Emmanuel Swedenborg: Prophet or Lunatic?

[toptemp]

I am curious if anyone here has studied Emanuel Swedenborg's works and what your thoughts are concerning them...?

I personally believe that his writings are exactly what he says they are: revelations from God meant to usher in a new age of spiritual understanding.

As I read various works of his, I feel as though my mind is renewed and lifted up into the light of heaven as he himself would say.


For those of you who don't know, Swedenborg was a Swedish Scientist and later theologian who claimed to have had a revelation from the Lord to reveal spiritual secrets unknown to modern man, lost from ancient times. Over the period of some 20 years or so, he experienced visions in which he would converse with Angels and Spirits of heaven and hell and thus he claimed to have learned the deeper spiritual truths that man has fogotten since the time of Adam, Abraham, etc.

 

[tqpix]

Thank you for the post; I'll have to check this guy out.

 

[ken777]

How does he line up with the Bible?

 

[tqpix]

How does he line up with the Bible?

Not very good as far as his vision of hell is concerned. Supposedly, from my research, this guy got a glimpse of hell and says that hell is not a literal place, but rather, it exists in the mind... or something like that.

 

[ARBITER01]

Not very good as far as his vision of hell is concerned. Supposedly, from my research, this guy got a glimpse of hell and says that hell is not a literal place, but rather, it exists in the mind... or something like that.

Well that automatically knocks him our of the running as a prophet if what he says won't align with the word of GOD.

 

[Elrond]

I don't know anything about the guy, but in my opinion, he's not legit. I don't believe that God is giving any more revelations. As far as I'm concerned, He said all He intended to say in the form of the Bible. He does speak to each of us personally. I don't deny that. But I don't think any "new" revelations are coming until He brings them in person. Think about it. If He were speaking new revelations for the church, wouldn't He be going against what the Bible says? After all, He warns against adding to or taking away from the Scripture, doesn't He?

Elrond

 

[artybloke]

Not very good as far as his vision of hell is concerned. Supposedly, from my research, this guy got a glimpse of hell and says that hell is not a literal place, but rather, it exists in the mind... or something like that.

Sounds pretty sound to me.

 

[JFox1]

Emmanuel Swedenborg was neither prophet nor lunatic. According to the Wikipedia article about him, he had psychic ability, he didn't believe in the Persons of the Trinity and didn't believe in Sola Fide (faith alone). Many consider him a heretic. I once read some of this writings in a library. I couldn't read them all. There were too many volumes. I disagreed with some of the things he said, but I don't think he was crazy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Swedenborg

 

[daveleau]

I picked up a book outlining Swedenborgism beliefs from a used bookstore a year or so ago, because we talked about it in Systematic Theology, and I try to keep a book of counter-Christian beliefs on my shelf for apologetics.

Swedenborgism denies the Trinity, and is religiously pluralistic. They deny the Bible's claim of exclusivity, so to follow it, one must choose between this man's beliefs or the Bible. It's like Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormonism in its claim to ties with Christianity while denying the central dogmas of Scripture.

One of his primary focal points is on sexual union being the premier form of love, and that one will have sex continually in Heaven.

Ironically, he also believes people can sin in Heaven.

Salvation to Swedenborg has nothing to do with Christ and is based solely on man's works.

Swedenborgism is a cult following a man's teachings rather than the Bible's and Swedenborgism's central teachings are contrary to the Bible.

 

[artybloke]

They deny the Bible's claim of exclusivity

Nowhere does the Bible claim exclusivity.

 

[daveleau]

Jesus Himself affirmed the utter exclusivity of Christianity. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

 

[artybloke]

1) You were refering to the Bible not to Jesus, and the Bible nowhere proclaims exclusivity for itself, so stop changing the goalposts.

2) There are many ways to Jesus.

 

[daveleau]

The Bible teaches exclusivity of Christianity, as was the intended meaning of what I wrote above in post 9. I am sorry I did not state that more clearly. The intent of post 9 and 11 are the same. The Bible does teach exclusivity through the record of Jesus' words.

Pluralistic Swedenoborgism teaches other ways to Heaven than Jesus.

There are different paths to Jesus, as there are a myriad of different stories people have for finding Him. The one thing they all have in common and that characteristic which makes them effective and salvific ways are that they lead to faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour.

 

[artybloke]

The Bible teaches exclusivity of Christianity,

No it doesn't. It teaches the exclusivity of Christ. Christ is not the same as Christianity. Christ can be encountered in lots of different ways, not all of them to do with the church or Christianity.

And it still doesn't claim any exclusivity for itself. Even the anonymous author of 2 Timothy doesn't specify what he means by "the scriptures."