swedenborg's dream diary

i sometimes recommend swedenborg's dream diary (the newest version by bergquist/hallengren) as the first book to read for people who are interested in swedenborgian thought. it documents the spiritual crisis that led to his enlightenment and his prophetic calling, and therefore shows from where his writings came. i like it because it shows the humanity of dear old emanuel and renders him sympathetic and lovable, in contrast to the very dry and reserved intellectual tone of his theological writings.

swedenborg was on the cutting edge of probably a dozen different scientific disciplines, and this volume shows how far ahead of everybody he was in psychology. this was well before either freud or jung had taken up dream interpretation, and jung learned a lot from him. one feels a little voyeuristic guilt in reading this, as it was not intended for the public, but the added dimension it gives to the understanding of his work is indispensable. it shows him to be psychologically healthy and way ahead of his time, especially in the dimension of sex. his personality exhibited an interesting combination of liberated sexuality and victorian morality, and it is wonderful how these aspects go together so harmoniously.

his spiritual crisis was violently emotional and passionate, a side of his personality he evidently didn't like to show (reserved swede that he was), and the power of his initial contact with the divine seemed to knock him off his rocker a bit and caused him to indulge in some crazy behavior. evidently there are those who would like to cover this up, thinking that it would invalidate his already fantastic revelations, and of course many acccused him of insanity, but i love this about him.

it is also easier to read than his scholarly works and gives one a good primer in the interpretation of symbolism.

to clarify the previous post, according to bergquist swedenborg was only temporarily dazzled by his spiritual experience. the "crazy behavior" spoken of involved harmless, wacky manifestations like running around naked one day and obsessively washing his feet because of the biblical symbolism involved in that. he became so closely identified with the Christ that he briefly seemed to think he was the Messiah, again acccording to bergquist who quotes swedenborg's landlords. bergquist refers to this as an "illness" and a "breakdown" brought about by excitement and mental strain, but swedenborg did not consider it to be so. he was overjoyed to be so blessed and to receive such a calling. it was religious enthusiasm in the original meaning of the word, "en-theos," inspired by God. in "the worship and love of God," the book that begins where the "dream diary" ends, swedenborg explains that one who faces God's glory without shielding his eyes becomes giddy; "our intellect. . . is struck by a fit of swoon or lunacy."

those familiar with 20th century Holy Spirit-oriented christianity will recognize this phenomenon as the "baptism of the Holy Spirit." swedenborg was associated with a sect, the moravians, who were "conscious of the operation of the Holy Spirit" and were evidently the charismatics of his day. they were flawed by an erroneous "faith alone" theology, but to have correct theology without the Holy Spirit is worse than being flawed, it is being spiritually dead, like the merely academic church that currently calls itself swedenborgian appears to be. swedenborg had both. unlike most of the charismatics of our day, swedenborg was a scientific genius and was able to understand what was going on, as the "dream diary" shows. during his crisis he writes that the Holy Spirit wants to guide him to Jesus and introduce him. this seems to be exactly what happened.

in chapter 2 of the acts of the apostles, which describes the coming of the Holy Spirit, we see that the manifestations of the Spirit seem crazy to the uninitiated: "So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another 'whatever could this mean?' Others mocking said 'they are full of new wine.'"--acts 2:12-13 nkjv.