Theologians: The New Jerusalem

Who was the most brilliant mind of the 18th century? A good case could be made for Newton, Voltaire, Samuel Johnson—or for Emanuel Swedenborg, the polymathic scientist and seer whose fame lingers on not just in literature but in churches that honor his writing as the vehicle for the second coming of God’s word.

Born in 1688, the son of a bishop in Sweden’s state church, Swedenborg was a kind of Nordic Da Vinci. He invented a machine gun and a fire extinguisher, first explained to the world the phenomenon of phosphorescence and the function of the ductless glands, devised a nebular hypothesis to account for the origin of the universe. Metallurgist, physiologist and mathematician, he knew nine languages, and promoted fiscal reforms and liquor regulations as a member of Sweden’s Diet.

Conversations with Spirits. At the age of 57, after seeing a vision of Christ, Swedenborg abandoned his secular pursuits for theology, and his religious writings run to 30 fat volumes. His thinking was decidedly un-Lutheran. Rejecting the traditional doctrine of the Trinity, he taught that Christ alone was God. Man, he argued, was not saved by faith alone, as Luther taught, but by seeking natural perfection through service to the world. Swedenborg had almost daily visions of heaven and hell, which he described at great length in his theological writings. He also wrote of his frequent conversations with spirits, who informed him that a new Christian church was coming into being, and that his works would form the foundation of its teachings.

Despite his prediction of the “New Jerusalem,” Swedenborg died a Lutheran, and was buried according to the rites of the Swedish church. In 1784, his followers organized a society to propagate his teachings, which have influenced such disparate figures as Balzac, Emerson, Lincoln, and Helen Keller. Today there are more than 7,000 loyal Swedenborgians in the U.S. (and about 45,000 elsewhere) who belong to three churches. The biggest concentration of them is in the Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Athyn; there, most of the town’s population of 1,100 belong to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, which for 51 years has been putting up a magnificent—but still incomplete—Gothic cathedral.

Courage & Zest. Last week, another Swedenborgian church, the General Convention of the New Jerusalem in the U.S.A., held its 141st annual meeting in Philadelphia. About 200 of the faithful showed up to elect new officers and discuss the continuing relevance of the Swedish sage. “His really great mind relates faith to the world of science,” said Dr. Dorothea Harvey, associate professor of religion at Lawrence College. Says Adolph Liebert of Pittsburgh, a research and development engineer: “He has given me a perspective on what life is for and how to use it. He gives me the courage and zest to look for a new day.”