What is Swedenborgianism?

Swedenborgianism denies the Trinity, the spotlessness of the Lord, the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, justification by faith, and the resurrection. No real Christianity remains, therefore, in it. At death, the body is done with, but the man rises in a spiritual body which has been contained within the natural. There is, however, an intermediate state of existence in a spiritual world, where henceforth — the last general judgment having taken place — no person is allowed to remain longer than thirty years. Every one passes then into heaven or hell, according as his ruling affections and life on earth have been either good or evil.

I omitted in the former edition of this book to speak of Swedenborgianism, and this has been objected to me; but the reason will be plain to those who are at all acquainted with it. Swedenborgianism rejects ten out of thirty-nine books of the Old Testament, twenty-two out of twenty-seven in the New; and what remains is interpreted in an arbitrary mystical manner, which, based upon a supposed supernatural illumination, refuses to submit to ordinary criticism. To the shred of Scripture left it adds the visions and revelations of Swedenborg himself, and the whole is a new dispensation of truth superseding the gospel. Thus evidently it is of little use discussing this doctrine or that belonging to it. It stands or falls as a whole, and any sufficient review of its claims would be beyond the scope of this volume. Yet we may permit ourselves a very brief notice.

130 And now of the other instances. First of the Swedenborgians, to which the editor so kindly compares his "separating brethren," he has reason to believe Baron Swedenborg was an eminently devoted man. "His tenets are drawn from the scriptures, and supported by quotations from them." What does the editor mean? The Swedenborgians deny the Trinity, the atonement, and almost every sound Christian doctrine, and draw their notions from a vision of Baron Swedenborg in a coffee-house in London, and subsequent revelations. Was the editor aware of these things, when he said his tenets are drawn from scripture and supported by quotations from them? Surely, his jealousy of his "separating brethren" has carried him beyond the bounds of prudence, when he asserts that the tenets of those who deny the Trinity, the atonement, and the like Christian doctrines, and hold Swedenborg's revelations exclusively as to the other world, are drawn from scripture and supported by quotations from them. Probably he was quite ignorant of what he spoke; but scripture ought not to be thus trifled with, however, his "separating brethren" may.

The belief of the Swedenborgians may be named as approaching in some things to Gnosticism, in so far as it speaks of the humanity of our Lord as divine humanity, and denies that His death was in our stead. But there are many others who also deny this last point, and who attempt to exalt man into being his own saviour by morality and virtue, altogether denying the truth so plainly taught in scripture of the fall of man, and the need of the death of Christ for redemption.

"It is not so difficult as it is supposed to live a life which leads to heaven." "Some people believe that a spiritual life is difficult, since they have been told that a man must renounce the world, and deprive himself of the concupiscences of the body and the flesh; which things they conceive as implying that they must reject worldly things, which consist chiefly in riches and honors; that they must walk continually in pious meditation about God, salvation, and eternal life; and that they must spend their days in prayer, and in reading the Word and other pious books. This they call renouncing the world, and living in the Spirit and not in the flesh. But that the case is altogether otherwise has been given me to know," says Swedenborg himself, "from much experience, and from conversation with the angels. Indeed, they who renounce the world and live in the Spirit, in the manner above described, procure to themselves a sorrowful life, which is not receptible of heavenly joy; for every one's life remains with him after death." He accordingly recommends "the delights and pleasures of the bodily senses," — dice, billiards, cards, and dances.

130 John 6:62. — Cf. note 68 above. This refutes Swedenborg, who held that the Lord was always casting off His manhood, so that at last only the Father remained, there was neither Son of God nor Son of man who could ascend! We are here told that Christ called Himself "Son of man," in view of resurrection. Swedenborg, in keeping with his theory of the Lord's earthly life, denied His bodily return from heaven — a negation which the Evangelist, in his Second Epistle, brands as a mark of Antichrist (verse 7; see R.V., and cf. 1 John 4:2). For further reference to the Ascension in this Gospel see John 20:17. It is such passages as these that Wendt attributes to an "editor" (see note 2 on Introduction).

165 John 8:29. — This controverts Swedenborg's doctrine that there is only one "Person" in the Godhead, that the body taken was the Son, and that the Father, in His resistance to evil, put it off altogether! (Cf. note 130.)

355 John 19:42. — "They put Jesus." This, again, controverts such views of human destiny as Swedenborg's, which represent the body as for ever abandoned at death. The Lord's body is spoken of as Himself.

"Who can read the above, without perceiving its applicability to the state of things in the Church at the present day? Let us examine a few of the sentiments contained in the passage. The writer speaks of pretended purity causing separation from the Church of England. We hasten to say, that as far as our experience reaches, we have not met with any instance where the brethren, to whom we conceive the above passage is so applicable, can be accused of extraordinary pretences to purity. It is true that in many of them, we believe, the depravity of human nature has much the same uncontrolled operation that it has amongst unconverted professors in the Church of England. But we believe that in the majority of instances they are 'Israelites in whom is no guile'; and that, like the beginners of all other Christian sects, they are more than ordinarily engaged in doing good. But we must remember that purity of life and conversation is no certain preservative against error in judgment; it is no preservative against mental derangement; nor is it a preservative against any of its degrees such as follies and eccentricities of various kinds, which we cannot but observe amongst many whom we acknowledge to be saints. We are particularly anxious that our readers should be well informed on this point, that holiness of life is not a sure preservative against error in judgment on points that do not affect the vitals of Christianity; because it is an argument which is commonly used, and particularly calculated to deceive unstable souls. As we have already hinted, the framers and beginners of every new sect must necessarily be, or appear to be, holy people: otherwise they would have no followers. Baron Swedenborg, we have reason to believe, was an eminently devoted man. It is said of him, that, 'he affected no honour, but declined it; pursued no worldly interest, but spent his time in travelling and printing to communicate instruction and benefit mankind.' He had nothing of melancholy in his manner, and nothing in the least bordering on enthusiasm in his conversation, yet he was not preserved from the grossest fanaticism. We are told by his biographer, that he professed himself to be the founder, under our Lord, of the New Jerusalem Church. His tenets are drawn from scripture, and supported by quotations from it. He asserts that in the year 1743 the Lord manifested Himself to him in a personal appearance, and at the same time opened his spiritual eyes so that he was enabled constantly to see and converse with spirits and angels. Then zeal and apparent spiritual-mindedness do not preserve from error: indeed it does not. Again and again we have heard Christians speaking of what they have termed truths which God had taught them, which we believe to be as simply the product of their own fancy, or the fancy of those from whom they learned them, as Baron Swedenborg's supposition, that his spiritual eyes were opened to enable him to converse with angels. Again, George Fox, the founder of the sect of Quakers, together with his immediate followers, were most unquestionably deeply pious persons. 'They were pious persons, who were dissatisfied with the settlement of the Church of England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.' We are told that 'the tenor of Fox's doctrine was to wean men from systems, ceremonies, and the outside of religion in every form, and to lead them to an acquaintance with themselves. Drawing his doctrine from the pure source of religious truth, the New Testament, abstracted from the comments of men, he asserted the freedom of man in the liberty of the gospel against the tyranny of custom, and against the combined powers of severe persecution, the greatest contempt, and keenest ridicule.' Yet neither Fox's piety and zeal, nor that of his followers afforded any good reason for embracing their various extravagances.

Take another and distinct proof of its blasphemy. "This Christ-Truth is His second coming, which is mentioned and referred to in the Bible over three hundred times." … "Now He has come — IMPERSONALLY!" "We consciously [? confidently] declare that 'Science and Health, with key to the Scriptures' was foretold as well as its author [Dr. T.'s italics], Mary Baker Eddy in Revelation 10. She is the 'mighty angel,' or God's highest thought to this age (verse 1) giving us the spiritual interpretation of the Bible in the 'little book open' (verse 2)." Naturally and necessarily therefore Mrs. Eddy's little book supersedes the Bible, as Swedenborg's volumes do for the N. J. church, and Joe Smith and Pratt's impostures for the Mormonites; yet they all pretend to accept the Scriptures!!! Alas! it is as hollow and guilty, as when a feast was proclaimed to Jehovah; but in reality Israel worshipped a molten image, having changed their glory for an ox that eateth grass.