Posted on 07/11/2008 10:21:47 AM PDT by NYer
San Jose, CA., Jul 8, 2008 / 11:57 pm (CNA).- Reaction continues to the decisions of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), which took place between June 21 and June 28. The assembly nullified proscriptions against sexual behavior outside of marriage and called for a vote to delete the churchs constitutional standard requiring fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness. It also initiated a process that could remove mention of the Bibles prohibition against homosexuality form the Heidelberg Catechism.One rare encouraging note in all this is a report that "PCUSA lost 46,544 members between 2005 and 2006." The erosion of biblical sexual standards has been an ongoing process, as in so many similar denominations, as can be seen in the appropriate section of the Wikipedia entry. Until this recent vote:
The moves are seen by some as an attempt to clear a path for the eventual ordination of practicing homosexuals to the church offices of deacon, elder, or minister. . . .
The Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Lay Committee decried the decision as a frontal assault on Biblical Christianity, saying in a July 8 statement that the General Assembly disregarded historic Reformed standards, undermined its Constitution and failed to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ with its actions.
The PCUSA has jettisoned the solid rock of Biblical authority and morals and is now floundering in the sea of cultural relativity. In desperation, it lays claim to the property of congregations that love the Word of God more than denominational loyalty, the Presbyterian Lay Committee said. . . .
The General Assembly elected as its General Moderator the 39-year-old Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, pastor of Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco. [Dave: we are joyously informed by a "progressive" that Bruce "gets it" and is, indeed, "the future of the Church" -- Chow's blog will quickly confirm this] As General Moderator, he will represent the denomination and preside over General Assembly business. Rev. Reyes-Chow made known his support for the ordination of homosexuals as ministers, though he has not publicly stated his position on same-sex marriage.
The only public opponent to homosexual ordination and marriage in the moderator's election was the Rev. Bill Teng, a pastor from Heritage Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Virginia.
The Book of Order prohibits the ordination of those who are not faithful in marriage or chaste in singleness (G-6.0106b). This paragraph was added in 1997 and is commonly referred to by its pre-ratification designation, "Amendment B" Several attempts have been made to remove this from the Book of Order but no attempt has received both the necessary votes at the General Assembly and approval of enough presbyteries.Now, PCUSA is obviously up to speed, "relevant," politically-correct, and (at long last!) out of the Dark Ages of puritanical, traditional Christian sexual morality. Progress!
We visited a PCA church in PA, and they were good people in a good conservative denomination, but it was just different than what we were familiar with. So, I would really be thankful for a split so we could get some conservatism back into the PCUSA church.
Well thank you for the information. I’m not very familiar with the organizations and their various flavors.
The Church of What’s Happenin’ Now...bump
(tip of the hat to the late Flip Wilson)
Wikipedia says Charlotte NC and Pittsburgh PA are two of the most Presbyterian places in the US.
PCUSA now stands for Politically Correct USA
Exactly... i.e. John ch 10..
Does that mean “presbyterian = liberal” or “presbyterian = number of members”? lol
You are so right.... they may as well go ahead and join with United Church of Christ
Not all Presbyterians. This is the liberal PCUSA. There are Presbyterian denominations that are true to scripture, the PCA (which I belong to) is one of them. Learn to tell the difference. BTW, there isn’t anything wrong with a drink now and then and a little dance, that is an anabaptist construction.
;O)
I don’t know.
Honestly, I’m not either. There are a bewildering variety of Presbyterian denominations—Presbyterians fractured over slavery in the 1800s and ever since there have been branches and sub-branches largely split between North and South. PCUSA is the biggest and most national. The Presbyterian Church in America (where I came to Christ) and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church are two of the conservative, smaller but growing denominations. The PCA, as I understand it, is more centered in the South, and the OPC in the North.
PCA is a conservative, Bible-believing denomination. No female pastors, no gay marriage, strongly mission-oriented and pro-life. My pastor in South Carolina was a wonderful man, a big, burly, no-BS guy from Michigan named Rick Perrin. He didn’t do fire and brimstone, but by the end of a sermon, you had ZERO doubt that you had just been preached to, and not one of these fluff-coated sweetness-and-light sermons either! Real spiritual red meat.
}:-)4
Hmm. All the need now is a modern day prophet to proclaim that polygamy an holy sacrament.
Names and numbers please ;-)
“The preachers arent going to have any vices to preach against before long.”
No, there are plenty of vices against which to preach: there’s using air conditioners, having too many babies, disapproving of homosexual conduct and rights, doubting global warming, opposing socialism, failing to provide social justice, eating meat, to name just a few. The preachers will be busy as ever.
You should file suit to make them change their name to something else, since they are denegrating the value of your trademark.
***BTW, there isnt anything wrong with a drink now and then and a little dance***
Vertical or horizontal? :)
Separating the wheat from the chaff.
Vertical or horizontal? :)
There’s a great Baptist joke in there somewhere.
Seiously, this PCUSA change is tragic. I know some fine, conservative Presbyterians.
Sorry. I’m not a dating service. :)
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