OGA opposes overture on authority of Scripture
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, May 24, 2006
The Office of the General Assembly has urged the 217th General Assembly to reject an overture affirming denominational statements supporting the authority of Scripture.
The overture from the Presbytery of Mississippi calls on the General Assembly to approve statements about the authority of Scripture and an injunction that Presbyterians diligently search and obey the Scripture:
- 1. In the belief that the Holy Scripture is the Word of God and God’s guide to us for worship and life, the 217th General Assembly (2006) does confirm that the authority of Holy Scripture is “… most necessary; those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.” (Westminster Confession, 6.001)
- 2. The 217th General Assembly (2006) also confirms that “The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof; and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.” (Westminster, 6.004)
- 3. The 217th General Assembly (2006) also confirms the belief that “Insofar as Christ’s will for the Church is set forth in Scripture, it is to be obeyed. In the worship and service of God and the government of the church, matters are to be ordered according to the Word by reason and sound judgment, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” Book of Order, G-1.0010c
- 4. The 217th General Assembly (2006) does urge all members of the church to search the Holy Scripture to determine God’s revealed Word regarding any and all issues that may touch the church; and, to be diligent in determining God’s will and living in accordance with that will.
But the OGA staff declared that the overture is unnecessary. It criticized the overture in comments to the General Assembly Committee on Theological Issues and Institutions.
“While it is important to be reminded of the power of God’s Word to us as we struggle with difficult decisions in our lives individually and in our corporate life together, simply reaffirming our foundational beliefs adds no new power to the place of these statements or even these documents in our everyday lives,” said the OGA, which is headed by Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick.
The OGA response also said, “As Presbyterians, our creeds and confessions speak to us in detail about our interaction with Scripture. This overture would simply confirm parts of that understanding; it would add no new insights.”
In fact, though, later confessions, including the Confession of ’67, hold a lower view of the authority of Scripture than was held by American Presbyterians for nearly two centuries.
The adoption of the C-67 introduced a subjective view of the understanding of Scripture. Section 9.29 says:
- The Bible is to be interpreted in the light of its witness to God’s work of reconciliation in Christ. The Scriptures, given under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, are nevertheless the words of men, conditioned by the language, thought forms, and literary fashions of the places and times at which they were written. They reflect views of life, history, and the cosmos which were then current. The church, therefore, has an obligation to approach the Scriptures with literary and historical understanding. As God has spoken his word in diverse cultural situations, the church is confident that he will continue to speak through the Scriptures in a changing world and in every form of human culture.
Many seminary professors, pastors and church leaders have used C-67 Section 9.29 to declare that portions of Scripture are tainted by cultural views of the time when they were written and that they no longer apply.
For instance, the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity, after reading the views of a variety of theologians, concluded that Scripture on the issue of homosexuality “is diverse, subtle, and complex. It could not readily be divided into the two categories – either approval or disapproval of same-gender relationships and practices – that are assumed to anchor much of the conflict in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) today.”
Christians overwhelmingly throughout the world disagree with that conclusion.
The Congregational Ministries Division also filed a comment with the Committee on Theological Issues and Institutions. It did not recommend how the committee should vote, but it noted that there were many references in the confessions and Book of Order that were not cited in the Mississippi overture. The comment said:
- The Book of Order states clearly the role of the confessions in the life of the PC(USA): “The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) states its faith and bears witness to God’s grace in Jesus Christ in the creeds and confessions in The Book of Confessions. In these confessional statements the church declares to its members and to the world who and what it is, what it believes, what it resolves to do” (G-2.0100a).
- The Book of Confessions contains several declarations concerning the authority of Scripture, specifically in The Scots Confession (3.19), The Second Helvetic Confession (5.001-.009), The Westminster Confession of Faith (6.001), The Theological Declaration of Barmen (8.10-.12), The Confession of 1967 (9.27-9.30), and A Brief Statement of Faith (10.4).
The Brief Statement of Faith makes only a brief reference to Scripture, saying the “Spirit … rules our life and faith in Christ through Scripture.”