"Reverend Doctor and Lector:

"Only two days ago I received your favor of the 21st of last March, and on reading it through I was surprised at the reports which are said to have reached Gottenburg from Stockholm to the effect that you and Dr. Rosen are to be deposed, deprived of office, and banished from the country, a report to which certainly I can give no credence; for it contradicts my reason in the highest degree to believe that a person may be deprived of office and banished from the country, on the mere allegation of his being heretical, without the principal point of accusation against him being investigated. In the printed minutes I cannot find that they have taken a single step in regard to the question itself, but that they have simply busied themselves in making attacks in abusive and unseemly language, when yet the real point of issue is this, whether it is allowable to approach immediately our Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ, or whether we must go a circuitous way, namely, to God the Father, that He may impute to us the merit and righteousness of His Son, and send the Holy Spirit. But that we may go to the other, which is the direct way, namely, to our Savior Jesus Christ, is in accordance both with the Augsburg Confession, and the Formula Concordiae and also with our own prayers and hymns; and it entirely agrees with God's Word. "In the Augsburg Confession are the following words: 'For [the Scripture] sets before us Christ alone as the Mediator, the Propitiator, the High Priest, and the Intercessor; He is to be invoked, or addressed; and He has promised that He will hear our prayers; and the Sacred Scripture very greatly approves of this worship, viz., that He should be invoked in all afflictions.' (1 John 2:1) "In the Formula Concordiae are these words: 'We have a command that we should call upon Christ according to this saying, "Come unto me all ye that labor,"' etc., which is certainly addressed to us; and Isaiah says (Chap. 11), 'In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people. On Him shall nations call.' And in (Psalm 45), 'The rich among the people shall entreat Thy countenance.' And in (Psalm 72), 'And all kings of the earth shall fall down before Him.' And in another verse, 'They shall pray before Him continually.' And in (John 5:23), Christ says, 'All shall honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.' See also Paul in (1 Thess. 2). These are the identical words quoted from the work. "In our Hymn-book are prayers and hymns addressed to Jesus Christ alone; as Hymn 266, of which I will quote only what follows:

Lo! Jesus is my might;

He is my heart's delight. O Jesus, hear my voice.

If I of Christ make sure, I'll ever feel secure, And freed from all my sins.

As Jesus is my shield, I'll ne'er to Satan yield Tho' he against me rage.

My cares and all my woe On Him alone I'll throw, Who is my strength and guard.

By day and night I rest Safely on Jesus' breast, In whom alone I trust. (Verses 1, 3, 8)

"Besides all this, two of my letters, which have been inserted and printed in the Gottenburg Minutes, contain numerous proofs, adduced from the whole of the 'Formula Concordiae,' that our Saviour, even as to His Human, is God, which Luther and the Formula Concordiae corroborate with all their power, and which is also in agreement with the entire Word of God. In proof of this I refer you only to (Col. 2:9; 1 John 5:20, 21). More to the same purport has also been adduced from one of my works, an extract from which may be found in the printed Minutes of the Gottenburg Consistory [Document 245, C. p. 291 et seq.]. This doctrine they there call 'Swedenborgianism'; but for my part I call Genuine Christianity. "This is the question now at issue, which the members of the Consistory have, on their part, not touched upon at all, but respecting which they have simply burst forth into abusive language, which affects not simply my person and honor, but our Redeemer and His holiness. How they will answer for this after death, I will not here consider. "As to the Son of God from eternity, which is likewise a controverted point, I have proved, that in the Apostles' Creed, which is received throughout the whole of Christendom, and which contains the doctrine of the Apostles themselves, no other Son of God is mentioned than the Son of God born in time, who is our Redeemer Himself, to whom every man can address himself, and to whom, by virtue of what is stated in the Augsburg Confession and the Formula Concordiae, he must address himself, that he may obtain salvation. And if our freedom be interfered with in this respect, I would rather live in Tartary than among Christians. If any other be willing to go further-to a Son of God from eternity-he is at liberty to do so. "Your letter, and your fear of harsh treatment, have induced me to develop and explain the point of issue in this manner, since theological subjects are of such a nature, that a person may easily wander about in darkness in respect to them, particularly if accusers, with a pretense of learning, try to blacken them by such coarse expressions, and seek to kill the 'man child' with murderous words. However, I presume, and I believe it as a certainty, that His Royal Majesty with the enlightened members of the Council will judge of this matter in its true light, and not according to the glosses of the Dean and others. For if you should be removed from office and exiled, what could the present as well as the future generations say, but that this had happened to you for no other reason than that you had approached immediately our Lord and Saviour, and that you had, notwithstanding, not denied the Trinity. What astonishment and indignation must not this cause in everyone! "This subject, in its whole extent, will soon be placed before the whole of Christendom,** and the judgment passed upon it. I will hereafter submit to the King, and to the Honorable Houses of the Realm in general: for during a session of the Diet, the House of the Clergy is not at liberty to submit to His Royal Majesty its own separate or independent opinion, which shall afterwards have the force of law. Theological matters belong to the other Houses also. "With respect to your journey here, I do not think that your presence in Stockholm would greatly benefit your cause. I will only ask you to be kind enough to copy this letter, and send a copy to His Excellency Senator Stockenstrom, and another to His Excellency Senator R. Hermanson, informing them that it is done at my request. I intend to send a copy myself to the Chancellor of Justice, and one to His Excellency Count Ekeblad.

"Your obedient servant, "Em. Swedenborg. "Stockholm, April 12, 1770." * Documents Concerning Swedenborg. Vol. II., pp. 352-356. ** In the True Christian Religion, published in 1770.