new church life: jan uary / february 201 4
Emanuel Swedenborg – Exploring a “World Memory”: Context, Content,
Contribution
The book, Exploring a “World Memory,” presents scholarly papers from a
symposium hosted by the institution that awards the Nobel Prize. These papers
examine “Swedenborg’s contributions to science, religion, literature and the
visual arts” and “represent a unique collection of insights into Swedenborg’s
lasting impact.”
The Foundation notes that “Emanuel Swedenborg has been called a
scientist, a seer, a visionary and a philosopher, and his theological writings
have been an inspiration for countless people worldwide. To celebrate the
designation by UNESCO of Swedenborg’s archived works as a ‘world memory,’
the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences organized its international ‘World
Memory’ symposium to explore the historical context in which Swedenborg
worked, and his lasting contributions to world culture.”
The book is divided into three sections:
Content describes Swedenborg’s thought, “from his use of spheres in his
scientific writings to his views on sexuality and marriage, to analyses of his
theological writings.”
Context explores his times, putting Swedenborg in the context of
th
18 century philosophy and looking at the organization of the earliest
Swedenborgian church.
Contribution considers his influence on philosophy and the arts, from
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Czeslaw Milocz to Elizabeth Barrett Browning and
William James.
Among the papers presented at the symposium from people familiar to
General Church readers were:
• Rev. Dr. Jonathan S. Rose: Differences in Content, Terminology and
Approach Within Swedenborg’s Theological Latin Corpus
• Dr. Jane Williams-Hogan: The Swedish Lutheran Contribution to the
Work “Married Love”
• The Rev. Gören Appelgren: The Genesis of The New Church – The
Emergence of Different Denominations Within the New Church
• Dr. Devin Zuber: Radical Correspondences: Emerson, Swedenborg and
Environmental Poetics
• Dr. Sylvia Montgomery Shaw: Art’s Fiery Finger: Use and Passion in the
Swedenborgian Poetics of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and William Dean
Howells
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