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Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg
(1688 – 1772)
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Swedenborg was a multi-faceted scientist, philosopher, mystic and theologian.
He completed his university course at Uppsala University and then in 1710 made his Grand Tour through the Netherlands, France, and Germany, on to London where he would spend the next four years. At that time London was the largest city in the world, and the most liberal place in Europe for philosophical discussion and freedom of speech. It was also a flourishing center of scientific ideas and discoveries.
In 1715 Swedenborg returned to Sweden, where he was to devote himself to natural science and engineering projects for the next two decades. A first step was his noted meeting with King Charles XII in 1716 at which he attempted to persuade the king to fund an observatory in northern Sweden. However, the warrior king did not consider this project important enough for his attention; but he did appoint Swedenborg assessor-extraordinary on the Swedish board of mines (Bergskollegium) in Stockholm.
It was common in Sweden during the 17th and 18th centuries for the children of bishops to receive the honor of being made noblemen in recognition of the services of the father. Upon the death of Charles XII, Queen Ulrick Eleanora ennobled Swedenborg and his siblings and the family name was changed from Swedberg to Swedenborg.
In 1724 he was offered the chair of mathematics at Uppsala University but he declined. Not only did he indicate that his work had been mainly with geometry, chemistry and metallurgy during his career, but he also noted that he did not have the gift of eloquent speech because of a speech impediment. The speech impediment in question was stuttering, noted by many acquaintances of his, and it forced him to speak slowly and carefully. There is no history written of his having ever spoken in public. Some have said he compensated for his poor speech by his extensive writing.
During the 1730s Swedenborg undertook many studies of anatomy and physiology. He also conducted dedicated studies of the fashionable philosophers of the time – John Locke, and Gottfried Leibniz, as well as earlier thinkers Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Descartes among others.
Although he was acknowledged by his contemporaries as one of the outstanding scientific figures of his generation, at the age of fifty-six he entered a spiritual phase, and for the remaining twenty-eight years of his life he wrote and published eighteen theological works, and also wrote several unpublished theological works. Before this, and even during his period of religious writing, he served as one of the most creative and influential members of the Swedish House of Nobles.
Swedenborg's theological works form the basis of the Swedenborgian Church or, as it is sometimes called today, The Church of the New Jerusalem. Although he never intended a church denomination to be founded or named after him, a society was formed in London 15 years after his death. This 1787 organization grew over the years to become the present General Convention of Swedenborgian Churches.
The following explanatory paragraph is taken from the website of the Swedenborgian Church: As a result of Swedenborg's own spiritual questionings and insights, we as a church today exist to encourage that same spirit of inquiry and personal growth, to respect differences in views, and to accept others who may have different traditions. Swedenborg shared in his theological writings a view of God as infinitely loving and at the very center of our beings, a view of life as a spiritual birth as we participate in our own creation, and a view of Scripture as a story of inner-life stages as we learn and grow.
Swedenborg said, "All religion relates to life, and the life of religion is to do good." He also felt that the sincerest form of worship is a useful life.
(1688 – 1772)
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Swedenborg was a multi-faceted scientist, philosopher, mystic and theologian.
He completed his university course at Uppsala University and then in 1710 made his Grand Tour through the Netherlands, France, and Germany, on to London where he would spend the next four years. At that time London was the largest city in the world, and the most liberal place in Europe for philosophical discussion and freedom of speech. It was also a flourishing center of scientific ideas and discoveries.
In 1715 Swedenborg returned to Sweden, where he was to devote himself to natural science and engineering projects for the next two decades. A first step was his noted meeting with King Charles XII in 1716 at which he attempted to persuade the king to fund an observatory in northern Sweden. However, the warrior king did not consider this project important enough for his attention; but he did appoint Swedenborg assessor-extraordinary on the Swedish board of mines (Bergskollegium) in Stockholm.
It was common in Sweden during the 17th and 18th centuries for the children of bishops to receive the honor of being made noblemen in recognition of the services of the father. Upon the death of Charles XII, Queen Ulrick Eleanora ennobled Swedenborg and his siblings and the family name was changed from Swedberg to Swedenborg.
In 1724 he was offered the chair of mathematics at Uppsala University but he declined. Not only did he indicate that his work had been mainly with geometry, chemistry and metallurgy during his career, but he also noted that he did not have the gift of eloquent speech because of a speech impediment. The speech impediment in question was stuttering, noted by many acquaintances of his, and it forced him to speak slowly and carefully. There is no history written of his having ever spoken in public. Some have said he compensated for his poor speech by his extensive writing.
During the 1730s Swedenborg undertook many studies of anatomy and physiology. He also conducted dedicated studies of the fashionable philosophers of the time – John Locke, and Gottfried Leibniz, as well as earlier thinkers Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Descartes among others.
Although he was acknowledged by his contemporaries as one of the outstanding scientific figures of his generation, at the age of fifty-six he entered a spiritual phase, and for the remaining twenty-eight years of his life he wrote and published eighteen theological works, and also wrote several unpublished theological works. Before this, and even during his period of religious writing, he served as one of the most creative and influential members of the Swedish House of Nobles.
Swedenborg's theological works form the basis of the Swedenborgian Church or, as it is sometimes called today, The Church of the New Jerusalem. Although he never intended a church denomination to be founded or named after him, a society was formed in London 15 years after his death. This 1787 organization grew over the years to become the present General Convention of Swedenborgian Churches.
The following explanatory paragraph is taken from the website of the Swedenborgian Church: As a result of Swedenborg's own spiritual questionings and insights, we as a church today exist to encourage that same spirit of inquiry and personal growth, to respect differences in views, and to accept others who may have different traditions. Swedenborg shared in his theological writings a view of God as infinitely loving and at the very center of our beings, a view of life as a spiritual birth as we participate in our own creation, and a view of Scripture as a story of inner-life stages as we learn and grow.
Swedenborg said, "All religion relates to life, and the life of religion is to do good." He also felt that the sincerest form of worship is a useful life.