Scientific discovery of Spiritual Laws given in Rational Scientific Revelations


1Formerly, Leon A. Jakobovits. Home address: 744 Pahumele Pl., Kailua, Hawaii 96734. e-mail address: leon@hawaii.edu. Tel. (808)-261-2382,

2Wilson Van Dusen, "The Distinctiveness of the Church of the New Jerusalem" New Church Life March 1994, 112-114.

3See for example the July 1993 issue of New Church Life.

4Wilson Van Dusen, The Natural Depth in Man and The Presence of Other Worlds , both published by the Swedenborg Foundation.

5Van Dusen, The Distinctiveness of the Church , p.114.

6Wilson Van Dusen, "Spiritual Practice That Makes Religion of the Life: Open Letter to the General Church" New Church Life July 1993, 314-319.

7For example, "There are certainly other maps of the same territory" and "I compliment Buddhism as having the only other spiritual map of comparable scope" passim, p.114.

8See for example, Leon James, "Swedenborg's Religious Psychology: The Marriage of Good and Truth as Mental Health" in Studia Swedenborgiana December 1993, Vol.8, No.3, pp. 13-42.

9Erland J. Brock, "New Church Epistemology Part VIII" New Philosophy October-December 1988, Vol.. XCI, No.4, pp. 683-695.

10David R. Simons, "Philosophy of History: From a New Church Perspective" New Philosophy April-June 1989, Vol. XCII. No.2, pp. 67-74.

11Linda Simonetti Odhner, "The Bread of Life With Honey From the Rock: A Chaste Union of religion and science" New Church Life March 1989, pp.117-122.

12Passim, p.119.

13Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 1962. See the discussion on Kuhn in what follows.

14Mark Carlson, "Evolution, the Limbus, and Hereditary Evil (Part 2)" New Church Life June 1990, pp.259-275..

15See for example two recent volumes widely available in academic libraries: Robin Larsen (ed.), Emanuel Swedenborg: A Continuing Vision (New York: Swedenborg Foundation, 1988); Erland J. Brock et. al. (eds.), Swedenborg and his Influence (Bryn Athyn, PA: The Academy of the New Church, 1988).

16William Ross Woofenden, "Swedenborg's Philosophy of Causality," New Philosophy July-September 1990, p.357.

17Alfred Acton II, "Paradigms of Revelation," The New Philosophy January-June 1991, pp. 489-506; Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 1962).

18A useful review may be found in Gregory L. Baker, Religion and Science: From Swedenborg to Chaotic Dynamics (New York: The Solomon Press, 1992 (with a Foreword by Robert W. Gladish); A humorous and instructive view may be found in the current bestseller, Alan Lightman, Einstein's Dreams: A Novel (New York: Pantheon Books, 1993).

19Details relating specifically to my field are documented in: Jakobovits, L.A. The psycholinguists: Whither now? A review of G.A.. Miller's "The Psychology of Communication." Contemporary Psychology, 1969, 14, 156-57; Steinberg, Danny and Jakobovits, L.A. (Eds.), Semantics: An Inter-disciplinary Reader in Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971. (Reprinted paperback editions in 1972 and again in 1974.); Jakobovits, L.A. and Miron, M.S. (eds.). Readings in the Psychology of Language. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1967.

20Alfred Acton II, Paradigms of Revelation, p.497.

21Passim, p.497.

22Rev. Acton uses the expression "the catholic paradigm," an expression I hesitate to use just in case it might be objectionable to those holding this perspective.

23As well, the scientists may be wrong. Erik Sandstrom cites the example of British Nobel Prize laureate Stephen Hawking who puts God back into Big Bang cosmology in his recent book A Brief History of Time, see Erik E. Sandstrom, "Dos and Don'ts in the New Church" New Church Life July 1992, pp.305-313.

24Lawson Smith, Letters to the Editor, "Paradigms of Revelation" The New Philosophy July-December 1991, pp.639-641. See also Acton's reply, pp.641-643.

25This point is also made by Erik E. Sandstrom, Do's and Don'ts, p.18.

26Peter Rhodes, "Gurdjieff and Swedenborg" General Church Sound Recording Library, Bryn Athyn, 1976.

27Van Dusen, The Distinctiveness of the Church, p.112.

28See for instance the August and October issues of 1993.

29See Leonard Fox, "Gurdjieff: Guide to Heaven or Hell?" New Church Life June 1993; see also his reply in the October 1993 issue.

30Ruth Zuber, New Church Life August 1993, p.372.

31Donnette Alfelt, ibid, p.373.

32Gray Glenn, ibid, p.374-375.

33Paul Hammond, ibid, p.375.

34John Kane, New Church Life October 1993, p.466.

35Tiny Francis, New Church Life October 1993, p.467.

36Leonard Fox, New Church Life October 1993, p.469-472..

37Leonard Fox, passim, p.471.

38V.C. Odhner, Jr., Letter to the Editor, New Church Life, April 1994, pp.179-181.


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