiences.[97][f] Kant wrote a very affirmative reply, referring to Swedenborg's "miraculous" gift, and characterizing him as "reasonable, agreeable, remarkable and sincere" and "a scholar", in one of his letters to Mendelssohn,[98] and expressing regret that he (Kant) had never met Swedenborg.[99][100] Joseph Green, his English friend, who investigated the matter for Kant, including by visiting Swedenborg's home, found Swedenborg to be a "sensible, pleasant and openhearted" man and here again, a scholar.[101]

However, three years later, in 1766, Kant wrote and published anonymously a small book entitled Träume eines Geistersehers (Dreams of a Spirit-Seer)[102] that was a scathing critique of Swedenborg and his writings. He termed Swedenborg a "spook hunter"[103] "without official office or occupation".[104] As rationale for his critique, Kant said he wanted to stop "ceaseless questioning"[105] and inquiries about Dreams from "inquisitive" persons, both known and unknown.[106] Kant's friend Moses Mendelssohn thought there was a "joking pensiveness" in Dreams that sometimes left the reader in doubt as to whether Dreams was meant to make "metaphysics laughable or spirit-seeking credible".[107] In one of his letters to Mendelssohn, Kant refers to Dreams less-than-enthusiastically as a "desultory little essay".[108]

Kant never closed off the possibility of mysticism or spirits in Dreams of a Spirit-Seer, and the exact relationship of his thought to Swedenborg's remains unclear, according to contemporary scholars.[109]

Theology[edit]

Swedenborg at the age of 75, holding the soon to be published manuscript of Apocalypse Revealed (1766)

Swedenborg claimed in The Heavenly Doctrine that the teachings of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ were revealed to him.[110]

Swedenborg considered his theology a revelation of the true Christian religion that had become obfuscated through centuries of theology. However, he did not refer to his writings as theology since he considered it based on actual experiences, unlike theology,[21] except in the title of his last work. Neither did he wish to compare it to philosophy, a discipline he discarded in 1748 because, he claimed, it "darkens the mind, blinds us, and wholly rejects the faith".[111]

The foundation of Swedenborg's theology was laid down in Arcana Cœlestia (Heavenly Mysteries), published in eight Latin volumes from 1749 to 1756. In a significant portion of that work, he interprets the Biblical passages of Genesis and Exodus. He reviews what he says is the inner spiritual sense of these two works of the Word of God. (He later made a similar review of the inner sense of the book of Revelation in Apocalypse Revealed.[112]) Most of all, he was convinced that the Bible describes a human's transformation from a materialistic to a spiritual being, which he calls rebirth or regeneration. He begins this work by outlining how the creation myth was not an account of the creation of Earth, but an account of man's rebirth or regeneration in six steps represented by the six days of creation. Everything related to mankind in the Bible could also be related to Jesus Christ, and how Christ freed himself from materialistic boundaries through the glorification of his human presence by making it Divine. Swedenborg examines this idea in his exposition of Genesis and Exodus.[113]

Marriage[edit]

One often discussed aspect of Swedenborg's writing is his ideas on marriage. Swedenborg himself remained a bachelor all his life, but that did not hinder him from writing voluminously on the subject. His work on Marriage Love (Conjugial Love[g] in older translations) (1768) was dedicated to this purpose.[114]

A central question with regard to marriage is whether it stops at death or continues into heaven. The question arises due to a statement attributed to Jesus that there is no marriage in heaven (Luke 20:27–38, Matthew 22:23–32, and Mark 12:18–27). Swedenborg wrote The Lord God Jesus Christ on Marriage in Heaven as a detailed analysis of what he meant.[115]

The quality of the relationship between husband and wife resumes in the spiritual world in whatever state it was at their death in this world. Thus, a couple in true marriage love remain together in that state in heaven into eternity. A couple lacking in that love by one or both partners, however, will separate after death and each will be given a compatible new partner if they wish. A partner is also given to a person who loved the ideal of marriage but never found a true partner in this world. The exception in both cases is a person who hates chaste marriage and thus cannot receive such a partner.[116]

Swedenborg saw creation as a series of pairings, descending from the Divine love and wisdom[117] that define God and are the basis of creation. This duality can be seen in the pairing of good and truth,[118] charity and faith,[119] God and the church,[120] and husband and wife.[121] In each case, the goal for these pairs is to achieve conjunction between the two component parts. In the case of marriage, the object is to bring about the joining together of the two partners at the spiritual and physical levels, and the happiness that comes as a consequence.

Trinity[edit]

Swedenborg rejected the common explanation of the Trinity as a Trinity of Persons, which he said was not taught in the early Christian church. There was, for instance, no mention in the Apostolic writings of any "Son from eternity".[122] Instead he explained in his theological writings how the Divine Trinity exists in One Person, in One God, the Lord Jesus Christ, which he said is taught in Colossians 2:9. According to The Heavenly Doctrine, Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world due to the spread of evil here.[123][124][125][126]

Swedenborg spoke in virtually all his works against what he regarded as the incomprehensible Trinity of Persons concept. He said that people of other religions opposed Christianity because of its doctrine of a Trinity of Persons. He considered the separation of the Trinity into three separate Persons to have originated with the First Council of Nicaea and the Athanasian Creed.[citation needed]

Sola Fide (Faith Alone)[edit]

The Heavenly Doctrine rejects the concept of salvation through faith-alone (sola-fide in Latin), since he considered both faith and charity necessary for salvation, not one without the other, whereas the Reformers taught that faith-alone procured justification, although it must be a faith which resulted in obedience. The purpose of faith, according to The Heavenly Doctrine, is to lead a person to a life according to the truths of faith, which is charity, as is taught in 1 Corinthians 13:13 and James 2:20.

In other words, Swedenborg spoke sharply against the faith-alone doctrine of Luther and others. He held that justification before God was not based solely upon some imputed righteousness before God, and was not achievable merely by a gift of God's grace (sola gratia), granted without any basis in a person's actual behavior in life. Sola-fide was a doctrine averred by Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli and others during the Protestant Reformation, and was a core belief especially in the theology of the Lutheran reformers Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon.

Although the sola-fide doctrine of the Reformers also emphasized that saving faith was one that effected works[127] (by faith-alone, but not by a faith which is alone), Swedenborg protested against faith-alone being the instrument of justification, and held that salvation is only possible through the conjunction of faith and charity in a person, and that the purpose of faith is to lead a person to live according to the truths of faith, which is charity. He further states that faith and charity must be exercised by doing good out of willing good whenever possible, which are good works or good uses or the conjunction perishes. In one section he wrote:

It is very evident from their Epistles that it never entered the mind of any of the apostles that the church of this day would separate faith from charity by teaching that faith-alone justifies and saves apart from the works of the law, and that charity therefore cannot be conjoined with faith, since faith is from God, and charity, so far as it is expressed in works, is from man. But this separation and division were introduced into the Christian church when it divided God into three persons, and ascribed to each equal Divinity.

— True Christian Religion, section 355[128]

Later history[edit]

Swedenborg made no attempt to found a church.[129][130] A few years after his death – 15 by one estimate[131] – for the most part in England, small reading groups formed to study his teachings.[132] As one scholar states, The Heavenly Doctrine particularly appealed to the various dissenting groups that sprang up in the first half of the 18th century who were "surfeited with revivalism and narrow-mindedness" and found his optimism and comprehensive explanations appealing.[133]

A variety of important cultural figures, both writers and artists, were influenced by Swedenborg's writings, including Robert Frost,[134] Johnny Appleseed, William Blake, Jorge Luis Borges, Daniel Burnham, Arthur Conan Doyle,[135] Ralph Waldo Emerson,[136] John Flaxman, George Inness, Henry James Sr., Carl Jung,[137] Immanuel Kant, Honoré de Balzac, Helen Keller, Czesław Miłosz, August Strindberg, D. T. Suzuki, and W. B. Yeats. His philosophy had a great impact on the Duke of Södermanland, later King Carl XIII, who as the Grand Master of Swedish Freemasonry (Svenska Frimurare Orden) built its unique system of degrees and wrote its rituals. In contrast, one of the most prominent Swedish authors of Swedenborg's day, Johan Henric Kellgren, called Swedenborg "nothing but a fool".[h] A heresy trial was initiated in Sweden in 1768 against Swedenborg writings and two men who promoted them.[i]

In the two and a half centuries since Swedenborg's death, various interpretations of his theology have been made, and he has also been scrutinized in biographies and psychological studies.[139][j] Swedenborg, with his claimed new dispensation, has been considered by some to suffer from mental illness.[k][140][l] While the insanity explanation was not uncommon during Swedenborg's own time, it is mitigated by his activity in the Swedish Riddarhuset (the House of the Nobility), the Riksdag (the Swedish parliament), and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Additionally, the system of thought in his theological writings is considered by some to be remarkably coherent.[141] Furthermore, he was characterized by his contemporaries as a "kind and warm-hearted man", "amiable in his meeting with the public", speaking "easily and naturally of his spiritual experiences",[142][143][144] with pleasant and interesting conversation. An English friend of Kant's who visited Swedenborg at Kant's behest described Swedenborg as a "reasonable, pleasant and candid man and scholar".[145] Of note here is Swedenborg's statement that he was commanded by the Lord to publish his writings and "Do not believe that without this express command I would have thought of publishing things which I knew in advance would make me look ridiculous and many people would think lies".[146]

Works[edit]

Copies of the original Latin version in which Swedenborg wrote his revelation are available from the following sources.[147][148]

List of referenced works by Swedenborg and the year they were first published.[149][150]

Within parenthesis is the common name used in a New Church listing[151] Then follows the title in its original publication. All the titles listed were published by Swedenborg, except one, The Spiritual Diary, which was not.[152] Various minor reports and tracts have been omitted from the list.

  • 1716–1718, (Daedalus Hyperboreus) Swedish: Daedalus Hyperboreus, eller några nya mathematiska och physicaliska försök. (English: The Northern inventor, or some new experiments in mathematics and physics)
  • 1721, (Principles of Chemistry) Latin: Prodromus principiorum rerum naturalium: sive novorum tentaminum chymiam et physicam experimenta geometrice explicandi
  • 1722, (Miscellaneous Observations) Latin: Miscellanea de Rebus Naturalibus
  • 1734, (Principia) Latin: Opera Philosophica et Mineralia (English: Philosophical and Mineralogical Works), three volumes
    • (Principia, Volume I) Latin: Tomus I. Principia rerum naturlium sive novorum tentaminum phaenomena mundi elementaris philosophice explicandi
    • (Principia, Volume II) Latin: Tomus II. Regnum subterraneum sive minerale de ferro
    • (Principia, Volume III) Latin: Tomus III. Regnum subterraneum sive minerale de cupro et orichalco
  • 1734, (The Infinite and Final Cause of Creation) Latin: Prodromus Philosophiz Ratiocinantis de Infinito, et Causa Finali Creationis; deque Mechanismo Operationis Animae et Corporis.
  • 1744–1745, (The Animal Kingdom) Latin: Regnum animale, 3 volumes
  • 1745, (The Worship and Love of God) Latin: De Cultu et Amore Dei, 2 volumes
  • 1749–1756, (Arcana Cœlestia (or Caelestia) (Heavenly Mysteries) Latin: Arcana Cœlestia, quae in Scriptura Sacra seu Verbo Domini sunt, detecta, 8 volumes
  • 1758, (Heaven and Hell) Latin: De Caelo et Ejus Mirabilibus et de inferno. Ex Auditis et Visis.
  • 1758, (The Last Judgment) Latin: De Ultimo Judicio
  • 1758, (The White Horse) Latin: De Equo Albo de quo in Apocalypsi Cap. XIX.
  • 1758, (Earths in the Universe) Latin: De Telluribus in Mundo Nostro Solari, quæ vocantur planetæ: et de telluribus in coelo astrifero: deque illarum incolis; tum de spiritibus & angelis ibi; ex auditis & visis.
  • 1758, (The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine) Latin: De Nova Hierosolyma et Ejus Doctrina Coelesti
  • 1763, (Doctrine of the Lord) Latin:Doctrina Novæ Hierosolymæ de Domino.
  • 1763, (Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture) Latin: Doctrina Novæ Hierosolymæ de Scriptura Sacra.
  • 1763, (Doctrine of Life) Latin: Doctrina Vitæ pro Nova Hierosolyma ex præceptis Decalogi.
  • 1763, (Doctrine of Faith) Latin: Doctrina Novæ Hierosolymæ de Fide.
  • 1763, (Continuation of The Last Judgement) Latin: Continuatio De Ultimo Judicio: et de mundo spirituali.
  • 1763, (Divine Love and Wisdom) Latin: Sapientia Angelica de Divino Amore et de Divina Sapientia. Sapientia Angelica de Divina Providentia.
  • 1764, (Divine Providence) Latin: Sapientia Angelica de Divina Providentia.
  • 1766, (Apocalypse Revealed) Latin: Apocalypsis Revelata, in quae detegunter Arcana quae ibi preedicta sunt.
  • 1768, (Conjugial Love, or Marriage Love) Latin: Deliciae Sapientiae de Amore Conjugiali; post quas sequumtur voluptates insaniae de amore scortatorio.
  • 1769, (Brief Exposition) Latin: Summaria Expositio Doctrinæ Novæ Ecclesiæ, quæ per Novam Hierosolymam in Apocalypsi intelligitur.
  • 1769, (Interaction of the Soul and the Body) Latin: De Commercio Animæ & Corporis.
  • 1771, (True Christian Religion) Latin: Vera Christiana Religio, continens Universam Theologiam Novae Ecclesiae
  • 1859, Drömboken, Journalanteckningar(Journal of Dreams), 1743–1744
  • 1983–1997, (Spiritual Diary) Latin: Diarum, Ubi Memorantur Experientiae Spirituales.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ For an extensive explanation of the inner spiritual sense of the book of the Apocalypse, see Swedenborg, E. The Apocalypse Revealed Wherein are Disclosed the Arcana Foretold Which Have Hitherto Remained Concealed (Swedenborg Foundation, 1928).
  2. ^ The citation "Bergquist (1999)" is used here repeatedly but appears to contain mislabelled quotations. See the "Talk" section of this page under the heading "Bergquist footnote problem".
  3. ^ The accounts are fully described in Bergquist, pp. 312–313 and in Chapter 31 of The Swedenborg Epic. The primary source for these accounts is a letter from Immanuel Kant in 1768 and the Swedenborg collection by Tafel (see Further reading).
  4. ^ According to Bergquist (1999), pp. 314–315, There are several different accounts of the events which makes it difficult to conclude the exact details of the event. Carl Robsahm (see reference) reports the story in this way.
  5. ^ According to Bergquist (1999), p. 316, there are some ten different reports of this event. There are two trustworthy descriptions, one by Robsahm (writing down Swedenborg's own description) and one by a priest who enquired of the woman in a letter fifteen years later.
  6. ^ This letter is further discussed in Laywine, A., "Kant's Early Metaphysics". North American Kant Society Studies in Philosophy, volume 3 (Atascadero, California: Ridgeview Publishing Company, 1993), pp. 72–74.
  7. ^ "conjugial" should not be confused with "conjugal", the general term for marriage.
  8. ^ Johan Henrik Kellgren published an often quoted satirical poem entitled Man äger ej snille för det man är galen ("You Own Not Genius For That You are Mad") in 1787. See Jonsson, Inge, Swedenborg och Linné, in Delblanc & Lönnroth (1999). (Link to the full poem, in Swedish)
  9. ^ The trial in 1768 was against Gabrial Beyer and Johan Rosén and was essentially concerned whether Swedenborg's theological writings were consistent with Christian doctrine. A royal ordinance in 1770 declared that writings were "clearly mistaken" and should not be taught. Swedenborg then begged the King for grace and protection in a letter from Amsterdam. A new investigation against Swedenborg stalled and was eventually dropped in 1778.[138]
  10. ^ See "Sources" and "Further reading" sections, below.
  11. ^ Johan Henrik Kellgren published an often quoted satirical poem entitled Man äger ej snille för det man är galen (You Own Not Genius For That You are Mad) in 1787. See Jonsson, Inge, Swedenborg och Linné, in Delblanc & Lönnroth (1999). (Link to the full poem, in Swedish)
  12. ^ This subject is touched on in the preface of Bergquist (1999), who mentions the biography by Martin Lamm (originally published in 1917) and its focus on the similarities of Swedenborg's scientific and theological lives. He mentions an earlier biography by the Swedish physician Emil Kleen who concluded that Swedenborg was blatantly mad, suffering "paranoia and hallucinations. A similar conclusion was proposed more recently by psychiatrist John Johnson in "Henry Maudsley on Swedenborg's messianic psychosis", British Journal of Psychiatry 165:690–691 (1994), who wrote that Swedenborg suffered hallucinations of "acute schizophrenia or epileptic psychosis". Another contemporary critique, Foote-Smith E, Smith TJ. Emanuel Swedenborg. Epilepsia 1996 Feb; 37(2):211-8, proposed that Swedenborg suffered from Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. For a detailed review of these two articles, see the special issue of the academic journal The New Philosophy The Madness Hypothesis.)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Swedenborg". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c Grieve, Alexander James (1911). "Swedenborg, Emanuel" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 221.
  3. ^ Cooper, Glen M. (2014). Swedenborg, Emanuel. Encyclopædia Britannica. Bibcode:2014bea..book.2110C. Retrieved 9 September2011. and the Encyclopedia of Religion (1987), which starts its article with the description that he was a "Swedish scientist and mystic". Others have not used the term[which?] such as Williams-Hogan, Jane (2005) in Encyclopedia of Religion Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Swedenborg, E. Heaven and its Wonders and Hell. From Things Heard and Seen (Swedenborg Foundation, 1946)". Swedenborgdigitallibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  5. ^ Bergquist, Preface (pp. 15–16)
  6. ^ Compare: Easter Sunday 1744 = Wednesday, March 25, 1744 (Gregorian calendar)
  7. ^ Vardy, Peter; Vardy, Charlotte (2013). God Matters (reprint ed.). London: SCM Press. p. 163. ISBN 9780334043928. Retrieved 23 January 2021. Emanuel Swedenborg [...] entered into a spiritual phase of life at the age of 53 in 1741. He had a series of dreams and visions, culminating in an 'awakening' at Easter 1744, after which Swedenborg felt that he was free to visit heaven and hell and to talk with spirits, angels and demons.
  8. ^ See Swedenborg, E. The Heavenly Doctrine
  9. ^ Swedenborg, E. The Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed. All the Predictions in the Apocalypse are at This Day Fulfilled. (Swedenborg Foundation 1952, Paragraphs 1–74) Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  10. ^ "The True Christian Religion, Containing the Universal Theology of The New Church Foretold by the Lord in Daniel 7; 13, 14; and in Revelation 21; 1, 2, by Emanuel Swedenborg". Swedenborgdigitallibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  11. ^ "Which of Swedenborg's books are Divine revelation?". Swedenborgdigitallibrary.org. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  12. ^ See "Which of Swedenborg's books are Divine revelation?"
  13. ^ Odhner, Carl Theophilus (1912). ""Diary" and the Spiritual Body". New Church Life: 298.
  14. ^ "Swedenborgianism (New Church)". September 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  15. ^ New Jerusalem Church (1788). Reasons for separating from the old church. : In answer to a letter received from certain persons in Manchester, who profess to believe in the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church, as contained in the theological writings of the Late Hon. Emanuel Swedenborg, and yet remain in the external forms of doctrine and worship now in use in old church, not withstanding their direct opposition to the heavenly doctrines of the new church. To which are added, sundry passages from E. Swedenborg, on which the expediency, and even necessity, of a complete separation from the former church, is founded. By the Members of the New Jerusalem Church, who assemble in Great East-Cheap, London. R. Hindmarsh. OCLC 508967814.
  16. ^ "Riddarhuset – Ätte- och vapendatabas – Swedenborg". 2017-06-04.
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b (in Swedish) Nordisk familjebok, 2nd edition (Ugglan) article Svedberg, Jesper (1918)
  18. ^ Svedberg's pietistic interests are described in Bergquist (1999), pp. 230–232.
  19. ^ Martin Lamm (1978 [1915]; pp.1–19) notes how all Swedenborg biographies at that draw similarities between the beliefs of Jesper and Emanuel. Lamm himself partially agrees with them, but he maintains that there were marked differences between them too.
  20. ^ Lagercrantz, preface.
  21. ^ Jump up to:a b c d x
  22. ^ Söderberg, H. Swedenborg's 1714 Airplane: A Machine to Fly in the Air (1988)
  23. ^ "Splendors of the Spirit: Swedenborg's Quest for Insight, Part 1". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  24. ^ The meeting between the King, Polhelm and Swedenborg is described in detail in Liljegren, Bengt, Karl XII i Lund : när Sverige styrdes från Skåne, (Historiska media, Lund, 1999). ISBN 91-88930-51-3.
  25. ^ Bergquist (1999), pp.114–115
  26. ^ Berquist (1999), pp. 118–119
  27. ^ Proposed by Lagercrantz, also mentioned by Bergquist (1999), p. 119.
  28. ^ Fodstad, H. The neuron theory Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery 2001;77:20-4
  29. ^ Gordh, E. et al.Swedenborg, Linnaeus and Brain Research and the Roles of Gustaf Retzius and Alfred Stroh in the Rediscovery of Swedenborg's Manuscripts. Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences 2007; 112:143–164.
  30. ^ Gross C. G. Emanuel Swedenborg: A neuroscientist before his time. The Neuroscientist 3: 2(1997).
  31. ^ Gross, C. "Three before their time: neuroscientists whose ideas were ignored by their contemporaries Experimental Brain Research 192:321 2009.
  32. ^ Tubbs RS, Riech S, Verma K, Loukas M, Mortazavi M, Cohen-Gadol A. Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772): pioneer of neuroanatomy. Childs Nervous System 2011 Aug;27(8):1353-5.
  33. ^ Filley CM. Chapter 35: The frontal lobes. Handbook Clinical Neurology 2010;95:557-70
  34. ^ Baker, Gregory L. (1983) "Emanuel Swedenborg – An 18th century cosmologist" in The Physics Teacher, October 1983, pp. 441–6Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  35. ^ Bergquist (1999), pp. 142–155.
  36. ^ Lamm (1987), pp. 42–43, notes that by assuming that the soul consists of matter, as Swedenborg did, one becomes a materialist. He further notes that it was also noted by contemporaries.
  37. ^ Jonsson, Inge, Swedenborg och Linné, in Delblanc & Lönnroth, p. 321.
  38. ^ Bergquist (1999), pp. 165–178.
  39. ^ Jonsson, Inge, Swedenborg och Linné, in Delblanc and Lönnroth, p.325.
  40. ^ Bergquist, pp. 200–208.
  41. ^ Bergquist, p. 206.
  42. ^ Analysis by Bergquist, p. 209. Bergquist has previously published a separate book commenting on the Journal called Swedenborgs drömbok : glädjen och det stora kvalet (Stockholm, Norstedt, 1988).
  43. ^ Bergquist (1999), pp. 210–211.
  44. ^ Swedenborg (1975).
  45. ^ "Small Theological Works and Letters" by Emanuel Swedenborg. Edited and published by the Swedenborg Society (London, 1975)
  46. ^ Bergquist (1999), pp. 286–287.
  47. ^ Cf. Michelle Grier, 'Swedenborg and Kant on Spiritual Intuition' in On the True Philosopher: Essays on Swedenborg, ed. Stephen McNeilly (London: Swedenborg Society, 2002), p. 1. Accessed 2010-11-11.
  48. ^ Bergquist (1999), p. 287.
  49. ^ Bergquist (1999), p. 288.
  50. ^ Jonsson, Inge. Swedenborg och Linné, in Delblanc & Lönnroth, p. 316.
  51. ^ The Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed. All the Predictions in the Apocalypse are At this Day Fulfilled from Things Heard and Seen. From 'De Ultimo Judicio Et De Babylonia Destructa
  52. ^ Last Judgment, No. 60.
  53. ^ Swedenborg, E. Heaven and Its Wonders From Things Heard and Seen (Swedenborg Foundation 1946, #421–535).
  54. ^ Last Judgment #33–34.
  55. ^ "Swedenborg, E. The True Christian Religion: Containing the Universal Theology of The New Church Foretold by the Lord in Daniel 7; 13, 14; and in Revelation 21;1,2 (Swedenborg Foundation 1952, paragraphs 193–215)". Swedenborgdigitallibrary.org. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
  56. ^ True Christian Religion, paragraphs 753–786
  57. ^ Swedenborg, E. Arcana Coelestia #1002, 1003 (Swedenborg Foundation, 1956)
  58. ^ Twigg, Julia (1981). "The vegetarian movement in England, 1847–1981: A study in the structure of its ideology". University of London.
  59. ^ Sigstedt, C. The Swedenborg Epic: The life and works of Emanuel Swedenborg Bookman Associates, 1952, p. 476, # 642).
  60. ^ Swedenborg, E.The Earths in Our Solar System Which are called Planets and the Earths in the Starry Heaven, and Their Inhabitants; Also the Spirits and Angels There From Things Heard and Seen1758. Also Rotch Edition. New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1907, in The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem (2012), n. 9-178.
  61. ^ Arcana Coelestia #6698
  62. ^ Simons K. The Life on Other Planets Question The Swedenborg Project 2007
  63. ^ Bergquist (1999), p. 477–478.
  64. ^ Trobridge, G. Swedenborg, Life and Teaching (Swedenborg Foundation, 1976, p. 272).
  65. ^ Bergquist (1999), p. 464.
  66. ^ Bergquist (1999), pp. 471–476. Accounts of Swedenborg's last days were collected and published in Tafel II:1, pp. 577 ff, 556 ff, 560 ff.
  67. ^ Documents concerning the life and character of Emanuel Swedenborg – Johann Friedrich Immanuel Tafel –. J. Allen. 1847. p. 106. Retrieved 2012-08-16 – via Internet Archive. john wesley swedenborg.
  68. ^ Epic, pp. 430ff.
  69. ^ Swedenborg, E. True Christianity, Containing a Comprehensive Theology of the New Church That Was Predicted by the Lord in Daniel 7:13–14 and Revelation 21:1, 2 (Swedenborg Foundation, 2006, Translator's Preface, Vol. 2, p. 36 ff.).
  70. ^ Epic, p. 431.
  71. ^ Jump up to:a b Epic, p. 433
  72. ^ "Street map Swedenborg Gardens, map London with Swedenborg Gardens". Ukstreetmap.info. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  73. ^ Ewan-M Ewan Munro+ Add Contact. "Swedenborg Gardens, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, E1 – Flickr – Photo Sharing!". Flickr. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  74. ^ "History of Swedenborg Gardens - eastlondonhistory.com".
  75. ^ "Who Was Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772)?" An article including a list of biographies about Swedenborg, with a brief analysis of each biographer's point of view. Accessed June 2012.
  76. ^ Bergquist (1999), p. 15.
  77. ^ en dikt om ett främmande land med sällsamma lagar och seder. Largercrantz (1996), back page.
  78. ^ Sigstedt (1952), p. 408.
  79. ^ Bergquist (1999), pp. 364–365.
  80. ^ Lamm (1987 [1915]), dedicates a chapter to the correspondence theories, pp. 85–109.
  81. ^ (Swedenborg E, The True Christian Religion Containing the Universal Theology of the New Church. Swedenborg Foundation 1946, # 200)
  82. ^ Bergquist (1999), p. 312.
  83. ^ Jump up to:a b "Årtal och händelser i Jönköping". Brandhistoriska.org. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  84. ^ Staffan Högberg, Stockholms historia (Stockholm's history), part 1, p. 342; in Swedish)
  85. ^ For July 19 date see especially Documents 271–273 in Documents concerning the Life and Character of Emanuel Swedenborg Collected, Translated and Annotated by Tafel, RL. Volume II, Part 1. (Swedenborg Society, British and Foreign. 36 Bloomsbury Street, London, 1877) Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  86. ^ "The Swedenborg Epic: Chapter 31". Swedenborgdigitallibrary.org. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  87. ^ As noted above, primary source for these accounts is a letter from Immanuel Kant in 1768 and the Swedenborg collection by Tafel (Documents #271–273)
  88. ^ Lars Bergquist: Swedenborgs Hemlighet, Stockholm 1999. ISBN 91-27-06981-8. (in Swedish)
  89. ^ Sigstedt S. The Swedenborg Epic, Chapter 35 Bookman 1952
  90. ^ Berguist, L. Swedenborg's Secret Swedenborg Foundation, 2005, p. 270
  91. ^ Bergquist, L, Swedenborg's Secret (London, The Swedenborg Society, 2005, p. 270).
  92. ^ Johnson, p. 70
  93. ^ Sigstedt, Chapter 35
  94. ^ "The Swedenborg Epic: Chapter 38". Swedenborgdigitallibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  95. ^ Swedenborg Epic pp. 278ff.
  96. ^ Jump up to:a b Sigstedt, p. 329.
  97. ^ Benz, p. 11.
  98. ^ Johnson 2002. p. 69.
  99. ^ Johnson 202, p. 71.
  100. ^ Benz 2001, p. 13.
  101. ^ Johnson, p. 69.
  102. ^ Johnson, G., Magee, G. E. (Swedenborg Foundation 2002)
  103. ^ Benz 2001, p. 31.
  104. ^ Benz, E., Heron, A. (Translator) Spiritual Vision and Revelation, Chapter VI. The Mystery of a Date – Fresh light on Kant's Criticism of Swedenborg, p. 13, reprinted in The New Philosophy 2001 104:7,
  105. ^ Johnson 2002, p. 83.
  106. ^ Johnson, G. "Did Kant dissemble his interest in Swedenborg?" The New Philosophy 1999, 102: 531
  107. ^ Johnson 2002, p. 123.
  108. ^ Johnson 2002, p. 85.
  109. ^ Josephson-Storm, Jason (2017). The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 185–186. ISBN 978-0-226-40336-6.
  110. ^ Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture #4, True Christian Religion #859, 750, 779
  111. ^ Quoted by Bergquist (1999), p. 178, based on Swedenborg's Spiritual Experiences (1748), §767. However, Spiritual Experiences is not among the works Swedenborg published himself, and thus may not be authoritative revelation. See "Which of Swedenborg's books are Divine revelation?"
  112. ^ "The Apocalypse Revealed Wherein are Disclosed the Arcana Foretold Which Have Hitherto Remained Concealed". Swedenborgdigitallibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  113. ^ Bergquist (1999), pp. 286–309.
  114. ^ "ML 1 – Small Canon Search – Reading – The Word of God, The Whole Word of God, and Nothing But the Word of God – Searching the Second Advent Christian Bible – The Second Advent Christian Canon of Scripture". Small Canon Search. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  115. ^ "The Lord God Jesus Christ on Marriage in Heaven". The Swedenborg Project. Retrieved 2013-08-30.
  116. ^ "Marriage Love 46–50)". Smallcanonsearch.com. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  117. ^ "Marriage Love No. 52". Smallcanonsearch.com. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  118. ^ "Marriage Love No. 84". Smallcanonsearch.com. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  119. ^ "Marriage Love No. 1". Smallcanonsearch.com. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  120. ^ "Marriage Love No. 117". Smallcanonsearch.com. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  121. ^ "Marriage Love No. 83". Smallcanonsearch.com. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  122. ^ "TCR 175 – Small Canon Search – Reading – The Word of God, The Whole Word of God, and Nothing But the Word of God – Searching the Second Advent Christian Bible – The Second Advent Christian Canon of Scripture". Small Canon Search. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  123. ^ Swedenborg, E. The True Christian Religion, particularly sections 163–184 (New York: Swedenborg Foundation, 1951).
  124. ^ Swedenborg, E. The Doctrine of the Lord (New York: Swedenborg Foundation, 1946)
  125. ^ Swedenborg, E. The Arcana Coelestia (New York: Swedenborg Foundation, various dates)
  126. ^ Swedenborg, E. The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, particularly sections 280–310 New York: Swedenborg Foundation, 1951)
  127. ^ "Reformation Faith + Works". Peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  128. ^ "True Christian Religion, sections 336 ff". Biblemeanings.info. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
  129. ^ Block, M.B The New Church in the New World. A Study of Swedenborgianism in America (Holt 1932; reprint Octagan 1968), Chapter 3.]
  130. ^ Benz, E. Emanuel Swedenborg. Visionary Savant in The Age of Reason (translated by Goodrick-Clarke (Swedenborg Foundation, 2002, p. 487).
  131. ^ Crompton, S. Emanuel Swedenborg (Chelsea House, 2005, p. 76).
  132. ^ Block, Chapter 3.
  133. ^ Ahlstrom, S. E. A Religious History of the American People (Yale 1972, p. 483).
  134. ^ Myers, Jeffrey, Robert Frost: A Biography, Houghton Mifflin, 1996, p. 4.
  135. ^ "Arthur Conan Doyle – The History of Spiritualism Vol I Page 02". Classic-literature.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  136. ^ Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1907). Representative men: seven lectures – Ralph Waldo Emerson – Google Boeken. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  137. ^ Harrison, Kathryn (2009-09-23). "Carl Gustav Jung News – The New York Times". Topics.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  138. ^ Bergquist (1999), pp. 453–463.
  139. ^ "Who was Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772)?". Swedenborgdigitallibrary.org. 2006-11-19. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  140. ^ "Man äger ej snille för det man är galen – Wikisource" (in Swedish). Sv.wikisource.org. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  141. ^ Bergquist (1999), p. 474.
  142. ^ "The Swedenborg Epic: Chapter 37". Swedenborgdigitallibrary.org. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  143. ^ Trobridge, G.Swedenborg, Life and Teaching (Swedenborg Foundation, 1976, p. 202.).
  144. ^ "Emanuel Swedenborg : his life, teachings and influence : Trobridge, George, 1851–1909 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  145. ^ Benz, E. Emanuel Swedenborg. Visionary Savant in the Age of Reason. Swedenborg Foundation, 2002, pp. 226, 227.
  146. ^ Block, p. 14
  147. ^ Online text from the Heavenly Doctrines database Archived2013-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, From Heavenly Doctrine database.
  148. ^ Online photocopy of first Latin edition published by SwedenborgFrom Bayside Church image database.
  149. ^ The original title, and year of publication is based on Bergquist (1999), Litteraturförteckning (pp.525–534).
  150. ^ The Works of Emanuel Swedenborg in Chronological Order, Emanuel Swedenborg Studies, accessed February 3, 2011 .
  151. ^ "A Swedenborg Bibliography". Archived from the original on 2013-04-03.
  152. ^ Which of Swedenborg's books are Divine revelation? The Swedenborg canon

Sources[edit]

  • Ahlstrom, S.E. A Religious History of the American People (Yale 1972) Includes section on Swedenborg by this scholar.
  • Benz, Ernst, Emanuel Swedenborg: Visionary Savant in the Age of Reason (Swedenborg Foundation, 2002) ISBN 0-87785-195-6, a translation of the thorough German language study on life and work of Swedenborg, Emanuel Swedenborg: Naturforscher und Seher by the noted religious scholar Ernst Benz, published in Munich in 1948.
  • Bergquist, Lars, Swedenborg's Secret, (London, The Swedenborg Society, 2005) ISBN 0-85448-143-5, a translation of the Swedish language biography of Swedenborg, Swedenborgs Hemlighet, published in Stockholm in 1999. ISBN 91-27-06981-8
  • Block, M. B. The New Church in the New World. A study of Swedenborgianism in America (Holt 1932; Octagon reprint 1968) A detailed history of the ideational and social development of the organized churches based on Swedenborg's works.
  • Crompton, S. Emanuel Swedenborg (Chelsea House, 2005) Recent biography of Swedenborg.
  • Johnson, G., ed. Kant on Swedenborg. Dreams of a Spirit-Seer and Other Writings. Translation by Johnson, G., Magee, G.E. (Swedenborg Foundation 2002) New translation and extensive set of supplementary texts.
  • Lamm, Martin, Swedenborg: En studie (1987; first ed. 1915). A popular biography that is still read and quoted. It is also available in English: Emanuel Swedenborg: The Development of His Thought, Martin Lamm (Swedenborg Studies, No. 9, 2001), ISBN 0-87785-194-8
  • Lagercrantz, Olof, Dikten om livet på den andra sidan (Wahlström & Widstrand 1996), ISBN 91-46-16932-6. In Swedish.
  • Leon, James, Overcoming Objections to Swedenborg's Writings Through the Development of Scientific Dualism An examination of Swedenborg's discoveries. The author is a professor of psychology (1998; published in New Philosophy, 2001)
  • Moody, R. A. Life after Life (Bantam 1975) Reports correlation of near-death experience with Swedenborg's reports of life after death.
  • Price, R. Johnny Appleseed. Man and Myth (Indiana 1954) Definitive study of this legendary man. Includes details of his interest in Swedenborg and the organizational New Church
  • Robsahm, Carl, Hallengren, Anders (translation and comments), Anteckningar om Swedenborg (Föreningen Swedenborgs Minne: Stockholm 1989), ISBN 91-87856-00-X. Hallengren writes that the first complete publication of the Robsam manuscript was in R. L. Tafel's Documents, Vol. I, 1875 (see section "Further reading")
  • Schuchard, Marsha Keith. 2011. Emanuel Swedenborg, Secret Agent on Earth and in Heaven: Jacobites, Jews and Freemasons in Early Modern Sweden. Brill.
  • Sigstedt, C.,The Swedenborg Epic. The Life and Works of Emanuel Swedenborg (New York: Bookman Associates, 1952). The whole book is available online at Swedenborg Digital Library.
  • Toksvig, Signe (1948). Emanuel Swedenborg, Scientist and Mystic . New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-87785-171-9 – via Wikisource.

Further reading[edit]

Newer material
  • The Arms of Morpheus—Essays on Swedenborg and Mysticism, ed. Stephen McNeilly (London: Swedenborg Society, 2007), ISBN 978-0-85448-150-7.
  • Between Method and Madness—Essays on Swedenborg and Literature, ed. Stephen McNeilly (London: Swedenborg Society, 2005), ISBN 978-0-85448-145-3.
  • In Search of the Absolute—Essays on Swedenborg and Literature, ed. Stephen McNeilly (London: Swedenborg Society, 2005), ISBN 978-0-85448-141-5.
  • On the True Philosopher and the True Philosophy—Essays on Swedenborg, ed. Stephen McNeilly (London: Swedenborg Society, 2005), ISBN 978-0-85448-134-7.
  • Swedenborg and His Influence, ed. Erland J. Brock, (Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania: The Academy of the New Church, 1988), ISBN 0-910557-23-3.
  • Jonathan S. Rose, ed. Emanuel Swedenborg: Essays for the New Century Edition on His Life, Work, and Impact (West Chester, Pennsylvania: Swedenborg Foundation, 2002), ISBN 0-87785-473-4. 580 pages. Multiple scholars contributed to this collection of information on Swedenborg, his manuscripts, and his cultural influence. Republished in 2004 under new title, Scribe of Heaven: Swedenborg's Life, Work, and Impact ISBN 0-87785-474-2.
  • Wilson van Dusen, The Presence of Other Worlds, Swedenborg Foundation, Inc., New York, Harper & Row, 1974. ISBN 0-87785-166-2
  • "The Madness Hypothesis," a special issue of The New Philosophy (1998;101: whole number), a journal produced by the Swedenborg Scientific Association, reviews the question of Swedenborg's sanity in scholarly detail, making the case that he was in fact quite sane.
  • Donald L. Rose, ed., Afterlife: A Guided Tour of Heaven and Its Wonders. Swedenborg Foundation, 2006. (abridged version of Heaven and Hell)
  • D. T. Suzuki, translated by Andrew Bernstein, Afterword by David Loy, Swedenborg: Buddha of the North. Swedenborg Foundation, 1996. (Brilliantly shows relevance of Swedenborg's ideas to Buddhist thought.)
  • Nemitz, K., "The Man and His Work".
  • Larsen, T, Larsen, Lawrence, JF, Woofenden WR. Emanuel Swedenborg. A Continuing Vision. Swedenborg Foundation, 1988
  • Sig Synnestvedt, ed., The Essential Swedenborg: Basic Religious Teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg Foundation, 1970.
Older material of importance (some of it not in print)
  • James John Garth Wilkinson (1849), Emanuel Swedenborg: A Biography, London: William Newbery, retrieved December 2, 2014
  • The most extensive work is: RL Tafel, Documents concerning the Life and Character of Swedenborg, collected, translated and annotated (3 vols., Swedenborg Society, 1875—1877);
  • J. Hyde, A Bibliography of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg (Swedenborg Society).
  • Kant's Träume eines Geistersehers (1766; the most recent edition in English is from 1975, ISBN 3-7873-0311-1 );
  • J. G. Herder's "Emanuel Swedenborg," in his Adrastea (Werke zur Phil. und Gesch., xii. 110–125).
  • Transactions of the International Swedenborg Congress (London, 1910), summarized in The New Church Magazine (August 1910).
  • Swedenborg and Esoteric Islam (Swedenborg Studies, No 4) by Henry Corbin, Leonard Fox
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Swedenborg; or, the Mystic", in Emerson: Essays and Lectures (New York, New York: The Library of America, 1983), ISBN 978-0-940450-15-8.
  • William White, Emmanuel Swedenborg, His Life and Writings, 2nd Ed., Rev. (xx, 767 p.; London, Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 1868) – This is the second of White's two biographies of Swedenborg, the first one published in 1856 (White, W. Swedenborg: his life and writings Bath : I. Pitman, Phonetic Institution, 1856) and this second one in 1867. White worked for the Swedenborg Society in London and wrote an affirmative biography of Swedenborg. However, he was fired for publishing spiritist books and selling them at the Society's store, as well as otherwise interfering with the Society's function. White's response was the 1867 biography, in which he, in Tafel's words, "turn[ed] a complete somersault in his convictions," and wrote a highly derogatory biography of Swedenborg and his teachings. (The Swedenborg Epic footnote # 769) (R. Tafel, Documents Concerning the Life and Character of Emanuel Swedenborg, Vol. 3, p. 1284. London. Swedenborg Society 1890)



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エマヌエル・スヴェーデンボリ

出典: フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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Emanuel Swedenborg
エマヌエル・スヴェーデンボリ
エマヌエル・スヴェーデンボリ
生誕1688年1月29日
死没1772年3月29日（84歳没）
時代18世紀
地域スウェーデン
研究分野キリスト教神秘主義
テンプレートを表示

エマヌエル・スヴェーデンボリ（Emanuel Swedenborg, 1688年1月29日 - 1772年3月29日）は、スウェーデン王国出身の科学者・神学者・思想家。スウェーデンボルグ、スエデンボルグとも表記される。生きながら霊界を見て来たと言う霊的体験に基づく大量の著述で知られ、その多くが大英博物館に保管されている。スヴェーデンボリは貴族に叙された後の名。

生涯[編集]

父イェスペル・スヴェードバリ(Jesper Swedberg)は、ルーテル教会の牧師であり、スウェーデン語訳の聖書を最初に刊行した人物である。その次男としてストックホルムで生まれる。11歳のときウプサラ大学入学。22歳で大学卒業後イギリス、フランス、オランダへ遊学。28歳のときカール12世により王立鉱山局の監督官になる。31歳のとき貴族に叙され、スヴェーデンボリと改姓。数々の発明、研究を行ないイギリス、オランダなどへ頻繁にでかける。

1745年、イエス・キリストにかかわる霊的体験が始まり、以後神秘主義的な重要な著作物を当初匿名で、続いて本名で多量に出版し、出版で得た全報酬は寄付（『スヴェーデンボリ　その生涯と教え』トロブリッジ著より）した。ただし、スウェーデン・ルーテル派教会をはじめ、当時のキリスト教会からは異端視され、異端宣告を受ける直前にまで事態は発展するが、王室の庇護により、回避された。イエス・キリストからの啓示をその僕として書き記す霊覚者への転向はあったものの、その後国会議員にまでなった。

スヴェーデンボリは神学の書籍の発刊をはじめてからしばしばイギリスに滞在した。1771年の夏にロンドンに旅し、その地で翌1772年3月29日に没した。

神学・神秘主義思想[編集]

スヴェーデンボリの神学論は伝統的な三位一体を「三神論（三人格を持った神が一つの神）」であるとして退けているが、「三一性」という考え方で、「父を意味する創造神、子を意味するイエス・キリスト（神人）、聖霊を意味するイエス・キリストの霊の働きという三つの性質が一つの人格神のうちにある」ということを認めている。また、伝統的なプロテスタント聖書主義と同じく「天地の創造神が、時空の観念を超え、イエス・キリストという人間となって救いのために降臨された」としている。

スヴェーデンボリが生前公開しなかった『霊界日記』において、聖書中の主要な登場人物使徒パウロが地獄に堕ちていると主張したり[1]、ダビデを「ドラゴン」と呼び彼も地獄に堕ちているとしたり[2]、同様にプロテスタントの著名な創始者の一人フィリップ・メランヒトンが地獄に堕ちたと主張した。だが、それらが書かれているのは、スヴェーデンボリがこの世にいながら霊界に出入りするようになった最初の時期にあたる非公開の日記であるため、スヴェーデンボリが自身で刊行した本の内容との相違点も若干見られる。主イエスの母マリアはその日記[3]に白衣を着た天国の天使としてあらわれており、「現在、私（マリア）は彼（イエス）を神として礼拝している。」と発言している。

スヴェーデンボリが霊能力を発揮した事件は公式に二件程存在し、一つは、ストックホルム大火事件、もう一つはスウェーデン王室のユルリカ王妃に関する事件である。

スヴェーデンボリは聖書中に予言された「最後の審判」を1757年に目撃したと主張した。しかし、「世界の政治・宗教・神学上で、その年を境になんらかの変化が起こったとは言えないため安直である」と彼を批判する声もある。

スウェーデンボリによる霊界の描写は、現代人に起こる臨死体験と共通点が多いとされる。両者に共通する点は、広大なトンネルを抜ける体験や光体験、人生回顧や時空を超えた領域を訪れる体験などである[4]。

自然科学[編集]

1714年のノートに残されたグライダーのスケッチ

スヴェーデンボリは当時、ヨーロッパ有数の学者として知られ、彼が精通した学問は、数学・物理学・天文学・宇宙科学・鉱物学・化学・冶金学・解剖学・生理学・地質学・自然史学・結晶学などである。結晶学についてはスヴェーデンボリが開拓者の一人である。

動力さえあれば実際に飛行可能と見られている飛行機械の設計図を歴史上はじめて書いたのはスヴェーデンボリが26歳の時であり、現在アメリカ合衆国のスミソニアン博物館に、この設計図が展示保管されている。

霊界では地球人の他に火星人や、金星人、土星人や月人が存在し、月人は月の大気が薄いため、胸部では無く腹腔部に溜めた空気によって言葉を発するなどと説き、、いまだに未知なる部分も多い。

評価[編集]

スヴェーデンボリへの反応は当時の知識人の中にも散見され、例えば哲学者イマヌエル・カントは『視霊者の夢』中で彼について多数の批判を試みている。一方で、カントは限定的に「スヴェーデンボリの考え方はこの点において崇高である。霊界は特別な、実在的宇宙を構成しており、この実在的宇宙は感性界から区別されねばならない英知界である」（K・ ペーリツ編『カントの形而上学講義』から)と評価も下し、後のカントは「彼の不思議な能力の非常に多くが確実であり、彼は道理をわきまえ、礼儀正しく、隠しだてのない人物であり、学者である」と率直に語った（『スヴェーデンボリ　その生涯と教え』トロブリッジ著より）という。また、哲学者ラルフ・ワルド・エマソンは、スヴェーデンボリを霊的に巨大と評価し、他にフリードリヒ・シェリングの『クラーラ』など、スヴェーデンボリの霊的体験を扱った思想書も存在する。

また、ヘレン・ケラーは「私にとってスヴェーデンボリの神学教義がない人生など考えられない。もしそれが可能であるとすれば、心臓がなくても生きていられる人間の肉体を想像する事ができよう。」と発言し、他に影響を受けた著名人としては、ゲーテ、オノレ・ド・バルザック、フョードル・ドストエフスキー、ヴィクトル・ユーゴー、エドガー・アラン・ポー、ストリントベリ、ホルヘ・ルイス・ボルヘスなど挙げられ、特にバルザックは、その母親ともに熱心なスヴェーデンボリ神学の読者であった。

スヴェーデンボリは著作『結婚愛』の中で未婚の男性の買春、すなわち必要悪としての公娼がいる現状を消極的に認める記述をしている。基本的にスヴェーデンボリは不倫などの「姦淫」を認めておらず、一夫多妻制などは、キリスト教徒の間では許されないとその著述に書いている。しかし、これらは多くの近代国家の法律として広く認められ成立していることでもあり、彼だけに特有な考え方ではない。

日本においては、仏教学者、禅学者の鈴木大拙がスヴェーデンボリから影響を受け日本語訳を行い、明治42年から大正4年まで数年間にスヴェーデンボリ『天国と地獄』[5]ほか主要な著作を出版している。没後出版された『鈴木大拙全集』（岩波書店）に、スヴェーデンボリの日本語訳は収録している。

ニューエイジ運動関係者、神道系の信者ら[注 1]の中にある程度の支持者層があり、その経典中で言及されることも多く、キリスト教関係者では、内村鑑三もスヴェーデンボリの著作物を読んでいる。

一方で、東京神学校助教授・牧師の尾形守は、『ニューエイジムーブメントの危険』の中で、キリスト教的には異端、思想的にはニューエイジムーブメントのはしりとしてスヴェーデンボリの千里眼事件を批判的に紹介し[7]、「霊だからといって、みな信じてはいけません、それが神からのものかどうか試しなさい」（Ⅰヨハネ4‐1）、「あなたがたは霊媒や口寄せに心を移してはならない。彼らを求めて、彼らに汚されてはならない。」（レビ記19・31）等、新約聖書の字句を引用して、こうした傾向全体をキリスト教的には不健全で危険な発想と評し、悪霊による影響の可能性を指摘している[8]。

また、米国の福音派キリスト教弁護団体であるCARMは、スヴェーデンボリを危険な非キリスト教的神秘主義であると評し、その特徴として、三位一体やキリスト教で言う聖霊の働き、キリストの十字架の贖罪の否定を挙げている[9]。

しかし、19世紀の早期、イギリス国教会の教区牧師ジョン・クルーズは、スヴェーデンボリの著作を直ちに受け入れ、説教の中で会衆に自ら読むように熱心に勧めており（『スヴェーデンボリの主張』フランク・Ｓ・ローズ著より）、このように、既存教派の中にも支持者は実在している。

なお、思想体系としての現代への影響を見るなら、このスヴェーデンボリとメスメルの思想を背景として、19世紀にはスピリチュアル思想が起こり、これはブラヴァツキー夫人の霊媒論や神智学と相互に影響を授受し合いながら、現代のさまざまなオカルトや新しい宗教の源泉となった[10]。

しかし、スヴェーデンボリの著作に実際に記されているのは、聖書ヤコブの手紙等にあるように、「唯一なる神に心を向け、観念の遊戯や思い込みでなく、聖霊の力を借りた隣人愛の実践、不倫などの悪を罪・害悪として避けること、誠実に人と接し、仕事や役立ちに熱心に取り組むこと」であり、世で噂されている現実から乖離した狂人・変人、オカルティスト、神秘主義者などではない、とされる。

スヴェーデンボリ主義教会[編集]

スヴェーデンボリの死後、彼の思想への共鳴者が集まり、新エルサレム教会（新教会 The New Church とも）を創設した。新エルサレム教会はイギリスやアメリカに現存し、日本においても東京の世田谷区に存在する。また、別系統の団体としてジェネラルチャーチというグループが存在し、日本では東京グループが活動している[11]。

日本キリスト教団の沖縄における前身である沖縄キリスト教会では、スウェーデンボルグ主義の影響を受けた牧師が、戦後になって教団統一の信仰告白文を作ろうとしたところ、沖縄インターボード委員会(Okinawa Interboard Committee, OKIB)派遣の宣教師から異端として撤回をせまられた。その際、教会への経済的援助の打ち切りを持ち出されたため、沖縄キリスト教会は、止むなく、この信仰告白を撤回させされるような事件も起きている[12][13][14]。

なお、スヴェーデンボリの著作を主に出版するところとして、日本ではアルカナ出版があり、2006年にそこの主筆・翻訳者が逝去したが、出版社は逝去・死去したとは書かず、霊界入りしてしまった、とホームページに表記して事実を伝えた[15]。

フリーメーソン[編集]

また、フリーメーソンリーの友愛組合の一つとして、スウェーデンボルグ儀礼が存在する。これはスヴェーデンボリの教えを基に設立された、とされており、その組織は徒弟、職工仲間、新しい親方、光輝な神智論者、青の兄弟、赤の兄弟、の計6つの位階からなる[16][注 2]。

1773年、マーカス・デ・ソーンによってアヴィニョンに設立され、当初は当時のフリーメーソンリーの悪評に対する権利を主張する目的を持った政治色のある組織であったが[18]、最初の10年のうちに廃れてしまった。

1870年になるとこの儀礼はヘルメス主義組織として復活したが、1908年頃には次第に衰退をしていった[19]。1982年にこの儀礼の免状は、大英博物館の居室において英国メーソンのデズモンド・バークによって、メーソンの作家であるミカエル・モラマルコに伝達され、彼はそれをアンティコ・リコ・ノアチタというイタリア儀礼の伝統の復古したような形に再編集した。

またスウェーデンにおいても、スヴェーデンボリの思想は、セーデルマンランド男爵に大きな影響を与え、彼は現地のフリーメーソンリー(Svenska Frimurare Orden)のグランドマスターとして、独自の位階制度を作り、その儀典を執筆した。

しかし、スヴェーデンボリの主要著作には、フリーメーソンに関する記述は一切ないのが事実であり、誹謗中傷の人物評と同様、誤解されていることも多い。

日本語訳[編集]

  • 『スエデンボルグ天界と地獄』河原萬吉訳 新生堂 1930
  • 『天界と地獄』柳瀬芳意訳 静思社 1962
  • 『天界とその驚異及び地獄』柳瀬芳意訳 静思社 1962
  • 『真のキリスト教』鳥田四郎訳 新教会 1972
  • 『真の基督教2』柳瀬芳意訳 静思社 1984
  • 『神の摂理』柳瀬芳意訳 静思社 1985
  • 『スウェーデンボルグの霊界日記 死後の世界の詳細報告書』高橋和夫訳編 たま出版 1992
  • 『スウェーデンボルグの惑星の霊界探訪記』高橋和夫訳編 たま出版 1993
  • 『スウェーデンボルグの夢日記』鈴木泰之訳 たま出版 1995
  • 『天界と地獄』高橋和夫編訳 春秋社 1997
  • 『霊界日記』高橋和夫訳編 角川ソフィア文庫 1998
  • 『天界と地獄』宮崎伸治訳 ミヤオビパブリッシング（宮帯出版社） 2012

関連書籍[編集]

  • A.アクトン『転身期のスウェーデンボリ』未来社 1987 (フィロソフィア双書）
  • ロビン・ラーセン『エマヌエル・スウェーデンボルグ 持続するヴィジョン』春秋社 1992
  • ヒューゴ・オドナー 他『スウェーデンボルグの創造的宇宙論』高橋和夫編訳 めるくまーる 1992
  • 高橋和夫『スウェーデンボルグの思想 科学から神秘世界へ』講談社現代新書 1995
  • 高橋和夫『スウェーデンボルグの宗教世界 原宗教の一万年史』人文書院 1997
  • ジョージ・ドール『スウェーデンボルグ神学に学ぶ』大賀睦夫訳 日本スウェーデンボルグ協会 1998
  • 瀬上正仁『明治のスウェーデンボルグ 奥邃・有礼・正造をつなぐもの』春風社 2001
  • フレーア・H.フィッツパトリック『スウェーデンボルグ小伝 探求の旅路 歴史小説』松本士郎訳 アルカナ出版 2002
  • 瀬上正仁『仏教霊界通信 賢治とスウェーデンボルグの夢』春風社 2003
  • 横山信行『エマニエル・スウェーデンボルグの霊学思想及霊魂観について 本田親徳との比較研究』顕神本会 2003
  • 日本スウェーデンボルグ協会編『スウェーデンボルグを読み解く』春風社 2007
  • 高橋和夫、塚田幸三『いのちの声を聞く 海人/奥邃/ヘレン・ケラー/スウェーデンボルグ/フランクル/シュタイナー』ホメオパシー出版 2008
  • 高橋和夫『スウェーデンボルグの「天界と地獄」 神秘思想家の霊的世界を解き明かす』PHP研究所 2008
  • 神保慶明『世界一わかりやすい！大科学者スウェーデンボルグの天国と地獄Ｑ＆Ａ』いのちの光パブリッシング　2019
  • Yoshiaki Jimbo『FAQ of “Heaven and Hell” -The easiest guide to the work of Swedenborg, the great scientist-』Ray of Life Publishing　2020

脚注[編集]

注釈[編集]

  1. ^ 文理書院版の訳書の翻訳者・笹岡康男は元大本信者である[6]。『天界と地獄』6-7頁につけた註の中では一柱の創造主と天之御中主神を結び付け、日本神話の神を三つの位格に当てはめて対応させている。
  2. ^ なお、現代のジェネラルチャーチにおいても、最高聖職者（第三位階）は赤のストールを身に着け、次点の者（第二位階）は青のストールを、それに次ぐ司祭（第一位階）は白のストールを身に着ける[17]。

出典[編集]

  1. ^ スウェーデンボルグ 1998, p. 151（4412番）.
  2. ^ “Spiritual Diary, by Emanuel Swedenborg: 4111”. 2019年6月24日閲覧。
  3. ^ スウェーデンボルグ 1998, p. 163（5834番）.
  4. ^ マイケル・タルボット『投影された宇宙』川瀬勝訳、春秋社、2005年4月。ISBN 4393366247。[要ページ番号]
  5. ^ スエデンボルグ、大拙訳『天界と地獄』および、自身の著書『スエデンボルグ』が新版再刊（各・講談社文芸文庫、2016年）。後者に大拙訳「新エルサレムとその教説」を収録。
  6. ^ 日本スウェーデンボルグ協会 2007, p. 288.
  7. ^ 尾形 1996, p. 56.
  8. ^ 尾形 1996, p. 不明[要ページ番号].
  9. ^ “Swedenborgianism”. Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry. 2019年6月24日閲覧。
  10. ^ 教皇庁文化評議会、教皇庁宗教対話評議会『ニューエイジについてのキリスト教的考察』カトリック中央協議会司教協議会秘書室研究企画訳、カトリック中央協議会、2007年4月、123頁。ISBN 9784877501297。
  11. ^ ジェネラルチャーチ東京[出典無効]
  12. ^ 一色, 哲 (2003-07). “軍事占領と地域教会–1950年代中盤の沖縄教会を事例に”. キリスト教史学 57: 36–59.
  13. ^ “沖縄の「復帰」とキリスト教（３）”. 小林紀由研究室/ウェブリブログ. 2019年6月24日閲覧。
  14. ^ 古澤健太郎「信仰告白制定の経緯に見る 「沖縄キリスト教会」の特質 (PDF) 」 『基督教研究』第68巻第1号、同志社大学、2006年8月。[要ページ番号]
  15. ^ “翻訳者紹介”. アルカナ出版. 2019年6月24日閲覧。
  16. ^ Albert Gallatin Mackey and H. L. Haywood, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry Vol. 2, p. 997 reprinted by Kessinger Publishing, 2003 ISBN 0-7661-4720-7
  17. ^ “ジェネラルチャーチ 東京グループ”. 日本新教会. 2019年2月4日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2019年6月24日閲覧。
  18. ^ Augustus Row (1868). “Illuminati of Avignon or Swedenborg Rite”. Masonic Biography and Dictionary. Philadelphia: J.P. Lippincott & CO.. pp. 139.
  19. ^ R. A. Gilbert (1995-09-14). "Chaos Out of Order: The Rise and Fall of the Swedenborgian Rite". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon A.F. & A. M.

参考文献[編集]

  • エマヌエル・スウェーデンボルグ『霊界日記』高橋和夫訳編、角川書店〈角川文庫〉、1998年。ISBN 4042776019。
  • 尾形守『ニューエイジムーブメントの危険：その問題点を探る』プレイズ出版、1996年10月。ISBN 4938764148。
  • 『スウェーデンボルグを読み解く』日本スウェーデンボルグ協会、春風社、2007年。ISBN 978-4861101304。

関連項目[編集]

外部リンク[編集]

英語版ウィキソースに英語のエマヌエル・スヴェーデンボリ著の原文があります。
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