Famous People Influenced by Swedenborg
Question: What do Helen Keller, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Johnny Appleseed have in common?
Answer: They have all been influenced by Emmanuel Swedenborg.
Below is a list of famous people influenced by Swedenborg. Click on a name for more information or scroll down the page.
Answer: They have all been influenced by Emmanuel Swedenborg.
Below is a list of famous people influenced by Swedenborg. Click on a name for more information or scroll down the page.
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Gerrit Barger (1846-1921) - Engineer and founder of the Swedenborg Society for Holland and Belgium in 1909
"Already too long Emanuel Swedenborg has been unknown, misunderstood and misinterpreted in the Netherlands, where he published a number of his works, while in other countries, many serious, warm and happy admirers of his work are found. One still imagines Swedenborg as a fanatic, an enthusiast, a spirit seer, a heretic and much more, because one does not know or not understand him. " "Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "Table Talk and Omniana"" Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Elizabeth Barret Browning, (1806-1861) English Poet
"To my mind the only light that has been cast on the other life is found in Swedenborg's philosophy... "It explains much that was incomprehensible." Top of Page |
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Ernst Benz (1907-1978) - German writer
"Swedenborg is not just a prophet and seer, he belongs in the series of great reformers of divine revelations, which are called from time to time to cast out the evil in the Kingdom of God." "The New Church." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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John Bigelow (1817–1911) - American statesman
“[A fellow traveler] lent me one of Swedenborg’s books. I became so interested that I read it without ceasing from ten o’clock in the morning until six o’clock that night. For twenty days thereafter I read Swedenborgian books for an average of fifteen hours a day.” "Happy Birthday John Bigelow! - Swedenborg Foundation." Swedenborg Foundation. N.p., 10 Nov. 2015. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) - Argentinian writer and poet
"Whether we believe in the immortality of the soul or not, we must recognize that the doctrine revealed through Swedenborg, is more reasonable and more moral, than any doctrine that presupposes a mysterious, almost accidentally received gift. Especially he leads us to the practice of virtue in our lives. " "Christianity." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Daniel Burnham (1846–1912) Architect
“Daniel Burnham, a renowned Chicago architect, was a pioneer in both skyscraper design and city planning. A lifelong Swedenborgian (and grandson of a Swedenborgian minister) he attended Swedenborgian schools as a boy and teenager.” "Famous Swedenborgians - Daniel Burnham." Daniel Burnham. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman (1774 - 1845) – American pioneer nurseryman
John Chapman spread religious seeds as well as apple seeds. John Chapman became a missionary for the Swedenborgian Church. John shared his religion and his Bible with the settlers who listened to him. He would leave chapters from Swedenborg’s book with the settlers and called it “Good News Fresh From Heaven” "Johnny Appleseed; Good News Fresh From Heaven." Johnny Appleseed; Good News Fresh From Heaven. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Samuel Taylor Coleridge, (1772-1834) English Poet
"I can venture to assert that as a moralist Swedenborg is above all praise; and that as a naturalist, psychologist and theologian, he has strong and varied claims on the gratitude and admiration of the professional and philosophical faculties..." Top of Page |
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Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) - President of the United States
"I desire to express my deep interest in the work and life of this advanced scientist and thinker Swedenborg, who was a pioneer two hundred years ago in much of the progress and advancement in mechanical, biological and medical science of the present day, and whose great learning and deep understanding of the mysteries of life was supplemented by the strong religious faith which has had devout followers many generations after the founder's death." "Swedenborg’s Influence | NC Organization." NC Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) - French novelist and playwright
"Do you know, I have come back to Swedenborg after vast studies of all religions, and after reading all the works published within the last sixty years? Swedenborg undoubtedly epitomizes all the religions - or rather the one religion - of humanity.” "Swedenborg’s Influence | NC Organization." NC Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) - British author
"The great Swedish seer Emanuel Swedenborg has some claim to be the father of our new knowledge of supernal matters. When the first rays of the rising sun of spiritual knowledge fell upon the earth they illuminated the greatest and highest human mind before they shed their light on lesser men. That mountain peak of mentality was this great religious reformer and clairvoyant medium..." "Swedenborg’s Influence | NC Organization." NC Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Daniël van Egmond - Dutch philosopher of religion
"It is not the purpose of Swedenborg's writings to bring a new doctrine, in the sense of a logically structured system of theoretical propositions. All his writings are tools to help us to achieve regeneration and rebirth." "Religion." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Encyclopedia.com, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) - American writer
"The most remarkable step in the religious history of recent ages is that made by the genius of Swedenborg. One of the mastodons of literature, he is not to be measured by whole colleges of ordinary scholars. His stalwart presence would flutter the gowns of a university. Our books are false by being fragmentary...but Swedenborg is systematic and respective of the world in every sentence. All the means are orderly given; his faculties work with astronomic punctuality, and this admirable writing is pure from all pertness or egotism.” "Testimonials." Morningstar Chapel. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Anatole France (1844-1924) - French writer, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature 1921
"About Swedenborg can be said that he was a moment of God's Spirit, a moment in which new truth came to mankind." "The New Church." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Robert Frost (1874–1963) – American Poet
What is my philosophy? That is hard to say. I was brought up a Swedenborgian. I am not a Swedenborgian now. But there is a good deal of it that's left with me. I am a mystic. I believe in symbols. I believe in change and in changing symbols. Yet that does not take me away from the kindly contact of human beings. No, it brings me closer to them." "Swedenborg's Influence | on Robert Frost." Swedenborg's Influence | on Robert Frost. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Paola Giovetti - Italian writer
"There is probably no second literary work in which so many detailed and accurate information about angels [and devils] can be found than in the writings of the Swedish visionary and theosophist." "Book of Daniel." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Ton Gravelijn - Dutch painter
"Swedenborg's ideas brought order to my chaos and influenced my entire life." "Spiritual World (Afterlife) - Swedenborg Foundation." Swedenborg Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) - German poet
"Swedenborg is a decent honest man, and his reports on other worlds are authentic." "Emanuel Swedenborg The Relation of His Personal Development to His Work as a Revelator." Personal Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Walter M. Horton (1884-1918) American professor of philosophy of Christianity
"In the age of 'one-eyed' reason, as it has been called, Swedenborg was among the very few who kept both eyes open, the eye of the soul and the eye of the senses. By sheer devotion to scientific research he discovered the limitations of science two centuries before Einstein and Eddington; but unlike many prophets of the soul, he never disparaged reason in the name of faith, or nature in the name of grace. For him, the material and spiritual universes were joined together by multiple correspondences, and an unbroken chain of discrete degrees." "Swedenborg’s Influence | NC Organization." NC Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Henry James Sr., (1811-1882) American Author
"Emanuel Swedenborg had the sanest and most far-reaching intellect this age has ever known..." Top of Page |
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William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) American philosopher and psychologist also trained as a physician.
"Swedenborg is one of the most important, for extrasensory influences receptive personalities of all time." "William James." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) - Swiss psychologist
"I admire Swedenborg as a great scientist and a great mystic at the same time. His life and work has always been of great interest to me and I read about seven fat volumes of his writings when I was a medical student." “Swedenborg was a seer of unparalleled profundity, a scholar with superior intelligence." "Writers Influenced by Swedenborg." The Swedenborg Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Helen Keller, (1880-1968) American Author
"I had been told by narrow people that all who were not Christians would be punished, and naturally my soul revolted, since I knew of wonderful men who had lived and died for truth as they saw it in the pagan lands. But in Heaven and Hell [by Emanuel Swedenborg] I found that "Jesus" stands for Divine Good, Good wrought into deeds, and "Christ" Divine Truth, sending forth new thought, new life and joy into the minds of men; therefore no one who believes in God and lives right is ever condemned." So I grew to womanhood... I took more and more to the New Church doctrines as my religion. No one encouraged me in this choice, and I cannot explain it any more than anyone else. I can only say that the Word of God freed from the blots and stains of barbarous creeds has been at once the joy and good of my life..." "Swedenborg was an eye among the blind, an ear among the deaf . . . one of the noblest champions true Christianity has ever known." (From My Religion by Helen Keller) "Swedenborg’s message is like the rock smitten by Moses, yielding sweet streams of healing water, even an abundance of truths for those who hunger and thirst in their pilgrimage through an age of materialism and selfishness. The doctrines set forth by Swedenborg bring men by a wondrous way to God’s city of light. I have walked through its sunlit ways of truth, I have drunk of its sweet waters of knowledge, and the eyes of my spirit have been opened, so that I know the joy of vision which conquers darkness and circles heaven." (From Dr. Helen Keller's Introduction to The True Christian Religion) Top of Page Read: 1910 Letter from Kellen Keller |
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James Tyler Kent (1849-1916) -Founder of classical homeopathy
"My entire doctrine of classical homeopathy is based on Hahnemann and Swedenborg; their teachings reveal themselves completely." Emiel van Galen - Dutch homeopath, wrote about James Tyler Kent: "The works of James Tyler Kent, founder of classical homeopathy, are still very influential, and it is amazing that the importance of the philosophical ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg have remained unmentioned for so long. This can probably be attributed to conflicting views in homeopathy, which remarkably all seem to have an interest in concealing Swedenborg." Top of Page |
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Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) American preacher and civil rights activist
Rev. William Fairfax wrote the following in Martin Luther King, Jr. copy of Emerson's A Modern Anthology: “Swedenborg enables us to understand why we were created, why we are alive and what happens to us after our bodies die. Swedenborg enables us to have the best possible understanding of God's message as it exists in the Bible books which constitute God's Word." These words were found on the front page of Dr. Martin Luther King's copy of Emerson's A Modern Anthology. A Processing Archivist at Morehouse College suspects these words were written by the Rev. William Fairfax, since the handwriting is not that of Dr. Martin Luther King, and an inscription in this book reads, "Rev Wm Fairfax Swedenborgian minster". NOTE: Dr. Martin Luther Kings's copy of Emerson's A Modern Anthology is housed at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Top of Page |
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Bernhard Lang - German scientist
"Swedenborg stands at the basis of the modern conception which sees heaven as an extension and perfection of all the good and permanent of earthly existence." "Principles of the New Philosophy." The Swedenborg Scientific Association. N.p., 01 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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James F. Lawrence - American researcher
"Determining who the greatest intellect in history may seem an impossible task, but the Stanford University [USA] decided to try it. For three persons, however, their computer was not able to calculate a precise number, but reported only that their IQ was above 200. These three titans are Mill, Goethe and Swedenborg. " "The Underground History of American Education." Issuu. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Robert Lemm - (Born 1945) Dutch writer and scholar of literature
"I do not think anyone has written more correct about the afterlife than Swedenborg" "Emanuel Swedenborg." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004) - Polish poet, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1980
"Swedenborg's detailed descriptions of beautiful gardens in heaven, and of swamps, dirt and ruins in hell, does not mean that he believed that these only exist in the imagination. They correspond to the states of mind of people who, after death, live as spiritual bodies until eternity." Top of Page |
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Theodore Pitcairn (1893-1973) - American clergyman
"Swedenborg tells us that the Bible or the Word of God is written in accordance with the language of correspondences, and once we know this language, all dark areas become bright, and the Love and Wisdom of God shines through in every verse." Read more on Wikipedia My Lord and My God by Theodore Pitcairn, 1967. Top of Page |
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Hiram Powers (1805-1873) - American neoclassical sculptor
"Swedenborg is my author. All other writers (in comparison) seem moving in the dark with tapers in hand, groping their way, while he moves in the broad daylight of the sun." "Project MUSE - Emanuel Swedenborg's Aesthetic Philosophy and Its Impact on Nineteenth-Century American Art." Project MUSE - Emanuel Swedenborg's Aesthetic Philosophy and Its Impact on Nineteenth-Century American Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Kenneth Ring - American psychologist
"Swedenborg's revelations come not from the kind of short and fleeting glimpses that many people with near-death-experiences often have told me and other researchers in this area about, but because of regular and conscious traveling in this area." "Collected Wisdom." Dreamhawk.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) - President of the United States
"In a world in which the voice of conscience seems too often silent and weak, is need for spiritual leadership of which Swedenborg is a particular example." Top of Page |
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Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) - German composer
"The unity of musical space requires an absolute and uniform perception. In this area, as in the heavens described by Swedenborg, there are neither absolute depths nor left, right, forward or backward." "American Lit: 1914-Present." American Lit: 1914-Present Flashcards | Quizlet. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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August Strindberg (1849-1912) - Swedish novelist and playwright
"Swedenborg's universe is infinite and embracing everything. He answered all my questions, however difficult these were also for me. Oh restless soul, grievous heart, take and read!" "Meditations." Meditations - Wikisource, the Free Online Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Daisetz T. Suzuki (1870-1966) - Japanese Zen Master
"What are you Westerners looking for in Zen and Buddhism? You better turn to Swedenborg, it is he who should be read and followed. He is your Buddha." "All About Emanuel Swedenborg." The Formula for Creating Heaven on Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Peter van Balen (1924-1989) - Pastor of the New Church in the Netherlands
"How great the importance of Swedenborg was for the science and wellbeing of Sweden, his later work was of even greater significance, and he acknowledged that his whole study of the natural sciences had served only as a preparation for an even more important task." "How Miracles Worked." The Doctrine of Miracles. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Wilson van Dusen (1923-2005) - American clinical psychologist
"I was surprised to hear that there exists a tradition among the students of Swedenborg's religious writings, which says that Swedenborg is not a mystic. For a mystic is obvious that his work actually have been a major contribution to this literature, and mystics also often referred to as him as one of them. Swedenborg's spiritual works define mysticism in a way that Swedenborg inevitably is a mystic." Top of Page |
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) - German writer
"I am more willing than others to believe in a different world than the visible, and I have enough poetic potential and enough vitality to even extend my own limited identity to a Swedenborgian spiritual cosmos." "American Lit: 1914-Present." American Lit: 1914-Present Flashcards | Quizlet. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Anton von Webern (1883-1945) - German composer
In a letter to Arnold Schoenberg in 1913 Von Webern wrote: "I am now reading Swedenborg. It's breathtaking, exorbitant. I was expecting something great, but this is even more! " "Webern." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Colin Wilson (1931-2013) - British writer
"Someone who has read both Jung and Swedenborg cannot doubt that it was the mystic and not the psychologist who ventured farthest into the depths of the strange world that lies within us." "Heaven and Hell - Swedenborg." Scribd. Scribd, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
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Richard Yardumian (1917-1985) - American Composer of Classical Music
Richard Yardumian dedicated his Symphony No. 2 "Psalms" to the Reverend Theodore Pitcairn, a close friend and priest in the The Lord's New Church which Is Nova Hierosolyma, of which he was a member. "Richard's devotion to his church has strongly influenced his compositions, from the overt use of religious texts and musical genres to less obvious symbolism in the actual musical structure." Top of Page |
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William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) - Irish poet
"It was indeed Swedenborg who affirmed for the modern world, as against the abstract reasoning of the learned, the doctrine and practice of the desolate places, of shepherds and midwives, and discovered a world of spirits where there was a scenery like that of the earth, human forms, grotesque or beautiful, senses that knew pleasure and pain, marriage and war, all that could be painted upon canvas or put into stories." "Swedenborg’s Influence | NC Organization." NC Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. Top of Page |
