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Life on Other Planets

In EU 1 (AC 6695), Emanuel Swedenborg writes:

By the Lord's Divine mercy I have had my interior faculties, which belong to my spirit, opened, so that I have been enabled to talk with spirits and angels, not only those in the vicinity of our earth, but also with those near other worlds. Since therefore I was desirous of knowing whether there were other inhabited worlds, and what they and their inhabitants were like, I was allowed by the Lord to talk and mix with spirits and angels from other worlds. With some this lasted a day, with others a week, with yet others for months. I was informed by them about the worlds they came from and in the vicinity of which they were, about the life, behaviour and religious practices of their inhabitants, and other matters worth relating about them. Since I was allowed to gain my knowledge in this fashion, I can describe them from what I have heard and seen.

But modern astronomical discoveries, while in principle encouraging idea of life elsewhere in the universe, do not support the idea of inhabitants of the moon, mercury, and the other planets in our own solar system.

So we ask: what is going on? Was Swedenborg correct in apparently describing also the physical inhabitants, or not? Was he mislead by his desire "of knowing whether there were other inhabited worlds"?

Here is a list of articles that deal with his reports about life on other planets:
 

Journey to the Starry Heaven

George de Charms

Revealed Knowledge of the Planets W. B. Caldwell
The Inhabited Universe (in 8 parts) Frederick L. Schnarr
Hard Sayings 7: Earths in the Universe W. Cairns Henderson
How should those in the Church regard the Teachings Concerning the Earths in the Universe?

Philip Odhner.

Moon-men, Science or Revelation? Chris. O. Horner
The Absence of Other Worlds Fred Elphick
Is There Any Life Out There?  Erik E. Sandström
What has God Revealed? Kurt Nemitz
[Comments: Roy Nicholls, Kurt Nemitz, Fred Elphick]

The Spiritual Universe

Erik E. Sandström
Thinking about Moon-Dwellers Norman J. Berridge
[Comments: Chris O. Horner, Laurel Odhner]
The Men Upon the Planet, Moon James S. Brush
[Comment: Fred Elphick]
The Universe Revolves around the Lord John Odhner
Life on the Moon Alfred Action, II
Translator's Introduction (from Worlds in Space) John Chadwick
Planets Outside Our Solar System Donald L. Rose
On Mars... Steve Koke
[Comment: Karin Childs]
Earth in the Universe Norman E. Riley
Was There Life on Mars Long Ago? Donald L. Rose

The Life on Other Planets Question

Kurt Simons
Theistic Astrology David Chambers
Swedenborg and Dr. Oz  Martin Gardner
Planets And Perspectives: New Church Theology And The Plurality Of Worlds Debate Allen Bedford
Aliens

Stephan Muires

A Mystic Perspective on Aliens Vaishali
Swedenborg and the Myth of Extraterrestrials  (etc!) Linda Kimball
Extraterrestrial Contact, Emanuel Swedenborg and Christianity Doug Webber (blog)

(This list used to be at www.newchurchissues.org/lop/lopndx.htm)

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Life on Other Planets

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