I notice nobody has welcomed you yet, so let me say: Welcome to Wikipedia!
And in case you haven't read them already:
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Regards, --Fred chessplayer (talk) (edits) 17:12, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Why, thank you, FC! So far, I am indeed having fun. I wish I had found this place sooner.
- Any other questions, just ask.
- If you don't mind me asking, how come you got interested in Swedenborg? --Fred-Chess 08:26, 10 May 2005 (UTC)
I don't mind at all. Actually, I was baptized into the General Church of the New Jerusalem as an infant in 1970. I was raised in the church, grew up and went out into the world, lived as a successful businessman for many years, and now am "retired" from business and about to complete my training as a New Christian minister. How did you come to take an interest in Swedenborg yourself? --Mac 19:45, 2005 May 14 (UTC)
- Okay. Its nice to know the background you have in this subject. I myself have no connection to Swedenborgianism (or New Church). I read about "The Swedish Inventor" first time when I was 17, and then read (parts of) Heaven and Hell a year later, and it mainly scared me.
- But in recent years there came a number of books about Sw. in Swedish available at every library, and one mentioned his shorter book "New Jerusalem". And I read it and liked it, and eventually bought a copy, and still today hold it in high regards.
- In the intervening years, I read other things, e.g. Jung, and found Sw. to be references there. Additionally there was a good deal of material on the Internet (I have referenced some of what I consider the best on the Swedenborg page) which I also read and considered easier to grasp than his own writings. So the interest has always been there.. Mainly, I find Sw. interesting and very knowledgeable. And that's my story... --Fred-Chess 09:36, 16 May 2005 (UTC)
It's a good story, Fred. :) I appreciate your interest in New Jerusalem. It's one of my favorites for its succinctness in overviewing basic ideas. If you haven't already, you might find it worth your while to find a copy of True Christian Religion. It follows the same general approach of New Jerusalem, in that it is a summary of ideas broken down topically, but has more complete explanations and covers more topics. --Mac 15:18, 2005 Jun 6 (UTC)