  Letters to the Editor The Presbyterian Layman Volume 34, Number 5, Posted July 6, 2001 |
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The very truths the assembly denied Surely the Holy Spirit has been in and among the Confessing Church Movement, for the three confessional statements begun at Summit Presbyterian Church and ignited in so many confessing churches are: 1. Jesus as Lord alone 2. Scripture as the Word of God and our authority for faith and practice 3. A call to holiness in living They are the very truths this Assembly denied. They are the very foundations that are crumbling. When we stand for the Lord, they are the three confessions we must make – had we waited until after the Assembly, they would have been the same! Robert Austell Lenoir, N.C. Reflections on ‘love’ and Louisville assembly Reflecting on my stay in Louisville and attendance during the entire General Assembly, June 9-16, please consider the following brief commentary: The Scripture, “rooted and grounded in love,” was used and quoted extensively in both plenary and committee sessions of the assembly. However, the word “love” was used and alluded to in a non-Biblical manner. There is such an entity as “free love” or love without moral boundaries. During deliberations, actions and final outcomes at this General Assembly, a non-Biblical and entirely secular use of the word “love” was manifest. A pastor whom I have known for over 30 years asked me on Saturday morning as we seated ourselves at the back of the hall during the closing plenary session, “What do you think?” I answered in three words, “I am ashamed.” Most hopefully, voting on the assembly’s actions, the presbyteries over the coming year will vote in a manner that upholds the words “rooted and grounded in love” with a truly Biblical meaning. The current cultural use of the word “love,” equating it with free love and love without moral boundaries – as seen all too clearly in GA actions – can be refuted by the presbyteries. Undoing this dissipating use of the word “love” that underlies certain GA actions may help the PCUSA turn more surely to moral sanity and reverence of the Creator who commands us to love one another. Rev. Robert F. Rice Tulsa, Okla. The battle for the church’s soul is right here, now The battle lines are drawn. The gauntlet has been thrown. This is it. The battle for the soul of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is this year, right here, right now. All Bible-believing Presbyterians must respond with everything we have – this is spiritual war on the highest level. Surely Calvin and Knox are pulling for us. The Louisville GA will go down as the most hell-bound GA of all. God have mercy on the commissioners who voted to repeal the Godly standards and to open the door for full scale acceptance of sin as a way of life. John Jenkins Elder, PCUSA, Wis. I will just stop my money flow to the assembly The Presbyterian Church (USA) is firmly under the control of Satan. That is the only logical conclusion that can be reached in view of the extreme and fanatical conclusion of the 317-208 vote. And then they have the audacity to add G-6.0106a: “Their suitability to hold office is determined by the governing body … guided by scriptural … standards, under the authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ.” That is a ludicrous and profane statement. That liberal-anti-Christian-anti-biblical theology is the very reason Christians are leaving the Presbyterian Church in droves. I am not optimistic. I believe the church will not recover from the present anti-Christian leadership being displayed on the national level. The present church leadership can only understand one thing. M-O-N-E-Y. That is why, because of the continued rupture of Christian principals, I will stop contributing my money to the national church per-capita. My home church is a conservative, 100 percent total Bible believing, pro-life, pro-marriage church; I will not change churches. I will just stop my money flow to the General Assembly. Dick Lewis Rockford, Ill. PCUSA will not get another penny Forget it! The PCUSA will never get another penny of mine for per-capita as a result of the action of this session of the General Assembly. I will contribute my money to God’s work in the way “I” want it to be spent and not the GA. Jack Fox Towanda, Pa. General Assembly breaks faith The Louisville General Assembly has just demonstrated its shocking inability to affirm that Christ alone is Lord, a very basic theological pillar of Christian faith. It has also set into motion the constitutional changes that will permit ordinands who are unrepentant of sexual sin to be elevated into offices of church leadership. While there are many individual congregations that continue to hold onto a high view of Scripture within the PCUSA, the General Assembly has broken faith with them and with the godly heritage which the denomination has historically enjoyed. When the PCUSA cannot affirm a Biblical view of Jesus Christ and adopts the sexual perspectives of the cultural left rather than the univocal teachings of the Church over the past two millennia, it is time to acknowledge that the PCUSA has abandoned us. Although the Biblical injunction “be not unequally yoked” is most often cited to encourage our young folks to marry believers, it is relevant now in deciding whether or not we ought any longer to be affiliated with a denomination which does not know who Jesus is and which exalts sin. Scott R. Kelly Collingswood, N.J. Reporter’s question does not reflect theology I am writing to express my concern at a question John Bolt, reporter of The Presbyterian Outlook, asked of the panelists at the post-Assembly press conference. His question was, “Is it your sense that the Assembly is definitely not speaking the word of God? In Presbyterian polity we believe the Spirit is at work when the body gets together, and the body has spoken.” My concern is that this question reflects neither a Protestant nor a Presbyterian theology. As Protestants we do not believe that the Church pronouncements and Scripture have equal authority. Sola Scriptura was a primary reason for breaking with the Catholics. As Presbyterians we believe that Book of Order amendments lack the authority of both the Confessions and the Scriptures. To intimate that anything an Assembly might enact or the presbyteries approve would therefore be the word of God seems to me to be dangerous. The majority, even of a church council, does not always speak the word of God. In fact, if this denomination goes on to approve of things that the plain reading of Scripture calls sin the majority of Christians around the world, Presbyterian and otherwise, will not see it as a sign of the Spirit’s leading, but rather the Spirit’s absence. Elliott Scott Houston, Texas Church cripples witness by not following Scripture Only a church bureaucracy on its last theological leg would have to negotiate a politically correct way to state the redemptive nature of the historical Jesus. This General Assembly spoke the truth when they ratified the thought that “we are humbled in our witness to Christ by our realization that our understanding of him and his way is limited and distorted by our sin.” They might have better stated that we continue to cripple our witness by our unwillingness to follow the clear command of Scripture and choose instead the more comfortable distortion of universal humanism. How fitting that this General Assembly considers itself “Rooted and Grounded in Love.” They apparently refer to human love, and it has proven shallow ground. One longs for the day when our great denomination will, without further study, declare itself firmly and forever rooted in the unchanging Word of God. John A. Cowan Cartersville, Ga. Have we forgotten what truth is? Why are we as “Christians” afraid to make a statement of pure truth? Could it be that we are so affixed on our desire not to offend that we have forgotten what truth is? In our efforts to market to the masses we have abandoned our faith. What good does it serve to have full membership rolls without full truth? Is that not a lie? I could go on and on but the danger I see in adopting lies is that eventually we will be supporting and praising an idol. Joe James Greenville, S.C. Bible, Book of Confessions condemn GA’s syncretism Today is a sackcloth and ashes day. We grieve and intercede for our church to forestall the Lord’s judgment. We are told that we need to study the Book of Order and The Book of Confessions and the Bible to understand the breadth of understanding of the Lordship of Jesus. I read the Bible and I have just spent six weeks reading and studying The Book of Confessions. Both univocally condemn the syncretism of this General Assembly. The syncretistic Israelites in the days of Elijah had a poor excuse. They did not get it. “But the people said nothing.” (I Kings 18:21) However, we Presbyterians claim to understand the qualified and limited Lordship. We have no excuse. To those who say our knowledge of God is indefinite and tainted by sin, I ask, “What gospel then do we share? Do we proclaim a God we don’t even know?” To the contrary, “we know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true – even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” I John 5:20. Rev. Bruce Becker Philadelphia, Pa. Denomination’s plurality view on salvation errs Considering the General Assembly’s recent majority report on the Lordship of Christ, I cannot see how any church based on Christ’s saving grace and Holy Scripture could possibly hold such a view. Scripture tells us very specifically that Jesus alone is Lord and Savior. These plurality views leads to a religion based on works – man saving himself, rather than being saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus the Christ. And considering Paul’s message in Romans 3 and I Corinthians 1:21, this is ruled out. Salvation is based on God’s once and for all sacrifice through Jesus and His resurrection. There is no other way. Don Timberlake Thomaston, Ga. ‘Relative’ truth becomes standard for PCUSA This General Assembly moved our denomination from objective, absolute truth to subjective, relative truth faster than you can say postmodernity. Our leaders celebrate the removal of absolute standards! Our leaders cannot say with clarity and conviction that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Truth will now be defined by the community in which we participate. The logical result is chaos. How can the destruction of order and the celebration of chaos be anything but the work of Satan himself? Daniel Sheldon Barto, Pa. Fetal tissue research creates moral dilemma The GA’s position on fetal tissue research creates a moral and ethical dilemma for those of us who hold human life as God-given and abortion as an abomination. Our denomination has adopted a position that can be used to justify killing babies for research. The criteria used to formulate the position is that provided by the abortion industry (I include in that category both providers and those who promote abortion as “choice”). While human embryos are a source of stem cells, they are not the only source. Current research has found that stem cells from human placentas, pig stem cells, and even adult stem cells have similar to near-identical properties. I am certain that information was not provided by the social engineers who sponsored the proposal. The GA position is an example of the danger in taking stands on contemporary social issues. The delegates were neither properly informed nor qualified to evaluate the evidence being provided. Gary Loftis Lake Mary, Fla. Views of the ‘minority’ are the majority’s theology After being in parish ministry in our denomination for 21 years, I’ve been in mission work full time now validated by Peace River Presbytery in Southwest Florida. I travel the world teaching and training future pastors in places like Russia and Latin America. I guess the rest of the world must be behind us theologically, since in every place I’ve ever taught, if I in any way refused to affirm Jesus as “Lord Alone” I would surely never be asked back to teach and I’m sure I’d be the subject of my students’ prayers. I wonder when we as a denomination will finally get the message that so many of our minority reports are really what the majority of our people, and certainly the majority of Christians worldwide ascribe to, stand by, even at the risk of their own lives, and preach without shame. John McWilliams Naples, Fla. PCUSA fails to stand up and be counted for Jesus It is grieving to me to read that General Assembly again failed to stand up and be counted for Christ, Savior of mankind. Jesus Christ is head of the Church and Lord of all, and we are bound by his authority as he is revealed in Scripture. Richard Scanlon Leesburg , Fla. Just who is Jesus? The recent controversy over whether Jesus Christ is the only source of salvation has caused me to think about whether there could actually be other valid “paths” to God. What I have discovered is the following:
Lafayette, La. Leaders must adhere to a stricter standard As an elder for over 40 years, and a lover of the Presbyterian Church for longer, I hope and pray that God will use the Confessing Church Movement to purify our denomination, especially upholding the sanctity of marriage among our ordained leaders. Of course all members are called to the same standard, but leaders must adhere to a stricter standard. To my mind, the Bible holds plainly that sexual acts between people of the same sex are sinful. I cannot believe that such acts are within the will of God! Through prayer and work under the will of God we can save our beloved church from apostasy. The lowly lay person has been silent too long R. B. Dietrick Wilmington, N.C. |
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