SWEDENBORGIANISM AND ST. PAUL.
[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR."]
Sin,—The Auxiliary New Church Missionary and Tract Society, at its meeting on Wednesiay evening, June 27, had under con- Zideratior the review of the work entitled " Saul of Tarsus," which appeared in your issue of the 9th inst. We desire to thank you for the discrimination made by your reviewer between Swedenborg and " some of his disciples," and at the same time to add that the work in question has no authority whatever as an exposition of the views of Swedenborgians on the subject.
As a matter of fact, the teachings of St. Paul are regarded with the deepest veneration by the very large majority of our body, laden as they are with command and entreaty to be " fruitful in every good work." We, following Swedenborg's own example, constantly quote from St. Paul, in support of our teachings, and with reference to the statements as to the condition of St. Paul in the spiritual world made by Swedenborg and quoted by "A Layman " in " Saul and Tarsus," they were all written in the transition period of Swedenborg's spirit-intercourse, and no reliance whatever is to be placed upon them, as Swedenborg himself subsequently pointed out.
We ask you to insert this letter, in order that your readers may not suppose that the writings of St. Paul are in the slightest degree undervalued by our Church. We allow the same authority and weight to those books as does the Old Church, and appre- ciate most highly the lessons of charity taught us so abundantly in them. And it is because of this appreciation that we ask you to allow us to say that " Saul of Tarsus" expresses the opinion of an individual, and not of the Swedenborgian body, many of whom regret exceedingly the publication of a work calculated to discredit our theology.—We are, dear Sir, your obedient servants, THE AUXILIARY NEW CHURCH MISSIONARY AND TRACT SOCIETY.
36 Bloomshury Street, W.C.
Previous page
