Presbyterianism

This article is a contribution to a festschrift in honor of Rev. Chris Ferguson's leadership of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. It engages the Accra Confession and suggests that the next step for bringing the Confession to bear on our current realities requires churches to consider what it means to be confessional and catholic. In doing so, it introduces inter-confessionality as a possible way forward, not only to address global challenges today, but how the Accra Confession can help facilitate that mission.

교회의 역사에서 노회는 개별 지역교회들이 혼자서 해결하기 힘든 문제들에 대하여 공교회적으로 대처하기 위해 발생하였다. 초대교회 역사에서 볼 때에 초기 형태의 노회는 개별 지역교회들에서 공통적으로 발생할 수 있는 교리와 권징 및 예배에 대한 다양한 질문들을 성경적으로 해결해 주는 역할을 하였다.
노회는 종교개혁기와 그 이후 시기에 매우 성경적으로 발전하였다. 이 시대에 노회들은 이단이나 부정확한 교리들을 경계하고, 목회자들을 양성하고 도우며, 교회들의 연합과 화평을 도모하며, 개별 교회들에 대해 교회정치적인 도움을 주기 위해 유럽의 여러 나라에서 발전하였다. 특별히 존 칼빈은 노회의 발전에 신학적으로 매우 크게 기여했다.
한국장로교회에서 노회가 순기능보다는 역기능을 할 때가 많았다. 그리하여 노회가 교회분열의 원인이 되거나 교권주의를 더욱 성행하게 만드는 장본인이 되기도 했다.
하지만 노회가 다음과 같은 본연의 역할에 힘쓴다면 성경적이며 동시에 개혁주의적인 원리에 충실한 노회가 되어 교회에 도움을 줄 것이다. 첫째, 노회는 개체교회들의 통일성과 선교를 증진시켜야 한다. 둘째, 노회는 하나님의 말씀으로 개체교회를 지도하여 성경적 진리를 보존해야 한다. 셋째, 노회는 목사 및 장로의 임직과 선교사 파송을 돕고, 그리고 목사와 장로의 상호 신뢰를 증진시켜야 한다. 넷째, 노회는 목사와 장로의 신학 재교육을 지원해야 한다. 다섯째, 노회는 지역교회와 총회 사이에서 연결고리 역할을 감당해야 한다. 이렇게 노회가 자신의 소임에 힘쓸 때에, 노회는 개별교회의 독립성을 훼손하지 않고 오히려 건강하게 보존해 줄 것이다.

** Abstract **
The presbytery originated within church history to cope with problems that individual local churches could not solve by themselves. Early forms of the presbytery addressed a variety of questions about doctrines, discipleship, and worship, which occurred commonly in local churches.
The presbytery developed very biblically during the Reformation and Post-Reformation eras. In those ages, presbyteries developed in various European countries to guard against heresy and inaccurate doctrines, to nurture and help pastors, to promote the unity and peace of churches, and to provide church political assistance to individual churches. In particular, John Calvin contributed greatly to the theological development of the presbytery.
In the Presbyterian Church in Korea, the presbytery often carried out more dysfunctions than positive functions. Thus, the presbytery sometimes became the cause of division in the church or made it more clerical in a negative sense. But if the presbytery is committed to the following essential roles, it will become a presbytery that is faithful to biblical and reformist principles so as to help the church.
First, the presbytery should enhance the unity and mission of the congregation. Second, the presbytery has to preserve biblical truth by leading the congregation according to the Word of God. Third, the presbytery should help to ordain pastors and elders and to send missionaries and should promote mutual trust between pastors and elders. Fourth, the presbytery shall support the theological re-education of pastors and elders. Fifth, the presbytery has to be a link between local churches and the general assembly. When the presbytery is committed to its essential roles, it will preserve the independence of the individual church in a healthy manner rather than damage it.

The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (pct) is the Protestant denomination with the longest tradition in the country. The central theological position of the church began to change in the late 1960s, and over the following decade the church became increasingly politically active and vocal in its support for human rights, minority rights, and democratization. This paper addresses the issue of human rights as narrated within the pct, which explained its involvement in human rights with reference to its Christian beliefs. One outcome of the church's endeavors was that the people of Taiwan accepted the struggle initiated by the church and began to ask for free elections. Using the pct as an example, the paper shows that religious bodies have the potential to be a positive force for change in society and that a Christian perspective on human rights can contribute to secular discourse on the topic.

Controversy often followed the itinerant ministry of the transatlantic revivalist George Whitefield. Whether it involved his dispute with Wesleyan Methodists over predestination, or his challenges to what he termed “unconverted ministers,” Whitefield, especially in his youth, courted controversy and even welcomed it. However, after his first preaching trip to Scotland Whitefield found himself on the receiving end of serious criticism by ministers of the Associate Presbytery, many of whom, like the brothers Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine, he once counted as friends. As their dispute over ecclesiology grew more heated, Whitefield himself cooled in his taste for debate – it was at this time that he began to negotiate a truce with John Wesley, and softened in his critiques of Anglican clergy. Clary’s chapter outlines the nature of Whitefield’s relationship to the Associate Presbytery, his own developing ecclesiological convictions, and the resulting controversy that ensued upon his refusal to limit his preaching to their churches only, in neglect of
Church of Scotland pulpits.

James Ussher was one of the most important theologians of the seventeenth-century Reformed tradition. This article provides a brief outline of his life and work, a survey of the secondary literature about Ussher, and some reflections on how Presbyterians can consider some of the more "Anglican" aspects of Ussher's theology.

In this paper, I argue that central to the early Presbyterian Missions to Korea (until 1910) was a high doctrine of Scripture. The stuanch biblicism of these missionaries and the church they founded was one of the defining characteristics, if not the defining characteristic, of Korean Presbyterian Church at this time.

The error of the Nicolaitans was to teach that the priests were given secret and special knowledge not available to the people, and thus were also given the rights and privileges to administer the sacraments and operate in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, not available to the laity. This created a special holy, religious class of priests that were above the people and supposedly closer to God than ordinary Christians. It also created an unbiblical hierarchy where the only way to have access to God was through the priesthood and then the pope, thus putting a wall of separation between God and his people.
A look at various denominational and church polities (Hierarchical, Autocratic, Democratic, Presbyterial), as compared to the biblical model (Theocratic).  Baptist, Episcopal, Catholic, Presbyterian, Independent styles of government. Illustrations.

This open-access book adopts a geopolitical perspective to analyse the rise of cryptocurrencies. Perspectives examined include Judeo-Christian perspectives, gambling, usury and the Book of Revelation.

Analysis also explores the notion of the deep state and one world global governance.

Geopolitical frameworks analyzed include American political economy, BRICS nations and China's One Belt - One Road economic plan.

Key words : cryptocurrency cryptocurrencies Book of Revelation gambling debt usury one world government

O Catecismo acerca do Governo e Disciplina da Igreja Presbiteriana é um documento que reflete a preocupação de instruir os nossos oficiais. O texto é uma afirmação simples e coerente defesa do sistema de governo presbiteriano. A estrutura principal das questões e respostas apresenta a doutrina básica do nosso sistema de governo eclesiástico, refletindo a tradição do presbiterianismo desde as suas raízes.  Ele também reflete alguns dos debates da época de sua origem, por esse motivo o conteúdo do catecismo é, por vezes, mais apologético do que estritamente educacional, o que se percebe por ter quase metade das suas questões refutando o catolicismo romano e o episcopalismo.

O catecismo foi preparado com a finalidade de treinar os oficiais e instruir a igreja local. O seu principal objetivo era preparar uma liderança doutrinariamente convicta e, ao mesmo tempo, disponibilizar um texto de fácil leitura para que os membros fossem esclarecidos e pudessem escolher bem os seus oficiais.

The Scottish Presbyterian theologian David Dickson (c.1583-1663) contributed very much to the development of the doctrine of the covenant of redemption (i.e., the pactum salutis). Although his doctrine stood in the early stages of its development, it comprised important elements of the doctrine. He formulated the doctrine from exegetical, doctrinal, and elenctic perspectives.
Dickson’s commentaries on Hebrews, the New Testament letters, Matthew, and Psalms persuasively offer biblical foundations for the doctrine. The Summe of Saving Knowledge (1649), a companion piece to the Westminster Confession of Faith and a collaborative work with James Durham, clearly sets forth the threefold covenant scheme—the covenant of works, the covenant of redemption, and the covenant of grace. Therapeutica Sacra, which treats the doctrine of regeneration, also presents the doctrine of the covenant of redemption in detail.
Dickson’s “Speech to the General Assembly” (1638) endorses the doctrine to refute the errors of Arminianism. In his various works, Dickson harmonized the doctrine of the covenant of redemption with other doctrines such as Trinitology and Christology along with the basic tenets of Reformed theology, and in so doing he developed Reformed theology more deeply. He also found the doctrine of the covenant of redemption in the Westminster Confession of Faith and rooted the doctrine within Reformed circles. Most of all, Dickson practically applied the doctrine in his Therapeutica Sacra to the life of believers to provide them with a vivid dynamic for sanctification as well as a full assurance of salvation.
In sum, the above characteristics of Dickson’s doctrine of the covenant of redemption played a very important role for the orientation and development of the doctrine for Reformed theology and life.

Key Words: David Dickson, the covenant of redemption (pactum salutis), Scottish Presbyterian, Westminster Confession of Faith, the errors of Arminianism

This essay argues that Bunyan, especially through the narratives of his encounters in Restoration courts and imprisonment within a church-state system, provided a concrete, tangible model for political resistance that inspired American dissenters in their struggle for religious freedom, liberty of conscience and the abolishment of church-state systems.

This paper argues that proper historical method for tracing theological development looks at what sources we can prove an author used and demonstrates how that authors changed from those previous sources. This essay examines the history of the covenant of works, using Archbishop James Ussher as the terminal point of development, and analyzing how he appropriated and modified material from sources he named as important to him.

This book examines John Calvin’s sense of vocation.

1) It begins with an analysis of thinking on prophecy in early, medieval, and Reformation theology.

2) It finds Calvin within a non-mystical, non-apocalyptic prophetic tradition that focused on scriptural interpretation.

3) It argues Calvin believed his prophetic authority was the same as Isaiah and Jeremiah, and suggests that he may have held himself to be infallible in matters related to Christian doctrine.

4) It argues that starting from about 1555, Calvin began to conceive the idea of encouraging one of the French 'lesser magistrates' (the princes of the blood royal) to rise up in armed conflict against the sitting French king with the aim of taking the throne.

5) Thus, it argues that when that did happen in 1562 when Louis of Condé gathered troops in Orléans and declared their intentions to liberate King Charles IX from the evil councillors surrounding him, this had Calvin's fingerprints on it -- Calvin was to a significant degree responsible for this turn of events.

6) Calvin pursued this plan, I argue, as one of a number of approaches to winning France for the gospel. In this way, the volume explores Calvin's sense of vocation and the impact this had on his political thought.

The following handout tracks SOME key developments in the LGBTQ+ inclusion movements in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and within U.S. society in general. The purpose of the handout was to provide a broad scope and sequence of the movement while the paper 'zoomed in' on key developments in the church through the lens of protest studies.

Abstract of Paper Presented at the 2022 ESiTiS Conference in Bonn, Germany:

The protest movement for the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ Christians in the life of the Presbyterian Church (USA) spans almost five decades; It began well before the current denominational structure took shape in 1983 and is integrally linked to the broader struggle for queer rights in the United States. Presbyterians have repeatedly employed the medium of protest at major church gatherings (General Assemblies – GAs) to bear witness to the conviction that ‘there is yet more light to be shed on the scriptures.’ By striving to normalize difference while maintaining a degree of unity throughout decades of intra-denominational debate, Presbyterians have exemplified the tension between Reformed understandings of the prophetic as inter-penetrative proclamation and intra-ecclesial protest as contra-normative presence. This paper aims to reflect theologically on the historical developments outlined in another upcoming publication by identifying four primary spheres of theological activity in connection with GA protests for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the PCUSA. In the first instance, by practicing a ‘ministry of presence,’ queer Presbyterians and their allies confronted myths of non-existence and performed an apologetics of queerness. Second, animated by the dual spectacles of protest and presence, the church began a process of awakening, during which it acknowledged the experiences of LGBTQ+ people as subject matter for theological reflection. Third, advocates for inclusion reframed confessional narratives in a way that was deconstructive of common-sense notions of normativity, otherness, perversion and sexual/gender pathology. Fourth, the faith community began a reconstructive theological process. The church’s self-critique took shape during GA protests and other acts of sacred resistance that created safe discursive spaces in which LGBTQ+ Presbyterians moved beyond the spectacle and begin a process that I will define as re-de-normalization.

The paper provides an analysis of the doctrine of redemption in the Presbyterian Church of Australia's Declaratory Statement. It shows how the doctrine of redemption in the Declaratory Statement relates to that doctrine in the Westminster Confession of Faith and in the Christian Scriptures.

My reading of Knox's life disagrees with that of most of his other biographers since M'Crie. It is on the whole supported, however, by the eighteenth century estimate represented by David Hume and Burns. If I show bias it is not, at any rate, theological bias. The object of this book is somewhat different from that of the biographies which I have mentioned: it is to give a critical account of a representative Calvinist and Puritan. The temper in which I have attempted this may perhaps best be described as realistic; I have attempted to tell in contemporary terms how a typical Calvinist and Puritan lived, felt and thought. With the historical figure I am not particularly concerned'. As one may note the date of publication was similar to D. H. Lawrence' banned book and at the height of Catholic persecution in Scotland at the hands of John White the Church of Scotland's sectarian and racist moderator. I will relate to a few examples from Muir he writes about Knox; ' Between 1540 and 1543 we find him engaged as an ecclesiastical notary, and up to March of 1543 he was certainly in the Catholic Church. Of the life he led during this time his fellow reformers tell us not a word, but the Catholics maintain that he was notorious for his immorality, and even assert that he was guilty of committing adultery with his stepmother (his father's second wife).

The Reformed tradition has long understood the second commandment to forbid making any image (physical or mental) of any person of the Godhead. Many today, however, are taking exception to the Reformed confessional documents regarding the second commandment or ignoring them altogether. This essay argues that the Reformed understanding of the second commandment is not an isolated and detached take on a specific ethical point, but in fact the entire Reformed doctrinal system supports the prohibition against making images of the divine.

The goal of this paper is to lay out the biblical vision for the basic elements of the Church’s government at the level of the particular church, and to argue that the Church’s gospel-centered mission is best served by teams of Shepherds and Servants working together, leading and serving according to God’s design.The argument proceeds in two parts: Part 1 makes a brief argument for recognizing a biblical form of church government; Part 2 examines the evidence for the two-office view.

This study examines the historical context, spiritual development, and theological arguments of four Protestant critics of Second Great Awakening revivalism who published critiques from the mid-1830s to the late-1840s: Calvin Colton, John Henry Hopkins, John Williamson Nevin, and Horace Bushnell.  Historians have begun to give increased attention to the role played by critics of revivalism in the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century, but inadequate attention has been devoted to critics of revivalism in the Second Great Awakening of the first half of the nineteenth century.

Several competitors vied for the right to define revivalism in the Second Great Awakening.  New Divinity revivalists legitimated their revivals by the construction of an Edwardsean tradition of sober revivalism, but their definition of genuine revival was contested not only by Frontier, New Haven, and New Measures revivalists, but also by critics who questioned the underlying theological assumptions of revivalism.

The counter-revivalists in this study were not merely reactive; they sought to counter revivalism by formulating alternative understandings of Christian theology and spirituality.  High Church Episcopalians Calvin Colton and John Henry Hopkins argued for the superiority of the Episcopal Church; Colton praised his church’s refusal to meddle in political affairs in the manner of revivalistic reformers, and Hopkins appealed to his church’s faithfulness to the pattern established by the “Primitive Church” of the first four centuries against the “novelties” of revivalism.  John Williamson Nevin criticized revivalism’s subjectivism, countering with a churchly piety, grounded on the objective presence of Christ in the sacraments.  Nevin envisioned an alliance between the German Reformed and German Lutheran Churches as a bulwark against Americanized evangelicalism.  Horace Bushnell criticized revivalism for its supernaturalistic dualism; as an alternative, Bushnell offered a Romantic revision of the means of grace, in which parents could shape the Christian character of their children through the power of organic connections.  The counter-revivalists in this study offered counter-narratives set against prevailing revivalistic norms to offer an alternative understanding of American religious culture and to open up new directions for the future of Christian piety and theology.

PhD dissertation, The University of Iowa, 2005

There is a tradition in historiography of the Reformed tradition claiming that James Ussher's works were important sources used at the Westminster Assembly. This essay seeks to substantiate that tradition by examining contextual factors and the sources themselves to discover the many links between Ussher, the Westminster divines, and the documents produced by the Assembly.

La Confesionalidad Reformada invita hacia la práctica ordinaria de la Cena del Señor. La Confesión de Fe de Westminster considera que la Santa Cena es un elemento ordinario y regular de lo que debería ser la adoración congregacional a Dios, no un elemento ocasional y especial. La perspectiva reformada del propósito y significado de la Cena del Señor (esto es, unión con Cristo, alimento para el creyente para su vida cristiana, y una comida comunitaria del Pueblo del Pacto) hace de la mayor frecuencia de administración posible una práctica recomendable y muy beneficiosa para las congregaciones. Es por lo tanto pertinente aspirar hacia la práctica semanal de la Cena del Señor, y recomendable promover su administración cada vez que haya un Ministro ordenado dispuesto para los Sacramentos.

Róbert Péter (ed), British Freemasonry, 1717-1813. Vol. 4. Debates (New York: Routledge, 2016)

volume 1: Institutions (C. Révauger)
volume 2: Rituals I – English, Irish and Scottish Craft Rituals (J. A.  M. Snoek)
volume 3: Rituals II – Harodim Material and Higher Degrees (J. A. M. Snoek)
volume 4: Debates (R. Péter)
volume 5: Representations (R. Péter)

For a limited access to vol. 4 see
https://books.google.hu/books?id=xLdCDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT84&dq=British+Freemasonry,+1717-1813+Debates+Church&hl=hu&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY9Ye8moDQAhVJORoKHT0FCfoQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=British%20Freemasonry%2C%201717-1813%20Debates%20Church&f=false

More information about the edition is available at:
https://www.routledge.com/British-Freemasonry-1717-1813/Peter- Revauger-Snoek/p/book/9781848933774

The attached copyright material was provided by the Routledge division of Taylor and Francis on 20 October, 2016.