Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg (/ˈswiːdənbɔːrɡ/,Swedish: [ˈsvêːdɛnˌbɔrj]; born Emanuel Swedberg; 8 February[O.S. 29 January] 1688 – 29 March 1772) was a Swedishpluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, Heaven and Hell(1758).

Swedenborg had a prolific career as aninventor and scientist. In 1741, at 53, he entered into a spiritualphase in which he began to experience dreams and visions, notably onEaster Weekend, on 6 April 1744. His experiences culminated in a"spiritual awakening" in which he received arevelation that Jesus Christ had appointed him to write The HeavenlyDoctrine to reform Christianity. 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, demonsand other spirits and the Last Judgment had already occurred the yearbefore the 1758 publication of De Nova Hierosolyma et Ejus DoctrinaCoelesti [Concerning the new Jerusalem and its heavenly doctrine], in1757.

Over the last 28 years of his life,Swedenborg wrote 18 published theological works—and several morethat remained unpublished. He termed himself a "Servant ofthe Lord Jesus Christ" in True Christian Religion, which hepublished himself. Some followers of The Heavenly Doctrine believethat of his theological works, only those that were published bySwedenborg himself are fully divinely inspired. Others have regardedall Swedenborg's theological works as equally inspired, saying forexample that the fact that some works were "not written outin a final edited form for publication does not make a singlestatement less trustworthy than the statements in any of the otherworks". The New Church, a new religious movement originallyfounded in 1787 and comprising several historically-related Christiandenominations, reveres Swedenborg's writings as revelation.

Early life

Swedenborg's father, Jesper Swedberg(1653–1735), descended from a wealthy mining family, the firstknown paternal ancestor being Otte Persson from Sundborn parish,mentioned 1571. He traveled abroad and studied theology, and onreturning home, he was eloquent enough to impress the Swedish king,Charles XI, with his sermons in Stockholm. Through the king'sinfluence, he would later become professor of theology at UppsalaUniversity and Bishop of Skara.

Jesper took an interest in the beliefsof the dissenting Lutheran Pietist movement, which emphasized thevirtues of communion with God rather than relying on sheer faith(sola fide). Sola fide is a tenet of the Lutheran Church, and Jesperwas charged with being a pietist heretic. While controversial, thebeliefs were to have a major impact on his son Emanuel'sspirituality. Jesper furthermore held the unconventional belief thatangels and spirits were present in everyday life. This also came tohave a strong impact on Emanuel.

In 1703–1709, Swedenborg lived inErik Benzelius the Younger's house. Swedenborg completed hisuniversity course at Uppsala in 1709, and in 1710, he made his grandtour through the Netherlands, France and Germany before reachingLondon, where he would spend the next four years. It was also aflourishing center of scientific ideas and discoveries. Swedenborgstudied physics, mechanics and philosophy and read and wrote poetry.According to the preface of a book by the Swedish critic OlofLagercrantz, Swedenborg wrote to his benefactor and brother-in-lawBenzelius that he believed he might be destined to be a greatscientist.