Apostasy from What?

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? ~ Amos 3: 3

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. ~ Albert Einstein

Reluctantly, and with deep sorrow, we conclude that current renewal efforts within the Presbyterian Church (USA) are not capable of reversing the denomination's plunge into apostasy.

~ Board of Directors
The Presbyterian Lay Committee
July 4, 2006.

 

Apostasy means a falling away from beliefs once held. What beliefs are those?

The renewalists want to restore the denomination to Biblical Christianity and its Calvinist roots, and that means to TULIP, of course!

A supporter of the traditional renewal efforts in the PCUSA

Rus Howard, in 2004, when a candidate for Stated Clerk, PCUSA responded to this question:


Q. What would you do about those who would not accept your solution for unifying our beliefs?

A. For those unable to explain our Reformed theology, I would require them to take additional courses in Reformed theology and to write a paper on TULIP.

For those unwilling to either affirm or adhere to our Reformed theology, I would move them out of leadership and decision-making roles in the Church.

So, can we all agree that the beliefs the PCUSA has fallen away from are the five points of Calvinism? Hardly!

Michael Bush, a leader of the Constitutional Presbyterians, said:

We aren’t ever going to focus on TULIP. I’m sorry.

In the real world, TULIP is a bad idea unless you are a Methodist.

Members of traditional renewal efforts like The Coalition and the PLC have described the Five Points as hyper-Calvinism and dispute the claim that they represent essential tenets of the Reformed faith.

The New Wineskins Initiative offers voluminous documents supporting their claim to being a Reformed alternative to the Liberal PCUSA. However, nowhere in all that verbiage will you find why Jesus Christ came and what He accomplished while He was here. The supporters of this Initiative cannot agree on these points – some may be universalists; some may hold to General Ransom; while others believe in Intentional (Limited) Substitutionary Atonement. Rather than risk their alliance, they ignore these questions.

A few years ago, we experienced The Confessing Church Movement. It asked congregations to affirm three broad principles:

A. That Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all and the way of salvation.

B. That holy Scripture is the triune God's revealed Word, the Church's only infallible rule of faith and life.

C. That God's people are called to holiness in all aspects of life. This includes honoring the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate.

Of the more than 2,000,000 members of the PCUSA, fewer than 435,000 would even affirm these three statements. (Given the loss of membership in the PCUSA, it is questionable how accurate this number is.)

All agree, the current leadership of the PCUSA is apostate. Or can we all even agree on that? Rev. Tom Are, Jr., senior pastor of the 5000-member Village Presbyterian Church, wrote in a letter to church members and friends:

You may have seen on June 24th an ad placed in the Kansas City Star by local Presbyterians. While I am uncertain as to the purpose of this ad, the result has been one of pain and confusion. I want you to know that Village had no part in this communication. We would never attack our church in such a public fashion. Secondly, I do not believe that the charges in the ad are credible. The ad claims that because of changes in the ordination examination process the church could ordain pastors who do not affirm the deity of Jesus Christ, do not believe that Jesus Christ is the way of salvation, do not believe the Christian scriptures are the unique and authoritative Word of God, and will ordain those who affirm a variety of alternate sexual lifestyles. Think about this. Can you imagine the church acting in this fashion? Nor can I. As I have already said, these charges do not represent the present circumstances of the church and I do not find them credible.

However, even among those who feel the denomination is apostate, there seems to be no agreement about the beliefs from which the denomination has fallen away. How can a new, Biblically faithful church be forged if we cannot agree on the core tenets? From what is the current denomination apostate? If, and this is a very big if, an organization can be formed which does not offend anyone’s personal beliefs, will it be any more effective than the present denomination?

People are not attracted to churches that do not know what they believe. ~ James Montgomery Boice

Some have suggested that we need to stay and work within the PCUSA; it is our mission field. Before we can say that the PCUSA is a mission field, do we not have to agree on the message?

The Church is about belief. It matters what one believes. We got into this pickle because we hedged on the fundamentals of what it means to be Reformed and what it means to be a Calvinist. Politics is about making accommodations...like Great Britain and the United States joining with the Soviet Union to fight Nazi Germany. Through all that the USSR was never our "ally"...they did not declare war on Japan until it was advantageous for them to do so...the day after we nuked Nagasaki. A greater evil was overcome by joining with a lesser evil and the United States went on to fight for 45 more years at a cost of an additional 100,000 American lives. That was the Cold War.

Belief is everything in a faith system. The Catholic Church is not made stronger by admitting Protestant practices and doctrines and the Presbyterian Church has been nothing but weakened by making accommodations to make as many people feel comfortable as possible. We are overrun with all kinds of "terians"---Metho, Bapto, Lutho-and Catho---and the result is what we have, "road kill". ~ Dr. Earl Tilford

Amazingly simple home remedies

If you are choking on an ice cube, don't panic. Simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat and presto! The blockage will be almost instantly removed.

Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.


For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.

Have a bad toot hache? Smash your thumb with a hammer and you will forget all about the toothache.

[Sometimes the “cures” are worse than the problems.

Unless and until we know from what we are apostate -- from what beliefs have we are fallen away? -- are we not exchanging one loose-leaf Bible for another; one theology of accommodation for another? (Is ignoring the Biblical teaching about Christ’s atonement less harmful to the Body than ignoring the teaching about homosexuality? Is accommodating those who think TULIP is a “bad thing” any less harmful to the equipping of the saints than accommodating those with Liberal beliefs?) Could anyone – you – join such an organization and keep your personal integrity?

During this summer and fall, groups of Presbyterians who are obedient to the Word of God will gather to seek a way forward. Our board members will participate in each conclave, praying that the Lord who knows the end from the beginning will lead these various initiatives toward a common purpose and direction that glorifies him.

These are times of transition. In the next several months, as strategic decisions are made, we call faithful Presbyterians to an extended season of prayer for the future of our communion. The shape of that future now appears through a glass darkly. But, trusting in the providence of a sovereign Lord, we can confidently believe what Scripture affirms: Together with all those who love him, we will see him face to face.


~Board of Directors
The Presbyterian Lay Committee
July 4, 2006.

Is the Christian faith a matter of FACT or a matter of OPINION?

The Old Gray Dog

James E. Tuckett