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Doc. 245.] 339
DR. BEYER’S DEFENCE.
"A matter in itself so innocent and peaceful as the genuine
so-called Swedenborgianism, according to all appearance would
never have caused the least trouble, if Assessor Aurell had
not been so very anxious to make it publicly hateful, and
if Dr. Ekebom, who in this matter is leagued with the above
named assessor, had not been so zealous in calumniating and
condemning the same publicly in the printed Minutes, and
also several times on other occasions. Nevertheless no other
disturbance has been noticed in the church, either in town or
in the diocese at large; and, so far as is known or can be
proved, no one who is favourably disposed to these doctrines
has had any controversy or quarrel with any one on this
subject; nor has any one been engaged in making proselytes,
or talking derogatorily of the established religion. The author
has not sought to be avenged on his opponents by involving
them in law-suits ; nor has he displayed arrogance in word or
gesture, or provoked them by stinging expressions ; because
these and similar acts are in direct opposition to the Lord’s
Divine, gentle, peaceful, charitable, and humble doctrine. I
must also in all humility add here that ever since the last
meeting of the clergy, from September 1768 to November
1769, everything has remained perfectly calm, as well here
as in other places, although the very disputation read before
the meeting (Prestmöts-disputationen) bore a close relationship
to the writings of Assessor Swedenborg, and the ’ New Sermon
Essays ’ were then delivered to the clergymen present who had
previously paid for them. This calm was not even disturbed,
when Dr. Ekebom’s dreadful declaration of March 22 , 1769,
about Swedenborg’s writings appeared in print, together
with the extract from the work on ’ Conjugial and Scortatory
Love ’ containing a kind of synopsis of the doctrinal system
of Assessor Swedenborg (see Minutes of the Consistory,’
pp. 12, 13), without mentioning Assessor Swedenborg’s own
memorable letters ( Minutes of the Consistory,’ pp. 25, 26).
Although in the limited space of this humble opinion and
declaration I have endeavoured to be as concise and brief
* See Document 245, B.
See Document 245, F and G.
See Document 245, C.
22*
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