Martin Luther King, inspired by Swedenborg
Every
January, America celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
the great civil rights leader who sparked global consciousness of
racial issues. Dr. King was not a stranger to Swedenborg theology. He
credited Swedenborg with giving us the “best possible understanding of
God’s message.”
The link with Swedenborg was discovered in 2006 when King’s
extensive library sold at Sotheby’s to Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Some of his handwritten notes, unpublished sermons, and key books were
exhibited during the auction. Among display items was a copy of
Emerson’s A Modern Anthology (1958). On the opening page, King had written:
“Swedenborg enables us to understand why we were
created, why we are alive, and what happens to us after our bodies die.
Swedenborg enables us to have the best possible understanding of God’s
message as it exists in those Bible books which constitutes God’s Word.”
At present, the collection is closed while items are being
catalogued. Swedenborgian scholars are eager to delve into King’s
manuscripts as soon as the collection opens to the public. Rev. Mark
Perry of the New Church in San Diego says, “I would love to have the
opportunity to study Martin Luther King’s Library for more evidence of
Swedenborg’s influence. Given the influence that Swedenborg’s Writings
had on people like Helen Keller, Jorge Borges, George Innes, Emerson,
Blake and many others, it does not surprise me that Dr. King also read
Swedenborg.”
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