Theos-Talk Archives (March 1998 Message tt00142)

Jeff Writes
>I am Swedenborgian, and have wondered what feeling there is about
>any connection Emanuel Swedenborg might have had with Theosophy.
>At least one secular biography of Swedenborg called him a
>theosophist; I've never seen any support for this before.

One must distinguish between 'theosophy' and any of the theosophical
societies. Swedenborg died in 1772 and so of course had nothing to do with
the Theosophical Society. Theosophy is a general term encompassing all those
who follow and teach the Divine Wisdom. Hence Jacob Boehme, Paracelsus,
Pythagoras et al. were all 'theosophists'.
When naming the society a dictionary was thumbed through and 'theosophy' was
picked.

Cordially,
Bruce