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Emanuel Swedenborg
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LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS Paperback – September 6, 2006

by Emanuel Swedenborg (Author), John Chadwick (Translator), Dr. Raymond Moody (Introduction)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 23 ratings
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Is there life on other planets? This intriguing question is still being debated in scientific circles, but Emanuel Swedenborg attested that he had actually spoken with spirits from other planets in the afterlife.

Originally published in 1758, this startling book details Swedenborg's conversations with spirits from Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Venus, and the moon, who discuss their lives on other planets and how their cultures differed from those of earthly life.

Translated by the late Cambridge scholar John Chadwick and co-published with the Swedenborg Society of London, this volume also offers an introduction by Dr. Raymond Moody, who ruminates on how modern science is validating some of Swedenborg's assertions.

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  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Swedenborg Foundation Publishers
  4. Publication date
    September 6, 2006
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0877853207
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0877853206
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) was a Swedish scientist, nobleman, and theologian who spent his life investigating the mysteries of the soul. Born in Stockholm to a staunchly Lutheran family, he graduated from the University of Uppsala and then traveled to England, Holland, France, and Germany to study with the leading scientists of the time. Between 1743 and 1745, he began to have visions of heaven, hell, and Jesus Christ, which resulted in a stream of books about the nature of God, the afterlife, and the inner meaning of the Bible. He devoted the last decades of his life to studying Scripture and presenting his own unique theology to the world.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"It needs to be known that all spirits and angels are from the human race; they are near their own world, and know what happens there; and they can inform someone whose interior faculties are open sufficiently to be able to talk and mix with them. A human being is in essence a spirit, and associates with spirits at the interior level. Consequently anyone whose interior faculties are opened by the Lord can talk with them, exactly as a man can with another man. I have been permitted to do this daily for the last twelve years.

"It is a very well-known fact in the next life that there are many worlds inhabited by human beings, and there are spirits and angels who have come from them. Anyone there, whose desire springs from a love of truth and the purpose it can serve, is permitted to talk with spirits from other worlds, so as to get proof of the multiplicity of worlds. He can thus learn that the human race does not come from only one world, but from countless worlds; and moreover what these peoples' character is and how they live, and what sort of religious worship they practice."

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Swedenborg Foundation Publishers; First Edition (September 6, 2006)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0877853207
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0877853206
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

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Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg

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Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was a Swedish scientist, inventor, and theologian who made significant discoveries in many of the natural sciences, including astronomy, anatomy, geology, and mineralogy. At age fifty-five, his intensive search for answers to ultimate questions culminated in an awakening that gave him a unique insight into the workings of the spiritual world. He spent the remainder of his life writing about his experiences and how human beings can come to a deeper awareness of the divine.

Swedenborg's ideas have influenced people as diverse as Helen Keller, Johnny Appleseed, William Blake, Henry James, Ralph Waldo Emerson, D.T. Suzuki, Jorge Luis Borges, and Dr. Mehmet Oz. The continuing appeal of his thought undoubtedly lies in his insights into the afterlife, concepts of divine love, and focus on personal and social development.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
23 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

V. Henry
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2017
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Very interesting reading. If you believe in life on other worlds or believe other planets sustained life, this book is definitely worth reading. I really believe what the author wrote about. Explains a lot. Shipping was very fast
2 people found this helpful
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Joseph A. Schrock
4.0 out of 5 stars Indeed Thought-provoking -- But References to Civilizations On Other Planets Must Be Regarded as Missing the Mark
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2017
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“Life on Other Planets” by Emanuel Swedenborg was a rather interesting book – given my interests and ideas. Although I don’t doubt that Swedenborg was a man of monumental intellect, as well as having had great spiritual inspiration and guidance, I do regard him as having been highly fallible, being possessed of numerous false beliefs – as are all human beings. It is very obvious that Swedenborg’s “travels” to other planets, other star systems, etc. should be regarded as highly dubious. Why do I say that? Well, firstly, Swedenborg claimed to have visited (in spirit, guided by angels) planets in our solar system – Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, etc. On all those planets he reported that there were human-like people living, with families, edible plants for food, livable climates, etc. We now know (with the benefits of space travel, powerful telescopes, etc. that there are NO planets (other than Earth) in our solar system where any human-like civilizations live. Obviously, Swedenborg (in the 18th century) had no access to the technology we now have at our disposal; however, if he had been guided by any reliable means of making “contact” with other planets, he would surely never have reported encountering various civilizations on planets like Venus (with utterly unlivable conditions), as well as Mars and other planets in our solar system that obviously have no humanoid civilizations.

If Swedenborg’s spiritual insights were remotely viable and veracious, how did he ever so badly miss the mark? Well, the skeptic will declare that it’s very easy to answer that: There are no spirits, no angels, and there is no God to reveal any knowledge to us; therefore, Swedenborg was far out on some sort of hallucinatory limb, whereby his imagination and extremely creative mind got the better of him. As for myself, this explanation will not hold. After all, for those of us who know that there exists a Divine Realm, we cannot remotely conclude that merely because a great (highly brilliant – with an estimated IQ comparable to Isaac Newton’s) mystic gets some things badly wrong that this, then, means that he had NO inspiration from a Divine source. It is not logical to conclude that merely because a brilliant mystic makes serious errors in describing the realities he encounters, that is, he gets some things seriously wrong, this means that he had no spiritual inspiration or guidance at all. This all-or-nothing thinking is not sensible. To reason like that would be like concluding that if a doctor makes a few misdiagnoses in his medical practice, then the doctor’s medical “knowledge” is all bogus and without value. Obviously, that’s outrageous. In like manner, it’s outrageous to conclude that because Swedenborg got some of his “facts” badly wrong, we can justifiably commence to discount all his spiritual experiences and insights as utterly bogus illusions.

Suffice it to say that I was sobered by the degrees of errors in Swedenborg’s accounts of his “visits” to other planets, but it does not remotely annihilate my conviction that Emanuel Swedenborg was a brilliant mystic with great spiritual insights, and glorious spiritual experiences that could potentially help millions of people find a viable path to the Divine. Swedenborg was human, finite, fallible, and flawed. Was he a charlatan? No. Was he, in some cases and in some ways misguided? Yes. How much can we trust his brilliant writings? Each person should decide that for himself/herself. Personally, I read his books with deep respect and high regard, all the while remaining highly cognizant that I’m reading the words of a finite and fallible human being – not the infallible and inerrant “Word of God”.

This book is a beautiful contrast to the rampant skepticism that pervades the intelligentsia of the 21st century. You might be able to garner something worthwhile from it. I recommend the book – and Swedenborg’s other writings.
3 people found this helpful
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janet service
3.0 out of 5 stars Life on Other Planets by Emanuel Swedenborg
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2013
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I chose a three star rating for this book because even though I found it interesting, I found Swedenborg's description of what he was seeing very hard to follow. He was trying to describe other worldly things in earthly terms and quite frankly half the time I could not grasp what it was he was trying to convey.
5 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Swedenborg
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2017
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Good sellers, Swedenborg was a genius; and a good man, thanks for the book.
2 people found this helpful
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Terry Gatrost
5.0 out of 5 stars Out standing
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2013
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A one of a kind book, That I don't think you,ll find anywhere else! I loved it and put it on my favorite bookshelf.
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Sharon E. Lane
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2018
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too weird!!!
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kazzam
4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Truth-Informing Way of the Neo-Sciences
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2014
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Very informative and clearly explained the spirit world of other planets in vivid details. Much enjoyed the book while reading it in one lazy afternoon. A good read for anyone who seek the truth of living beings on other planets. Great.
4 people found this helpful
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terry
5.0 out of 5 stars worth reading
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2017
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a good read.
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