n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 6
Well, I didn’t want to put down Protestant, the easy default, because that’s
not accurate. General Church of the New Jerusalem was too long; just Church
of the New Jerusalem probably would be better. The New Church sounds like
something just built. We weren’t using the term “New Christianity” back then.
So I just put down “Swedenborgian.”
Mr. Waters’ point is important and valid. We revere Emanuel Swedenborg
as a devoted servant of the Lord, but we know this is not his church. Calling
ourselves Swedenborgians just encourages the notion that we are some kind
of a cult, which is not useful or accurate. And as Mr. Waters speculates,
Swedenborg would be appalled to hear his name invoked for the Church.
But we do have a challenge in being clear about what we call ourselves – so
that it is clear what this church is, and what it is not. We do – often inadvertently
– use such terms as “Swedenborg teaches,” or “as Swedenborg writes,” even in
New Church literature, when we know the teachings are coming from the Lord
alone. Mr. Waters’ gentle but adamant chiding is a good reminder to be more
careful, and more accurate.
One problem is that our official name – the General Church of the New
Jerusalem – is cumbersome and not definitive. We have taken to using terms
like the New Church, and New Christianity, which are better and more
succinct.
My old Army sergeant was merely baffled when I gave him the name
“Swedenborgian,” but that’s what appeare