Overture asks that conscience be highest authority for church officers By John H. Adams The Layman Online Wednesday, March 17, 2004 An overture to the 216th General Assembly from the Presbytery of Hudson River, which has been a hotbed of constitutional defiance in the Presbyterian Church (USA), calls for unfettered "freedom of conscience" for church officers and candidates for deacons, elders and ministers. The overture, numbered 04-52, arose "out of concern for the peace, unity, purity and progress of the Church; and for the integrity of Christian conscience of its ministers, elders and deacons." "Freedom of conscience" is a phrase snipped from a larger clause in the Book of Order – just as "reformed and reforming" has been truncated from the classical Reformed declaration: "Reformed and reforming, according to the Word of God." Both statements – in their abridged versions – have become the rallying cry of activists who want the Presbyterian Church (USA) to repeal G-6.0106b, the fidelity/chastity clause in the Book of Order. But neither the Book of Order nor The Book of Confessions, which combine to constitute the Constitution of the PCUSA, says a candidate for church office may appeal solely to conscience. The constitution, church court decisions and Scripture – the highest authority for Presbyterians – permit no such latitude. The Book of Order (G-6.0108a) says there are "certain bounds" for church officers and candidates – foremost, that one's conscience "is captive to the Word of God as interpreted in the standards of the church so long as he or she continues to seek or hold office in that body." The Westminster Confession of Faith (6.109) declares that "God alone is Lord of the conscience," and that there is freedom – not to disobey Scripture, but from subscribing to "doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his Word." Westminster continues by drawing a sharp line: "They who, upon pretense of Christian liberty, do practice any sin, or cherish any lust, do thereby destroy the end of Christian liberty …" (6.110) A benchmark ruling on "freedom of conscience" was issued in 2001 by the Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly – the highest court in the denomination. In Londonderry v. Christ Church, the court said, "Not to comply with the express corporate judgment of the Church in an explicit constitutional provision exceeds the constitutional bounds of freedom of conscience and therefore requires a response on the part of the governing body exercising oversight." More than a dozen congregations in the Presbytery of Hudson River have exceeded the constitutional bounds by declaring that they will not comply – or have not complied – with church law prohibiting the ordination of practicing homosexuals. Overture 04-52 does not call for changes in the Book of Order or The Book of Confessions, which would set up high hurdles, requiring a majority of the denomination's 173 presbyteries to ratify a change in the Book of Order and a super majority (two-thirds) to amend The Book of Confessions. (Hudson River is allied with nine other presbyteries in other overtures that do seek repeal of the "fidelity/chastity" clause in the Book of Order and/or to void previous General Assemblies' authoritative interpretation declaring homosexual behavior sinful. But the league of presbyteries that opposes the constitutional ordination standard has lost three referendums – 1997, 1998 and 2001 – by increasing margins. Nearly 75 percent of the presbyteries voted to affirm the ordination requirement in the 2001 referendum.) Overture 04-52 is a backdoor approach to accomplishing some of the same goals. The overture asks the 216th General Assembly to affirm "the freedom of Christian conscience of candidates under God in interpreting articles of faith contained in those Confessions, both because the Confessions point to the need to interpret scripture in accordance with 'saving faith,' and because the Church as a whole has resisted legalism and encourages ever-reforming creativity 'when it bears a present witness to God's grace in Jesus Christ.'" "Ever-reforming creativity" is a newcomer to the lexicon in the debate over ordination standards that has been ongoing since 1978. By declaring Biblical standards required of officers to be "legalism," the overture would elevate conscience to be authoritative, both over the church's constitution and Scripture, by allowing latitude for autonomous interpretation of both. The overture states pointedly that no "essentials" should be required contrary to a person's conscience – even though church officers are required, in their oaths of office, to be led by confessional essentials. The overture denounces the "'politicization' of the call process that would enforce checklists of doctrinal particulars, while also ensuring a wholeness of Trinitarian faith and understanding of Presbyterian and Reformed tradition in each individual candidate." The overture makes several references to Scripture and the confessions, but it makes individual conscience the final interpreter. The following is the text of Overture 04-52, "On Examining the Conscience of Candidates," from the Presbytery of Hudson River: Resolved, that the Presbytery of Hudson River, meeting on February 5, 2004, respectfully overtures the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to adopt the following guidance for the church: that the General Assembly, out of concern for the peace, unity, purity and progress of the Church, and for the integrity of Christian conscience of its ministers, elders and deacons: 1. affirms the primary role of the Book of Confessions as guide to interpreting scripture in the examination of candidates for ordination as ministers, elders and deacons and their reception or transfer into new installed calls, congregations or appointments to mission service; 2. affirms the freedom of Christian conscience of candidates under God in interpreting articles of faith contained in those Confessions, both because the Confessions point to the need to interpret scripture in accordance with "saving faith," and because the Church as a whole has resisted legalism and encourages ever-reforming creativity "when it bears a present witness to God's grace in Jesus Christ" (C-9.01); 3. recalls that the words "essential and necessary" articles or tenets were used in the Presbyterian Church's 1729 Adopting Act to point to basic elements of Christian faith found in the Westminster Confession, thus allowing candidates to "declare scruples" on non-essential elements in those standards, rather than compel "strict subscription" or absolute conformity to any document, system or doctrinal words secondary to scripture; 4. affirms the responsibility of presbyteries to safeguard the process of spiritual discernment in search processes, the collegial ethos of mutual respect among presbyters and the healthy range of congregational vocations, by not elevating the use of particular lists of "essentials" or "fundamentals" over our Confessions or Scripture itself; and 5. encourages Committees on Preparation for Ministry and Committees on Ministry to help candidates, congregations and presbyteries resist any "politicization" of the call process that would enforce checklists of doctrinal particulars, while also ensuring a wholeness of Trinitarian faith and understanding of Presbyterian and Reformed tradition in each individual candidate. Rationale "The Whole Counsel of God" is contained in the Bible, according to the Westminster Confession (C-6.006); other Confessions and amendments to Westminster stress more the continuing witness of the Holy Spirit in the heart of each believer. In 1729, when the first North American Presbyterian Church was formed, it affirmed the right of candidates to declare "scruples" on matters that were to others crucial, such as the fate of un-baptized children. Such disputed matters were deemed "non-essential articles" in "the system of doctrine" that Westminster was purported to contain. After the divisive experience of the church with lists of "fundamentals" in the 1920s, the Church chose to develop a Book of Confessions rather than any inevitably-limited list of essentials. In a parallel way, 20th Century biblical theology lifted up the great themes of scripture and showed the limits of using "proof texts" in exegesis. In times of controversy, it may be tempting to simplify the identity of the Church on a regional or other basis. The great Reformed themes of "God alone, Scripture alone, Christ alone, grace alone, and faith alone" invite us to unity and mutual encouragement. Our 20th Century Confessions point us to essential acts of love and justice in the world. This overture encourages us to affirm the wisdom of the whole denomination and the responsibility of presbyteries to care for individual candidates and congregations.

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