front cover of Sacred Scripture / White Horse
Sacred Scripture / White Horse
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2015
Throughout his theological writings, Emanuel Swedenborg devotes more pages to discussing the inner, spiritual meaning of the Bible than to any other topic. In the two short works Sacred Scripture and White Horse, he provides the spiritual theory behind the verse-by-verse analysis found in his multivolume works Secrets of Heaven and Revelation Unveiled.
     In Sacred Scripture, Swedenborg explains how the inner meaning of the Bible relates to its outer (literal) meaning, and he cites numerous biblical passages to show how similar themes emerge again and again. He describes two distinct layers of inner meaning—the heavenly and the spiritual—and shows how an understanding of that inner meaning strengthens a person’s connection with Deity and with heaven.
     White Horse begins with a short summary of the spiritual meaning of the white horse described in Revelation 19:11. In form, what then follows is a series of statements about the inner meaning of the Bible with references to explanatory passages in Secrets of Heaven. However, when read in sequence, those statements are also a concise summary of Swedenborg’s theology of biblical interpretation.
     The perspective provided by these two short works allows the reader to see through the Bible’s clouds of baffling, obscure, and seemingly inconsistent details to the power and unity of divine love and wisdom within the text. Students or seekers interested in Swedenborg’s teachings about the interrelationship between the spiritual world and the physical one will find this volume a helpful guide. Sacred Scripture / White Horse is part of the New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg (NCE), an ongoing translation series. The NCE series incorporates the latest scholarship and translation standards for a more accurate and accessible rendering of Swedenborg’s works.
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front cover of SAMPSON REED
SAMPSON REED
PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIAL FOR EMERSON STUDIES
George F. Dole
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 1992

This short work is a collection of four essays by nineteenth-century author and transcendentalist Samson Reed. "A Dissertation: On the Evidence from the Light of Nature of a Future Retribution" is a religious treatise that laid the groundwork for his aesthetic theory; the "Oration on Genius" is a vibrant speech which is probably America's earliest Romantic manifesto; "Observations on the Growth of the Mind" reflects the aesthetic theory embraced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and the New England transcendentalists; and Reed's preface to the 1838 edition of "Observations," which showed his growing disenchantment with the transcendentalist movement he helped to inspire.

Edited by George F. Dole, the collection contains a preface by Sylvia Montgomery Shaw giving the historical context to these writings.

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front cover of SCHELLING & SWEDENBORG
SCHELLING & SWEDENBORG
MYSTICISM & GERMAN IDEALISM
FRIEDEMANN HORN
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 1997

In this groundbreaking study, Friedemann Horn documents Friedrich Schelling's intense personal engagement with Emanuel Swedenborg's theological works, an engagement fueled to a considerable extent by the untimely death of two women whom Schelling loved. In Swedenborg's vision of the spiritual realm, Schelling found an invaluable resource that supplied an underpinning for his own romantic idealism. Horn details the linguistic similarities in the writings of the two philosophers and shows how, particularly in Clara and the Stuttgart Lectures, Schelling employs the ideas of the "seer of the North."

The scholar will find suggestive contacts with Goethe, Wagner, and Franz von Baader, and with a theosophical tradition whose importance may have been overshadowed by Kant's scathing criticism of Swedenborg. In giving access to that undercurrent, Horn provides a unique and neglected view of nineteenth-century thought.

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front cover of A SCIENTIST EXPLORES SPIRIT
A SCIENTIST EXPLORES SPIRIT
A BIOGRAPHY OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG WITH KEY CONCEPTS OF HIS THEOLOGY
George F. Dole
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 1997

This book introduces the life and spiritual thought of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). A Swedish scientist and statesman, he underwent an extraordinary religious experience at age 55 and spent his last twenty-seven years producing thirty volumes that detailed his visionary experiences. Richly illustrated, the book includes a chronology of Swedenborg's life, a bibliography of his works, and an outline of his key theological concepts.

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SCRIBE OF HEAVEN
SWEDENBORG'S LIFE, WORK, AND IMPACT
Jonathan S. Rose
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2005

The essays in this volume testify to the far-reaching effects of Emanuel Swedenborg’s works in Western culture. From his early days as an ambitious young scientist in the ferment of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment Europe, through his mid-life entrance into an ongoing experience of the spiritual world, to his last decades as a researcher of things spiritual, Swedenborg built a career that left a unique legacy. His vivid descriptions of the nonphysical realm made a powerful impression on minds as diverse as Goethe, Blake, Emerson, Yeats, and Borges.

This book serves as a self-contained resource on Swedenborg’s life and thought and as a gateway into further exploration of the labyrinthine garden of Swedenborg’s works. It includes a biography, rich in fascinating detail; lively overviews of the content and history of Swedenborg’s writings on spiritual topics; and essays tracing Swedenborg’s impact in various regions of the world.

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The Searchers
NAOMI GLADISH SMITH
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2011

The third book in Naomi Gladish Smith’s acclaimed series about souls in the afterlife follows a new group of seekers on their journey to heaven—or hell.

Kate Douglas, who spent a lifetime on earth teaching young students, in death finds herself at the Academy, a school for new arrivals in the afterlife. Barely accustomed to her new existence, she’s confronted with the soul of her troubled nephew Dan, who took his own life. Dan struggles to find his path in this new world, encountering the innocent Birgit, who in life was an abused girl, and the beautiful Pegeen, who draws him into the dangerous territory bordering hell. But even as Kate teams up with her friend Frank and budding angel Percy to try to help Dan face his inner demons, Kate must deal with her own issues: her helplessness at watching her husband Howard, still on earth and dying of a degenerative disease; her attraction to Frank; and an assignment to guide a particularly difficult new arrival named Janet. Their fates intertwine as each searches within to discover whether they ultimately bound for heaven or hell.

Inspired by Emanuel Swedenborg’s descriptions of the afterlife, Smith paints a vivid picture of the world of spirits, a spiritual realm between heaven and hell where inner truths are revealed and the distance between any two people is no more than a thought.

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front cover of Secrets of Heaven 1
Secrets of Heaven 1
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2008

The first major theological work of the Swedish scientist-turned-seer Emanuel Swedenborg, Secrets of Heaven is in one sense a traveler's account. It reveals the unseen realms that await beyond death--the light, the warmth, and harmony of the angelic heavens and the varied darkness of the multitudinous hells. But in addition, the work offers a detailed examination of Genesis and Exodus, providing a model for a new way to understand the entire Bible. Prized for both the simplicity of its explanation and the breadth and depth of its vision, Swedenborg's reading of Scripture discloses layer upon layer of inner meaning, all without undermining the power and import of the literal word.

This first of the multivolume work contains an introduction by Wouter J. Hanegraaff, professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam, and a reader's guide by Swedenborgian scholar William Ross Woofenden and New Century Edition Series Editor Jonathan S. Rose.

The New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg is a modern-language, scholarly translation of Swedenborg’s theological works. The series’ easy-to-read style retains the dignity, variety, clarity, and gender-inclusive language of Swedenborg’s original Latin, bringing his thought to life. Introductions and annotations by eminent, international scholars place Swedenborg’s writings in their historical context and illuminate obscure references within the text, enabling readers to understand and trace Swedenborg’s influence as never before.

[more]

front cover of Secrets of Heaven 1
Secrets of Heaven 1
The Portable New Century Edition
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2023

The first major theological work of the Swedish scientist-turned-seer Emanuel Swedenborg, Secrets of Heaven is in one sense a traveler's account. It reveals the unseen realms that await beyond death--the light, the warmth, and harmony of the angelic heavens and the varied darkness of the multitudinous hells. But in addition, the work offers a detailed examination of Genesis and Exodus, providing a model for a new way to understand the entire Bible. Prized for both the simplicity of its explanation and the breadth and depth of its vision, Swedenborg's reading of Scripture discloses layer upon layer of inner meaning, all without undermining the power and import of the literal word.


The New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg is a modern-language, scholarly translation of Swedenborg’s theological works. The series’ easy-to-read style retains the dignity, variety, clarity, and gender-inclusive language of Swedenborg’s original Latin, bringing his thought to life.


This portable edition of Secrets of Heaven vol. 1 includes the text of the New Century Edition without the introduction, annotations, and other supplementary of the deluxe hardcover and paperback editions.

[more]

front cover of Secrets of Heaven 1
Secrets of Heaven 1
The Portable New Century Edition
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2010

The first major theological work of the Swedish scientist-turned-seer Emanuel Swedenborg, Secrets of Heaven is in one sense a traveler's account. It reveals the unseen realms that await beyond death--the light, the warmth, and harmony of the angelic heavens and the varied darkness of the multitudinous hells. But in addition, the work offers a detailed examination of Genesis and Exodus, providing a model for a new way to understand the entire Bible. Prized for both the simplicity of its explanation and the breadth and depth of its vision, Swedenborg's reading of Scripture discloses layer upon layer of inner meaning, all without undermining the power and import of the literal word.


The New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg is a modern-language, scholarly translation of Swedenborg’s theological works. The series’ easy-to-read style retains the dignity, variety, clarity, and gender-inclusive language of Swedenborg’s original Latin, bringing his thought to life.


This portable edition of Secrets of Heaven vol. 1 includes the text of the New Century Edition without the introduction, annotations, and other supplementary of the deluxe hardcover and paperback editions.

[more]

front cover of Secrets of Heaven 2
Secrets of Heaven 2
The Portable New Century Edition
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2012

Secrets of Heaven is Emanuel Swedenborg’s magnum opus, a fifteen-volume work that delves into the inner, spiritual meaning of the Bible. Starting from the first verse, Swedenborg goes through Genesis and Exodus verse by verse, sometimes word by word, uncovering the fascinating teachings behind the literal account. By doing careful comparison of passages and tracing individual images and motifs through the Bible, he demonstrates that it contains a profound, coherent, and unified inner meaning.

The second volume covers Genesis 9–15, beginning with God’s covenant with Noah following the Flood and then following the familiar story of the patriarch Abraham. In the process, Swedenborg discusses the concept of regeneration, or spiritual rebirth, and describes the way the people act before and after rebirth. He also talks about an epoch of human history that he calls the ancient church and the spiritual state of the people in that church. Interspersed with the biblical commentary are chapters on related topics such as the lives of angels in heaven, how distance and time work in the spiritual world, and the nature of hell.

Secrets of Heaven provides essential insight into Swedenborg’s theology and lays the groundwork for the rest of his writings. This new translation, part of the New Century Edition series, makes his insights into Scripture and his accounts of his spiritual experiences more accessible than ever before.

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front cover of Secrets of Heaven 3
Secrets of Heaven 3
Portable New Century Edition
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2022
Secrets of Heaven is Emanuel Swedenborg’s magnum opus, a fifteen-volume work that delves into the inner, spiritual meaning of the Bible. Starting from the first verse, Swedenborg goes through Genesis and Exodus verse by verse, sometimes word by word, uncovering the fascinating teachings behind the literal account. By doing careful comparison of passages and tracing individual images and motifs through the Bible, he demonstrates that it contains a profound, coherent, and unified inner meaning.

This third volume covers the inner meaning of Genesis 16–21, giving an account of the early stages of Jesus’ inward development, including the interactions of his human side and his divine side. It additionally addresses other topics, and in particular the true nature of the Last Judgment.

This new translation, part of the New Century Edition series, makes Swedenborg’s insights into Scripture and his accounts of his spiritual experiences more accessible than ever before.
[more]

front cover of Secrets of Heaven 4
Secrets of Heaven 4
Portable New Century Edition
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2022
Secrets of Heaven is Emanuel Swedenborg’s magnum opus, a fifteen-volume work that delves into the inner, spiritual meaning of the Bible. Starting from the first verse, Swedenborg goes through Genesis and Exodus verse by verse, sometimes word by word, uncovering the fascinating teachings behind the literal account. By doing careful comparison of passages and tracing individual images and motifs through the Bible, he demonstrates that it contains a profound, coherent, and unified inner meaning.

This fourth volume covers the inner meaning of Genesis 22–26, which on the surface recount God’s testing of Abraham and the generational shift that occurs as Sarah and Abraham die, Isaac and Rebekah marry, and Jacob and Esau are born. The intricacies of this narrative are interpreted as the processes Jesus went through inwardly as he united his human and divine natures and established a new religious culture on earth. Much of this volume also explores the concepts of correspondence and representation as underlying realities present in the natural and spiritual worlds and in the Bible.

This new translation, part of the New Century Edition series, makes Swedenborg’s insights into Scripture and his accounts of his spiritual experiences more accessible than ever before.
[more]

front cover of Secrets of Heaven 5
Secrets of Heaven 5
Portable New Century Edition
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2023

Secrets of Heaven is Emanuel Swedenborg’s magnum opus, a fifteen-volume work that delves into the inner, spiritual meaning of the Bible. Starting from the first verse, Swedenborg goes through Genesis and Exodus verse by verse, sometimes word by word, uncovering the fascinating teachings behind the literal account. By doing careful comparison of passages and tracing individual images and motifs through the Bible, he demonstrates that it contains a profound, coherent, and unified inner meaning.

This fifth volume continues the exposition with an examination of Jacob’s story, as found in Genesis 27–30. Jacob’s flight to his uncle Laban’s house, where he initially labors for the right to marry, then weds Leah and Rachel, and eventually rises to great prosperity, parallels the stage of Jesus’ transformation in which his earthly self (represented by Jacob) had to climb from attachment to outer truth (Leah) to a love of inner truth (Rachel) so that his earthly self could become fully divine. Within each chapter, Swedenborg also addresses the decline of the Christian church and unfolds his foundational premise that heaven, as a whole and in detail, is in God’s image and can therefore be called the “universal human.”

This new translation, part of the New Century Edition series, makes Swedenborg’s insights into Scripture and his accounts of his spiritual experiences more accessible than ever before.

[more]

front cover of Secrets of Heaven 6
Secrets of Heaven 6
Portable New Century Edition
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2023
The sixth volume of Swedenborg's monumental exploration of the Bible, its themes, and meaning.

Secrets of Heaven is Emanuel Swedenborg’s magnum opus, a fifteen-volume work that delves into the inner, spiritual meaning of the Bible. Starting from the first verse, Swedenborg goes through Genesis and Exodus verse by verse, sometimes word by word, uncovering the fascinating teachings behind the literal account. By engaging in a careful comparison of passages and tracing individual images and motifs through the Bible, he shows that it contains a profound, coherent, and unified inner meaning.

This sixth volume interprets the inner narrative of Genesis 31–35, in which Jacob leaves Laban’s house, wrestles with God, and reunites with Esau. These acts, Swedenborg argues, are each symbolic of the inner separations, struggles, and unifications that Jesus accomplished on his path to divinity. Swedenborg continues to explore two themes found in previous volumes: the Last Judgment as the ending of an old church and the beginning of a new church, and the correlation between human individuals and the “universal human.”

This new translation, part of the New Century Edition series, makes Swedenborg’s insights into Scripture and his accounts of his spiritual experiences more accessible than ever before.
[more]

front cover of Secrets of Heaven 7
Secrets of Heaven 7
Portable New Century Edition
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2024
The seventh volume of Swedenborg's monumental exploration of the Bible, its themes, and meaning.

Secrets of Heaven is Emanuel Swedenborg’s magnum opus, a fifteen-volume work that delves into the inner, spiritual meaning of the Bible. Starting from the first verse, Swedenborg goes through Genesis and Exodus verse by verse, sometimes word by word, uncovering the fascinating teachings behind the literal account. By engaging in a careful comparison of passages and tracing individual images and motifs through the Bible, he demonstrates that it contains a profound, coherent, and unified inner meaning.

In this seventh volume, covering Genesis 36–40, Joseph’s story begins. The literal narrative describes how after dreaming of greatness Joseph is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and wrongfully imprisoned. The inner narrative, Swedenborg explains, describes the trials and opposition endured by the Lord’s divine humanity, which is represented by Joseph. In this volume Swedenborg also interprets a number of parables in Matthew, relating their meaning to the Lord’s Second Coming. His exploration of the correspondences of the various parts and functions of the body is also continued from the previous volume.

This new translation, part of the New Century Edition series, makes Swedenborg’s insights into Scripture and his accounts of his spiritual experiences more accessible than ever before. 
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front cover of Seven Days of Spiritual Evolution
Seven Days of Spiritual Evolution
The Genesis of Personal Transformation
E. Kent Rogers
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2018
What is the Creation story in the book of Genesis really trying to tell us? Is it truly a divinely-inspired description of God creating the world in just six days? With the ongoing evolution of modern scientific discoveries, these questions can be a challenge for Bible-readers like humanitarian and psychotherapist E. Kent Rogers—which is why he believes the story of Creation is actually a timeless guide for our own transition from darkness to light.
 
In Seven Days of Spiritual Evolution: The Genesis of Personal Transformation, Rogers responds to a growing movement of biblical literalism by turning to eighteenth-century spiritual teacher Emanuel Swedenborg, who wrote prolifically about how the deeper symbolic meanings of Bible text can provide spiritual guidance. Using Swedenborg’s language of correspondences, Rogers shows us how Genesis 1 describes our psychological landscape as it unfolds along the horizons of our inner journey toward God. He draws insightful parallels between the different stages of our spiritual growth and contemporary psychotherapeutic treatment—from person-centered to cognitive to behavioral therapies. To make the intangible tangible, Rogers accesses what he has learned as both a mental health counselor and spiritual practitioner to offer workable methods for improving how we think and behave on a daily basis.
 
Intended as a tool for anyone who is interested in personal and spiritual development, Seven Days of Spiritual Evolution weaves psychology, spirituality, and everyday experience into a practical approach to growth. “Faith isn’t about drawing lines in the sand or judging others,” Rogers says, “it’s about learning how to love others and to love God.” Ultimately, it’s about opening our hearts to the Bible as a useful and never-ending guidebook for God’s all-loving, redeeming, and merciful work in the world.
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front cover of The Shorter Works of 1758
The Shorter Works of 1758
New Jerusalem Last Judgment White Horse Other Planets
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2018

This volume contains four shorter works by the influential eighteenth-century mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. Translators George F. Dole and Jonathan S. Rose have produced an accessible rendering of these important yet easily overlooked works. 

New Jerusalem: In this work Swedenborg outlines his theology in twenty-three brief chapters on major Christian topics such as love, faith, regeneration, the inner self and outer self, and the nature of the Bible. Nearly every chapter ends with what is in effect an index to that topic as it appears in his much larger study Secrets of Heaven.

Last Judgment: This work on the “end times” asserts that the Last Judgment foretold in the Bible does not involve the end of the physical world. Rather, the Last Judgment was an event of tremendous upheaval in the spiritual world, a nonmaterial apocalypse which has already occurred and which Swedenborg himself witnessed.

White Horse: This brief work is divided into two parts. The first presents the inner meaning of the white horse mentioned in chapter 19 of the book of Revelation. The second is effectively an index to passages concerning the Bible and its inner meaning in Swedenborg’s much larger work Secrets of Heaven. This work is a good short introduction to Swedenborg’s principle of correspondences between the spiritual and physical worlds, as well as to his unique view of the nature of the Bible.

Other Planets: Building on the eighteenth-century fascination with the possibility of life on other worlds and with traveler’s tales of other cultures, this work describes life on other planets in our solar system and elsewhere in the universe. Swedenborg undertook this work specifically to demonstrate that Jesus is God not just of planet Earth but also of the universe as a whole.

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The Shorter Works of 1763
The Lord Sacred Scripture Life Faith Supplements
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2020

The four main short works in this volume by Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) form the basic foundation of his thought. Although originally printed as if they were stand-alone volumes, they have nearly always been published together, generally under the collective title “The Four Doctrines.” 
 
The Lord discusses the nature of the man known as Jesus Christ, his divine nature, and the meaning of his crucifixion. For Swedenborg, Jesus was not simply a man, but the eternal divine that came to earth for the salvation of humanity.

Sacred Scripture is about the Word, by which Swedenborg means the parts of the Bible that he feels reflect a deep spiritual teaching. Swedenborg believes that study of the Word—which contains a wisdom that predates the written Bible and also transcends it—is the key to humanity’s spiritual development and its eventual union with the Lord.
 
Life discusses the nature of good and evil and the necessity of shunning sin and evil in order to experience true faith and become a spiritual person. In other words, this work is about how we ought to live. 

Faith talks about faith as an acknowledgment of inner truth and the necessity of expressing such faith through good actions rather than simply holding beliefs. Swedenborg also delves into the true nature of charity and the way that it interweaves with faith to produce true goodness.

In addition to these short works, the volume includes a fifth work, which consists of two supplements to previous works by Swedenborg: a brief addition to Last Judgment and a longer addition to Heaven and Hell.

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front cover of SPIRITUAL RECOVERY
SPIRITUAL RECOVERY
A TWELVE-STEP GUIDE
GRANT SCHNARR
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 1998

Twelve-step programs, which are based on psychological and spiritual growth, serve all who desire a path to freedom from destructive tendencies and consequent suffering. Using a twelve-step approach, Grant Schnarr presents readers with the tools needed to live a life guided by a greater awareness of both others and self. Filled with practical advice for incorporating these twelve principles into one’s life, Spiritual Recovery provides a road map for developing a deeper relationship with God and experiencing greater joy.

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front cover of SPIRITUALITY THAT MAKES SENSE
SPIRITUALITY THAT MAKES SENSE
DOUGLAS TAYLOR
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2000

As a young schoolteacher, Douglas Taylor turned to the teachings of Swedish visionary Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) because Swedenborg's language of symbol made perfect sense to him as a way to understand the Bible. Taylor's book is an easily understood overview of Swedenborgian thought -- a theology that "makes sense." Developing a clear idea of God, Taylor says, "is of supreme importance and has consequences to eternity."

This book explores the concepts of the Creator as Redeemer, the spiritual world, redemption, and the Trinity. Taylor looks at personal morality in Swedenborgian terms, addressing such concerns as the nature of evil, how to escape from evil feelings, and why we must take responsibility for our actions.

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front cover of Stay by Me, Roses
Stay by Me, Roses
The Life of American Artist Alice Archer Sewall James, 1870-1955
ALICE B. SKINNER
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2011

Alice Archer Sewall James—known affectionately as “Archie”—lived a life that most women of her time could only dream about. Educated from a young age and encouraged by her family to express herself in all forms of art, she grew into an irrepressible woman who never stopped looking for ways to pass her experience on to others.

This biography traces her life from her childhood in Urbana, Ohio, to teenage years spent traveling in Europe, to her challenging marriage to John H. James, heir to a family fortune built by his entrepreneurial grandfather of the same name. Her father, Swedenborgian minister and educator Frank Sewall, was her greatest fan, supporting her in good times, as she started to build a reputation as a painter and illustrator, and in bad, as poor health forced her to abandon her art and put a strain on her personal relationships. In later years, however—like the roses in the title poem—she reemerged as an artist and as a teacher, inspiring a new generation of painters at Urbana University.

While Archie’s Swedenborgian heritage gave structure and meaning to her life, it was her inner creative drive that truly touched others. Stay by Me, Roses opens a window on the life and times of a unique nineteenth-century woman.

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front cover of Survey / Soul-Body Interaction
Survey / Soul-Body Interaction
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2022

These two shorter works by Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), originally published separately and very different in content, both represent Swedenborg’s own effort to summarize complex areas of his thought.

Published toward the end of Swedenborg’s life, Survey of Teachings of the New Church was a forerunner to his final theological work, True Christianity. In Survey, Swedenborg discusses some key tenets of Christian doctrine, both Catholic and Protestant, and describes how his own theology differs from it. He focuses on key concepts such as the Trinity, the nature of faith and charity, and the spiritual nature of the Last Judgment described in the book of Revelation. Taken as a whole, the piece is a brief summation of the doctrines that Swedenborg felt were critical for the coming spiritual age.

Soul-Body Interaction addresses a crucial area of Swedenborg’s thought: the way that life flows from the transcendent God into all living things. Swedenborg describes the nature and structure of the spiritual world, including heaven, hell, and the intermediate world of spirits, and describes how the higher levels of being reflect a more perfect conjunction with God. He also traces the flow of the Lord’s love and wisdom into the soul of all living people, showing how it gives life regardless of their current spiritual state.

[more]

front cover of Surviving Suicidal Ideation
Surviving Suicidal Ideation
From Therapy to Spirituality and the Lived Experience
Gina Cavalier and Amelia Kelley
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2024
A guide to help those who experience suicidal ideation heal and find peace.

Surviving Suicidal Ideation embarks on a profound journey through the underlying causes, stages, and powerful emotions that shape the experience of having suicidal thoughts. More importantly, it provides proven tools, exercises, and steps to curtail and heal this preventable condition. With sensitivity and clarity, Dr. Amelia Kelley and Gina Cavalier explore the interconnectedness of addiction, mental health, and trauma.

Using a unique combination of analytic and spiritual practices, mindfulness, cutting-edge brain therapy, and compassionate support, this book offers therapies and self-help techniques with corresponding exercises; hand-inked illustrations by Cavalier; a foreword by Thomas Moore, New York Times bestselling author of Care of the Soul; and an extensive list of resources.

As a public speaker, Cavalier focuses on memoir-style storytelling about living with suicidal ideation. Together, the authors present holistic approaches to suicide prevention and debunk prevalent myths. They also go beyond individual healing, emphasizing the importance of community and relationships. Ultimately, Surviving Suicidal Ideation provides a nonjudgmental guide that enables the reader to develop self-compassion and work toward a positive future filled with hope and resilience.
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front cover of SWEDENBORG AND ESOTERIC ISLAM
SWEDENBORG AND ESOTERIC ISLAM
HENRY CORBIN
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 1995

This volume makes two essays by Henry Corbin, the eminent French scholar of Islam, available in English for the first time. Although his primary interest was the esoteric tradition of Islam, Corbin was also a lifelong student of the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg. The first essay, "Mundus Imaginalis, or The Imaginary and the Imaginal," clarifies Corbin's use of the term he coined, mundus imaginalis, or "the imaginal world." This important concept appears in both Swedenborgian and esoteric Islamic spirituality. The second piece, "Comparative Spiritual Hermeneutics," compares the revelation of the internal sense of the sacred boks of two distinct religions, Christianity and Islam.

[more]

front cover of Swedenborg and His Readers
Swedenborg and His Readers
Selected Essays
John Chadwick
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2003
Swedenborg and His Readers by John Chadwick is a collection of essays that addresses the problems of translation and the bridging of the cultural and historical divide between readers of today and texts written in centuries past. The essays focus on Chadwick’s groundbreaking work as a translator of Swedish philosopher and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), but many of the issues raised are applicable to the broader study of language beyond that. This volume is the first in the Journal of the Swedenborg Society series. It contains five essays by John Chadwick entitled:
 
• “Swedenborg and His Readers”
• “On Translating The True Christian Religion
• “On Conjugial Love
• “On The Worlds in Space
• “The Translator and the Latin Text”
 
Also included in the volume are “A Personal Tribute to John Chadwick” by G. P. Dawson; an introduction by Stephen McNeilly, a bibliography, and an index.
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front cover of SWEDENBORG AND KANT
SWEDENBORG AND KANT
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG'S MYSTICAL VIEW OF HUMANKIND, AND THE DUAL NATURE OF HUMANKIND IN IMMAUEL KANT
GOTTLIEB FLORSCHUTZ
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 1993

German philosopher Immanuel Kant had a complicated view of the writings of Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg. Although Kant wrote a book that was harshly satiric of Swedenborg's ideas (Traume eines Geistersehers, or Dreams of a Spirit-Seer in English), later in life he appeared to reverse this opinion. Florschutz discusses this tension in Kant's thought in this short monograph.

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front cover of SWEDENBORG AND NEW PARADIGM SCIENCE
SWEDENBORG AND NEW PARADIGM SCIENCE
URSULA GROLL
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2000

Ursula Groll relates the metaphysical thought of Emanuel Swedenborg to current New Paradigm science, especially to the interface of science and spirituality. By providing extensive excerpts from Swedenborg's works and drawing parallels between his visionary insights and the works of philosophers and physicists such as David Bohm, Fritjof Capra, Rupert Sheldrake, and Albert Einstein, Groll shows how Swedenborg's voyage of discovery led him increasingly from the great to the small, from the outer to the inner, until he discovered the mirror of the universe, the seat of the Divine as the source of truth.

[more]

front cover of SWEDENBORG
SWEDENBORG
BUDDHA OF THE NORTH
D.T. SUZUKI
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 1996

"…important for anyone who is concerned with inter-religious dialogue and the meaning of… visionary mysticism."
--The Reader's Review

This first complete English translation of two works by Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki introduces Emanuel Swedenborg and compares Swedenborgian thought to Buddhism. The first work stresses Swedenborg's message that true spirituality demands an engagement in this world; the second compares Swedenborg's description of heaven to the paradise of Pure Land Buddhism.

[more]

front cover of The Swedenborg Concordance
The Swedenborg Concordance
A Complete Work of Reference to the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Based on the Original Latin Writings of the Author
John Faulkner Potts
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 1976
The Swedenborg Concordance is one of the most comprehensive reference tools on the writings of the eighteenth-century Swedish philosopher and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg to ever be produced. Printed in six volumes, The Concordance contains a subject index of nearly eight thousand entries spanning across Swedenborg’s entire theological output, listing every instance where these terms occur along with concise and helpful illustrative quotations. The terms are arranged alphabetically in English with the supporting citations also given in English translation. The original Latin words of which the terms are translations are given beside the headwords of each entry.
 
The Concordance is a “must have” for scholars of Swedenborg, providing a much-needed shortcut for anyone researching themes and ideas across Swedenborg’s works.
 
The six volumes are arranged as follows:
 
• Volume I, letters A-C + Introduction
• Volume II, letters D-F
• Volume III, letters G-J
• Volume IV, letters K-N
• Volume V, letters O-Sq
• Volume VI, letters St-Z + Appendix, Latin-English Vocabulary, Errata & Corrigenda
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front cover of SWEDENBORG EXPLORER'S GUIDEBOOK
SWEDENBORG EXPLORER'S GUIDEBOOK
A RESEARCH MANUAL
WILLIAM ROSS WOOFENDEN
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2008

For more than 250 years, followers of scientist and visionary Emanuel Swedenborg have been translating and commenting on his writings, and for those unfamiliar with Swedenborg's works, it can be a difficult field to navigate. This revised and expanded edition of the Swedenborg Explorer's Guidebook offers:

* An annotated bibliography of all primary works by Emanuel Swedenborg -- including scientific, literary, and theological writings as well as personal letters and journals -- containing the latest information on holdings, publication dates, and available translations.

* An extensive annotated bibliography of secondary literature, including major biographies, bibliographies, analyses of Swedenborg's works, dissertations and theses, historical writings about the New Church, and works on and by prominent figures in the Swedenborgian community.

* Easy-to-use listings of Swedenborg's works by date, by subject, and by title, with cross-references to each title's bibliographic information.

* A glossary of special terms used in Swedenborg's writings.

* A listing of major documentary collections in the United States and Europe.

* A chronology of Swedenborg's life and works

* An expanded index

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Swedenborg
Introducing the Mystic
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2009
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s groundbreaking essay on Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), originally published in Emerson’s book Representative Men in 1850, places the Swedish philosopher and mystic alongside other great men of genius, including Michel de Montaigne and William Shakespeare. Casting a sharp critical eye over the central tenets of Swedenborg’s philosophy, Emerson examines the dynamic relationship between Swedenborg’s mysticism and his scientific ways of reasoning.
 
Innovative, critically aware, and thoroughly engaging, Emerson’s essay is an indispensable tool in reading Swedenborg and understanding his subsequent influence on writers as established and respected as August Strindberg and Jorge Luis Borges. This accessible new edition includes a contextual introduction by Stephen McNeilly, a chronology of Swedenborg’s life and works, a chronology of Emerson’s life and works, endnotes, and an index.
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SWEDENBORG, MESMER, AND THE MIND/BODY CONNECTION
THE ROOTS OF COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
JOHN S. HALLER
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2010

Complementary and alternative healing encompass a wide range of practices that share a common ground: the belief that our physical well-being is inextricably linked to an unseen world beyond our physical senses. Our view of that world can be traced to two key thinkers: Emanuel Swedenborg and Franz Anton Mesmer.

Who were these men, and what shaped their thought? How did their ideas capture the public imagination? How did they speak to movements as diverse as utopianism, Spiritualism, psychic healing, and homeopathy? Historian John S. Haller traces the threads of Swedenborg’s and Mesmer’s influence through the history of nineteenth-century medicine, illuminating the lasting impact these men have had on concepts of alternative healing.

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SWEDENBORG, OETINGER, KANT
THREE PERSPECTIVES ON THE SECRETS OF HEAVEN
WOUTER J. HANEGRAAFF
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2007

In this meticulous study, Wouter Hanegraaff examines the structure, themes, and development of Emanuel Swedenborg's massive work Secrets of Heaven (Arcana Coelestia), published between 1749 and 1756. Written as a work of biblical exegesis (of Genesis and Exodus), Swedenborg also interpolated material on his visionary experiences, which have long fascinated readers.

In the second part of the study, Dr. Hanegraaff examines the contemporary reception of the multi-volume work, particularly the critical reactions of Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Christoph Oetinger. He finds that Swedenborg's biblical exegesis, so important in his divine calling, was largely ignored in favor of the mystical experiences.

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A Swedenborg Perpetual Calendar
Thoughts for the Day to Return to Year after Year
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2023
A daily book of insights from Emanuel Swedenborg.

A Swedenborg Perpetual Calendar, originally published in 1902 by the Swedenborg Publishing Association, is a daily devotional calendar consisting of thought-provoking quotes by Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), an Enlightenment-era philosopher, scientist, and mystic whose ideas have inspired generations of religious thinkers and literary figures alike. The Swedenborg Foundation’s new edition of this insightful collection not only includes modern translations of excerpts from the most up-to-date editions and translations of his works but it also provides a fresh perspective on a variety of Swedenborg’s spiritual themes, such as divine love and wisdom, regeneration, divine providence, correspondences, and the afterlife. A useful tool for anyone in search of daily inspiration, A Swedenborg Perpetual Calendar is a timeless treasure that will help guide readers at each step of their spiritual journey.
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A Swedenborg Sampler
Selections from Heaven and Hell, Divine Love and Wisdom, Divine Providence, True Christianity, and Secrets of Heaven
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2011

Swedish scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg wrote volumes upon volumes based on the understanding he gained through visits to the spiritual world and from conversations with its inhabitants. For new readers of Swedenborg, knowing where to start and what to read can present an insurmountable task. This volume is a good starting point and provides samples of some of his most powerful writings, now available in new, contemporary translations.

What happens to our souls after we die? What is the afterlife like? What is the nature of God? Of evil? What can we do during our lives to help guide us to heaven? What kinds of answers can we find in the Bible? Selections from some of Swedenborg’s most popular works—Heaven and Hell, Divine Love and Wisdom, Divine Providence, Secrets of Heaven, and True Christianity—answer these questions and more.

Ideal for those new to Swedenborg’s theology, A Swedenborg Sampler offers tastes from a rich smorgasbord of spiritual insight.

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SWEDENBORG'S 1714 AIRPLANE
A MACHINE TO FLY IN THE AIR
HENRY SODERBERG
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 1988

Though better known for his theological writings, Swedish scientist and visionary Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was also an inventor who was extraordinarily ahead of his time. One of his early designs, circa 1714, was "a machine to fly in the air" -- anticipating the modern airplane by more than 150 years. With its oval, fixed "sail," Swedenborg's contribution soars above its predecessors with its simple, workable design.

Henry Soderberg encountered this remarkable invention while research for a book on the history of flight. In this account Soderberg offers an overview on the dream of flight through the centuries and places Swedenborg at a pivotal point in aviation history.

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front cover of SWEDENBORG'S DREAM DIARY
SWEDENBORG'S DREAM DIARY
LARS BERGQUIST
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2001

Swedish man of letters Lars Bergquist explains the often enigmatic but always fascinating dream journal kept by Emanuel Swedenborg from 1743 to 1744. A scientist, Swedenborg meticulously recorded his dreams and visions, adding interpretations that foreshadowed modern dream analysis. After an Easter vision in 1745, Swedenborg abandoned his scientific studies and dedicated his life to studying the inner meaning of Sacred Scripture. In his diary, he reveals his daily life and the reflections that are a key to understanding his later spiritual works.

"The book enables us to follow Swedenborg...from dismal gloom to inner splendor."
--Gunnar Bronerg, Upsala Nya Tidning

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front cover of Swedenborg's Garden of Theology
Swedenborg's Garden of Theology
An Introduction to Emanuel Swedenborg's Published Theological Works
Jonathan S. Rose
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2010

When he entered the visionary phase of his life, Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) set out on a journey to document all that he had seen, heard, and learned while in contact with the spirits of heaven and hell. Before his death, he wrote eighteen different works published in twenty-five volumes, totaling about three and a half million words.

Navigating that rich garden of thought has been a challenge even for scholars of Swedenborg, let alone those new to his work. In this compact guide, Jonathan S. Rose introduces readers to the basic concepts of Swedenborg’s thought, including Swedenborg’s view of God and the afterlife and his description of humanity’s spiritual history. Rose also examines how Swedenborg’s theology relates to other Christian denominations, both in his time and ours, and takes a side trip into some of Swedenborg’s more unusual ideas.

Swedenborg’s Garden of Theology provides an ideal introduction for anyone seeking a starting point to delve into Swedenborg’s religious thought.

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Swedenborg's Principles of Usefulness
Social Reform Thought from the Enlightenment to American Pragmatism
JOHN S. HALLER
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2020
Swedenborg’s Principles of Usefulness highlights Emanuel Swedenborg’s (1688–1772) widespread influence on an impressive host of historical figures—from poets and artists to philosophers and statesmen—and reform movements whose contributions to the evolution of self and society have resonated throughout time and into the present.

As evidenced in the self-reliance of the great Ralph Waldo Emerson, who went so far as to refer to the early part of the nineteenth century as the age of Swedenborg, the socialist tendencies of Henry James, Sr., and the pragmatic philosophy of his highly esteemed son William James, Swedenborg has had a powerful impact on a number of prominent individual thinkers and their lasting traditions.

With love for one’s neighbor sharing pride of place among his ideas, it comes as no surprise that Swedenborg’s outlook on human interaction worked its way into the various social reform movements that vitalized the American landscape during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From the more politically oriented single-tax movement of Henry George to the utopian aspirations of Charles Fourier and the more spiritually inclined social gospel and pastoral clinical movements, those who took Swedenborg’s principles of usefulness to heart sought ways to reflect the divine design in human society.

John Haller’s treatment of the era draws a magnifying glass to those intellectual titans whose fortitude in the face of psychological and social adversities stands as a testament to the robustness of Swedenborg’s concept of usefulness. As James F. Lawrence, Dean of the Center for Swedenborgian Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, so aptly states in his foreword, “this book tells stories and builds perspectives that will prove without a doubt to be very useful.
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front cover of Swedenborg's Secret
Swedenborg's Secret
The Meaning and Significance of the Word of God, the Life of the Angels, and Service to God; a Biography
LARS BERGQUIST
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2005
Swedenborg’s Secret is the first major study of the eighteenth-century Swedish philosopher and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) to be published in English for over fifty years, being a translation of the critically acclaimed Swedish biography Swedenborg’s Hemlighet (1999). Beautifully designed and illustrated throughout with ten color plates and forty-four black-and-white pictures, Swedenborg’s Secret is an authoritative and full-length biography that is immensely readable.
 
Using a wealth of historical material, Lars Bergquist paints a vivid portrait of an ambitious and practical man who was one of the greatest figures of the Enlightenment, a polymath who was a poet, inventor, mathematician, mineralogist, anatomist, and cosmologist. Bergquist also reveals Swedenborg to be a “man of two worlds,” someone who not only played an active part in the political life of his nation but who was also a spiritual visionary, setting out a stunning vision of human destiny in works such as Heaven and Hell and New Jerusalem. Swedenborg’s Secret reclaims Swedenborg from the margins of contemporary thought and places him where he belongs: as a founding figure of modern spirituality and Western philosophy.
 
The book also contains a chronology of Swedenborg’s life and contemporary events, an appendix listing the contents of Swedenborg’s personal library and other books he was known to have owned or read, a comprehensive bibliography, and a full index.
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The Swedish Prophet
Reflections on the Visionary Philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg
Jose Antonio Anton-Pacheco
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers, 2012

José Antonio Antón-Pacheco exercises his expertise in philosophy in this meditation on the ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg.

In this book he tackles subjects as diverse as the nature of unity and the way that the Divine manifests in the world; the nature of human beings as they relate to the higher realms, and specifically Swedenborg’s concept of the Grand Man or Universal Human; the mystical nature of Swedenborg’s interpretation of the Bible; and the nature of time and space in the spiritual world. Alongside his exploration of Swedenborg’s thought are examinations of Swedenborg’s influence on a variety of different thinkers and authors, from Jorge Luis Borges to Ibn ’Arabi.

This book was originally published in Spanish as El profeta del norte: Un libro sobre Swedenborg. Perfect for scholars and serious students of Swedenborg’s thought, Antón Pacheco’s powerful writing casts a new light on the Swedish prophet.

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