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The Spiritual Diary of Emanuel Swedenborg
The Spiritual Diary of Emanuel Swedenborg is a five volume work containing the private account of Emanuel Swedenborg's spiritual experiences in heaven and hell, which he experienced in full waking visions over a 27 year period. The Diary contains a chronological account of what he saw and experienced, his dialogue with angelic beings, and discussions concerning the theology of true Christianity. Experiences from the Spiritual Diary were often later incorporated into Swedenborg's systematic theological works, which have been published separately in the multi-volume work, The Divine Revelation of the New Expanded Edition (39 volumes). This digital version is unique in that it not only hyperlinks all references for ease of lookup, but also has a complete hyperlinked index to all five volumes of the diary. Using the index a reader can now lookup a particular subject or topic and see all entries at a glance, making this work a useful reference tool. The Diary has also been formatted with hyperlinked footnotes placed separately from the text.
Following is a sample of topics that are contained in the Heaven, Hell, Angels, Spirits, Divinity, Last Judgment, Life, Love, the Lord, Marriage, Adultery, Faith, the Word, Science, Affection, Rationality, Sense, Knowledge, Idea, Intelligence, Wisdom, Influx, Infernals, Interior, Celestial, Children, Soul, Regeneration, among many others. This is just a sample and shows the broad depth of topics that were discussed through many years in Swedenborg's heavenly visions. For the general reader who is new to the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, an introductory preface has been included from the editor, in addition to the original preface from the translator.
Following is a sample of topics that are contained in the Heaven, Hell, Angels, Spirits, Divinity, Last Judgment, Life, Love, the Lord, Marriage, Adultery, Faith, the Word, Science, Affection, Rationality, Sense, Knowledge, Idea, Intelligence, Wisdom, Influx, Infernals, Interior, Celestial, Children, Soul, Regeneration, among many others. This is just a sample and shows the broad depth of topics that were discussed through many years in Swedenborg's heavenly visions. For the general reader who is new to the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, an introductory preface has been included from the editor, in addition to the original preface from the translator.
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First published January 1, 1843
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About the author
Emanuel Swedenborg
1,618 books296 followersEmanuel Swedenborg (born Emanuel Swedberg; February 8, 1688–March 29, 1772) was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, Christian mystic, and theologian. Swedenborg had a prolific career as an inventor and scientist. At the age of fifty-six he entered into a spiritual phase in which he experienced dreams and visions. This culminated in a spiritual awakening, where he claimed he was appointed by the Lord to write a heavenly doctrine to reform Christianity. He claimed that the Lord had opened his eyes, so that from then on he could freely visit heaven and hell, and talk with angels, demons, and other spirits. For the remaining 28 years of his life, he wrote and published 18 theological works, of which the best known was Heaven and Hell (1758), and several unpublished theological works.
Swedenborg explicitly rejected the common explanation of the Trinity as a Trinity of Persons, which he said was not taught in the early Christian Church. Instead he explained in his theological writings how the Divine Trinity exists in One Person, in One God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Swedenborg also rejected the doctrine of salvation through faith alone, since he considered both faith and charity necessary for salvation, not one without the other. The purpose of faith, according to Swedenborg, is to lead a person to a life according to the truths of faith, which is charity.
Swedenborg's theological writings have elicited a range of responses. Toward the end of Swedenborg's life, small reading groups formed in England and Sweden to study the truth they saw in his teachings and several writers were influenced by him, including William Blake (though he ended up renouncing him), Elizabeth Barrett Browning, August Strindberg, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Baudelaire, Balzac, William Butler Yeats, Sheridan Le Fanu, Jorge Luis Borges and Carl Jung. The theologian Henry James Sr. was also a follower of his teachings, as were Johnny Appleseed and Helen Keller.
In contrast, one of the most prominent Swedish authors of Swedenborg's day, Johan Henrik Kellgren, called Swedenborg "nothing but a fool". A heresy trial was initiated in Sweden in 1768 against Swedenborg's writings and two men who promoted these ideas.
In the two centuries since Swedenborg's death, various interpretations of Swedenborg's theology have been made (see: Swedenborgian Church), and he has also been scrutinized in biographies and psychological studies.
Swedenborg explicitly rejected the common explanation of the Trinity as a Trinity of Persons, which he said was not taught in the early Christian Church. Instead he explained in his theological writings how the Divine Trinity exists in One Person, in One God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Swedenborg also rejected the doctrine of salvation through faith alone, since he considered both faith and charity necessary for salvation, not one without the other. The purpose of faith, according to Swedenborg, is to lead a person to a life according to the truths of faith, which is charity.
Swedenborg's theological writings have elicited a range of responses. Toward the end of Swedenborg's life, small reading groups formed in England and Sweden to study the truth they saw in his teachings and several writers were influenced by him, including William Blake (though he ended up renouncing him), Elizabeth Barrett Browning, August Strindberg, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Baudelaire, Balzac, William Butler Yeats, Sheridan Le Fanu, Jorge Luis Borges and Carl Jung. The theologian Henry James Sr. was also a follower of his teachings, as were Johnny Appleseed and Helen Keller.
In contrast, one of the most prominent Swedish authors of Swedenborg's day, Johan Henrik Kellgren, called Swedenborg "nothing but a fool". A heresy trial was initiated in Sweden in 1768 against Swedenborg's writings and two men who promoted these ideas.
In the two centuries since Swedenborg's death, various interpretations of Swedenborg's theology have been made (see: Swedenborgian Church), and he has also been scrutinized in biographies and psychological studies.
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