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The New Church (Swedenborgian)

"The New Church" redirects here. For other uses of the name, see New Church.

The New Church
ClassificationRestorationism[1]
TheologySwedenborgian Christianity
PolityMixed congregational and episcopal polity
LeaderEmanuel Swedenborg
Origin7 May 1787 (1787-05-07)
England
Official websitenewchurch.org

The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to be a part of Restorationist Christianity.[1]

Swedenborg's writings focus on a narrative of Christianity's historical decline due to the loss of the “inner sense” of Scripture into a purely exoteric understanding of faith.[2] In this state, faith and good acts become external displays motivated by fear of hell, desires for material blessings, personal recognition, and otherworldly things, devoid of true spiritual essence.[3] Swedenborg also wrote extensively about Salvation through a process of "regeneration” (rather than through faith or acts alone), wherein individuals accept divine truth from the Lord into their “inner self” (or higher faculties), controlling the “outer” (or earthly) self by placing their highest love in goodness and truth rather than in worldly desires and the evils and falsehoods which serve them.[4]

It follows that Christianity, in its present condition, as described by Swedenborg, fails to facilitate man's regeneration, contributing to a perceived descent of mankind into ignorance and sin. Swedenborg held that a spiritual second coming of Christ had begun, marking the start of the New Church and offering a renewed path to regeneration.[5]

The New Church presents a theology built upon these beliefs, and while presenting many ideas and themes expressed by various early and contemporary Christian thinkers and theologies, the tradition diverges from standard Christianity not only in its eschatology but primarily in its rejection of the notion of a trinity of persons from eternity as Polytheistic,[6] instead holding that Christ was born with a “divine mind” or “soul” and human body, absolving his distinct personhood and glorifying his human form through kenosis. The New Church has influenced several other spiritual and philosophical movements, including New Thought and American Transcendentalism.[7]

  1. ^ a b Spinks, Bryan D. (2 March 2017). Reformation and Modern Rituals and Theologies of Baptism: From Luther to Contemporary Practices. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-90583-1. However, Swedenborg claimed to receive visions and revelations of heavenly things and a 'New Church', and the new church which was founded upon his writings was a Restorationist Church. The three nineteenth-century churches are all examples of Restorationist Churches, which believed they were refounding the Apostolic Church, and preparing for the Second Coming of Christ.
  2. ^ Swedenborg, Emanuel (2016). New Jerusalem (New Century ed.). Swedenborg Foundation. pp. 11–12 (par. 9–10).
  3. ^ Swedenborg, Emanuel (2016). New Jerusalem (New Century ed.). Swedenborg Foundation. pp. 160 (256).
  4. ^ Swedenborg, Emanuel (2016). New Jerusalem (New Century ed.). Swedenborg Foundation. p. 117.
  5. ^ Swedenborg, Emanuel (2016). New Jerusalem (New Century ed.). Swedenborg Foundation. p. 8.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference TCR, n. 163 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Miller, Perry (1950). The Transcendentalists: An Anthology. Harvard University Press. p. 49.

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