tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3712012.post113671805859098537..comments2023-07-04T10:10:25.205-04:00Comments on Apologia: Where he's coming from...William Lusehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15928946919078483848noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3712012.post-1137615852397659432006-01-18T15:24:00.000-05:002006-01-18T15:24:00.000-05:00He's still got time to make the leap back. I suspe...He's still got time to make the leap back. I suspect he will. After doing that little bit of research he requested, I quickly remembered why I'd had to let go of Swedenborg. His notion of the Trinity (which is really not a trinity) was conflicting with the orthodox apologists I was also reading. A choice had to be made, and I went with the one that had been around from the beginning.William Lusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15928946919078483848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3712012.post-1137590592796513702006-01-18T08:23:00.000-05:002006-01-18T08:23:00.000-05:00The devil, through the mouthpiece of those like Sw...The devil, through the mouthpiece of those like Swedenborg, explains heterdoxy better than most of us can explain orthodoxy. I could have wished he'd have read Sheed's Trinitarian exposition in "Theology and Sanity" before he'd made the leap into falsehood.TShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17118362963139092279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3712012.post-1136753033956251852006-01-08T15:43:00.000-05:002006-01-08T15:43:00.000-05:00Thanks guys, good comments. I'll have more to say ...Thanks guys, good comments. I'll have more to say later.William Lusehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15928946919078483848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3712012.post-1136749242972135872006-01-08T14:40:00.000-05:002006-01-08T14:40:00.000-05:00I was quite heartened to see that Mr. Kern wasn't ...I was quite heartened to see that Mr. Kern wasn't creating a religion out of his own opinions - that always strikes me as a sign of high hubris - but comes by them honestly in the sense of following a teacher, albeit one that most Christians would consider a false one. <BR/><BR/>Swedenborgianism reminds me of Mormonism in that both were birthed in eras in which there was an unhealthy interest in pagan and evil spirits. Peter Stravinskas writes that Swedenborg's father, a Lutheran bishop, was "not reluctant to invoke spirits, good and evil alike, in his typically florid fashion from his pulpit". <BR/><BR/>And the son, the founder, "refused to acknowledge a belief in Christ's resurrection", which tells you a lot. And like Joseph Smith, Swedenborg claimed a number of mystical visions. Mystical theologies are often irresistable and this one certainly seems to have satisfied Mr. Kern's itch.<BR/><BR/>Like Mormonism, it's possible there are good fruits attached, which is probably part of the reason the devil has been so successful in helping to sow Christian disunity although we humans (self included) seem to do that well enough on our own.TShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17118362963139092279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3712012.post-1136738095080867622006-01-08T11:34:00.000-05:002006-01-08T11:34:00.000-05:00all that I know about the Swedenborgians is that t...all that I know about the Swedenborgians is that they have a beautiful chapel above the Pacific, where some friends of ours got married. <BR/>I find that their concept of 'eternal marriage' is somewhat reminescent of the Mormon's belief system. <BR/>I admit to being puzzled that the Trinity is what pushed him over the edge. I read recently that one cannot explain the Trinity for more than 5 minutes without risking slipping into heresy - I will have to try to find that citation.aliciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11687144369505900773noreply@blogger.com