Divine Love and Wisdom

by Emanuel Swedenborg

Overview

Swedenborg presents a vision of a universe so full of Divinity that there is no room for sectarianism. He reaches out to the secular mind with a vision of order and beauty pregnant with meaning and direction and appeals to human experience and reflection (rather than scriptural interpretation) in making the case for the presence of God's love and wisdom.

It is not just that there is a purpose underlying creation; it is that we share in that purpose and are essential to its fulfillment. From God's infinite love and wisdom to our own individual desires and perceptions, there is an underlying unity on which we can rely.

In Divine Providence, the sequel to Divine Love and Wisdom, the focus is directed toward earth, at a world so troubled that the loving hand of God is often hidden from our sight and brought into question. How can we believe in the goodness and power of God when we constantly see injustice and war?

The answers that are offered turn us toward a deeper understanding of our own human nature and process. For better or for worse, we do make a difference, and heavenly community is not beyond our reach. Only divine love and wisdom can provide us with the accountability that gives meaning to our lives.

About the Author:
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), a truly remarkable visionary, began his career as a Swedish mining official and member of parliament and became well known throughout Europe as a scientist and prolific writer on scientific and philosophical subjects. After a series of profound religious experiences during midlife, he devoted the remaining twenty-seven years of his life to being a Aservant of the Lord@ and wrote energetically to communicate aspiritual vision of reality. Since then, the rigid theologies of the eighteenth century have steadily yielded, and the foresighted lucidity of his perspective has gained widening recognition. The fresh and contemporary appeal of Swedenborg=s insights arises from the respect he showed for all religious faiths that stress a useful and loving life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781604590845
Publisher:	A & D Publishing
Publication date:	10/16/2007
Pages:	156
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.33(d)

About the Author

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was a Swedish scientist, nobleman, and theologian who spent his life investigating the mysteries of the soul. Born in Stockholm to a staunchly Lutheran family, he graduated from the University of Uppsala and then traveled to England, Holland, France, and Germany to study with the leading scientists of the time. Between 1743 and 1745, he began to have visions of heaven, hell, and Jesus Christ, which resulted in a stream of books about the nature of God, the afterlife, and the inner meaning of the Bible. He devoted the last decades of his life to studying Scripture and presenting his own unique theology to the world.

Read an Excerpt

“If you gather together everything that you know, focus your mind’s insight on it, and look through it carefully from some spiritual height to discover what is common to everything, the only conclusion you can draw is that it is love and wisdom. These two are essential to every aspect of our life. Everything we deal with that is civic, everything moral, and everything spiritual depends on these two things. Apart from them, there is nothing. The same holds true for everything in the life of that composite person who is our larger and smaller community, our monarchy or empire, the church, and also the angelic heaven. Take love and wisdom away from these collective bodies and ask whether there is anything left, and you will be struck by the fact that without love and wisdom as their source, they are nothing.

“No one can deny that in God we find love and wisdom together in their very essence. He loves us all out of the love that is within him, and he guides us all out of the wisdom that is within him.”