Translation Policy

The English translations included on this website are the translations which follow most closely the principle of “the wholeness and purity of the Doctrine” given to us in True Christian Religion 245, as well as the basic guidelines the Heavenly Doctrine has adopted. The most important of these guidelines is consistency of doctrinal terms, such as celestial, spiritual, natural, rational, affection, will, understanding, temptation, regeneration, reformation, repentance, etc.

The translations we have chosen are the following:

--The Arcana Coelestia and the Four Doctrines translated by John Potts;

--Heaven and Hell, Divine Love and Wisdom, Divine Providence, and the True Christian Religion translated by John Ager;

--Conjugial Love translated by Samuel Warren and extensively revised by Louis H. Tafel;

--Apocalypse Revealed and Apocalypse Explained translated by John Whitehead;

--From the Swedenborg Foundation’s Miscellaneous Theological Works: The Earths in the Universe, New Jerusalem and her Heavenly Doctrine, Last Judgment, and Continuation concerning the Last Judgment, White Horse, Brief Exposition, Interaction between the Soul and Body, all translated by John Whitehead;

--Diary of Spiritual Experiences, published posthumously, was translated mostly by George Bush and John Smithson, with the last volume translated by James Buss. The first volume appears to be a newer translation by A. W. Acton, based on a draft by W. H. Acton;

--From the Swedenborg Foundation’s Posthumous Theological Works we draw most the other works published posthumously, all of these seem to be translated by John Whitehead, with the exception of Prophets and Psalms by EJE Schreck.