Swedenborg's
Contemporary Insanity Accusers:
Also Reflections on
the Underlying Cause of Insanity Charges
Rev. Erik Sandström, Sr.*
The authorship of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) falls into two
distinct periods of his life: The first devoted to science and
philosophy (about 1710–1745), and the second to theology (about 1745 to his
death in 1772). The New Jerusalem Church (The New Church, for short)
would call the latter period one of revelation, namely, the revelation of
the Doctrines for the New Church.
I here note that those who would prove some form of mental
derangement on the part of Swedenborg face some dilemmas. First, no diagnosis
is based on any observed behavior of Swedenborg's, but only on his
own notations concerning his spiritual experiences (I shall later report on
a rumored behavior); second, he carried on in a highly respected manner
his duties as a member of the House of Nobles in the Swedish Diet, and
this throughout the years of the theological period; third, he enjoyed a
normal social life - i.e. normal in every way, except for the fact that
conversations at table tended to turn to his experiences in the spiritual world.
*Rev. Sandström is a member of the clergy of the General Church of the New
Jerusalem, and former Dean of the Theological School and Professor of Theology at the Academy of
the New Church in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
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