The Basics of Swedenborg's Christian Theology

1. Doug Webber wrote: 

   "... I would sum up everything under two principles: that God is one in person, who appeared in human form as Jesus Christ, and (2) it is necessary to live a life according to the commandments. And that is it! All of his writings revolve around those 2 principles."

   To which I replied:

   "Yes, that is indeed the a good summary of Swedenborg's theology. I would add a third basic principle: We are spiritual human beings meant for a spiritual human eternity of happiness, growth and use in the context of marriage and community. Note that I have highlighted human."

Why the spiritual body is no greater an illusion that the physical body

Response to a reader who said that afterlife married relationships needed no more than a meeting of the minds and souls and, perhaps, a little bit of hugging and kissing

I believe that the human form is one of God's masterpieces and I do not know of anything in the physical universe that is more complex or beautiful. In the spiritual dimension we will be more than disembodied minds. We will have a substantial (though not physical) human form that corresponds to (is similar to) our present human form, which is one of God's fundamental ideas that is replicated (with a few minor differences) throughout out globe, throughout the physical universe, and through the after-death dimension of reality.

That being so, why would real sex be absent between married couples, when it is hallowed here on earth? For animals, sex serves the purpose of reproduction. For humans, it serves the additional purpose of ecstatic marital bonding.

I have read the Near Death Accounts and the immediate experience after death is of being a disembodied spirit. But that is only the first phase when the mind/soul/spirit separates from the physical body. After the initial phases reported in NDEs, the "soul" enters another matrix of reality. The tangible expression of this association is the spiritual body that is coherent with the other framework of reality. People who have had long after-death experiences report seeing cities of light, gorgeous physical landscapes etc. Of course, one may say that all of that (including the spiritual body) is an illusion. You would be partially right - the after-death "body" and "world" are  a lesser order of reality than God and the soul. But the same is true for the present physical reality that surrounds us, and the physical bodies we currently inhabit. These too are the "field" (Sanskrit: Maya) and the "objects" of experience unlike God (Sanskrit: Brahman) and the soul  (Sanskrit: Atman) who are the "subjects" of experience.

Perfect Introduction to Swedenborg

I have always been wondering how to introduce Swedenborg in a few minutes to someone who knows nothing about his teachings. I finally found the perfect video to do so. I recommend you view it in the full screen format.