Zitate von Emanuel Swedenborg

„In der Christenheit unterscheiden sich die Kirchen nach ihren Lehrbestimmungen. Von daher nennen sie sich Römisch-Katholische, Lutheraner, Calvinisten oder Reformierte und Evangelische usw. Man nennt sie so lediglich aufgrund ihrer Lehren. Das wäre durchaus nicht der Fall, wenn sie die Liebe zum Herrn und die tätige Liebe zum Nächsten zur Hauptsache machen würden.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg, buch Himmlische Geheimnisse

Himmlische Geheimnisse, Nr. 1799

„Das erste ist, dass der Mensch zu wissen beginnt, dass das Gute und Wahre etwas Höheres ist. Ganz äußerliche Menschen wissen nicht einmal, was gut und was wahr ist. Denn sie meinen, alles, was Gegenstand der Selbstliebe und Weltliebe ist, sei gut, und meinen, alles, was jene Liebe begünstigt, sei wahr.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg, buch Himmlische Geheimnisse

Himmlische Geheimnisse, Nr. 20

„Die himmlische Seligkeit ist ihrem Wesen nach nichts anderes, als Liebe, Weisheit und nützliche Tätigkeit zugleich, das heißt, nützliche Tätigkeit durch Weisheit aus der Liebe.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

Die Eheliche Liebe, Nr. 6

„Liebe aber und Weisheit existieren nur in ideeller Weise, weil nur in der Neigung und dem Denken unseres Gemütes; in der Nutzwirkung aber existieren sie in reeller Weise, weil zugleich im Handeln und Wirken des Körpers; […].“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

Die Eheliche Liebe, Nr. 16

„They think this is renouncing the world and living for the spirit and not for the flesh. However, the actual case is quite different, as I have learned from an abundance of experience and conversation with angels. In fact, people who renounce the world and live for the spirit in this fashion take on a mournful life for themselves, a life that is not open to heavenly joy, since our life does remain with us [after death]. No, if we would accept heaven's life, we need by all means to live in the world and to participate in its duties and affairs. In this way, we accept a spiritual life by means of our moral and civic life; and there is no other way a spiritual life can be formed within us, no other way our spirits can be prepared for heaven.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

Heaven and Hell #528
Kontext: Some people believe it is hard to lead the heaven-bound life that is called "spiritual" because they have heard that we need to renounce the world and give up the desires attributed to the body and the flesh and "live spiritually." All they understand by this is spurning worldly interests, especially concerns for money and prestige, going around in constant devout meditation about God, salvation, and eternal life, devoting their lives to prayer, and reading the Word and religious literature. They think this is renouncing the world and living for the spirit and not for the flesh. However, the actual case is quite different, as I have learned from an abundance of experience and conversation with angels. In fact, people who renounce the world and live for the spirit in this fashion take on a mournful life for themselves, a life that is not open to heavenly joy, since our life does remain with us [after death]. No, if we would accept heaven's life, we need by all means to live in the world and to participate in its duties and affairs. In this way, we accept a spiritual life by means of our moral and civic life; and there is no other way a spiritual life can be formed within us, no other way our spirits can be prepared for heaven. This is because living an inner life and not an outer life at the same time is like living in a house that has no foundation, that gradually either settles or develops gaping cracks or totters until it collapses.

„Love consists in desiring to give what is our own to another and feeling his delight as our own“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

„The sky is an enormous man.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

„All religion relates to life, and the life of religion is to do good.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Concerning Life #1

„All in heaven take joy in sharing their delights and blessings with others.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

Heaven and Hell #399

„There is one God, in whom there is the Divine Trinity, and he is the Lord Jesus Christ. This can be briefly illustrated in the following way: It is a certain and established truth that God is one, and his essence cannot be divided; and also that there is a Trinity. Since God is One, and his essence cannot be divided, it follows that God is one Person. And since he is one Person, the Trinity is in that Person. It is clear that this Person is the Lord Jesus Christ from the fact that he was conceived from God the Father (Luke 1:34, 35), and thus as to his soul and life itself he is God. Therefore, as he himself said, "he and the Father are one."“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

John 10:30
Brief Exposition #44

„A life of kindness is the primary meaning of divine worship.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine #124

„Since the Bible is a divine revelation, every single part of it is divine. Anything that comes from the divine could be no other way. Everything that comes from the divine goes down through the heavens all the way to people on earth. In heaven it is adapted to the wisdom of the angels there, and on earth it is adapted to the understanding of the people there. So the Bible has an inner, spiritual meaning for angels and an outer, material-level meaning for people on earth. That is why our connection to heaven happens through the Bible.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

The New Jerusalem #252

„Angels never attack, as infernal spirits do. Angels only ward off and defend.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg, buch Himmlische Geheimnisse

#1683
Arcana Coelestia (1749 - 1756)

„A person who knows all that is good and all that is true — as much as can be known — but does not resist evils, knows nothing.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

Apocalypse Explained #1180
Original: (la) Homo qui scit omnia bona et omnia vera, quotcunque sciri possunt, et non fugit mala, nihil scit

„Man knows that love is, but not what it is.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

Divine Love and Wisdom #1

„Angels from the Lord lead and protect us every moment and every moment of every moment.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg, buch Himmlische Geheimnisse

#5992
Arcana Coelestia (1749 - 1756)

„When someone's body can no longer perform its functions in the natural world in response to the thoughts and affections of its spirit (which it derives from the spiritual world), then we say that the individual has died. This happens when the lungs' breathing and the heart's systolic motion have ceased. The person, though, has not died at all. We are only separated from the physical nature that was useful to us in the world. The essential person is actually still alive. I say that the essential person is still alive because we are not people because of our bodies but because of our spirits. After all, it is the spirit within us that thinks, and thought and affection together make us the people we are. We can see, then, that when we die we simply move from one world into another. This is why in the inner meaning of the Bible, "death" means resurrection and a continuation of life.“

—  Emanuel Swedenborg

Heaven and Hell #445