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Three overtures calling for confession
of salvation only in Christ are rejected
Committee on Theological Issues and
Educational Institutions reports
[6-14-01]
Overtures from the Presbyteries of Beaver Butler, San
Diego, and San Joaquin all sought a "clear affirmation of the
Lordship of Christ" (in words frequently repeated in the debate).
The committee which dealt with those overtures voted by 45 to 9, with 3
abstentions, to respond to the overtures with an expression of
"thanksgiving for the concerns" they raised, and a call for
the Office of Theology and Worship to prepare materials for use in
congregations that would help them gain understand "the theological
richness of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in The Book of Confessions
and the Book of Order."
A minority was submitted by seven members of the
committee, which would "reaffirm those teachings of our confessions
which remind us that:
 | God has been revealed in and through Jesus Christ
to be the unique Trinity -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit; |
| Jesus Christ, fully divine and fully human, is the
singular saving Lord as understood through Scripture, our confession
and Book of Order; and |
| All people are encouraged to embrace and experience
the Lordship of Christ by putting Jesus first in their lives."
|
After lengthy debate, the Assembly refused, by a vote
of 320 to 194, to accept the minority report, which seemed to reflect
the recent proclamation by the Confessing Church movement, as a
substitute for the majority report.
Another effort was made to combine the majority and
minority reports (as former Moderator Syngman Rhee had hinted at earlier
as a possibility). This effort was rejected by a vote of 328 to 195.
Then an amendment offered by the Rev. Malcolm
Brownlee, of the Presbytery of Charlotte, was added to the majority
report. He added to the original report the following statement:
We confess the unique authority of Jesus Christ as
Lord. Every other authority is finally subject to Christ.
Jesus Christ is also uniquely Savior. It is 'his
life, death, resurrection, ascension and final return that restores
creation, providing salvation for all those whom God has chosen to
redeem.' (The quotation is from The Crucified One Is Lord, a
study prepared by the Reformed Church in America, and recently
published by the Presbyterian Office of Theology and Worship.)
Although we do not know the limits of God's grace and pray for the
salvation of those who may come to know Christ, for us the assurance
of salvation is found only in confessing Christ and trusting Him
alone. 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. Still the transforming power of Christ in our lives compels us to
make Christ known to others.
In explaining his amendment, Brownlee cited his eleven
years of experience in the largely Muslim nation of Indonesia as one
factor; his contacts with people there taught him both to care about
them and to respect them and their faith.
The majority report, with Brownlee's amendment added,
was then given final approval by the Assembly, by a vote of 369 to 163.
The debate leading up to these actions revolved around
the tension between calls for a "clear statement of faith" as
has been heard so frequently from the confessing church movement, in
contrast to affirmations of a respect for other faiths and a need not to
try to write new "confessions of faith" in such a partial and
limited way.
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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