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Name:
Emanuel Swedenborg
Dates:
Born: January 29, 1688 in Stockholm, Sweden
Died: March 29, 1772 in England
Biography:
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was a religious reformer and visionary whose dreams
about Jesus Christ convinced him to turn away from his chosen profession of geology
and instead work to formulate a new understanding of Christianity. At the core of this
was the Neoplatonic idea of a correspondence between the physical and spiritual planes
of existence. According the Swedenborg, the spiritual realm is more "real" than the
physical, but it is nevertheless divided into higher and higher spheres. After physical
death, a soul traveled upward through these spheres, ultimately to encounter God.
Although these doctrines of his did not stand entirely in agreement with traditional Christian orthodoxy, Swedenborg was not seeking to overturn Christianity and establish a new religion. On the contrary, he was hoping to convince other churches to recognize that what he taught was the truth and, so, would lead to a reformation of Christianity. His followers have since established a Church of New Jerusalem to promote his ideas.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
What is Christianity?
What are the various Christian groups, denominations, sects and heresies? What are some key concepts in Christian theology? What are some of the most important events in Christian history? All of this and more are covered in the Christianity FAQ.What is the Philosophy of Religion?
Sometimes confused with theology, the Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion isn't always sharp, but the primary difference is that theology tends to be apologetical in nature, committed to the defense of particular religious positions, whereas Philosophy of Religion is committed to the investigation of religion itself, rather than the truth of any particular religion.What is Theism?
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A system of human beliefs, ideals and practices which is harder to define than it may at first appear. Read more about how dictionaries, scholars and others have tried to define and explain religion.
