SWEDENB ORG.
Fro THE EDTrOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."1 Srst,—Your depreciatory reference in last week's Spectator to the beliefs of the New Church (Swedenborgian) as "Gnostic- like anthropomorphism" cannot be suffered to go un- challenged, for it is a most unfair and inaccurate statement. At the same time, it is couched in terms so indefinite that, while mischievous enough to create prejudice, it is too vague for precise refutation. " Gnosticism " is a medley so vast and varied that, irrational, and even abominable, as were many of its ideas, it is not without some admixture of genuine truth ; but it is quite certain that the New Church Creed does not, either expressly or by implication, contain any teaching that is distinctive of Gnosticism. " Anthropomorphism " is another term of very variable significance. The human mind must rest on human analogies in its highest abstractions, and in the ascription of personality to the Divine offers its highest homage to the 'Unseen, for self-conscious personality, as has been well observed, is the highest thing we know, or of which we can conceive, even though we feel that the conception falls immeasurably below the reality. The anthropomorphism of the New Church is the anthropomorphism of the Scriptures, which declare that God created man "in His own image " ; it is that of Paul, when he states that in Jesus dwells "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"; it is the anthropomorphism of the prophet who declared Cat the Child born, the Son given, was "the Everlasting Father" ; it is that of our Lord Himself when He proclaimed Himself the "Alpha and the Omega the Almighty." Nay, it is also the anthropo- morphism of the Church of England, whose Creed declares that Jesus is God and Man, "for as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ." Whatever the view taken of Swedenborg's visions, it is certain that his sanity and his veracity are indisputable ; and what is more— and more than can be said even of the spiritual appearances narrated in Holy. Writ—there is historical evidence of the reality .of this clairvoyant powers. I cannot forbear asking you, in conclusion, why you should thus-attack- the beliefs of others, beliefs which are in no way contrary to reason or to Scripture, and leave unassailed the Creed of the Established Church, which is recited Sunday after Sunday throughout the land, and contains in its final Clause the assertion of the resurrection of the body,—a notion which has been so far eiploded that even from the pulpit of Westminster Abbey itself it has been declared to be without foundation either in
Scripture or in common-sense.—I am, Sir, &c., G. E.
We deeply regret that our correspondent should have regarded our remarks—in which we spoke of the high standard of conduct and the spirituality of the New Church —as intended to be unfriendly. We can assure him that our intention was quite the reverse. Anthropomorphism is necessarily common to all theologies, and its use is a matter of degree. In our judgment, the Swedenborgian theology is appreciably more anthropomorphic than that of the Church of England, and thus suggests the imagery of Gnosticism. But we did not say, and do not think, that it can be in any sense confused with Gnosticism. As we intended no attack, our correspondent will perhaps excuse us for not answering his counter-attack upon the Church of England.—ED. Spectator.]
Previous page
