Emanuel Swedenborg: Visionary Savant in the Age of Reason

by Ernst Benz, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (Translator)

The distinguished German theologian Ernst Benz documents the rich and fascinating life of Emanuel Swedenborg, who claims an exceptional place in history as both a scientist and a visionary. Also an active statesman, Swedenborg accomplished major engineering feats, contributed numerous groundbreaking studies in a variety of scientific fields, and played a prominent role in Swedish public institutions. This is one of the most comprehensive biographies of Swedenborg available in print.

Genres: Biography, Religion, Nonfiction

560 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Ernst Benz (1907-1978) was one of the most distinguished contemporary German theologians and perhaps the leading Western authority on Eastern Orthodoxy. He studied classical philology and archeology at Tubingen, Berlin and Rome, and turned to the study of Protestant theology. He became professor of ecclesiastical and dogmatic history at the Philipp University at Marburg on the Lahn. He is the author of Buddhism or Communism and Theology of Electricity: On the Encounter and Explanation of Theology and Science in the 17th and 18th Centuries.

Reviews

[Lissa Notreallywolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have many mixed feelings about this book-on one hand it is one of the best introductory texts to Swedenborg, and on the other it is seriously flawed. The story of why it lacks decent references is interesting-the notes were lost in the war, I believe WWII. But if you are a serious scholar this leads to mindbending frustration. I love the intro by Nicholas Goodrick-Clark. But Benz gets Swedenborg's political affiliations all messed up and there are numerous other factual issues I could take to task. Like most biographers of Swedenborg, he concentrates on the death of Swedenborg's mother and fails to take into considerations that his eldest and much beloved brother died of the same illness. Suddenly Swedenborg is bereft, not only his mother, but also is the familial heir, a difficult position in addition to being PK. He's shuffled off to University, living in his brother-in-law's house while his father Jesper remarries. I've always wondered if Emmanuel didn't feel some pressure to replace his brother. But Benz sticks to the Freudian, of course.
As far as Swedenborg's intellectual context goes, this book is far better than most, except that it is almost impossible to track any of the information down, given the lack of original footnotes. If you aren't a European history buff, it might feel like Benz is a huge name-dropper, something which made me feel pretty humble when I first read the book in 2002. It provided a departure point to find out who all these folk were, and then I recognized how restrained Benz had been, in that he entirely left out most of the cast of characters involved.
If you want to know who Swedenborg was, read this book and grow out of it. Inge Jonnson's Emmanuel Swedenborg,I like better because it is more scientific. If you like the esoteric and aren't afraid of academic writing, try Martin Lamm. A bizarre but readable presentation of Swedenborg's life is on line, Toksvig. If you want to know what Swedenborg thought, read Helen Keller's My Religion as an introduction.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swedenborg representerar en av de möjliga synteserna kring empirisk vetenskap och andlig upplevelse. Att förstå honom bättre verkade vara en bra idé. För det syftet var denna biografi bra - den är tydlig, faktarik, och driver ett fokus som möjliggör fler insikter än vad som fanns tidigare. Dess tes är att Swedenborg bör förstås som en karismatisk upplysningsmystiker, vilket väl borde vara okontroversiellt.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A peculiar head space
with surround-around sound
a Gothic northern light-show tour
Swedenborg's Stairway to Heaven
of the multi-universe--