New Church Life Mar/Apr 2015 | Page 98

Life Lines mapping heaven New Church readers are happy to find references to Swedenborg sprinkled through Dr. Eben Alexander’s new book, The Map of Heaven. Alexander wrote the runaway best-seller, Proof of Heaven, after a proclaimed near-death experience transformed him from absolute denier of such phenomena to true believer. Last spring he enthralled a huge and varied audience in the Asplundh Field House in Bryn Athyn with his scientific explanations and “experience” of heaven. Much of it was insightful about the reality of spiritual life and heaven – both helping to confirm and stimulate faith in the afterlife. But he disappointed many of his listeners with his belief in reincarnation. Well, Alexander got a lot of exposure to the teachings of Swedenborg during his visit to Bryn Athyn and from follow-up letters. That appears to have made some impact on his thinking, although he still could use a truer “map” for his spiritual journey. There are a lot of positives in what he presents in his new book, which he subtitles: How Science, Religion and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife. He says, for example: • I believe that heaven makes us human, that without a knowledge that it is where we come from and where we’re going – that it is our true country – life makes no sense. • The only way to live happily on earth is in the light of heaven. • The one rule we need to remember is that we end up where we belong, and we are led by the amount of love we have in us, for love is the essence of heaven. He acknowledges that Swedenborg “was the first modern scientist to treat heaven as a real place, and the first to try to map it.” But he sees Swedenborg as just another gifted scientist and intellectual, not as a revelator. He is just one of a whole school of scientists and philosophers he consults for his “map of heaven.” And he still clings to reincarnation, rather than let the Lord be his guide. His 12-page bibliography includes none of Swedenborg’s books. It is good to see Alexander progressing on his journey, and hopefully he is 208