Swedenborgianism is a term based on the ecclesiastical organization of certain beliefs relating to Emanuel Swedenborg's writings and, as such, is considered a religious movement by some. It is based 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 Word. Swedenborgians often refer to themselves by other terms, including "New Christians", "Neo-Christians", "The New Church", and "Church of the New Jerusalem". Emanuel Swedenborg, 75, holding the manuscript of Apocalypsis Revelata (1766). ... This article or section should be merged with End times and Last Judgment According to Christian belief, at the last judgment, God the creator will judge all living and dead souls and send those evils ones and sinners to the everlasting fire that never dies and those faithful and Christians... The prophecies of a Second Coming are various and span across many religions and cultures. ... A Bible handwritten in Latin, on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ...

History

Swedenborg himself never tried to establish an organization. At the time of his death, little regards were 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 missionairs, one famous Swedenborgian was Johnny Appleseed. Early missionaries were also made in parts of Africa, as Swedenborg himself regarded the black race as more susceptible to spiritual teachings. May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... 1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Johnny Appleseed, Harper’s Magazine, 1871 John Chapman (September 26, 1774 - March 11, 1847) was an American pioneer and Swedenborgian Christian missionary known as Johnny Appleseed because he planted apple trees in large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. ...

In the 19th century, occultism became increasingly popular especially in France and England, and Swedenborg's writings was 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. For other uses of this term, see occult (disambiguation). ... Seal of the Theosophical Society Theosophy is a body of belief which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain the Divine, and as such each religion has a portion of the truth. ... The Alchemist. ... Divination is the occultic practice of ascertaining information by supernatural means. ...

In the U.S., Swedenborgianism was organized in 1817 with the founding of the General Convention of the New Church (sometimes refered to as the Convention). The movement in United States grew increasingly stronger until the late 19th century, when a controversy about doctrinal issues and Swedenborg's authority caused a fraction to split into the General Church of New Jerusalem (sometimes refered to as the General Church), with headquarters in Bryn Athyn, a suburb of Philadelphia. Bryn Athyn is a borough located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ...

Today, the Convention has about 4,500 members in 55 Churches, and the General Church has about 2,100 members in 33 churches. There is also an international organization -- the Swedenborgian Church -- which has 45 churches with 2,600 members in the U.S., and 50,000 members worldwide.

The Swedenborgian Church of North America is a member of the National Council of Churches. The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (or National Council of Churches USA, NCC) is an organization currently (2004) consisting of 36 Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox Christian denominations. ...

Beliefs

The "doctrines" of the New Church are as follows:

1. 1. That there is one God and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Within Him there is a Divine Trinity.
   2. That a saving faith is to believe in Him and to live a life of charity.
   3. That all evils are to be shunned and originate in mankind.
   4. That good actions are to be done, because they are of God and from God, and are therefore necessary for life.
   5. That these good acts are to be done by mankind as if from him/herself; but that it ought to be acknowledged that they are done from the Lord with Him and by Him.

(see Swedenborg's True Christian Religion, author's introduction [1] (http://www.heavenlydoctrines.org/static/d12851/0.htm)) The term God is used to designate a Supreme Being; however, there are countless definitions of God. ... Jesus, also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure in Christianity. ... Evil is a term describing that which is regarded morally bad, corrupt, wantonly destructive, inhumane, selfish, and wicked. ...

Swedenborgians have been viewed skeptically by Christian groups as an occult heretical movement in which people speak in tongues and see spirits [2] (http://www.carm.org/list/swedenborg.htm). 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. Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ...

The 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. Jungian psychology is a theory developed by Carl Gustav Jung, and is central to the Neopsychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Spiritualism is a religion in which contact with the spirits of the dead through a medium is central. ... Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ...

Influence

Notable persons influenced either by Swedenborg's writing or by the New Church include Honoré de Balzac, Henry Ward Beecher, William Blake, Elizabeth and Robert Browning, Thomas Carlyle, Robert Carter III, S. T. Coleridge, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Inness, Henry James Sr., C.G. Jung, Helen Keller, Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Coventry Patmore, Walt Whitman, and Bill Wilson. Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac (May 20, 1799 – August 18, 1850), was a French novelist. ... Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher in Columbus Park, Brooklyn, New York, 2003 Full statue Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 - March 8, 1887) was a theologically liberal American Congregationalist clergyman and reformer, and author who was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the eighth of nine children of Lyman Beecher by... William Blake (November 28, 1757 – August 12, 1827) was an English poet, painter and printmaker, or Author & Printer, as he signed many of his books. ... Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Moulton) (March 6, 1806-June 29, 1861) was the most respected female poet of the Victorian era. ... Robert Browning Robert Browning (May 7, 1812 – December 12, 1889) was an English poet and playwright. ... Thomas Carlyle, Scottish essayist and historian. ... Colonel Robert “Councillor” Carter, III (born c. ... Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet, 1795 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (October 21, 1772 – July 25, 1834) was an English poet, critic, and philosopher and, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England and as one of the Lake Poets. ... Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was a famous American essayist and one of Americas most influential thinkers and writers. ... George Inness was a United States painter, born in Newburgh, New York on May 1, 1825, and who died at Bridge of Allan, Scotland, on August 3, 1894. ... Henry James Sr. ... Carl Gustav Jung Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875 – June 6, 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and founder of Analytical Psychology. ... Helen Keller, graduation from Radcliffe College, c. ... Fitz Hugh Ludlow, sometimes seen as Fitzhugh Ludlow, ( September 11, 1836 – September 12, 1870) was an American author, journalist, and explorer, best-known for his autobiographical book The Hasheesh Eater ( 1857) Early life Fitz Hughs father, the Rev. ... Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (July 23, 1823 - November 26, 1896) was an English poet and critic. ... Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet and humanist born on Long Island, New York. ... William Griffith Wilson (commonly known as Bill Wilson or Bill W.), was a co-founder of the self-help group Alcoholics Anonymous. ...

Resources

• History of the Swedenborgian Church of North America (http://www.swedenborg.org/history.cfm) According to the Church itself

• Swedenborg, Revelation and the New Church, paper by Rebecca Kline (http://www.swedenborgchapel.org/read_kline1.html) Somewhat unstructured, it has some historical information about the schism in 1890.
• Maine Lodge of Research : Swedenborg - The Church (http://www.mainemason.org/mlr/swedenborg2.htm) A well written historical article

External links

• NewChurchHistory.org (http://newchurchhistory.org/) Large collection of articles on Swedenborgian history, by Swedenborgians; a collaboration of Bryn Athyn College of the New Church with Glencairn Museum.

Organized Churches

• General Church of the New Jerusalem (http://www.newchurch.org/) (International)
• The Lord's New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma (http://www.novahierosolyma.org/) (International)
• Swedenborgian Church of North America (http://www.swedenborg.org/) (USA & Canada) - formerly "General Convention of the New Jerusalem"

• Swedenborg Foundation (http://www.swedenborg.com/) Publisher who offers books by and of Swedenborg