The psychic powers of Emanuel Swedenborg

Recently I have been reading stories about a man named Emanuel Swedenborg.

en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...

But what really struck me about him was his supposed psychic powers. I would appreciate it if viewers would take the time to read through all of this information I am about to post below, because there is some very fascinating stuff. And I rarely ever hear about it. Forgive me if this post seems a little messy, I am collecting posts that were made in a thread on a different forum. This might seem a little link crazy, but all of these references are needed

en.wikipedia.org...

(The second paragraph here)
en.wikipedia.org...

newearth.org...

newearth.org...

www.kirjasto.sci.fi...
"In 1762 Swedenborg went into a trance and described the assassination of the Russian Tsar Peter III."

www.swedenborgdigitallibrary.org...
""When the news of Swedenborg's death reached John Wesley, the Methodist leader was in the neighborhood of Liverpool, visiting his friend Richard Houghton, Esq., a pious gentleman who had been favorably impressed with Swedenborg's teachings and who exchanged letters on that subject with the Rev. Thomas Hartley. Evidently Wesley's mind was then under a rather powerful influence working in Swedenborg's favor, for Houghton repeats a significant comment that Wesley then made: "We may now burn all our books on theology. God has sent us a teacher from heaven, and in the doctrines of Swedenborg we may learn all that is necessary for us to know."

In view of subsequent events one might almost take this extreme statement for sarcasm were it not for the fact that Mr. Houghton repeated it to a friend of his to induce him to read the writings of the inspired Swede. The friend was the Rev. John Clowes, rector of St. John's, Manchester, whose acceptance of Swedenborg was preceded by a supernatural experience.[761] (Appendix G.) Clowes later became a powerful leader in the spread of the new teachings.

The Liverpool incident must have occurred early in April, 1772, thus within six weeks after Wesley is said to have received Swedenborg's extraordinary communication announcing the day of his death. Of course the man's actual death on the day predicted would have been a startling argument in favor of his claims to supernatural knowledge. Shortly afterward, however, came an equally clear proof of another of Swedenborg's claims, his assertion, namely, that miracles do not convince anyone.[762] For, as we shall see, Mr. Wesley was able to throw off all favorable influences as soon as he found that Swedenborg's teachings militated against his inner convictions."

The story of Clowes' conversion is listed here under "Appendix G"
www.swedenborgdigitallibrary.org...

www.swedenborgstudy.com...
"Toward the end of February, 1772, Wesley was at a meeting with some of his ministers, among whom was the Rev. Samuel Smith. 60 During the meeting a letter arrived for Wesley. He read it; his face registered surprise; he turned and read it to his ministers. As far as Mr. Smith could recall, the contents were as follows:

"Sir-I have been informed in the spiritual world that you have a strong desire to converse with me; I shall be happy to see you if you will favor me with a visit.

"I am, Sir, your humble Servant,

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG"

According to Mr. Smith, Wesley frankly acknowledged his desire to converse with Swedenborg, but said he had never mentioned it to anyone. He was about to leave on a six months' tour of his churches, however, so he wrote Swedenborg, saying he would see him thereafter. Smith says he later learned that Swedenborg wrote back, that the proposed visit would be too late, as he himself would go into the spiritual world the 29th of the next month.

books.google.com...

Here are actual excerpts from Immanuel Kant on the fire and Swedenborg, which gives more insight in to the topic of the fire.

www.newtheism.com...

And finally, here is a thread with a critical analysis of all of these claims, and some other references that I didn't post. These claims shouldn't just be taken at face value, but just shrugging them off like this post below did seems silly.

forums.randi.org...

Please be sure to at least read through that final post I made, because that is where most of this information was gathered.

To me this seems rather disturbing overall, since I don't like his religious views or teachings, but these stories make him seem like one of the most impressive psychics and spiritualists ever. I would appreciate it if anyone can give some good reasons why his views are wrong, even if he did have these powers. I personally don't beleive that the Bible is the word of God and dislike Christianity, so this man could not have been 100% correct in his conclusions. And no matter how he tries to defend them, his beliefs clash and contradict the Bible. But I am wondering if his extreme powers make him a more qualified source than others. Could anyone point out other people with similar powers as documented as this that have completely contradictory beliefs? That would help as well

EDIT:

This post I found has some interesting stuff to say about Swedenborg

richarddawkins.net...

Before anyone uses this as a reason to jump in and follow his writings thinking he is some amazing prophet, keep in mind that he made a ton of mistakes in his interpretations. Spirits told him people lived in wooden buildings and tents on the planet Jupiter, and one from the moon said that the voices of it's inhabitants “made a loud thundering sound.” This still doesn't take away from the fact that he apparently had strong psychic powers, or at least a powerful connection to the "spirit" world.

[edit on 7-8-2010 by NamelessMonster]

A good reference for these events would be in this.

www.swedenborgdigitallibrary....l...

This contains most of the events with references, so give it a look before making any judgments.

Here is a link I found with some more interesting information.

forums.astraldynamics.com...