So I am going to a Swedenborgian Church tomorrow

[lizzieforkerry]

Anyone know anything about it? It seems kinda on the left...

edited because I can't spell.

[faithnotgreed]

1. heard of them yes. on the left yes. other than

that i have no idea

it would be interesting to hear what thats like

[lizzieforkerry]

2. Well I will let you know

I was reading one of their sermons online and it said
"The Bible is not an account of what God said, it is an account of what people heard- and sometimes people hear well, and sometimes they don't" I thought that was kinda funny.

[havocmom]

3. That is really profound. Am interested in hearing about your experience

at the church. Sounds like it might be rewarding.

[lizzieforkerry]

6. A few of the sermons made fun of the relig right- called them

"simple people". The website is swedenborg.org. I typed in abortion and homosexual into the sermon search...the quickest way I figured I could find out if I was in for a brain anneurism tomorrow. Really interesting sermons, very intellectual.

[havocmom]

10. Yeah, I zipped around their 'tenets' page. Very interesting and inclusive

Hmmm, you have given me much to chew on.

http://www.swedenborg.org/tenets.cfm

<snip> One primary pathway advocated in the Swedenborgian Church for spiritual growth is a specialized study of scripture, enabling the diligent student to become aware of the inner-penetration of nature and spirit, of our natural world here and the universal spiritual world. In addition, an expanding awareness of spiritual reality is encouraged by the exploration of dreams and by prayer and meditation practices. And perhaps the most popular of Swedenborg's spiritual growth practices is his Zen-like discussions on "being useful." Teilhard de Chardin once said, "Do not forget that the value and interest of life is not so much to do conspicuous (although we have this ambition) as to do ordinary things with the perception of their enormous value." For Swedenborg, such a focus provides the ground for future spiritual growth. As Paul Zacharias, a Swedenborgian minister, observes in his pamphlet This We Believe, "Everyone who lives up to the best he knows, whether Christian, Jew, Moslem, or Pagan, is truly a member of the church Invisible."

Thank you, lizzieforkerry. Have never heard of this group. Have been missing some very enlightened folks. Know some people who might benefit from such fellowship. Again, many thanks.

[enigmatic]

14. yep

I knew a guy that was a "student" of Swedenborg (meaning he read all of his books), and he gave me a few to read. Insteresting stuff; very mystical..

[sam sarrha]

4. here are 2 links............... ... .........Links>>

http://www.mastermason.com/luxocculta/swedenborg.htm

http://www.swedenborg.org

[Algorem]

5. bikini team?

holy bikini team?Batman?

[Booster]

7. I've never been to one, but sounds like they may have a lot of

good stuff to eat. snark Sorry, don't know what came over me.

[lizzieforkerry]

9. We've been calling it the Smorgasbord Church all week!

[IChing]

8. I'm familar with him from my Danish experience

Swedish philosopher, theologian, chemist, anatomist, and mystic, fluent in eleven languages. Swedenborg devoted the first half of his life to scientific investigations. Thereafter he turned his full attention to theology, metaphysics and started to explore mystical experience. Among Swedenborg's most popular books are Heaven and Hell and Earths in Universe. His spiritual writing influenced Emerson, Goethe, Henry James Sr., Dostoevsky, and William Blake. During his life, Swedenborg published over 50 works. His books have been translated into some thirty languages.

"There are two worlds, a spiritual world where angels and spirits are, and a natural world where men are." (from True Christian Religion)

Swedenborg believed that God created humankind to exist simultaneously in the physical world and in the spiritual world, which belongs to the inner domain. It has its own memory, which is what survives after death.
Swedenborg's hell has no Satan; heaven is populated by the spirits of the dead that carry on lives and habits much the same as they did on earth.
Jesus' crucifixion did not atone for the sins of humankind; we make our own heaven and hell.
Swedenborg rejected traditional doctrines of the Trinity and taught man's spiritual freedom and responsibility.
Eternal life was an inner condition beginning with earthly life; gradual redemption occurs through personal regulation of spiritual states, and practical love is a necessity in every relationship.

From this link http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sweden.htm

[lizzieforkerry]

11. So do you think it is big leap to go from Catholic to this?

I want to break away from the Church but I may need to do it in baby steps.

[TreasonousBastard]

12. Whoa! It's a big 'un...

this is much closer to my Quaker beliefs than Catholic.

The good news about the less doctrinaire churches is that you are allowed to think for yourself and your religion is a much personal experience.

The only bad news is that you don't often have the guidance that you may want. Your questions may often be answered with more questions. There's a lot of work you have to do yourself, which is a good thing in the end.

[lizzieforkerry]

13. That is kind of what I am looking for...

I thought about Quaker too. I need to get away from the "You can't eat meat on Friday or you will burn in hell, oh wait, never mind you can now" I think I am the only one in my congragation that questions anything. Anytime I try and have a discussion about anything everyone looks at me like I have two heads. They would excommunicate us if they ever heard our dinner table discussions! And our congregation has been completely taken over by right wing zombies.

[TreasonousBastard]

16. Give it a shot, then...

I don't know any Swedenborgians, but I've found such thinking in many churches. As you've probably figured out already, it's not entirely the church and its teachings that matter-- it's largely the individual congregation and how you fit in with it.

A Quaker or a Buddhist will likely tell you that the goal only exists as a reason for you to find a path. That stuff about heaven, hell, and salvation along with well-marked routes to get there is all very interesting, but ultimately irrelevant, since we have only ourselves and our personal relationship with the Divine. If we choose a proper path, everything will work out well in the end, and the journey will be much more interesting.

I wish you well in your journey.

[IChing]

17. I think that it is a thinking man's Christianity

There is a lot also with ghosts and spirits and that realm of dimension of the church, which is in my experiences with the church in Denmark. So I have experienced it and find the church OK, at least there, I don't know about in the US. But it was not me.

I am a Buddhist, but that's my path is what brought me to that .
Your path is your own so if the universe has given you an opportunity to expand your awareness then go for it. You are the one that decides what is right for you.

He was a genius and an inventor first, his writings were followed by many great
philosophers. I like a lot of his writings but not all.

[Ellen Forradalom]

15. Oh hey, my folks were married

by a Swedenborgian minister in 1956, in Harvard Chapel.