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Raised a Swedenborgian: A Personal Testimony
By Kurt Simons | February 18, 2008
My earliest memory of religious experience was atmospheric rather than explicit. It comprised in about equal parts the sphere of the dedicated older women teachers who were, to me, the soul and spirit of the church elementary school I attended, and the experience of the elegant cathedral where our family went to church, with its interplay of stained glass and organ music. Among the seeds planted in those early days, little though my peers and I realized it at the time, was the notion that we were different from and better than other churches, or what would now be termed faith traditions, out there. God and that solemn-looking man with a wig in the picture had given us this huge set of books that were so special that we were not allowed to place anything on top of them. They were also too hard for us to understand; we needed a clergyman to help us, laying groundwork for another pattern that would have ramifications later in life.
My first serious encounter with the explicit side of religious experience was the dreaded religion paper in the final year - 8th grade in those days – of elementary school. Yet again laying groundwork for things to come, the experience of rational reflection stimulated by composing that paper drove home, albeit in only a preliminary way, the idea of religion being primarily a rational experience. This idea was further reinforced by church and chapel experiences as well, all emphasizing that, no matter what your religious question, there was always a rational answer to it available and, by implication, that feelings and faith were second best to that rationality.
On the decidedly non-rational side of things there was, in that final year of elementary school, the other new phenomenon – girls. Most specifically, there were girls involved with that other dreaded ordeal, dancing class. One of my male classmates even attempted to hide under a table to avoid taking part. In retrospect, the angst of those classes seems almost poignant, a light year removed from the raw meat sexuality confronting today’s children. But those classes were nonetheless, in their own small way, significant, again laying groundwork. The groundwork in this case, however, was part of what I believe was the noblest undertaking of that church organization’s existence, the attempt to prepare us for the ideal of true marriage, that great blessing of human life. The allegiance to this ideal was not lightly held, as demonstrated a half century earlier in a sensational court trial where the church, in what was perhaps its finest hour, had bravely defended that ideal in the face of ugly attack.
And so on to high school, where the explicit side of religion took center stage, as we learned in lawyerlike fashion how to interpret the codes of correspondence and construct thought frameworks able to interpret any moral or spiritual situation. Of great significance, in retrospect, was the strong orientation to the books, i.e. the 30 volumes of Swedenborg’s theological works. Those other books, of the Bible, were typically only mentioned in support of, or to complement, a point made from the theological works. The Source of both sets of books, Jesus Christ, was almost never mentioned at all. Primary allegiance was to “The Word,” or “The Writings,” i.e. to the books, not to a Person. (The logic behind use of the term “The Writings” is difficult to follow since, by definition, everything Swedenborg wrote on any subject is part of his writings.) Furthermore, what mention of Divinity was made was typically de-personalizing, using terms such as the Divine Love and Wisdom, the Divine Providence, the title “the Lord,” and the almost inscrutable abstraction of the “Divine Human,” which I can recall even clergymen saying they didn’t fully understand.
In high school the banner of marriage, or “conjugial,” love was held high and driven home. At the same time, perhaps predictably since the effects of the Victorian age were still pretty much in place in the 1950’s, the discussions of the subject were circumspect and theoretical. Meaning, to a teenager in the midst of sexual fantasies or pregnancy or promiscuity, that that teaching appeared to fall far short when it was needed most. The end result for many young women, I have since learned, was feelings of worthlessness, despair and an “Oh well, I’m going to hell anyway, it doesn’t matter now what I do, so I might as well have fun” outlook. In other words, the sad and ironic end result of this ideal as here taught was too often to get kids deeper into its opposite.
And then to college. Here I learned for the first time what a potent debate weapon my Swedenborgian ideational structure could be. In those late-night discussions with my dorm mates I found I could take on virtually any ethical or teleology issue and “win.” I thus fell into thinking an echo of what I had heard earlier in life, about our faith tradition being newer and better than the competition’s. It did not occur to me that, in the bigger picture, I lost. I had some subtle warnings, such as the fact that I “won” those discussions didn’t seem to attract anyone to my theology’s ideas. And then there was the girlfriend who told me that I had too many answers. But dominating one’s fellows is heady stuff for the male persuasion in that fiery time of life. Having my own classical DJ show on the college radio station Sunday evenings added to that brew, as did an in-group experience in a student government election campaign that tangled with the college’s administration. This was the ’60’s, after all. It took the caustic commentaries from a sophisticated roommate to begin and, many years later, a very patient wife, to reverse course in this area and, regrettably, I still fall into this trap in too many cases. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
After spending 5 years wandering across the curriculum in college, I finally graduated with a useless degree (“Arts & Letters”), but its limited prospects were bypassed by my being accepted into the Peace Corps for an educational television project in South America. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. My peers in El Cuerpo de Paz (in the Spanish of the country we were in training for) felt, under JFK’s magic, that the world’s problems could in fact be solved and we could help. For me what hit home was that this love of the neighbor stuff wasn’t just theology - it really felt great!
I was “unselected” – in plain English, kicked out – from the Peace Corp at the end of training, basically, I think, though I was never told in precise terms, because I was too brash. That superiority demon coming out again. I would have done well to reflect on the implications of that at the time, but was too busy going off to seek my fortune elsewhere. With the help of a cousin’s boyfriend, I ended up squeaking into a part-time job as a social worker, working with “predelinquent” boys, in a settlement house in the lower east side of New York City. I started thinking about going back to school for my MSW and doing this for real but, a few months later, it became clear that the US Army was interested in me, in a drafty kind of way, so I made an end run and enlisted myself. After which I had the second great experience of my life, basic training. It was a fascinating and exhilarating experience to be part of a disparate group of guys welded into a common use, a unit, our platoon, based on pitching right in - with rough and ready feedback if you didn’t get with the program! There was no issue here of somebody being better than somebody else. If your platoon was going to work and pass its tests, everybody had to get together. You passed as a unit or you didn’t pass. I still recall one overweight guy who just wasn’t making it around the track fast enough to qualify. So while the rest of us cheered and jeered, three guys from the platoon ran with him and all but pushed him around that track. He qualified.
After Basic I had a classic Army experience. I had been sent by my reserve unit to get trained in communications. So, what else, I was sent to the motor pool. If you ever need help changing a jeep oil filter at 2 AM (I was on the late shift), you know where to come.
After the Army my life spaced out. After the intensity, direction and clear purpose of the Peace Corps and Army, nothing in the typical workaday menu open to me seemed very interesting or meaningful. My dad wangled me a job with a company that installed cable TV systems. Though nobody said anything, I knew the guys I worked with resented my being there under those circumstances, and I didn’t see spending the rest of my life threading cable through conduit. It would have been a great opportunity to do some reflection on humility, but I never got further than a case of the blahs. But Jesus took pity on me and caused lightning to strike.
We were in Delaware working on a new statewide educational TV setup. Their current studio setup was just 3 tractor-trailer trailers. I stopped at the end of one of them one day and fell into conversation with one of the system administrators working there. In what turned out to be a life-changing discussion, he convinced me that educational TV was the career path of choice and offered to help me apply to the program he had gone to at Michigan State. That fall, a few months later, after just squeaking my way in (since my C undergrad average didn’t exactly impress) I hopped in my old VW beetle and pointed north and west to MSU’s grad school. And no, it did not occur to me to thank God for giving me this opportunity. I hadn’t, after all, ever been taught to think of Him as a person you could thank, and it certainly didn’t occur to me spontaneously then.
I paid my way through MSU by writing manuals on pump operation for refinery employees. More significantly, on the social side of things, I ran into a very attractive young lady and one thing led to another. Basically, I pushed her around. A lot. We got engaged, since that was what one did when serious, or so I thought I had been taught. And as long as we had the external niceties, things like consideration, or even love, weren’t that big a deal, right? It sounds pretty harsh to say it like that but when you take the window dressing off, that in fact is how harsh it is - and was.
At this point I was starting to get itchy. Educational TV was interesting, but I started looking for something more fundamental, and fell into a fascination with the design of non-verbal communication, i.e. semiotics, and its possible application to allow educational material to reach a much larger group of people, notably in the Third World, than was possible when that material had to be translated into the myriad languages of this planet. I then ran into a small book by a man at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education that looked like it was pertinent and I decided to apply to work under him to see if I could make my idea go. With some more reading I realized that there were other people there, some of them famous, who also might have useful thoughts on all this. So, with what looks in retrospect like just total brass, I went to visit Harvard and talked to some of them. I don’t think I would have been as courteous as they all were if I had been in their shoes and this whippersnapper had come knocking all unannounced. But go I did. While there, at the critical moment of truth, as it turned out, Jesus reached down and helped me out yet again. When I went to talk to the prof whose book was my original reason for coming, he was out of the country. Only his secretary, or what looked like a secretary, was there. This was where Jesus must have reached down once more since I was, with her, for once in my life, not brash but respectful. I discovered later that she was anything but just a secretary; She was an administrator in the department, with a degree from Harvard herself. Another visitor showed up at the same time on a similar mission to mine (was that timing an accident, or occasion for reflection?). He was not respectful to her and was told goodbye in short order. In my case, she began what turned out to be a momentous process by giving me the phone number of one of their program’s grad students who, she said, could tell me more about the program. ”Tell me more” turned out to be a considerable understatement. The grad student didn’t just tell me about the department but gave me invaluable and patient advice on writing my application. (I spent 2 weeks, 8 hours a day, writing and - with her help - rewriting, and then again rewriting just the personal statement.)
I was accepted, once again just squeaking by, to their program at a Master’s level. Also once again, it never occurred to me to say thank you to the Man Who had arranged this. So, come September, I bid my fiancé good-by and drove that old Beetle, containing all my worldly possessions, 18 straight hours from East Lansing to Cambridge, Mass.
That fall had a dark spot in the midst of all my new challenges. In retrospect, I am sure my fiancé must have long had reservations about our relationship, as well she might, but it did not really come out till I had been gone a while. When she called me up with storm warnings I hopped the next plane and went out there unannounced. I tried to push her around some more in the one time I saw her. Then she simply disappeared, going to stay with a friend, her roommate later told me. I never saw her again. A week later I got a package in the mail with the copy of the Word I had given her and her engagement ring. But no note. I am sure she must have had a difficult time to begin with, although her story apparently ultimately had a happy ending, for which I thank Jesus in His mercy. However, it has been a source of lingering regret that I didn’t know, hadn’t been taught, didn’t have any more of a clue about charity in handling this most important subject, of relating properly with women. It was certainly primarily my fault, but things could have been very different if Marriage Love (sometimes titled Conjugial Love) had been shown to me as a practical manual and not just theology.
My long search for what I wanted to do with my life continued through Harvard, moving finally to a PhD program at the regular grad school. To pay the rent, I went through several grad student type jobs until, Shazam!, I ran by accident (or was it?) into a department in the Medical School that did research on kids’ eye problems. I knew, at last, I had come home. Not long after that, I met a winsome young woman at a Swedenborgian church camp and found home for real. I proposed to her at Walden Pond on a lovely fall day and promised her we would never be rich but that she’d never be bored. I think she’d agree I lived up to that promise! She’s been a wise and patient partner and blessing through four children and many twists in the road since.
My religious story was far from done, however. I spent a good chunk of time in the next 40 years in writing for or editing Swedenborgian church publications. My main topic was almost always evangelization. For most of those years I never stopped to think about just what it was that I was trying to sell in that evangelization. Not that there was any lack of clues if I had stopped to look for them, most notably the remarkably tiny number of people that had ever been attracted to the Swedenborgian organizations despite a denominational history two centuries long. But all that came to sudden sharp focus when our son, an ordained Swedenborgian clergyman, resigned not only his pastorate but his church membership. At one of Pastor Rick Warren’s church growth seminars, he had had an epiphany and come to realize that he wasn’t really a part of the “Swedenborgian Church” or the “New Church” – he was a part of the Christian church, the church of Jesus Christ, of which the teachings of the Second Coming were only the latest dispensation. He resigned his office and membership when it became clear that the leadership and culture of the church organization he was trying to serve was not supportive of the only way he felt free to teach the full gospel of Jesus Christ.
As you might expect, watching our son go through this transformation was a stunning experience for his mother and me. Here was this idealistic kid we’d raised, who had won every award the church high school had to give and who had looked forward for years to theological school and then to his ministry. To put the icing on the cake we had had the delight of seeing his clerical career start up with what looked like a smashingly successful roar in his first pastorate. Then, in a twinkling, it had all gone to pieces. Was he right? How could I, in all those years, have missed a problem with my church on a scale that would warrant such a dramatic and, apparently, career-ending response? I began to go back and look at the teachings involved from his new perspective. To make a long story short, one question led to another and much of my thinking and assumptions about the organized “New Church”came down like a collapsing house of cards. For those interested, I’ve spelled out some of my thoughts on my websites, most notably at
How Important is a Relationship with Jesus?
Do We Need Church Organizations?
Which Books Of Swedenborg are Divinely Inspired?
Swedenborg and Spiritualism and Spiritism
(You can find some of our son’s thinking online at his Second Advent Christian™ site.)
I also went back and re-read Marguerite Block’s seminal history of the Swedenborgian/New Church movement, The New Church in the New World (most of which is available online). With my newly opened eyes, her account sounded like just more of the same endless theological wrangles and power struggles that have troubled the Christian church since its inception millenia ago. Wouldn’t you expect a church based on the full teachings of Jesus Christ, including those of His Second Coming, to be different, “all things new” (Revelation 21: 5, Doctrine of the Lord 62, 65) and better?
Block’s book was published in 1932. That not much has changed, however, is suggested in a recent talk by Frank Rose, an audio recording of which is available online. (Note the associated handout on the main page.) I also found food for thought here in a pungent column on “Church Politics” in Relevant Magazine (reprinted here. If that link doesn’t work, click here).
From my new perspective, I feel like a total dope for not seeing the issue here myself for all those years. Why did I have to raise a son to adulthood and wait for him to complete all his training and experiences, and then tell me about them, before I could see the blatant truth here? It seems so obvious now: I am not “Swedenborgian” either – I do not worship Swedenborg or the books he wrote. I’m also not “new church,” if that term is taken to mean something other than Christian. I worship Jesus Christ, in both His comings. For me this means being dedicated to developing a relationship with Him and learning the teachings of His Word in all its dispensations, from Genesis to The True Christian Religion (see The Second Advent Christian™ Canon of Scripture). And, finally, instead of focusing on differences with other faith traditions, particularly with other Christians, I now try to find things we have in common, and build bridges of mutual charity.
* * * * *
“ Among [the ancient] peoples the doctrinal and ritual matters differed, but still the church was one, because to them charity was the essential thing. Then was there the Lord’s kingdom on earth as in the heavens, for such is heaven (see n. 684, 690). If the same situation existed now all would be governed by the Lord as though they were one person; for they would be like the members and organs of one body which, though dissimilar in form and function, still related to one heart on which every single thing, everywhere varied in form, depended. Everyone would then say of another, No matter what form their doctrine and external worship take, this is my brother or sister; I see that he or she worships the Lord and is a good person.” (Arcana Coelestia 2385)
Topics: Issues, Theology | 17 Comments »
March 1st, 2008 at 2:20 am
It’s probably a disadvantage to be raised a Swedenborgian. Then, there is no opportunity to discover the writings.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:13 am
A fascinating thought!
July 18th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Conversion stories always interest me,so this was the first thing I read on your website. At first,it almost seemed like you were going to eventually say that E.S. was a cult you no longer belonged to. I was pleased to see this was not the case.
Your emphasis on a personal,intimate relationship with Christ was what really caught my eye,since that is the reason I started to read E.S. I am always thirsting for that deeper relationship with HIM. It has got me on the “wrong road” at times,but I find ES as someone quite different. He speaks with authority,without any arrogance or pride,and his writings (to my understanding) are devoid of contradictions. The one thing I do have difficulty with,is his rejection of St.Paul’s epistles as inspired Scripture. I would like some help with that, especially. Thank you, Richard
July 21st, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Richard,
“speaks with authority,without any arrogance or pride,and his writings (to my understanding) are devoid of contradictions” sounds like a good characterization of Divine revelation to me!
My thought on the Epistles would be that people have argued for centuries over what books constitute God’s Word, such as the difference between the Jewish and Christian canons, or the various positions on the Christian canon, such as whether the Apocrypha or Gospel of Thomas should be included. I think that it all comes down to a question of faith, of deciding what books Jesus speaks to you from. If Swedenborg’s inspired theological works speak to you in that way, as Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, then their statements on the Biblical canon will have the same authority as all their other teachings.
I can certainly sympathize with the challenge of accepting the “loss” of the Epistles from what a person has always believed to be the Christian canon – but recall that, strictly speaking, Swedenborg did not say that the Epistles had no inner spiritual sense, but that they only had it intermittently, as opposed to all the way through like the fully inspired works. And recall also that Swedenborg does cite the Epistles a fair number of times in the inspired works (e.g. AC 9708 BE 44, DLW 221, TCR 338). Finally, the Epistles are, of course, valuable as a source of historical information on the early church. So, bottom line, I think that the Epistles do play a useful role, and so should certainly not be dismissed or forgotten.
Best wishes,
Kurt
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Thanks again,Kurt. That does help. I do come from a traditional background,but by conviction,not upbringing. I had no real interest in religion until after I left the military in the early 60s. Christ became “personal” to me about 1963. I have been studying Scripture ever since,desiring a closer more intimate relationship with Him. Since I started readin E.S., I have a heart-sence (if I can put it that way) that his writings are true,and he was a godly man, no fraud in any way.. Now I have to change a lot of my traditional theology,and E.S. is hard to follow in many things,esp.,studying alone with no help, but I do believe it is worth the effort.
If you know anyone who has a second hand set of AC, (I do have the first two volumes) I would like to buy them. My trouble is I know of no one any where near me who is a student of E.S. If you can direct me in this,I would be grateful. Richard
July 24th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Richard,
If you have known Jesus since the 1960’s, I can certainly appreciate that some of the new ideas about Him found in the Second Coming teachings do take some adjustment! On the other hand, as you have found, how great it is to experience the light of the Good News of the Second Coming, about Jesus and many other issues!
As far as AC, if you want used copies, you might want to take a look at one of the used book sites on the web. The most efficient one I’ve found, which scans a number of sites all at once, is http://used.addall.com/. However, my suggestion would be to get a copy of the new AC translation by Elliot produced by the Swedenborg Society. You could order this directly from the Society (http://www.swedenborg.org.uk/bookshop/swedenborg-works/theology), but the postage from London is appreciable! So you might want to order them from one of the New Church bookstores on this side of the Atlantic, such as http://store.newchurch.org/home.php. I think you will find that the new translation will make it easier to understand what Swedenborg is saying.
If you can give me an idea of what part of the country you live in, I might be able to track down a “believer” in your area. However, finding a follower of Swedenborg’s theology who shares your (and my) idea of the primacy of relating to Jesus may be something of a challenge.
Best,
Kurt
July 24th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Thank you again,Kurt, for taking the time to help me. I will take your advice and order the Elliot AC. I do need all the help I can get when it comes to understanding ES. He, or the old translation, can be hard to grasp at times. Or perhaps it’s my lack of knowledge of the New Church terminology. Probably a combination.
I will give you the general area with some major cities,all within an hour or so from me. I live in NE PA. The closest towns are Wyalusing,Towanda, Tunkhannock. Those within 1 hour are: Scranton,Wilkes Barre, Sayre, Troy, and Binghamton,NY. I am about 2-3 hours from Philadelphia.
If you do know of someone, I will be glad to give you my phone # if they would like to contact me.
I do enjoy reading your articles,and those of the other website you are linked with. They have helped me to understand that ES writings can be a great help in developing an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus,as well as understanding the deeper things of the internal sense of Scripture.
Peace and Grace, Richard
July 25th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Richard,
I’m afraid I don’t have much to suggest in the way of nearby fellow believers. There’s a group something like 3 hours away, but, given your focus on Jesus, I am not sure how comfortable you would feel with them. However, I will keep my radar on and let you know if I hear from or about anyone that would be pertinent.
Changing gears – you mention that you like reading articles on that “other website” I link to. I’m curious to know which that site is (since I link to several).
Your friend in faith,
Kurt
July 30th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Kurt:
Good to hear your story. Growing up down the street from you, we shared the same experiences several years apart. I know someone in Richard’s area that he could talk to. I’m currently manager of the Bookstore in the Cathedral at Bryn Athyn, so I could help him with any questions about publications. My phone # is 267-502-4922. I’m a church universal kind of guy, so I hope I’d make him feel welcome. In the Bookstore today we emphasis Jesus Christ our Lord and the Ten Commandments as the basis for our faith. My own experience of a spiritual rather than religious faith began at 37. It has been an exciting journey!
August 1st, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Hello Mr Nash, Kurt alerted me to your email. Thanks for taking an interest. I would like to talk with you about what you suggest,both books and possible connection with someone in my area.
I will try and call early next week.
The experiential part of Faith is most important to me,not just the intellectual,so I appreciate your last comment. I had lots of head knowledge for years,but it did not move me to action,until I experienced the reality of the Living Lord Jesus.
That is one reason why ES appeals to me; his emphasis on the conjunction of Love and Faith which must produce action or Use. I don’t know if I am expressing it quite right,being a novice of ES’s Writings,but I ‘m sure you get my meaning.
In Him, Richard
August 3rd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Kurt says
I was sad to learn that Rob shared my religious experience growing up, that I reviewed in my rundown above. If I were him, I sure wouldn’t want to share it! I feel like, as a child and adolescent, I in effect asked my church for bread and a fish and was given a stone and a snake (Matt. 7:9). 50 years later I am belatedly struggling to correct a lot of misinformation that habitual use has burned into my thought down to almost reflex level, and to create a connection to Jesus that I wasn’t meaningfully aware even existed as an option. Yes, I certainly knew of the standard Christian teachings about Jesus, and discussed them on occasion with Christian friends. But the religious teachings of my growing-up years taught me those groups and individuals were all “old church,” and had the wrong idea. So when I discovered 50 years later that I had some pretty wrong ideas, that I wasn’t even really a Christian, it was pretty disorienting! And, like a stone dropped in a pool, the ripples of these realizations spread out in every direction in my life. The cold and complexly rational experience that my background had taught me was what religion was all about had spilled out and affected relationships in every direction, from my marriage and child-raising to my opinions about the frailties of people I knew or heard of.
I don’t mean to suggest that all of this was my church’s fault. I’ve made a lot of dumb decisions for which the buck stops right here at my own free will. But I do feel a sense of betrayal and, even more, of break-your-heart lost opportunity. If I had known a half-century ago what I do today about relating to Jesus, it would have changed the course of my life. And from all I hear, I am not alone in this. Indeed, if we all had listened to the mandates that Jesus so lovingly prescribed, maybe we would already have been able to work with Him to make this world a better place.
Well, looking back is the nature of an old fogie, which I have become, alas! But I would like to think that, while our generation didn’t get it right, our mistakes will help those coming up after us to do better. The Good News of the Lord Jesus will certainly not be denied, and I expect new organizations to arise, dedicated to the teachings of both His Comings, that will help carry His banner and impact the world to an extent that we can now only dimly imagine.
August 8th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I am reminded of something said to me years ago,that makes perfect sense after reading Kurts article of 8/3/08. “RELIGION DIVIDES BUT CHRIST UNITES. ” How often I have found this to be true in my 45+ years of searching for that intimate union with Him.
I have many friends of different Christian sects,but very few who can differentiate between religion and Christ. They are so bogged down by their denominational teachings,taboos and traditions that they are blind to beauty of Christ Jesus Himself. No one reading this is going to comprehend my meaning unless they have an experiential relationship with Him. So, that is all I can say about it until the Spirirt puts that desire into one’s heart.
I will add,that I do fellowship with a “denominational” group,although I cannot accept all they teach. But,I believe that we must be joined in some way to a Christian Body in order to be of USE. A Christian is not saved alone. He/She is incorporated,or joined in union with, a Body of believers,with Christ as The Head, to be of USE.
By personal,daily Bible study,along with the Writings,one can stay clear of the old traditional hangups,any group has.
Richard
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:59 pm
You got me. That final statement Kurt about “His comings” says so much. This is what I have been studying and stressing for so many years now. This new expanded knowledge has been hidden in plain view for thousands of years and the kingdom it points to establishing is I feel overdue.
I read the prophecies of Isaiah a fair time back concerning a peacefull kingdom that will exist on the earth during the end time and have done a lot of thinking and research into what this means.
I understand that Swedenborg believed that the second coming was current and have been trying to get more information on his teachings to see how they might possibly extend my own understanding on the subject with no luck. I live in Saskatoon Saskatchewan where there is a church of some type, at least there is a contact # listed in the Swedenborg directory but several phone calls to this # have had no results.
As I said I believe this message is absolutely essential and want to gather all the pertinent information I can before I publish my research. I am in the midst of putting together a CD entitled the gospel according to Brother Trucker. As the title indicates it is the gospel commented on in plain language that most truckers can relate to. Although I spent most of my life as a trucker I also spent the last few years as a social worker before retireing and have a background in theology.
Funds are limited at this point. I have a huge investment in books already and cannot afford much more on my fixed income. Your understanding and Swedenborgs of the second coming and the peacefull kingdom would be most helpfull.
You talk about new organizations to arrize and address what we have missed. Perhaps a discussion group around points you have made would be a good start to this goal. I compliment you on your vision. Do not surrender. HELP PLEASE Kent
Let me talk to Richard. What you say is true about belonging. I also go to church. Dont think I may be censuring you, but dont forget in this to remember the old testament prophets who stood alone in a church that condemened and murdered them.
There is a time when belonging must give way to believing. Jesus our dear leader exemplified this in His life and He promised His followers could meet a similiar fate.
The sincere are not always welcome. A conscience is a terrible thing to waste and when we ask questions that prick an almost dead and incoherent conscience we are often met with hostility. Do not expect all your answers to be met with intelligent dialog. We are lucky to have found Kurt and people like him. Speak your truth anyway. Good luck and God bless. Kent
March 6th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Growing up in the so, called christian church, many false persuasions concerning religion stuck with me. until my mother was introduced to Swedenborg. Sixteen years ago now and at first it was sweet in the mouth and bitter in the belly, but because I had a question for the Our Lord Jesus Christ ? What was the purpose of our life, outside of working and taking care of the home, is that it. Well, the Lord not only answered my question, but has kept me feet moving for sixteen years, through temtations , and frustrations, and blessings, revelations all revealing that through his Glorified Divine Human we all have been given the gift of his salvation if only we freely choose it, that we are all unworthy of his love and mercy, that he came and is coming for sinners, that acknowledge that he is the way, the truth and the life, and that no man cometh to the father, but through the son. Praise our Lord Jesus Christ and his Holy Divine name for his Love towards mankind.
June 24th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Kurt and all other interested and interesting people herein;
I was a classmate of Kurt in the senior year at the Academy in Bryn Athyn and therefore share a similar experience in religious upbringing. My father also was an ordained minister in the faith. Through my father, however, I never felt the “distancing from Jesus” you have mentioned. Jesus the Christ was always the main subject of devotion in my father’s teaching and preaching – always in the light of the revelation of the second coming of course.
I could agree that religion as was taught to us at the Academy was perhaps overly “Swedenborgian” and underly Christian. But, in my mind, I never separated the two.
What did impress me was the new concept of how Jesus saved us through overcoming all the powers of hell during his crucifixion. Not through some “Divine Pity” from the Father, a concept with which I have trouble.
Interestingly, that, (to me), false concept comes primarily from the Epistles of Paul. In my mind I have for some time called traditional Christianity by the name of “Paulianity”.
Your story of alienation from our church as an organization is a sad one, but perhaps a well deserved criticism. I have had my own falling out with the faith, but for entirely different reasons than yours, and not pertinent to the current discussion.
I admire what you are doing in these pages and encourage you to keep it up!
Alfie
February 28th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
I was raised in this era with you and just stumbled on this website. My mother (Lois) was a convert. I fortunately found my way out to more sane places. I remember singing a song about children in heaven and spots on dresses – just crazy to do that to a child, so wrong. I wish it was unlawful to religiously indoctriate children. It’s so tough to get out, and so tough to recover. The conditioning is so powerful to do it to your own children – terrible cycle, people lose their souls.
Reading this causes a pit in my stomach – I’m so grateful to be out.
March 1st, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Dale,
It sounds like things look more hopeful for you, now that you’ve found your way “out.” You might find the website
http://www.freedomchurchnetwork.com/
of interest, with its emphasis on freedom.
My personal goal is to try to come out the other side, valuing the remarkable teachings of the Second Advent while avoiding/rejecting past misintreptations of it by various individauls and organizations with an axe to grind or political power to accumulate.