I have always had a strong desire to be tried for heresy. Heretics are exciting people while orthodoxy such as mine is completely unremarkable and rather dull. I am not so daring as to want to be convicted of heresy but to be charged with heresy would be a great delight. I assume that every physician longs to get sick so he can diagnose himself.
In memoriam: Robert McAfee Brown The drums of war are getting louder. A pre-emptive strike against Iraq is emerging as a major..
More than 60 years ago, in an era of enormous instability and hardship, my father often journeyed into remote regions of North..
According to the Apostle Paul we are commanded not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, but to think of ourselves with sober judgment (Romans 12:3). This is naturally easier said than done. My grown children still do not always think soberly -- a situation that occurs every time they disagree with me.
Among the "accomplishments of the 214th General Assembly," the editor of The Outlook states that "the General Assembly affirmed the necessity of compliance with the standards" for ordination that have been the source of judicial decision and orders in the past two years. Actually all the Assembly did was to disapprove the overture from Shenango Presbytery and the amended minority report response to that overture.
Before commissioners had exchanged final hugs; before Moderator Fahed Abu-Akel had issued his last "holy"; and long before the TV screens went blank, the 214th General Assembly in Columbus, Ohio, had been labeled: "the Prozac Assembly" and "the do-no-harm Assembly" were two popular monikers.
A better description might be "the 70-30 Assembly."
The 214th General Assembly approved a capital funds drive for $40 million for new church development here at home and missionary support abroad. It is called "The New Initiative" and it is the first capital funds campaign for General Assembly agencies in the last 10 years.
The results of a new survey of Presbyterian Outlook readers support the view that the deeper division in the church is primarily about whether the Bible is authoritative. Also, while most wish there were less conflict in the PC(USA), still more are willing to tolerate different viewpoints, even if it results in conflict.
There is reportedly a minister shortage throughout the country. As a seminary president, a week doesn't go by without an inquiry from a church to recommend the good pastor for their congregation. Who is that good pastor and how do we recognize that person when we are searching?
One of the first casualties of war is the truth. Sadly, the theological divisions within our denomination have apparently developed into full-scale war because attempts at reporting the truth have declined. The Presbyterian Layman has chosen to ignore all journalistic standards and displayed complete disregard for the lives of the people whom they have chosen to attack.
In a recent editorial in this journal, Robert Bullock observed, "As a result of the overwhelming resources devoted to sexuality matters, it..
Have you ever wondered what the Presbyterian Church believes about the future? It seems that so many people today have clear-cut views about the specifics of the future. One bumper sticker declares confidently, "In case of rapture, this car will be uninhabited." The approach of the millennium will be the occasion of increasing discussion about the future of the world. Do Presbyterians have anything to say?
For those with a lot of Scotch in their bloodstream January 25, the birthday of Caledonia's poet -- Robert Burns -- is the highest of holy days. All over the globe the wandered Scots gather for a rare evening of amity devoted to St. Andrew, St. Haggis, and St. Robert. At least once in a lifetime every Presbyterian should elect (Presbyterian elect -- get it?) to attend a Burns Supper.
Milan Opocensky, professor emeritus of Christian social ethics at Charles University in Prague, is the MacKay Professor of World Christianity at Princeton Seminary for the 2000-2001 academic year. From 1989 to 2000 he served as general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), which represents 215 Reformed, Presbyterian, Congregational and United churches and links 75 million Christians in 106 countries.
Jerry Andrews, co-moderator of the Presbyterian Coalition, has made it clear that "the Coalition itself is not committed to the confessing church movement." This is so because the PC(USA) "is a confessing movement -- it has not watered down its confession."
This interview with Eberhard Busch, professor of Reformed theology, University of Göttingen, Germany, was conducted and translated for The Outlook by Darrell Guder of Columbia Seminary. It is the first in a series of Outlook interviews with leading figures on the topic of the Reformed confessional tradition.
A self-proclaimed "confessing church movement" has been endorsed recently in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) by dozens of sessions and several interest groups that are deeply disappointed over the demise of Amendment O and the Dirk Ficca affair.
For a very long time John 3:16 has been read as a summary of the gospel, which indeed it is. This well-known verse tells of God, the world, love, the Son, giving, sending, believing, eternal life and salvation. Paul gives an even shorter summary when he says, "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." But John and Paul do not provide the only summaries.
Ten is a good round number. There are lots of lists of 10. After spending more than 40 years in the field of Christian education in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I would like to share 10 things I have learned about Christian educators.
Who are the educators? They are the DCEs, pastors, certified educators, graduates with majors in Christian education, part-time staff and volunteers. They are the ones who see Christian education as a high calling of service, to equip the saints for ministry, to build up the body of Christ.
Many people today are wondering what the future holds for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Our differences seem to be getting bigger rather than smaller. Our denomination is one that is seeking unity. But, so far, real unity has eluded us. Trying to achieve unity is like chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:14). The harder we try to attain it, the more it slips through our fingers. What is it that will bring us together?
Two deleterious movements began after the celebratory march down Peachtree Avenue in Atlanta following the reunion vote in 1983. Groups began to move in different directions and factionalism took on new life. Second, the predecessor denominations’ commitment to racial integration and interest in economic justice were moved off center stage and replaced by issues associated with human sexuality.
The views expressed in this article are my own, not those of the Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity on which I serve. In successive editorials, Outlook editor Robert Bullock voices high hopes for the task force. His expression of confidence in the task force and his offer of prayers are most welcome.
An eagerness for peace lies at the heart of five overtures to the 214th General Assembly meeting this summer, each having to do with the denomination’s process for amending the Book of Order.
Olympia Presbytery sounds the concern plainly. As a rationale for proposing that the General Assembly vote on amendments to the Book of Order only every fifth year, Olympia writes, "The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been in a constant battle over divisive constitutional issues for years and years and years."
Teaching at a theological seminary has its fun moments, but it is mostly the serious business of trying to provide survival skills for the leadership of the church. Presbyterians especially obey Our Lord's command to worship God with the mind (Mk 12:30; Mt 22:37; Lk 10:27). Obviously we need first-rate institutions to nurture first-rate ministry. I am truly grateful for my quarter century on a seminary faculty and the importance of the subjects I teach.
People who think outside the box threaten to become invisible. They do not fit within the conventional categories. In our situation, theological and political liberalism are usually linked. Theological and political conservatism are also linked. Few find this situation odd, even though a case could be made that, properly, theological liberalism tends toward political conservatism, and theological conservatism toward political liberalism.
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