Bryn Athyn College Alumni Magazine Spring/Summer 2017 | Page 22

ZACH
FRANZEN
Budding Architect Finds Inspiration in Theology
By Sasha Silverman
Zach with his parents
Pam and Bill
22 | S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 7
A
t 21 years old, Zach Franzen sat
on the steps of his home in
Chanhassen, Minnesota. He felt
frustrated. The two-year architecture
program in which he’d been enrolled
had been suddenly discontinued. On
top of that, recent challenges in his
personal life left him in inner turmoil.
He explained, “I felt like I was trying
so hard to be a good friend and a good
person, and it didn’t seem like it was
going anywhere.” He wondered: “Does
what I do even matter?”
In his search for answers, Zach be-
gan seeking spiritual teachings online.
After about six months of research, he
came across a video, Splendors of Spirit
by the Swedenborg Foundation. The
ideas resonated with Zach. He said, “I
was drawn to the message about the
afterlife. It seemed so just. You decide
where you want to go. It’s up to you.
The things that I had been doing in try-
ing to be a good friend really did mat-
ter. That was really comforting to me.”
One small segment of the video
mentioned Swedenborg’s books, so
Zach found the Arcana and began read-
ing online. He said, “It was reading the
creation story that really grabbed me. I
remember reading it and feeling over-
whelmed, thinking that I’d stumbled
on something really special.” He read
further, appreciating the duality of a
literal sense and a spiritual sense in ev-
ery biblical story. He said, “It was not
just stories about people, or about the
Lord, but stories that had meaning to
me. That was powerful. It helped me
see that there is more to my life.” Then,
as he said, “The rest is history!” Excited
by what he had discovered, Zach pur-
chased the entire set of the Arcana, read
through a couple of the volumes, and
then read Apocalypse Revealed. “I wanted
to read the books that were directly ex-
pounding on the Word. I got the green
books with the old translations and
waded my way through them. I really
loved them. I got much more than I
thought I was looking for.”