New age: Details about 'Swedenborgianism'
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Swedenborgianism is the ecclesiastical organization of beliefs developed from the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, and as such, considered a religious movement by many. Many aspects are closely related to Christianity, and the movement is founded on the belief that Swedenborg witnessed the Last Judgment and second advent of the Lord, along with the inauguration of the New Church and an explanation of the spiritual meaning of the literal sense of the Scriptures. Some Swedenborgian organizations teach that the writings of Swedenborg (often called The Writings) are a third part of the Bible and have the same authority as the Old and New Testaments. Other names for the movement are also used, especially by adherents, including New Christians, Neo-Christians, The New Church, and Church of the New Jerusalem.
HistorySwedenborg spoke of a "new church" that would be founded on the theology in his works, but he himself never tried to establish an organization. At the time of his death, few efforts had been made. But May 7, 1787, 15 years after Swedenborg's death, the New Church movement was founded in England, a country Swedenborg often visited and where he also died. Its ideas were carried to United States by missionaries. One famous Swedenborgian was Johnny Appleseed. Early missionaries also went to parts of Africa as Swedenborg himself believed that the "African race" was "in greater enlightenment than others on this earth, since they are such that they think more interiorly, and so receive truths and acknowledge them." (A Treatise concerning the Last Judgment, n. 118) Although potentially odd sounding today at the time this was viewed as intensely liberal and so Swedenborgians accepted freed African converts to their homes as early as 1790. Several of them were also involved in abolitionism. In the 19th century, occultism became increasingly popular especially in France and England, and Swedenborg's writings were, by some, blended in with theosophy, alchemy and divination. What fascinated these followers most was Swedenborg's mystical side. Much emphasis was laid on his work Heaven and Hell, wherein Swedenborg is led to Heaven and Hell by spirits to experience and report the conditions there (compare The Divine Comedy). In the U.S., Swedenborgianism was organized in 1817 with the founding of the General Convention of the New Church (sometimes referred to as the Convention,) now also known as the Swedenborgian Church of North America. The movement in the United States grew increasingly stronger until the late 19th century, when a controversy about doctrinal issues and the authority of Swedenborg's writings caused a faction to split off to form the Academy of the New Church which would become the General Church of New Jerusalem (sometimes referred to as the General Church,) with headquarters in Bryn Athyn, a suburb of Philadelphia. Today, the General Church has about 5,000 members in 33 churches. The Swedenborgian Church of North America, with headquarters in Newtonville, a suburb of Boston, now has 37 active churches with about 1,500 members in the U.S. The most recent membership figures for the Four Church Organizations 2000:
The Lord's New Church is primarily associated with South Africa, although roughly 200 members are in the United States, and concerned with justice issues there. The nations of Australia and Germany are estimated to have 504 and 200 members, respectively. When counting additional members in Asia, Africa, and South America, current sources put the total of Swedenborgians as between 25,000-30,000. Although deemed to be in a decline in membership, in the United States at any rate, Swedenborgianism was never very large - especially not after the 1850s. For example, it is estimated that in 1911 the total US membership in all Swedenborgian organizations was roughly 9400. BeliefsThe doctrines of the New Church are as follows:
(see Swedenborg's True Christian Religion, author's introduction ) Added to this the Swedenborgians believe that marriage is eternal. They state that an individual will be married to their spouse in the afterlife if they have a true spiritual marriage, and that if a person dies unmarried they will find a spouse in heaven. Robert Frost reportedly married in a Swedenborgian ceremony. Despite their eighteenth century origins, they also have beliefs that could be deemed more "modern" or New Age. For example, they believe in extraterrestrial life and the "New Church Issues" site has an entire section devoted to the issue of . In Swedenborg's statements of journeys to other planets, these journeys are generally seen as spiritual rather than literal. They also reject the idea of substitutionary atonement and believe all religions are valid paths. Other viewsSwedenborgians have been viewed skeptically by Christian groups for the unorthodox aspects of their religion. These aspects center on the understanding of the Trinity and the role of works/faith in salvation. They have been deemed a fringe or even occult movement in which people speak in tongues and see spirits. ("Swedenborgianism is a dangerous mystical non-Christian religion," says the .) While the mystic aspect certainly appealed to some people, and still does, the New Church as an organization today constitutes a widely-spread and considerable society with a regularly constituted ecclesiastical organization. Non-organized SwedenborgiansThe term may also be used to refer to people inspired by some part of Swedenborgian philosophy or theology who nevertheless take an eclectic approach to such topics and so blend "pure" Swedenborgian thought with ideas from other systems, including Jungian psychology, Spiritualism, and "traditional" Christianity. Such Swedenborgianism bears little resemblance to the more ecclesiastical form usually referred to by the term. It should be noted that for various reasons, such as not believing in the trinity which is esteemed as 3rd Century development by Tertullian, Swedenborg held to a Oneness view of God such as modern day Oneness Pentecostalism. InfluenceNotable persons influenced either by Swedenborg's writing or by the New Church include:
Organized ChurchesInternational
USA
Other English speaking countries
Miscellaneous
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