Aliens

In this essay Stephen compares Swedenborg's written accounts of people on other planets with the descriptions of extra-terrestrial life given by Howard Storm after his near death experience in 1985. The two are in extraordinary sympathy with each other. -Editor.

Introduction

Swedenborg wrote about aliens. Why did he do that?

In the Arcana Coelestia it is explained that the revelations about heaven and hell, life after death, the process of regeneration, etc., have been given to lead people into a belief and a true understanding of the Lord's nature and purpose. Among the revelations that the Lord gave through Swedenborg we find the descriptions of Swedenborg's interactions with spirits that once lived on other planets. These accounts turn up in the Spiritual Experiences. They are used later as inter-chapter material in the latter part of Arcana Coelestia. Finally, which for us may emphasize the point that Swedenborg really was serious about these accounts, he published them once more separately in the book Earths in the Universe.

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The Hidden Influence and Relevance of Swedenborg 1: Why We Are Alive

This week we introduce the first of three sections of an essay by Curtis Childs on the significance of Emanuel Swedenborg's work. Curtis begins here by looking, from a broad context, at the remarkable contribution Swedenborg made to teachings about the life after death. The following two sections are: Section 2: Egypt, Assyria, and Quantum Mechanics and Section 3: Swedenborg's Influence. - Editor.

< p>Richard Smoley, in his essay, “The Inner Journey of Emanuel Swedenborg,” introduces us to the Swedish visionary: “like most great figures in history, Emanuel Swedenborg both epitomizes his time and transcends it” (4). In 1688, when on January 29th, Swedenborg was born to Jesper Swedberg and Sara Behm, institutional Christianity ruled Sweden, as well as the rest of Europe. However, secular philosophy and scientific naturalism were also coming into their own, creating a dichotomy that few, other than Swedenborg, could satisfactorily bridge. Swedenborg was educated at the University of Uppsala. After several initial endeavors that met with little success, he began to publish many books in different scientific and philosophical fields. He served on Sweden’s Board of Mines, was given a seat in the House of Nobles, and lived the life of a “nobleman, bureaucrat, and author” (Kirven 31).

Sometime around the year 1736, Swedenborg began to undergo a change that “was to mark the turning point in his life, and it would lead him to the vocation for which he would be most remembered—that of spiritual visionary and sage” (Smoley 19). Swedenborg first began to receive contact from something beyond this world through his dreams, which he recorded as they began to grow more intense. He had several powerful experiences, but what may have been the trigger for the redirection of his studies for the rest of his life occurred at an inn in London in 1745.

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