the new church and the phenomenon of jakob lorber

8/13/2019 The New Church and the Phenomenon of Jakob Lorber

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The New Church and the Phenomenon of Jakob Lorber

A historical survey with a personal viewpoint

The New Church encountered the phenomenon of Jakob Lorber at a very early stage al-ready. Here, I shall provide a survey of the history of the debates of the Swedenborgians

about this new apparition in the heaven of revelations, which was new at that time. In

the past, I have already often compared the teachings of Swedenborg with those of

Lorber. However, along with this content-related or theological dimension, there is still

another one, namely the institutional or ecclesio-political dimension. I shall reconstruct

the history of the tense encounters between the New Church and the followers of the

revelations through Jakob Lorber, not as a historian but as the current pastor of the New

Church. I shall therefore not only rescue from oblivion certain episodes from the past

but I shall finally also describe very clearly my own personal viewpoint.

Jakob Lorber, another revelation appears

68 years after the death of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), on 15thMarch 1840, Ja-

kob Lorber (1800-1864) heard on the left-hand side of his chest, where the heart is a

voice calling out to him: Rise, take your pen and write!1He obeyed this voice and this

is how the manuscripts of another revelation were created up until his death, along withthe revelation through Emanuel Swedenborg that was already known.

It is unknown whether these manuscripts or transcriptions thereof became known to

the Swedenborgians already. The most likely supposition is that the early prints of some

works by Lorber only created the right prerequisites so that such announcements could

become known to New Church followers. Let us have a look at the history of these early

prints in the second half of the 19thcentury!2The Swabian physician and poet JustinusKerner (1786-1862), the famous author of the book about the Seeress of Prevorst (1829),

was also the editor of Bltter aus Prevorst [Papers from Prevorst] (1831-1839) and of

Magikon (1840-1853) in which capacity he learnt about all kinds of strange pheno-

mena in the field of spiritualism and thus also about Jakob Lorbers writings.3Thereu-

pon, he had two small writings by Lorber printed in 1851, Briefwechsel zwischen un-

serm Herrn Jesu Christo und Abgarus, Knig von Edessa [Correspondence between our

Lord Jesus Christ and Abgarus, King of Edessa] and Brief des Apostels Paulus an die

1 Karl Gottfried Ritter von Leitner, Jakob Lorber, ein Lebensbild nach langjhrigem persnlichem Um-

gang [Jakob Lorber, a portrait of his life based on long-time personal contact], Bietigheim, 4 thedition,

1969, p. 18.2 I refer to the following publications printed by publishing house Lorber Verlag: 125 Jahre Lorber Ver-

lag. 100 Jahre in Bietigheim [125 years of publishing house Lorber Verlag. 100 years in Bietigheim],

Bietigheim, 1979. Begegnung mit dem propethischen Werk Jakob Lorbers: Gedenkschrift des Lorber-

Verlags zum 150. Jahr der Berufung Jakob Lorbers zum Schreibknecht Gottes [Encounter with the

prophetic work of Jakob Lorber: Memorial Publication of publishing house Lorber Verlag on the occa-

sion of the 150thanniversary of Jakob Lorbers appointment as Gods scribe], Bietigheim, 1990.3 Christoph Friedrich Landbeck wrote: Due to his central position as head of these papers [Papers from

Prevorst and Magikon] he [Justinus Kerner] learnt about all phenomena occurring at that time in the

spiritual field. (Die Haushaltung Gottes [The Household of God], Volume 1, Bietigheim, 1904, page

XX). There was also some correspondence between Justinus Kerner and the Grazer Freundeskreis

[Graz Circle of Friends] of which, however, nothing has been preserved (Begegnung mit dem prope-

thischen Werk Jakob Lorbers , Bietigheim, 1990, page 63).


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Thomas Noack2

Gemeinde in Laodicea [Epistle of Apostle Paul to the community of Laodicea]. It was

Justinus Kerner also to draw the attention of Carl-Friedrich Zimpel (1801-1879), cur-

rently known as the founder of modern spagyric medicine, to Lorber, whereupon Zimpel

went to see him in Graz. In 1852, he published three writings by Lorber, namely Na-turgeme und spirituelle Verhltnisse des Mondes mit einem Nachtrage ber das

magnetische Fluidum, und einem Vorworte ber den eigentlichen Sinn von St. Matth.

XXIV, 30 und den geistigen Frhling [Natural and spiritual conditions of the moon with

an addendum on the magnetic aura, and a preface on the actual meaning of St Matthew

XXIV, 30 and the spiritual spring], the first part of Geschichte der Urschpfung der

Geister- und Sinnen-Welt, und im Verfolge die Geschichte der Urpatriarchen, von Adam

bis Abraham, oder Haushaltung Gottes4[History of the primeval creation of the spirit

and sensory world, followed by the history of the ancestral patriarchs, from Adam to Ab-

raham, or the household of God], and Die Jugend-Geschichte unseres Herrn Jesu Chris-

ti [The childhood of our Lord Jesus Christ]. In 1869, Karl August Schbel, a veterinary

surgeon of Sbringen near Pillnitz, published a second edition of Jugend Jesu. The ar-senal director Johannes Busch (1793-1879)5of Dresden then appeared as the first publi-

sher on a larger scale. The period between 1855 and 1876 saw the publication of Sa-

turn [Saturn] (1855), Erde [Earth] (1856), Dreitageszene [Three-day scene] (1861],

Natrliche Sonne [Natural sun] (1864), Geistige Sonne [Spiritual sun] (1870), and

Groes Evangelium Johannes [Great Gospel of John] (1871-1876).6 Johannes Busch

4 The first part published by Zimpel ends with chapter 243 of the current Volume 2 of The Household of

God. The second part appeared in 1882 only with publishing house Neuer Theosophischer Verlag,

managed by Christoph Friedrich Landbeck.5 I ascertained his year of birth on the basis of a comment when Busch, almost 84 years old, in

March 1877 (Begegnung mit dem propethischen Werk Jakob Lorbers, Bietigheim, 1990, page 65). Jo-hannes Busch wrote in connection with the work on the natural sun published by him in 1864: I

could never have dreamt of receiving such extraordinary work for publication at the advanced age

of 71 only]. This comment also reveals the year of birth 1793.6 The titles are given in an abbreviated form. The original titles are as follows: Auerordentliche Er-

ffnungen ber die natrliche und geistige Beschaffenheit des Planeten Saturnus nebst dessen 3-ge-

teiltem Ring und 7 Monden, so wie ber die Beschaffenheit, das Grundsein und Leben der darauf be-

findlichen Wesen [Extraordinary revelations about the natural and spiritual composition of the

planet Saturn along with its tripartite ring and 7 moons, as well as about the composition, essence and

life of the beings found on it ], Meien, 1855. Auerordentliche Erffnungen ber die natrliche

und metaphysische oder geistige Beschaffenheit der Erde und ihres Mittelpunktes, mit besonderem

Bezug auf das Grundsein, so wie auf Bestimmung, Leben und Ziel der in, auf und in den Luft- und

Aether-Regionen ber ihr befindliches Wesen [Extraordinary revelations about the natural and

metaphysical or spiritual composition of the earth and its centre point, with special reference to the its

essence, as well as to the designation, life and aim of beings in, on and in the air and ether regions -

above it ], Meien, 1856. Die Dreitagsscene Jesu im Tempel, als Er zwlf Jahr alt war. Nie-

dergeschrieben von einem Gottbegeisterten, und mit einem Anhange hchst merkwrdigen Inhalts, in

Kraft und Erkenntni des Geists im Wort aus der Hhe herausgegeben von Johannes Busch [The

three-day scene of Jesus at the temple when he was twelve years old. Written down by an ardent fol-

lower of God, and with an addendum of highly strange content, published by Johannes Busch by the

power and perception of the Spirits Word from the heights], Dresden, 1861. Auerordentliche

Kundgebungen und Erffnungen ber die naturmige und geistige Beschaffenheit und Wesen-

haftigkeit der Sonne und deren correspondirende Seins- und Eigenschaftlichkeits-Beziehungen zu und

auf den sieben Haupt-Planeten [Extraordinary announcements and revelations about the natural

and spiritual composition and essence of the sun and its corresponding relations in being and proper-

ties to and on the seven main planets ], Dresden, 1864. Auerordentliche Kundgebungen, Er-


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The New Church and the Phenomenon of Jakob Lorber 3

was succeeded by Christoph Friedrich Landbeck (1840-1921). In 1879, he founded the

publishing house in Bietigheim, called at that time Neutheosophischer Verlag [New

Theosophical Publishing House], and from 1907 Neu-Salems-Verlag7[New Salem Pub-

lishing House]. I am unable at this point to retrace Landbecks extensive activity as apublisher. But we shall still make a note of the following: Some works by Lorber were onthe market from the 1850s already and could thus be obtained by Swedenborgians.

The Swedenborgians become aware of Lorbers writings

Given that individual works by Lorber were already printed and distributed prior to his

death, it cannot be excluded that individual Swedenborgians encountered his writings

still in Lorbers lifetime. And one such case is documented, indeed. Fedor Grwitz, a

New Church pastor, wrote: It was of great interest to me to learn from Mrs [Elisabeth]

Sigel that the deceased [August Schmidt], who had been acquainted with the heavenly

teachings [of Swedenborg] since 1848, had once sent some of Swedenborgs works to

Lorber in Graz, and that Lorber was thus acquainted with Swedenborgs writings, a factwhich is disputed by his followers.8August Schmidt (1812-1903) was an ecclesiastical-

ly oriented Swedenborgian. In 1848, he came to know Swedenborgs writings. He was

one of the seven signatories to the Invitation to subscribe to New Church works which

was sent out, after Immanuel Tafels death in 1864, to all friends of the New Church

cause to allow for further publications of the writings in German translation. 9Further-

more, he supported the New Church financially: When his wife and shortly after his on-

ly son died some 10 years earlier [circa 1893], the deceased decided to secure the larger

part of his assets for the Church; he first made donations of 1000 mark each to various

New Church communities, such as in Vienna and Budapest, in Stockholm and Copenha-

gen, to the Swiss New Church Society and to the German Church in America, and of3000 mark to the German Swedenborg Society in Stuttgart, with the interest on the last

amount still to be transferred to him for as long as he was alive. He then still donated a

fund to the amount of 24,000 mark for the benefit of a New Church community

emerging at that time in Berlin, which amount he bequeathed to the General Conference

of the New Church in England, with the provison that the interest be paid to him as long

ffnungen and Belehrungen ber die naturgeme und geistige Beschaffenheit und Wesenheit der

Sonne Zweite und dritte Abtheilung: Die geistige Sonne, nebst Nacherinnerungen und auerordent-

lichem Nachtrag dazu [Extraordinary announcements, revelations and teachings about the natural

and spiritual composition and essence of the sun Second and third section: The spiritual sun, along

with reminiscences and an extraordinary addendum thereto], Dresden, 1870. Das aus der groen

Zeit der Zeiten verheienermaen vllig kundgegebene und im inneren Sinne enthlltst erklrteEvangelium St. Johannis, wie Solches vom Herrn Selbst Seinem Ihm ber Alles getreuest liebenden

Erwhlten in der Zeit vom 2. August 1851 bis nahe zu Dessen am 24. August 1864 erfolgten Leibes-

tode gottmensch-geistig entsprechendst in die Feder dictirt worden ist [The Gospel of St John from

the great times of the kings, fully announced and completely revealed in its inner sense as promised,

in the way such was dictated to him, in a godlike and spiritual manner, by the Lord Himself, to His

elected follower who truly loves Him, over the period 2ndAugust 1851 until his physical death, oc-

curred on 24thAugust 1864 near Dessen], Dresden, 7 volumes, 1871 to 1876.7 After World War II, the publishing house was renamed once again and is since then called Lorber-

Verlag [Publishing House Lorber].8 Monatbltter fr die Neue Kirche [Monthly Papers for the New Church] (= MNK), September 1903,

page 142.9

MNK, September 1903, page 144.


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Thomas Noack4

as he was alive, and, after his death, however, to be used for the best of the hopefully

emerging New Church community in Berlin. The capital was not to be touched but only

be used for building a church. A few years earlier, the deceased had experienced the

great joy of still seeing the foundation of a New Church community in Berlin and, in hiscapacity as the first member of the same, to sign its statutes.10August Schmidt thus

drew Lorbers attention to Swedenborg. As to the exact moment of this happening, it

must have taken place somewhere between 185111and 1864. Schmidt likely encoun-

tered Lorbers writings in connection with their first prints in the 1850s and thus wan-

ted to evangelise the Graz writing medium in the spirit of Swedenborg. The New Church

community of Berlin, which, unlike any other one, currently stands for the indistinctive

merging of Swedenborg and Lorber, owes August Schmidt its house at Fontanestrae

17A.12

Another early example of a Swedenborgian encountering the writings of Jakob Lorber is

Adolph Thieme (181-1892). He was born in Chemnitz and worked as a musician in Rus-

sia. His favourite instrument was the flute, however, he was also a proficient violinist

and piano player.13In 1847, he was given permanent employment as first flutist at the

Imperial Theatre in Saint Petersburg and at the same time as music teacher at the The-

atre School and at the Institute for the Blind with entitlement to a pension.14In the ca-

pital of the Russian Empire, through a friend and colleague, Karl Dietrich Engel (1824-

1913), who originated from a family of musicians of Oldenburg and had been concert-

master in the Orchestra of the Russian State Theatre since 1846, he came to know the

writings of Swedenborg and became an avid reader of the same. In 1864, he had to re-

sign from his position in Saint Petersburg due to health reasons. He then moved to

Dresden, the place of activity of Johannes Busch, where he, being a passionate book lo-

ver15

also came across the writings of Lorber. I shall use the words of Fedor Grwitz, aNew Church pastor, to describe the following. After a relatively quick physical recovery

in Dresden, he was confronted by a severe challenge of a different nature, namely a

challenge on the part of the evil demon of spiritualism. He got hold of Lorbers writings,

the products of spiritualism published by Johannes Busch in Dresden, now by the so-

called Theosophical Publishing House managed by Landbeck in Bietigheim and he,

deluded by their alleged divine inspiration, was ensnared by these for a long time; also,

he allowed himself to be enticed to take part in sances. Obeying spiritualist suggesti-

ons that his vocation was for superior matters, he gave up his 24 piano students and

thus an income of several thousand marks. He got into an alarming and chimerical state

of mind and only found peace again after burning all of Lorbers writings for which he

had paid over 40 thalers.16 After his death, we encounter this Adolph Thieme once

10 MNK, September 1903, page 144.11 At this, I assume that August Schmidt had not yet seen any of Lorbers manuscripts before.12 A note on the use of the Schmidt fund can be found in: Die Neue Kirche: Monatbltter fr fortschritt-

liches religises Denken und Leben [The New Church: Monthly papers on modern religious thinking

and living] (= NKM), January/March 1967, page 27.13 MNK, November 1982, page 172.14 MNK, November 1982, page 172.15 MNK, November 1982, page 172.16 MNK, November 1982, page 173. After this description, Fedor Grwitz carried on with an appeal for

burning the books: We have been utterly distressed by the description of Thiemes most saddening


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again through the announcement Im Jenseits [In the afterlife] (1921), received by Le-

opold Engel (1858-1931). In this writing, his father, the aforesaid concertmaster and

Faust researcher, Karl Dietrich Engel, describes his experiences in the afterlife. He en-

counters his friend Adolph Thieme over there, who serves as his spiritual leader.Then, it was mainly the work of Christoph Friedrich Landbeck (1840-1921) that became

important. Landbeck saw the light of day on 9 thJanuary in Bietigheim, in the same year

when Lorber heard the inner voice for the first time. He attended primary school for

three years, grammar school for three years, and secondary modern school for another

three years. After that, he became an apprentice to Christian Kmmerer in Stuttgart,

probably the most famous ornamental painter at that time, and subsequently completed

his vocational skills by three years studies at a building trades school. The years of tra-

vel led the young painter to Bonn and Cologne where he also encountered different me-

thods of folk medicine, such as naturopathy, magnetism and vegetarianism. His keen

interest in the mystical side of life eventually drove him to the South, first to Switzer-

land where he encountered French spiritualism represented by Allan Kardec (1804-

1869) and Adelma Vay (1840-1925), then to Northern Italy and finally to Trieste. There,

he met Gottfried Mayerhofer (1807-1877) in 1870, whilst working as a sign maker at

the workshop where the landscapist Mayerhofer had his oil paintings framed. Landbeck

thus came to know Lorbers writings through him. From 1870, Mayerhofer also pro-

duced transcriptions dictated by the inner word. When he died in 1877, he left his spiri-

tual estate to Landbeck. After Mayerhofers death, Landbeck became an assistant to

Gustav Werner, a follower of Swedenborg, and thus joined the Reutlingen branch of the

Bruderhaus charitable foundation to work at the drawing office. When Johannes Busch

also died in 1879, however, Landbeck was urged to take over the publishing house. He

did so and started his activities as a publisher at the parental summer house of the res-taurant zum Lamm in Bietigheim. This is how he became the founder of Neutheosophi-scher Verlag17[New Theosophical Publishing House].

Landbeck acquainted the New Church followers with the writings of Lorber extensively.

The earliest evidence in this regard refers to the second half of the 1870s. In retrospect,

experiences with these writings. The writings of Lorber and similar spiritualist writings are particular-

ly dangerous for individual readers of Swedenborgs writings who are deprived of the protection of the

ecclesial community and are deceived by an apparent connection with the God-given writings of the

New Church. It is the obligation of the representatives of the New Church and particularly of the ec-

clesial teachings, to caution against such writings. We would like to advise all friends who might be in

possession of such writings to: Follow Thiemes example and burn them; they are of impure origin.The writings of Swedenborg represent the holy truth, whereas the spiritualist writings are deception.

The writings of the God-sent Swedenborg blow over us with the refreshingly pure air of heaven,

whereas in the spiritualist writings, there is an impure, numbing, and chimerical sphere. (l.c., page

173).17 This biographical survey is based on the following publications: Michael Junge, Dokumentation um

Jakob Lorber [Documentation relating to Jakob Lorber], Dsseldorf, 2004. Begegnung mit dem pro-

phetischen Werk Jakob Lorbers: Gedenkschrift des Lorber-Verlags zum 150. Jahr der Berufung Jakob

Lorbers zum Schreibknecht Gottes [Encounter with the prophetic work of Jakob Lorber: Memorial

Publication of publishing house Lorber Verlag on the occasion of the 150 th anniversary of Jakob

Lorbers appointment as Gods scribe], Bietigheim, 1990. Neue Prophetie [New prophecy], Bie-

tigheim, 1960. 125 Jahre Lorber Verlag. 100 Jahre in Bietigheim [125 years of publishing house

Lorber Verlag. 100 years in Bietigheim], Bietigheim, 1979.


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Thomas Noack6

Landbeck wrote the following in 1903: When the undersigned [= Landbeck] still found

himself in the spiritual spring of the New Light more than a quarter of a century ago,

the same met F. G. [= Fedor Grwitz], our former attacker, and some of his office com-

panions. These, being followers of Swedenborg, recognised New Revelations; he thustook the opportunity to draw the attention of these representatives of the New Church to

the advanced work of revelations by our Lord through Lorber and others; but all this

turned out completely and utterly futile.18 This description already reveals that this

meeting had not proceeded as desired by Landbeck. Further documents from 1890 and

1891 are preserved which show that in those years Landbeck sent numerous writings to

the Bote der Neuen Kirche [Messenger of the New Church] whose editor at that timewas Adolph Roeder.19

Fedor Grwitz, the pointsman

Fedor Grwitz (1835-1908) was born in 1835 in Apolda in Thuringia as the last son of

superintendent Dr Friedrich Grwitz, with a street still named after him today in that

18 Abwehr des falschen Zeugnisses eines neukirchlichen General-Pastors gegen die christliche Neu-

Theosophie. Allen Wahrheitsfreunden besonders denen der neuen Kirche dargereicht von Adalbert

Jantschowitsch [Repudiation of the false testimony by a pastor general of the New Church against the

Christian New Theosophy. Presented to all friends of the truth, in particular to those of the New

Church, by Adalbert Jantschowitsch], published by Christoph Friedrich Landbeck, Bietigheim, 1903, p.

XVI.19 The Bote der Neuen Kirche records Landbecks mailings: Der groe Advent [The great Advent] is

the title of the latest release by publishing house Joh. Busch, successor in Bietigheim, Wrttemberg,

Germany. This is a collection of papers dealing with the understanding of the return of Jesus Christ,

with an addendum about the Antichrist and the Millennial Kingdom. We further received from the

same publisher: Das Evangelium des Jakobus, enthaltend die Jugendgeschichte unsers Heilandes JesuChristi [The Gospel of James, containing the story of the childhood of our Redeemer Jesus Christ], as

well as Jesu Briefwechsel mit Abgarus, Knig von Edessa [The correspondence between Jesus and

Abgarus, King of Edessa], both works in which the teaching system of the new theosophical move-

ment is displayed. (Bote der Neuen Kirche, 1st May 1890, page 135). We received various works

from publisher C. F. Landbeck in Bietigheim (Wrttemberg). Two of them are nicely bound in canvas,

the other ones are in pamphlet form. The first work comprises 224 pages and deals with secrets of

Creation in that the relationship between the natural forces, such as light, air, water and so forth, and

spiritual matters are investigated. We liked very much the chapter on the Pyramids and the one on

the Cross in Creation, although we might perhaps not agree with all the conclusions drawn in it. The

second work comprises 252 pages and is entitled Vaterbriefe [Fatherly letters]. That one does not of-

fer any central ideas but just includes numerous admonitions and pieces of advice to mankind. One of

the pamphlets (32 pages) is called Winke ber die Unsterblichkeit der Menschenseele und vom Wie-

dersehen jenseits [Cues regarding the immortality of the human soul and reunion in the afterlife],

whereas the other one focuses on the incarnation of the Lord on earth and proves the fully valid histor-

ical significance and truth of such incarnation and of the Lords life of earth. (Bote, 15 thOctober 1890,

page 32). We received a few tracts from publisher C. F. Landbeck, Bietigheim by the river Enz, Wrt-

temberg, Germany, including a Verloren gegangener Brief des Apostels Paulus an die Gemeinde in

Laodicea [Lost Epistle of Apostle Paul to the community of Laodicea]. It is written in the same style as

the other ones; this title, however, does not refer to any archaeological find but to a rendition by

Jakob Lorber. (Bote, 15thFebruary 1891, page 95). We received from publisher C. F. Landbeck das

innere, lebendige Wort Gottes [The inner, living Word of God], a treatise representing a compilation of

what many religious writers have written and said about the inner spirit of the Scriptures. These in-

clude Augustine, Athanasius, Luther, A. Kempis, Egardus, Joh. Tauler, Arndt and others. Swedenborg

is not mentioned, although he wrote many volumes on the real inner sense of the Holy Word. (Bote,

1

st

October 1891, page 23).


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town. After the death of his father in 1846, the family moved to Jena. There, he attended

grammar school at the Zenker Institute, at that time a highly reputable private school

for boys and young ladies. According to his fathers wish, he then embraced the trading

profession. In 1859, he emigrated to North America where he settled in Philadelphia af-ter a short stay in New York. There, at the house of Francis Edmund Boericke (1826-

1901), he came to know the teachings of the New Church. In 1870, he married Minna

Tafel (1847-1912), the daughter of Leonhard Tafel (1800-1880) whom we know today

mainly as a translator of a bible for the New Church. In 1879, upon decision of the Ge-

neral Convention, he was ordained to a pastorate of the New Church and, at the instance

of Johann Gottlieb Mittnacht (1831-1892), returned to Germany (Stuttgart) in the same

year. His sphere of influence expanded quickly. When the preacher Hermann Peisker

died in Vienna in 1880, he started to visit the local community once a year. After the

death of preacher Salomon Baumann (1838-1882) of the Swiss New Church Society, he

travelled to Zurich for the first time to attend the funeral. In 1883, he relocated to more

liberal Switzerland where he went to live at the Societys house Zum Frieden [Place ofpeace] (Sonneggstrae 10). In 1893, he was deployed as senior pastor by the GeneralConvention.20

Fedor Grwitz must have come to know the writings of Lorber or of the New Theosophi-

cal Publishing House right after his return from America (1879) already.21At that time,

Landbeck started his activity as a publisher and a missionary in Bietigheim. The first re-

corded comment by Grwitz on the phenomenon of Lorber goes back to 1892 and is

documented in the obituary of Adolph Thieme (see above). Grwitz urgently cautioned

against these writings from the very beginning: It is the obligation of the representati-

ves of the New Church and particularly of the ecclesial teachings, to caution against

such writings. We would like to advise all friends who might be in possession of suchwritings to: Follow Thiemes example and burn them; they are of impure origin.22Con-

cern for the Church and the keeping the purity23of the teachings was also the cause

for the second comment dated 1898: The theosophical writings (from publisher Chris-

toph Friedrich Landbeck) have been related to the writings of the New Church here and

there Even some of our readers might already have heard about these; a brief review

of this matter in our paper [= Monatbltter fr die Neue Kirche] might therefore be ap-

propriate and of use.24This review then resulted in the following judgement: the wri-

tings of Lorber turn out an abominable falsification and profanation of the Word of God

They appear as a new Word, as a direct revelation of the Lord who speaks in them

20 See: Pfarrer Fedor Goerwitz [Pastor Fedor Goerwitz], in: MNK, January 1908, pp. 7-13. Zum 100.

Geburtstag von Pfarrer Fedor Goerwitz [On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of pastor Fedor

Goerwitz], in: NKM, March 1935, pp. 37-41.21 This follows from the aforesaid comment by Christoph Friedrich Landbeck (see: Abwehr , Bietigheim,

1903, p. XVI).22 MNK, November 1892, page 173.23 Adolf Ludwig Goerwitz wrote on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of his father and predeces-

sor in office, Fedor Grwitz: His faith in the teachings preached in the writings of Swedenborg as di-

vine revelations of the Lord through the Word was genuine and deep-rooted. This was the basis of his

reverent watching over these being kept pure.(NKM, March 1935, page 39).24

MNK, December 1898, page 183.


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Thomas Noack8

with I in the first person. This new Word, however, is nothing else but a profanation,a distortion of the Word of the Old and the New Testament.25

The action by the senior pastor reached its climax in a dispute with Adalbert Jantscho-

witsch (1833-1912). The latter was born in 1833 in Ofen (Buda), the capital of Hungarywhich was not yet amalgamated with Pest at that time. He was oriented towards the

writings of Swedenborg through the mystical book by Honor de Balzac. In 1877, he

went to stay, together with his family, with his son-in-law, Hermann Peisker, the prea-

cher of the New Church Society in Vienna. After the latters death in 1880, he relocated

to Switzerland where he first stayed at Degersheim and then at St Gallen. During this

period, along with his professional activity as a representative of the Consul in St Gal-

len, he also exercised the function of a preacher of the New Church Society in Herisau

for two years. In 1888, he returned to his native town of Budapest. There, he was again

active as a preacher of the local New Church Society. In 1905, he relocated to Berlin

where he died in 1912.26Between 1902 and 1904, Jantschowitsch stood up for the wri-

tings of Lorber27within the New Church and thereby provoked the resentment of his

senior pastor. Grwitz wrote: The extensive Gospel of St John by Lorber is

nothing else but a profanation of the Holy Word of God through petty admixtures from

which all persons standing in the light of the New Church must turn away in horror.28

At the beginning, Jantschowitsch still countered this by writing on his part a Abwehr

des falschen Zeugnisses eines neukirchlichen General-Pastors gegen die christliche

Neu-Theosophie [Repudiation of the false testimony by a pastor general of the New

Church against the Christian New Theosophy] which appeared in 1903 with publisher

Christoph Friedrich Landbeck. But in October 1904, Jantschowitsch already confessed

Mein Pater peccavi! [My Father, I have sinned.]. In the public confession of his error

under this title, the repentant sheep now wrote: I hereby declare the teachings of theChristian Theosophy lacking judgement and erroneous, simply nothing but lies and

deception, and hellish nonsense by chimerical, quixotic evil spirits already fully addic-

ted to megalomania, who are not shy of using for this purpose even the Most Holy Name

of the Lord and thus of desecrating His Name in a usurping and calumnious manner.29

Grwitzs position had thus asserted itself, as previously in the case of Adolph Thieme.

Due to Grwitz, the demonisation and tabooing of Lorbers writings within the NewChurch became common practice.

Although there were also some liberal voices within the New Church on the other side

of the Atlantic, the prevailing tendency was towards formation of an orthodox confessi-

onal church according to old ecclesiastical patterns. Johann Czerny was such represen-

25 MNK, December 1898, page 186.26 For a biography see: Schriftsteller Adalbert Jantschowitsch [Writer Adalbert Jantschowitsch], in: Bote

der Neuen Kirche, 1stFebruary 1902, p. 1; obituary in MNK, October 1912, p. 185 f.27 I am aware of the following two publications by Adalbert Jantschowitsch: Eine Frauen-Heilsbotschaft

vom Herrn [A message of salvation for women from the Lord] (Bote, 1stOctober 1902, page 15; 1st

November 1902, page 30; 1stDecember 1902, pages 47-48; 1stFebruary 1903, pages 71-72). Abwehr

des falschen Zeugnisses eines neukirchlichen General-Pastors gegen die christliche Neu-Theosophie

[Repudiation of the false testimony by a pastor general of the New Church against the Christian New

Theosophy], Budapest, January 1903.28 MNK, December 1902, page 197 f.29

MNK, December 1904, page 194.


10/37


tative of a more liberal position. In a letter dated 9 thAugust 1903 to Christoph Friedrich

Landbeck, he wrote: Fedor Grwitz and I, we are even slightly related to each other,

and I very much regret that I cannot build up a trusting friendship with him; he seems

to limit himself very much to the outward being and tries to retain Babylonian authority.I am sent so many newspapers and magazines that I can only read some of them; but I

did read through all of your writings and, unless my weak mind betrays me, I find that

the New Theosophical writings in essence agree with the Word of God and with the wri-

tings of Swedenborg, and I thank you very much for thinking of me.30The comments

by Adolph Roeder, the President of the New Church Synod in America, are also note-

worthy. In a letter dated 17thJuly 1903 to Christoph Friedrich Landbeck, we read: I do

believe, of course, that Jantschowitsch is right and that Grwitz is representing a mo-

vement of the New Church which we all regret very much.31Adolph Roeder advocated

respecting the language of faith of others. In a letter dated 31 stAugust 1903 to Chris-

toph Friedrich Landbeck, he wrote: Since I was born a German and the German langu-

age is dear and dearer to me than all other languages, I am forced for this very reason togrant the same right to my English neighbour; to the latter, the English language must

be as dear as German is dear to me. How could it be otherwise? And the same applies to

our spiritual language. I speak New Church; another one speaks New Theosophy, and

each one prefers his own spiritual language; but in the way I, as a German, can learn

English, so that I can write it fairly well, whilst still loving my own German language, I,

as a New Church follower or as a New Theosophist, can learn the spiritual language of

my neighbour, even learn it so well that I can nearly speak it; in other words, that I can

become immersed in his way of thinking, whilst all the time being able to remain faith-

ful to my own ideal of a theosophy or philosophy, without turning nasty against myselfor my neighbour, or inflicting damage.32

Pseudo-revelations of spiritualism

For Fedor Grwitz, the writings of Lorber were pseudo-revelations of spiritualism33.

He wrote: Here, we are dealing with one of the earliest products of modern spiritua-

lism.34In my view, although Fedor Grwitz certainly oversimplified things with such

classification, but, to better understand his viewpoint, it should still be mentioned that

Christoph Friedrich Landbeck had in no way kept aloof from spiritualism of his time. On

the contrary, he published, for instance, the writing Frohe Botschaft vom Morgenroth

des Neuen Geistestags35[Good News from the dawn of the New Day of the Spirit], a col-

lection of numerous spiritualist messages from late friends, including from Imanuel

30 This letter is available to me in the form of a photocopy without indication of source.31 Abwehr des falschen Zeugnisses eines neukirchlichen General-Pastors gegen die christliche Neu-

Theosofie, published by Christoph Friedrich Landbeck, Bietigheim, 1903, page 98.32 Abwehr des falschen Zeugnisses eines neukirchlichen General-Pastors gegen die christliche Neu-

Theosofie, published by Christoph Friedrich Landbeck, Bietigheim, 1903, page 102. For a comparison

between teaching systems and languages, reference can be made, for instance, to Swedenborgs inter-

pretation of the account of the Tower of Babel (HG 1284). In this context, the often quoted ecumeni-

cal words of Swedenborg can also be referred to (see HG 1799, 1834).33 MNK, December 1902, page 199.34 MNK, December 1898, page 185.35

The third and extended edition, Bietigheim, 1913, is available to me.


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Thomas Noack10

Swedenborg. The early Lorber movement thus matched the image of modern spiritua-lism perfectly, commenced in 1848 with the knocking poltergeist of Hydesville.36

Classifying the writings of Lorber within spiritualism equalled a judgement, as a

certain assessment of communicating with the world of spirits had already formedwithin the New Church even before Grwitz. Swedenborg already had cautioned against

such communications earlier on. He had noted in his Spiritual Diary: If ever spirits

start speaking to persons, these persons have to beware of believing even the slightest

thing; this is because almost everything they say is made up by them and they are lying

For this reason, the condition of talking to the spirits on this earth is the most dange-

rous situation37for those who are not in the right faith. They instil such strong convic-

tion that they are the Lord who is talking and ordering, that these persons can do

nothing else but believe and obey. (GT 1622).38The much-revered Immanuel Tafel also

spoke out against communicating with the world of spirits and against direct revelati-

ons. The following is an extended excerpt from a letter to Julie Conring, dated 13thMay

1863: But you will well know that Swedenborg called such communication [between

spirits and humans] not only dangerous to the soul but also that it could easily lead to

the madhouse, which, unfortunately, has been confirmed by new experiences in the

field of spiritualism, which concerned myself fairly closely. I consider particularly dan-

gerous the communications by spirits through the channel of religious teachings with,

in particular, the so-called direct revelations of which only we hold the secure criteria,

36 At that time, Leah (10) and Kate (12) heard strange knocking sounds and other noises in the house

of their father, farmer John Fox, at Hydesville near Rochester (USA). A fact-finding committee consist-

ing of the most learned inhabitants of Rochester was not able to explain the knocking sounds in a

natural way. After a smart neighbour, Isaak Port, had invented a knocking alphabet, it was possible totalk to the ghost. He said he had been a salesman who had lived in Foxs house and that he had been

murdered and buried in the cellar. People dug in the cellar and found a skeleton. (Kurt Hutten, Seher,

Grbler, Enthusiasten: Das Buch der traditionellen Sekten und religisen Sonderbewegungen [Seers,

musers, enthusiasts: The book of traditional sects and special religious movements], Stuttgart, 1989,

page 722).37 The dangerousness of talking to the spirits also appears in a letter by Swedenborg to Louis IX, Land-

grave of Hesse-Darmstadt: Although it may be occasionally allowed for a spirit to enter a person in

order to reveal or convey to him/her some truth, this person is not allowed to talk to the spirit from

mouth to mouth. This is also a very dangerous matter, particularly if the spirit then accesses the incli-

nation towards amour propre, which inclination is not compatible with heavenly love. (Leben und

Lehre [Living and teaching], Part 1, page 63).38 In OT 1 (1989) 26, F. Horn wrote: One can find in his [Swedenborgs] writings numerous warnings of

spiritualism He warns the Landgrave of Hesse uninhibitedly that those who tried to penetrate the

spiritual world by themselves would lose the indispensable protection of the Lord; that this was the

shortest way to the madhouse. There are two errors at hand here. Firstly, this word is not contained

in the correspondence between Swedenborg and the Landgrave but in the Memoirs by Robsahm.

There, the wording is: During a conversation with him, I once asked him whether it was possible that

someone could reach the same spiritual level where he found himself? He replied: Beware of this; this

is a path which leads you straight to the madhouse; this is because people, when they are in a state of

pondering over spiritual and mysterious matters, do not know how to beware of the deceits of hell

which will then seize the opportunity to attack those people who, being merely natural humans, just

want to explore through their own speculations the heavenly matters which, however, are beyond

their grasp.(Leben und Lehre, Part 1, page 12). This quote further reveals the second error: Sweden-

borgs statement does not relate to spiritualism but to the pondering over spiritual (= metaphysical)

matters.


12/37


and which, as demonstrated by Swedenborg, are no longer possible, as they would re-

pudiate the immutable laws of Divine Providence. Once a friend of an alleged seeress in

Vienna was introduced to our gathering in Stuttgart and he asked to speak after my pa-

per whereupon he said, amongst other things, that there was currently only one mem-ber of the New Church, a seeress in Vienna, who was being taught by our Lord directly

every day. I then remarked that Swedenborg had proved, on the basis of Daniel 9:26 and

Lucas 16 (in the work on Providence, sections 134-136), that the Lord no longer taught

directly but only indirectly through the Word, and not through spirits and angels either,

and that he himself had dealt with spirits and angels for a long time already, but that no

spirit had ever dared and no angel ever desired to convey teachings to him through the

Word or through a teaching from the Word, but that the Lord himself had taught him,

but indirectly only, through the Word in an epiphany. This principle that the Holy

Scripture is the sole source of knowledge of religion, is highly important and even

greatly facilitates rapprochement with the Protestants, whilst at the same time it extir-

pates all fanaticism of the alleged contradictory revelations. That seeress and her friendended very sadly. For many people, however, critically examined spiritualism is a

bridge to faith, but we do not need this, especially as in this manner we can learn

nothing substantially new.39

Assigning the writings of Lorber to those about spiritualism was not the result of a

thorough investigation but merely served the purpose of a quick defence against the in-

trusive kinsman. Without being able to answer the question of assignment from a Swe-

denborgian point of view, I should still like to briefly point out two items. Firstly: Swe-

denborg differentiates between two types of revelations: Each Revelation either origina-

tes from talking to angels (ex loquela cum angelis) through whom the Lord is speaking,

or from perception (ex perceptione) (HG 5121). According to this classification system,the first variant applies to Lorber, the more so as this form of Revelation occurs

through the Living Word heard inside them (the receivers of the Revelation) (per vivam

vocem auditam in illis) (HG 5121). In this context, a remark from the work Robert

Blum, received by Lorber, is of interest. With regard to Gods scribe, the otherworldly

Robert Blum said: This is such a weak little earthly servant of yours who writes whate-

ver you dictate to him through some angel in your name.] (RBI 2,261,5). This is the on-

ly instance in Lorbers writings known to me, where he mentions a mediating layer

between the Lord and His scribe. The similarities between the teachings of Swedenborg

and Lorber can perhaps also be explained by the fact that the divine revelational impul-

se passed through Swedenborgian angelic associations before reaching Lorber. But this

is just an assumption. Secondly, I should like to bring up some statements of Sweden-borg which can be interpreted as the annunciation of Lorber. He said in Himmlische Ge-

heimnisse [Secrets of Heaven]: In the oldest church with which the Lord spoke face to

face, He appeared like a human, of which numerous reports can be produced, but the

39 Letters by Dr J. F. Immanuel Tafel to Miss Julie Conring Published and dedicated to friends by J. G.

Mittnacht, Frankfurt am Main, 1881, p. 13 f. Cf. also Leben und Wirken [Living and Acting] by Dr Jo-

hann Friedrich Immanuel Tafel , Published and prefaced by Christian Dberg, Wismar, 1864, pp. 65-

71. According to Dberg, the circle around the Viennese seeress also included Dr M. and Dr K. In a

historical calendar of the New Church in Vienna, there is a note next to the year date of 1855: Due to

their misconception of the teachings, Dr Johannes Koch and Karl Markl lead the New Church followers

onto the wrong path.


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Thomas Noack12

time has not arrived yet (sed nondum est tempus). (HG 49). As this indication is found

at the beginning of Swedenborgs first work of revelations, the easiest way is probably

to relate it to Swedenborg and to say that he believed to be able to write such a work

himself. On the other hand, fulfilment of this annunciation can also be seen in the"Haushaltung Gottes" [Household of God] revealed by him. Even more interesting is an

indication by Swedenborg in a letter to Oetinger, dated 11thNovember 1766, in which

he said: For some, a talking epiphany (illustration loquens) will also occur, and this will

be more than a sign. The talking epiphany or illustration (of the general principles ofSwedenborg) can be related to the inner word of Lorber.40

Friedemann Horn, the demand for a criticism of revelations

Friedemann Horn (1921-1999) became a Swedenborgian during World War II. At

Christmas 1939, Kammersngerin [Chamber Singer honorific title] Else Schmidt, his

landlady in Jena, presented him with a book entitled Was lehrt die Neue Kirche?

[What does the New Church teach?] by Adolf Ludwig Grwitz, but first he could not doanything with it. But in 1942, when he was a soldier in Messina and read through the

book once again in these heavenly surroundings, he opened up to the ideas contained

in it, to an extent that he, who had been a student in theatre studies before the war, em-

barked on the study of theology after the big slaughter. In 1951, Horn did a PhD under

the supervision of Ernst Benz (1907-1978), with a thesis on Schelling und Sweden-

borg (completed in 1950). From 1950, through the mediation of Max Adam, he has re-

sided in Switzerland, first in Basle, then in Zurich where he was ordained in 1952 (and

deployed as senior pastor in 1977). After the death of his predecessor, Adolf Ludwig

Grwitz, on 25th November 1956, he became the most prominent figure of German-

speaking Swedenborgianism in the second half of the 20

th

century. Such judgement isbased above all on his literary activity. In 1957, he founded the journal Offene Tore

[Open Gates]. Furthermore, the Swedenborg publishing house received important im-

pulses from his unremitting activity, which was not least facilitated by the establish-

ment of an in-house printing shop, set up in 1961. Along with numerous reproductions

of out-of-print books, he revised and translated several works by Swedenborg and also

expanded the publishing programme by many valuable titles of secondary literature.

However, Horn was then unable to keep the New Church out of the crisis of the peoples

church that had been looming since the 1960s. So he had to watch more or less help-

lessly the dying out of almost all the New Church communities and pastors. Even Horns

lifelong concern to have the voice of Swedenborg heard in the choir of Christian

churches (these were the words of Benz addressed to PhD student Horn) did not yieldany lasting results.

Friedemann Horn had also encountered the writings of Jakob Lorber as early as 1944 or

45. He described this first encounter almost half a century later with the following

words: I still recall exactly the argumentation of a very old Baltic lady whom I revered

very deeply she had been superintendent of the Imperial educational system in Tsarist

40 Fedor Grwitz was followed by Adolf Ludwig Grwitz (1885-1956) whom I shall not, however, elabo-

rate on, as he continued his fathers line merely by being unable to see in Lorbers writings any dic-

tates of the Lord Jesus Christ (NKM January / February 1945, page 17) and ascribing them to a false

spirit (NKM January / February 1945, page 15).


14/37


Russia and was nearly 90 years old by then -, who tried to teach me during my young

years that Swedenborg was something like a primary school teacher, whereas Lorber

was the university teacher who had gone far beyond the knowledge conveyed by Swe-

denborg. She even copied to me whole booklets by Lorber because, at that time(1944/45), the writings of Lorber as well as those of Swedenborg were forbidden, and I

still keep some of them today out of reverence. Of course, I could not be persuaded, and

when I later gained an insight into the original works of Lorber, I also understood the

reasons for this.41 Over the following years and decades, Horn kept encountering

friends of Lorber and also left his mark on this relationship, for instance, by transferring

the German deliveries of the Swedenborg publishing house to the Publishers Associati-on Zluhan in the 1960s.42

Although Horn always persisted in his intellectual distance from the revelations through

Jakob Lorber, still, he never fell into the polemic tone from the era of the two Grwitzs,

and he even felt ashamed of the judgements, often far too flat and lacking objectivity, of

New Church pastors about Lorber about whom he had learnt from the Monatblt-

ter.43 For a Swedenborgian, the change in verbal manner and the strikingly wide

recognition of the Lorberians as our closest relatives were signals of good will. In all

this, Horn, naturally, wanted to start from the position of the New Church conditions

which include, not least, the famous word: Now it is allowed (nunc libet) to enter the

mysteries of faith with the mind (WCR 508). Swedenborg followers do not like a blind

faith to be imposed on them; they want to have the mind involved even in revelational

matters, something which many Lorber followers are unable to relate to. For this reason,

Horn developed the programme of criticism of revelations in the 1970s. He put forward

two criteria. Firstly: Whatever can be verified by means of the mind must be verified in

this manner. This applies to the historical and scientific information in the works of Ja-kob Lorber. Of course, in individual cases, an error can also occur on the part of the sci-

ences which often are not entirely free from ideological influences either. But, anyway,

it is not a sign of an open and impartial debate if such information is regularly quoted

only if it seemingly confirms something in Lorbers works, whereas, on the other hand,

such information is avoided like the plague and bad-mouthed if ever it is contrary to

what is sacred to the heart. Whoever seeks the truth, seeks it everywhere. This will de-

cide whether someone is a Lorberian only or a genuine truth seeker because only the

latter is again and again open to the painful birth of new insights. The second criterion

is the agreement of the new revelations with the old ones. This criterion is not always

41 OT 5 (1993) 217. See also the following description of the same process: I had to experience this [theassertion that Lorber was more perfect that Swedenborg] more than half a century ago when a Lorber

follower, a lady who was over 80 years old, tried to persuade me that Swedenborg was actually all

right but that he was only the primary school teacher and that Lorber, in contrast, was the university

teacher an assessment which escaped me in the light of what she gave to me of Lorbers writings to

read. To me, it seemed to be rather the other way round. (OT 5 (1997) 187).42 In OT 5 (1997) 187-189, Horn provides an overview of his various encounters with friends of Lorber.

Furthermore, he was honoured by being accepted for a contribution on Gedanken zum Gottesbild bei

Emanuel Swedenborg und Jakob Lorber [Thoughts about the notion of God in Emanuel Swedenborg

and Jakob Lorber] in Gedenkschrift des Lorber-Verlags zum 150. Jahr der Berufung Jakob Lorbers

zum Schreibknecht Gottes [Memorial Publication of publishing house Lorber Verlag on the occasion

of the 150thanniversary of Jakob Lorbers appointment as Gods scribe], 1990.43

OT 5 (1997) 188.


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Thomas Noack14

easy to handle either. I tend to illustrate this with the relation of the New Testament to

the Old Testament. On the one hand, Jesus asserts that he would not want by any means

to dissolve the law (Matthew 5:17), and, on the other hand, his messenger Paul abolis-

hes it in the name of the new opportunity of faith (Romans 10:4). Does the New Testa-ment now agree with the Old Testament unambiguously? This issue clearly led to a se-

paration of positions and at the place of fracture once arose the new religion of Christia-

nity. So it is well possible to raise a claim for agreement between revelations and it pro-

bably should be raised indeed, but what is gained by this? In the end, faith decides whe-ther the revelations of the new stage agree with those of the old one.44

With his criticism of relevations, Friedemann Horn was unable to content any of the si-

des. The Swedenborgians thought he had accommodated the Lorber followers too much.

And to the Lorberians, his intellectual criticism seemed like poking around in formali-

ties. In my opinion, the discontent of the Swedenborgians was due to the fact that Horn

had turned a problem that was actually of an ecclesio-political nature, into a theological

one. This is because the actual reason for such uneasiness was the fear of a transforma-

tion of the Berlin New Church community into a Lorber Society by means of the activi-

ties of Peter Keune. This means the problem should not have been shifted to a theologi-

cal level in such an exclusive manner. And it is anyway impossible to win over the Lor-

ber followers with intellectual criticism. Intellectual thinking in Lorberian circles is

virtually considered a term of abuse. Still, even to me, a purification of the primary rock

of new revelations through the Word seems to become more and more urgent. However,

such purification should happen from the inside, that is, from the faith in the divinity of

such new revelations. The Lorber movement would have to find, within their own con-

victions of faith, an approach towards a creative handling of their revelations, as

otherwise it might well freeze in Lorberian orthodoxy with all the weird excessesassociated with it.

Peter Keune, a Lorberian amongst Swedenborgians

In 1955, Peter Keune (born in 1932) made contact with the Berlin New Church commu-

nity when he went to see pastor Erich Reissner (1892-1964). In 1956, he became a

member of the community whose history he was to shape substantially in the second

half of the 20thcentury. His appearance basically coincided with the final stage of the

endeavours of this community, undertaken since 1953, to acquire a house, when the

community purchased the villa at Fontanestrae 17A in 1956. At some point between

1955 and 1960, Peter Keune also went to see for the first time the Berlin Lorber group

around Karl Friedrich Schulze-Angern who presented papers at the "Buchhandlung frReligions- und Geisteswissenschaften" [bookshop for religious studies and the humani-

ties] (Damaschkestrae 4). In 1964, both pastor Reissner and Schulze-Angern died. This

44 I should like to let Friedemann Horn have his say at least in a footnote: But what possibility is there

at all to examine the claim of the dictates to Lorber as originating from the Lord directly? It results

from the application of two claims which must basically be raised in view of every Divine Revelation:

a) God cannot err, and b) God cannot contradict Himself in the core (which does not exclude contradic-

tions in the letters which are under the burden of the enormous tension of the truth to be revealed and

the human nature of the particular revelational tool). (Friedemann Horn, Zum Problem der Offenba-

rungskritik: Am Beispiel von Swedenborg und Lorber [On the issue of the criticism of revelations: Us-

ing the example of Swedenborg and Lorber], 1984, p. 24.


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is how the task of the spiritual leadership of both groups fell to Peter Keune. In 1970, at

the death of the then first chairman of the New Church, Alfred Stieger, he assumed thisoffice as well and held it until 2004.

In the history of the German-speaking New Church, Peter Keune, the Lorberianamongst the Swedenborgians45, stands for the undiscriminating fusion of this Church

with the Lorber followers. Such development was taken note of with concern by the

classical Swedenborgians. It is probably no accident that as early as 1965 (one year af-

ter Peter Keune effectively assuming both groups), at the 16thConference of the Council

of New Church clergymen on the European mainland (held between 30 thAugust and 1st

September 1965 in Zurich), the relationship between Lorber and Swedenborg was dis-

cussed extensively.46 The situation grew more acute in the 1970s, to an extent that

Friedemann Horn was compelled to publish a criticism of revelations between 1975 and

1977. When Hedi Schulz, head of the Buchhandlung fr Religions- und Geisteswissen-

schaften, died in 1980, the Lorber lectures presented at the bookshop until then were

moved to the house of the New Church. The reason that the fusion of the Berlin Lorber

circle with the New Church kept progressing steadily was also due to the fact that this

was the only way to avoid dying out and thus sharing the fate of so many other New

Church communities. In all this, Peter Keune acted out of innermost conviction of faith.

He was deeply convinced that the spiritual content of the two revelations through Ema-

nuel Swedenborg and Jakob Lorber perfectly agreed with each other. In a letter to Ho-

randt Gutfeld, dated 17thJanuary 1978, he wrote: I am still convinced tha both of them

[Swedenborg and Lorber] draw from the same source and that apparent contradictionsjust clear away with the right approach this at least is the case with me.

Thomas Noack or a personal viewpointIn 1977, I (born in 1959) came across the works of Emanuel Swedenborg and Jakob

Lorber. In the book Zeugen fr das Jenseits [Witnesses of the hereafter] by Aglaja

Heintschel-Heinegg, I encountered these two witnesses for the first time. The book

was a co-production of the Swedenborg and the Lorber publishing houses. The begin-

ning often reveals already what is to come next. The sharedinitial perception by Swe-

denborg and Lorber in a co-productionof the two publishing houses also contained the

constellation of my future path. In 1979, I contacted Peter Keune, head of the Lorber

Circle and of the New Church in Berlin. Again, I encountered Emanuel Swedenborg and

Jakob Lorber as a pair of siblings. At that time, I knew nothing of the dispute about the

issue of having Lorber integrated into the congregational life, a dispute that had just

subsided within the Berlin community, I merely sensed some strange sensitivities onthe sidelines every now and then. In 1982, I gave my first paper in the house of the New

Church. There, the Buchhandlung fr Religions- und Geisteswissenschaften had been

allowed to present their papers since 1981. I had kept a distance from the New Church

45 OT 1 (1977) 28.46 Pastor Werner Schmidt (died in 1975, Neukirchenblatt [New Church Paper]) presented an Analyse

der Schriften Lorbers [Analysis of Lorbers writings], pastor Horand Gutfeld (1922-1997, Neu-

kirchenblatt 1998) drew the attention to Widersprche bei Lorber und zwischen Lorber und Sweden-

borg [Contradictions in Lorber and between Lorber and Swedenborg], and pastor Friedemann Horn

outlined Unsere Beziehungen zu den Lorberianern [Our relationship with the Lorberians].


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Thomas Noack16

community life, so that I became a member of the New Church in 1985 only. In 1984,

during a memorable walk along Lake Grunewald, Pastor Friedemann Horn had sugges-

ted to me to study theology. But it was not before 1987 that I finally resolved to effec-

tively embark on this path. I commenced my studies of Protestant Theology at Berlin-Zehlendorf Church University as a guest auditor. In 1993, I relocated to Zurich. In 1994,

I was ordained a pastor of the New Church by Friedemann Horn. In 2004, I published

the book Der Seher und der Schreibknecht Gottes: Emanuel Swedenborg und Jakob

Lorber im Vergleich [The seer and Gods scribe: A comparison between Emanuel Swe-

denborg and Jakob Lorber]. The essays collected in there are, however, strongly moti-

vated by a desire to harmonise both teaching systems. In a new attempt, the particular

profile of both of them would have to be elaborated more distinctly. In 2005, I completed

my studies of Protestant Theology and have since then been able to dedicate myself tothe New Church unrestrictedly.

From this historical survey and my personal experiences, I can now derive the following

convictions and programmatic considerations. Two levels are to be distinguished: theinstitutional level and the content-related (or theological) level.

At the institutional level, the issue is about the fusion of the New Church with the Lor-

ber movement or Lorber groups. In my opinion, this issue can only be solved if a distinc-

tion is made between the new church of Swedenborg and the New Church of his follo-

wers. The nova ecclesia of Swedenborg, which is less a body than rather the expressi-

on of a new era, also incorporates the Lorberians, along with many other groups. In con-

trast, the New Church of the Swedenborg followers is basically a Swedenborgian

Church, due to its historical background and its tradition. This is why I have occasional-

ly advocated that the New Church be renamed into Swedenborgian Church. By doing so,

the exasperating confusion between the new church with the New Church could be gotrid of. If one chooses to support such differentiation, one can state: Both the Swedenbor-

gian Churches and the Lorber groups (plus many other communities) are part of thenew church.

On the basis of such differentiation, it is also possible to see that the replenishment of

the New Church, suffering from a depletion of personnel, by Lorber followers, constitu-

tes a wrong path, especially if this is associated with the gradual transformation of the

Swedenborgian Church into a Lorber Society. The New Church should remain a Swe-

denborgian Church. Then, after the delimitation and the independence of both groups

has been made clear, numerous forms of fruitful co-operation can be thought of and im-

plemented. Nowhere has the fusion of the Swedenborgian Church and the Lorber follo-wers been carried out as completely as in Berlin. Indeed, this valiant community has to

be credited for being able in this way to at least save its very existence at a time of

dying out of the New Church. Nonetheless, along with the progressing realisation of the

Berlin model, its problematic aspects transpire also. This is because, firstly, against the

asserted complete agreement of the teaching systems of Swedenborg and Lorber, Swe-

denborg falls behind. And secondly, the metamorphosis of the Society remains incom-

plete, as, for some reason, people in Berlin shy away from having the statutes and theoutward appearance reflect the inward morphogenesis.

A complete examination of the issue also includes dealing with it from an individual

point of view. There are a substantial number of people who are able to accept both re-


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velations. This means there are not just Swedenborgians and Lorberians but, standing

quasi in between them, a third group still exists. Most of these are rather Lorberian

followers but to whom Swedenborg means a lot. Basically, there is nothing to be argued

against such combination of Lorber and Swedenborg in the mind of religious people. Aword by Swedenborg can be quoted in this context: If Christians made the love of the

Lord and love of their neighbour the essence of their faith, then all the various teachings

would be just different views of the mysteries of faith, something which true Christians

would leave to the conscience of each individual. (HG 1799). So, let us leave the com-

bination of both teaching systems to the conscience of each individual! But how is this

to be dealt with if members of this third group want to join the Swedenborgian Church?

They should not be barred from membership if it is obvious that they wish to serve the

statutory purpose of the Swedenborgian Church. To illustrate this point, I should like to

use an image: Dog breeders who are at the same time genuine cat lovers as well, can, of

course, become members of a cat club. Only that they should not want to breed dogs in

there.

The Swedenborgian profile of the New Church must be strengthened again. However,

this cannot mean a return to old Swedenborgian orthodoxy. The theology of the New

Church must be developed further. Out of a feeling of theological superiority, the New

Church has kept repeating Swedenborgian tenets for far too long. By doing so, it has

become a monument preservationist. Lorber is not really the solution to this freezing of

the New Church. The solution is rather for the momument Swedenborg with a wig to

come alive, to descend from his pedestal, and to walk all the long way from the 18th

century up to this day. This amounts to a development of consciousness. Followers have

to turn into creative spirits. This, in my view, would lead to an actual revival of the New

Church. On the other hand, the Lorber infusion represents just an artificial revitalisationof a patient who keeps being sick.

At the content-related or theological level, this concerns the comparison between the

teaching systems of Swedenborg and Lorber. In view of the comparison required, here, I

can indeed only comment in my capacity as pastor of the Swedenborgian Church. The

institutional viewpoint is thus not entirely turned off. Nonetheless, solving the tasks of

the theological comparison is essential. In my opinion, the Swedenborgian Church, start-

ing from its own conditions, should consider the writings of Jakob Lorber as one its

areas of research. For instance, they could be regarded as a highly extraordinary case of

the reception history of Swedenborg. To me, it has always appeared strange that the

Swedenborgians often and willingly examined the history of the activities of their mas-

ter, whilst at the same time excluding Lorber. Although the history of the New Church,

with regard to dealing with the new revelator of Graz, made this oddity somehow com-

prehensible to me, at the same time it also made me understand that the unobjective

exclusion of the writings of Lorber, their tabooing within the New Church, had led, from

a historical point of view, to exactly the opposite of what had been intended, namely to a

likewise incommensurate flooding of the Swedenborgian Church with the thoughts ofLorber. This is how repressions take their revenge!

The New Church must take up the subject of the factual and content-related debate

about the theological contents of the New Revelation through Jakob Lorber. Friedemann

Horn, in his time, limited himself to the historical and scientific information in Lorbers


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Thomas Noack18

work. Still, this was not a theological debate yet. Between 1990 and 2002, I wrote nu-

merous essays in which I pointed out the content-related parallels between Swedenborg

and Lorber. In 2004, I had these essays published in a collection entitled Der Seher und

der Schreibknecht Gottes: Emanuel Swedenborg und Jakob Lorber im Vergleich [Theseer and Gods scribe: A comparison between Emanuel Swedenborg and Jakob Lorber].

From a present point of view, however, I should like to say that my main concern in the

1990s had been the proof of the complete agreement between the two teaching systems.

But examining the individual profiles of the two revelations should be at least equally

interesting as well. This should be increasingly borne in mind in future research. More-

over, in its own research into the works of Jakob Lorber, the New Church could, on the

one hand, deal with the contemporary notions contained in them, that is, the historical

conditionalities, whilst, on the other hand, also drawing attention to their spiritual me-

aning. Perhaps Lorbers work, written after Swedenborgs rediscovery of the angelic

corresponding science, postulates this royal science to serve as the hermeneutic key

to the treasury of the spirit. May all persons involved continue working on the project ofa new church to the best of their perception, which is when our common Lord will blessthe endeavours of all.

Completed on 16thSeptember 2008


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Die Neue Kirche und das Phnomen Jakob Lorber

Ein geschichtlicher berblick mit einer persnlichen Stellungnahme

Die Neue Kirche kam schon sehr frh mit dem Phnomen Jakob Lorber in Berhrung.Ich gebe hier einen berblick ber die Geschichte der Auseinandersetzungen der Swe-denborgianer mit dieser damals neuen Erscheinung am Offenbarungshimmel. Schon oft

verglich ich in der Vergangenheit die Lehren Swedenborgs und Lorbers. Doch nebendieser inhaltlichen oder theologischen Dimension gibt es noch eine weitere, nmlich dieinstitutionelle oder kirchenpolitische. Ich rekonstruiere die Geschichte der spannungs-reichen Begegnung der Neuen Kirche mit den Anhngern der Offenbarungen durch

Jakob Lorber nicht als Historiker, sondern als derzeitiger Pfarrer der Neuen Kirche.Daher werde ich nicht nur Episoden aus der Vergangenheit dem Vergessen entreien,sondern am Ende auch sehr deutlich meinen eigenen Standpunkt darstellen.

Jakob Lorber, eine weitere Offenbarung taucht auf68 Jahre nach dem Tod Emanuel Swedenborgs (1688-1772), am 15. Mrz 1840, hrte

Jakob Lorber (1800-1864) links in seiner Brust , an der Stelle des Herzens eine Stim-me, die ihm zurief: Steh' auf, nimm deinen Griffel und schreibe!1Er gehorchte dieserStimme und so entstanden bis zu seinem Tod die Manuskripte einer weiteren Offenba-rung neben der bereits bekannten durch Emanuel Swedenborg.

Ob schon diese Manuskripte oder Abschriften davon Swedenborgianern zur Kenntniskamen, ist unbekannt. Am wahrscheinlichsten ist die Annahme, dass erst die frhenDrucke einiger Werke Lorbers die Voraussetzung dafr schufen, dass diese KundgabenNeukirchenleuten bekannt werden konnten. Betrachten wir die Geschichte dieser fr-

hen Drucke in der zweiten Hlfte des 19. Jahrhunderts!2 Der schwbische Arzt undDichter Justinus Kerner (1786-1862), der berhmte Verfasser des Buches ber dieSeherin von Prevorst (1829), erhielt als Herausgeber der Bltter aus Prevorst (1831-1839) und des Magikon (1840-1853) Kenntnis von allerlei merkwrdigen Erschei-nungen auf dem Gebiet der Geisterkunde und so auch von Jakob Lorbers Schreibttig-keit.31851 lie er daraufhin zwei kleine Schriften Lorbers drucken, den Briefwechselzwischen unserm Herrn Jesu Christo und Abgarus, Knig von Edessa und den Briefdes Apostels Paulus an die Gemeinde in Laodicea. Justinus Kerner war es auch, derden heute als Begrnder der modernen Spagyrik bekannten Carl-Friedrich Zimpel(1801-1879) auf Lorber aufmerksam machte, woraufhin Zimpel diesen in Graz besuchte.

1 Karl Gottfried Ritter von Leitner, Jakob Lorber, ein Lebensbild nach langjhrigem persnlichemUmgang, Bietigheim, 4. Auflage 1969, Seite 18.

2 Ich sttze mich auf die folgenden Publikationen des Lorber Verlags: 125 Jahre Lorber Verlag. 100Jahre in Bietigheim, Bietigheim 1979. Begegnung mit dem prophetischen Werk Jakob Lorbers: Ge-denkschrift des Lorber-Verlags zum 150. Jahr der Berufung Jakob Lorbers zum Schreibknecht Got-tes, Bietigheim 1990.

3 Christoph Friedrich Landbeck schrieb: Durch seine zentrale Stellung als Leiter dieser Bltter [Blt-ter aus Prevorst und Magikon] bekam er [Justinus Kerner] Kenntnis aller s. Z. auftauchenden Er-scheinungen auf geistigem Gebiete. (Die Haushaltung Gottes, Band 1, Bietigheim 1904, Seite XX).Es gab auch einen Briefwechsel zwischen Justinus Kerner und dem Grazer Freundeskreis, von demaber nichts erhalten geblieben ist (Begegnung mit dem prophetischen Werk Jakob Lorbers , Bietig-

heim 1990, Seite 63).


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Thomas Noack20

1852 gab er drei Schriften Lorbers heraus, und zwar Naturgeme und spirituelleVerhltnisse des Mondes mit einem Nachtrage ber das magnetische Fluidum, undeinem Vorworte ber den eigentlichen Sinn von St. Matth. XXIV, 30 und den geistigen

Frhling, den ersten Teil der Geschichte der Urschpfung der Geister- und Sinnen-Welt, und im Verfolge die Geschichte der Urpatriarchen, von Adam bis Abraham, oderHaushaltung Gottes4und die Jugend-Geschichte unseres Herrn Jesu Christi. 1869 gabKarl August Schbel, ein Tierarzt in Sbringen bei Pillnitz, eine zweite Auflage derJugend Jesu heraus. Als erster Verleger in grerem Umfang trat der Zeughaus-

verwalter Johannes Busch (1793-1879)5in Dresden in Erscheinung. Zwischen 1855 und1876 erschienen der Saturn (1855), die Erde (1856), die Dreitagesszene (1861), dienatrliche Sonne (1864), die geistige Sonne (1870) und das Groe Evangelium Johannes(1871-1876).6 Die Nachfolge von Johannes Busch trat Christoph Friedrich Landbeck(1840-1921) an. Er grndete 1879 den Verlag in Bietigheim, der damals Neutheoso-phischer Verlag hie und ab 1907 Neu-Salems-Verlag7. Landbecks umfangreiche

verlegerische Ttigkeit kann ich hier nicht nachzeichnen. Wir halten aber fest: Bereitsab den 1850er Jahren waren einige Werke Lorbers auf dem Markt und konnten somit indie Hnde von Swedenborgianern gelangen.

4 Der von Zimpel herausgegebene erste Teil endet mit dem 243. Kapitel des heutigen 2. Bandes derHaushaltung Gottes. Der zweite Teil erschien erst 1882 im Neuen Theosophischen Verlag von Chris-toph Friedrich Landbeck.

5 Das Geburtsjahr habe ich aus der Bemerkung erschlossen als der fast 84jhrige Busch im Mrz

1877 (Begegnung mit dem prophetischen Werk Jakob Lorbers, Bietigheim 1990, Seite 65). Im 1864von erschienenen Werk ber die natrliche Sonne schrieb Johannes Busch: Nie htte ich mir zumeinem nun bereits 71sten Lebensjahre je trumen lassen, ein so auerordentliches Werk zurHerausgabe zu bekommen. Auch diese Bemerkung fhrt in das Geburtsjahr 1793.

6 Die Titel sind in Kurzform angegeben. Die ursprnglichen Titel lauten: Auerordentliche Erffnun-gen ber die natrliche und geistige Beschaffenheit des Planeten Saturnus nebst dessen 3-geteiltemRing' und 7 Monden, so wie ber die Beschaffenheit, das Grundsein und Leben der darauf befindli-chen Wesen , Meien 1855. Auerordentliche Erffnungen ber die natrliche und methaphysi-sche oder geistige Beschaffenheit der Erde und ihres Mittelpunctes, mit besonderem Bezug auf dasGrundsein, so wie auf Bestimmung, Leben und Ziel der in, auf und - in den Luft- und Aether-Regionen - ber ihr befindlichen Wesen , Meien 1856. Die Dreitagsscene Jesu im Tempel, als Erzwlf Jahr alt war. Niedergeschrieben von einem Gottbegeisterten, und mit einem Anhange hchstmerkwrdigen Inhalts, in Kraft der Erkenntni des Geist's im Wort aus der Hhe herausgegeben von

Johannes Busch, Dresden 1861. Auerordentliche Kundgebungen und Erffnungen ber die na-turmige und geistige Beschaffenheit und Wesenhaftigkeit der Sonne und deren correspondirendeSeins- und Eigenschaftlichkeits-Beziehungen zu und auf den sieben Haupt-Planeten , Dresden1864. Auerordentliche Kundgebungen, Erffnungen und Belehrungen ber die naturgeme undgeistige Beschaffenheit und Wesenheit der Sonne Zweite und dritte Abtheilung: Die geistige Son-ne, nebst Nacherinnerungen und auerordentlichem Nachtrag dazu, Dresden 1870. Das aus dergroen Zeit der Zeiten verheienermaen vllig kundgegebene und im inneren Sinne enthllt'sterklrte Evangelium St. Johanni's, wie Solches vom Herrn Selbst Seinem Ihm ber Alles getreuestliebenden Erwhlten in der Zeit vom 2. August 1851 bis nahe zu Dessen am 24. August 1864 erfolg-ten Leibestode gottmensch-geistig entsprechendst in die Feder dictirt worden ist , Dresden, 7Bnde von 1871 bis 1876.

7 Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg wurde der Verlag noch einmal umbenannt und heit seitdem Lorber-

Verlag.


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Die Neue Kirche und das Phnomen Jakob Lorber 21

Swedenborgianer bekommen Kenntnis von den Schriften Lorbers

Da einzelne Werke Lorbers schon vor seinem Tod gedruckt und verbreitet wurden, istnicht auszuschlieen, dass einzelne Swedenborgianer schon zu Lebzeiten Lorbers mit

dessen Schriften in Berhrung kamen. Und tatschlich ist ein derartiger Fall bezeugt.Der Neukirchenpfarrer Fedor Grwitz schrieb: Von groem Interesse war es fr mich,

von Frau [Elisabeth] Sigel zu erfahren, da der Dahingeschiedene [August Schmidt], derschon seit 1848 mit den himmlischen Lehren [Swedenborgs] bekannt war, an JakobLorber in Graz Werke Swedenborgs geschickt hat, da somit Lorber mit SwedenborgsSchriften bekannt war, was von seinen Anhngern bestritten wird.8August Schmidt(1812-1903) war ein kirchlich ausgerichteter Swedenborgianer. 1848 lernte er dieSchriften Swedenborgs kennen. Er war einer der sieben Unterzeichner der Einladungzur Subskription auf neukirchliche Werke, die im Jahre 1864 nach Immanuel TafelsTode an alle Freunde der neukirchlichen Sache geschickt wurde, um die weitere Her-ausgabe der Schriften in deutscher bersetzung zu ermglichen.9Auerdem frderteer die Neue Kirche finanziell: Als vor ca. 10 Jahren [ca. 1893] seine Frau und balddarauf sein einziger Sohn starb, entschlo sich der Dahingeschiedene, den greren Teilseines Vermgens fr die Kirche zu sichern; zunchst machte er Schenkungen von je1000 Mark an verschiedene neukirchliche Gemeinden, so in Wien und Budapest, inStockholm und Kopenhagen, an den Schweizer-Verein der N. K. und an die deutscheKirche in Amerika, und von 3000 Mark an den deutschen Swedenborg-Verein in Stutt-gart, von letzterem Betrage waren ihm, so lange er lebte, noch die Zinsen zu bermit-teln. Zu Gunsten einer dereinst in Berlin erstehenden neukirchlichen Gemeinde stifteteer sodann noch einen Fonds von 24000 Mark, welchen Betrag er der Generalkonferenzder N. K. in England bermachte, mit der Bestimmung, da die Zinsen ihm bei Lebzei-

ten zuflieen, nach seinem Tode jedoch zum Besten der hoffentlich erstehenden neuk.Gemeinde in Berlin verwendet werden sollten. Das Kapital soll nicht angegriffen, son-dern nur zum Bau einer Kirche verwendet werden. Der Dahingeschiedene hatte voreinigen Jahren die groe Freude, die Grndung einer neukirchlichen Gemeinde in Berlinnoch zu erleben, und als erstes Mitglied derselben die Statuten zu unterzeichnen. 10August Schmidt machte also Lorber auf Swedenborg aufmerksam. Zeitlich muss dieserVorgang zwischen 185111 und 1864 angesetzt werden. Wahrscheinlich kam Schmidtdurch die ersten Drucke in den 1850er Jahren mit den Schriften Lorbers in Berhrungund wollte das Grazer Schreibmedium im Sinne Swedenborgs missionieren. DiesemAugust Schmidt verdankt die Berliner Gemeinde der Neuen Kirche, die wie keine zweiteheute fr die unterschiedslose Verschmelzung von Swedenborg und Lorber steht, ihr

Haus in der Fontanestrae 17A.12Ein weiteres frhes Beispiel der Begegnung eines Swedenborgianers mit den Schriften

Jakob Lorbers ist Adolph Thieme (1816-1892). Er wurde in Chemnitz geboren und war

8 Monatbltter fr die Neue Kirche (= MNK), September 1903, Seite 142.9 MNK September 1903, Seite 144.10 MNK September 1903, Seite 144.11 Ich gehe hierbei davon aus, dass August Schmidt nicht schon Manuskripte Lorbers zu Gesicht

bekam.12 Eine Notiz zur Verwendung des Schmidt-Fond findet man in: Die Neue Kirche: Monatbltter fr

fortschrittliches religises Denken und Leben (= NKM), Januar/Mrz 1956, Seite 27.


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Thomas Noack22

als Musiker in Russland ttig. Sein Lieblingsinstrument war die Flte, doch war erauch ein tchtiger Violinist und Klavierspieler.13 Im Jahre 1847 wurde er als ersterFltist an dem kaiserlichen Theater in Petersburg und zugleich als Musiklehrer an der

Theaterschule und am Blindeninstitut mit Pensionsberechtigung fest angestellt14

. Inder Hauptstadt des Russischen Reiches lernte er durch seinen Freund und KollegenKarl Dietrich Engel (1824-1913), der einer oldenburgischen Musikerfamilie entstammteund seit 1846 Konzertmeister im Orchester des russischen Staatstheaters war, dieSchriften Swedenborgs kennen und wurde ein eifriger Leser derselben. 1864 musste eraus gesundheitlichen Grnden seine Stelle in Petersburg niederlegen. Er zog nachDresden, der Wirkungssttte von Johannes Busch, wo er als ein groer Bcherfreund15nun auch auf die Schriften Lorbers stie. Das Weitere gebe ich mit den Worten desNeukirchenpfarrers Fedor Grwitz wieder. Nachdem er sich in Dresden verhltnismigrasch krperlich erholt hatte, trat eine schwere Anfechtung anderer Art an ihn heran,eine Anfechtung von Seiten des bsen Dmons des Spiritismus. Die Lorber'schen Schrif-

ten, Erzeugnisse des Spiritismus - herausgegeben von Johannes Busch in Dresden, jetztin dem sogenannten theosophischen Verlage von Landbeck in Bietigheim - geriethen inseine Hnde, und er lie sich, getuscht durch ihre vorgebliche gttliche Inspiration,eine Zeit lang von ihnen umgarnen; auch lie er sich verleiten, an spiritistischen Sit-zungen theil zu nehmen. Spiritistischen Einflsterungen, da er zu Hherem berufensei, gehorchend, gab er seine 24 Klavierschler und damit eine Einnahme von mehre-ren Tausend Mark auf. Er gerieth in eine bedenkliche, phantastische Gemthsverfas-sung, und fand erst wieder Frieden, nachdem er die Lorber'schen Schriften, fr die erber 40 Thaler ausgegeben hatte, smmtlich verbrannt hatte.16Dieser Adolph Thiemebegegnet uns nach seinem Tod noch einmal in der durch Leopold Engel (1858-1931)

empfangenen Kundgabe Im Jenseits (1921). Darin schildert sein Vater, der schonerwhnte Konzertmeister und Faustforscher Karl Dietrich Engel seine Erfahrungen imJenseits. Er trifft dort auf seinen Freund Adolph Thieme, der ihm als geistiger Fhrerdient.

Wichtig war dann aber vor allem das Wirken von Christoph Friedrich Landbeck (1840-1921). In demselben Jahr, in dem Lorber erstmals die innere Stimme hrte, erblickteLandbeck am 9. Januar in Bietigheim das Licht der Welt. Er besuchte drei Jahre dieVolksschule, drei Jahre die Lateinschule und drei Jahre die Realschule. Danach kam er

13 MNK November 1982, Seite 172.14 MNK November 1982, Seite 172.15 MNK November 1982, Seite 172.16 MNK November 1982, Seite 173. An diese Schilderung schloss Fedor Grwitz den Aufruf zur B-

cherverbrennung an: Die Schilderung der hchst traurigen Erfahrungen Thieme's mit diesen Schrif-ten hat uns tief erschttert. Die Lorber'schen und hnliche spiritistische Schriften sind besonders ge-fhrlich fr vereinzelte Leser der Schriften Swedenborgs, die des Schutzes der kirchlichen Gemein-schaft entbehren, und sich durch eine scheinbare Verwandtschaft mit den gottgegebenen Schriftender Neuen Kirche tuschen lassen. Es ist die Pflicht der Vertreter der Neuen Kirche und insbesonde-re des kirchlichen Lehramtes, vor diesen Schriften zu warnen. Wir mchten allen Freunden, die sichetwa im Besitz solcher Schriften befinden mgen, den Rath geben: Folgt dem Beispiele Thieme's, und

verbrennt sie; sie sind unlautern Ursprungs. Die Schriften Swedenborgs sind heilige Wahrheit, diespiritistischen Schriften sind Trug. In den Schriften des gottgesandten Swedenborg umweht uns er-quickende reine Himmelsluft, in den spiritistischen Schriften eine unreine, betubende, phantasti-

sche Sphre. (aaO., Seite 173).


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Die Neue Kirche und das Phnomen Jakob Lorber 23

in die Lehre zu dem damals wohl berhmtesten Dekorationsmaler in Stuttgart, Christi-an Kmmerer, und vervollkommnete anschlieend seine beruflichen Kenntnisse durchein dreijhriges Studium auf der Baugewerkschule. Die Wanderjahre fhrten den jun-

gen Maler nach Bonn und Kln, wo er auch mit den verschiedenen Methoden derVolksmedizin wie Naturhei

the new church and the phenomenon of jakob lorber

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