The Layman – July 2004 Volume 37, Number 3 – Posted August 10, 2004

A ‘human institution’ straying from God The most telling phrase in the final report to the General Assembly by outgoing Moderator Susan R. Andrews may have been this: “What really matters is the church, this human institution …” (emphasis ours). From the standpoint of Scripture and traditional Reformed theology, hers was a strange choice of words. What she said conflicts with historic faith. Rather than being a human institution, the church, according to Scripture, is in the world, but not of the world. It is a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a people of God’s own choosing. It is the manifestation of the body of Christ, human in the sense that our feet are planted on earth, while our hearts and minds have been raised to sit with him in heavenly places – so that we might see and hear clearly his word without the static of human institutions. Yet Andrews, sadly, was accurate in her depiction of the Presbyterian Church (USA) as a human institution. It has become so by absorbing the clamor of culture to drown out the Word of God. The 216th General Assembly followed that downhill path. Killing babies How else can we explain that the ministers and elders – the voting commissioners — decided to reaffirm the denomination’s anti-Biblical sanction of the abortion of babies, who, without a gruesome medical intervention, would otherwise survive the womb? What Scripture can be cited to support an intentional killing of a viable baby? The early Christians, who lived in a culture in which abortion was common, were grieved by such a notion. “Thou shalt not procure abortion, nor commit infanticide,” they said in one of their first commentaries – the second-century Didache. How did a contrary teaching infest the Presbyterian Church (USA)? Choosing babble over the Bible The PCUSA is proving itself to be a human institution in other ways. Using cultural babble, rather than the Bible, it approved a statement supporting benefits for same-sex couples and rejected two proposals – supporting the Federal Marriage Amendment and “A Christian Declaration on Marriage” – that left Presbyterians to wonder: Where does the PCUSA stand? Where, in Scripture, is there a single Word from God endorsing homosexual behavior? Where, other than its statements on celibacy, does Scripture commend a single alternative to marriage between a man and woman? What specific homosexual acts does the Bible sanction? Was the Bible wrong? Were the early Christians wrong when they taught, “Thou shalt not commit sodomy; thou shalt not commit fornication”? (The Didache) Cacophony of culture There were many other issues in which the commissioners tuned into the cacophony of culture. It was not Scripture or our historic confessions that were consulted on Iraq, Palestine and Israel. Our denomination’s statements were cribbed from media moguls and politicians parroting what they believe will get them elected. The all-too-hasty deference to the denomination’s Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity reflects politics rather than a careful and prayerful assessment of the task force’s mid-term report, which has serious theological flaws. Misplaced enthusiasm There was misplaced enthusiasm – such as, when Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick declared that the PCUSA is a “growing church” and commissioners sported badges with a simple-minded slogan: “I’m enthusiastic about the PCUSA.” How is such enthusiasm – a word crafted out of the Greek en theos (in God) – marshaled up in the reality of having lost 46,658 members in 2003 and, worse, having lost a hunger for God’s truth? Are hearts and minds steeled against the judgment of Christ: “I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand – unless you repent”? Susan Andrews was right. The Presbyterian Church (USA) is a human institution, rapidly separating from the one who gave his life for his bride. Have no romantic illusions. The PCUSA is not a city on a hill, a light to the world. It is demanding, as failing human institutions always do, allegiance to and enthusiasm for the institutional will and not the will of God. Its purpose is self-preservation, not the preservation of truth. Those like Andrews who seek to chip the Presbyterian Church (USA) away from the rock of faith, have not finished beguiling Presbyterians to listen to them and not to God. We pray that Rick Ufford-Chase, the new moderator who has a youthful charisma that could advance the kingdom of God, will not fall into step with those who have abandoned the clear teachings of Scripture. We pray that he will study the faith as it was taught by the apostles and handed down by believers in every generation – not as a pseudo-gospel that emerged from immigration policies, border disputes and liberation chants. Maybe there is time to repent between now and the General Assembly in 2006. Jesus is still Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who demand the preservation of the human institution are no match for his majesty, holiness, power and truth. If they persist and Presbyterian lemmings follow in the vain hope of protecting their property, pensions and careers, they might be able to maintain a tiny “human institution.” But it will not be the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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