Virginia congregation chastises PCUSA for policies on abortion, ordination, war, marriage and the family
The Layman Online, November 24, 2004
A congregation in Virginia is chastising the Presbyterian Church (USA) for its polices on several issues, calling them “wrong” and “not supported by Holy Scripture.”
“A Statement of Concern and Confession” approved by the session of New Hanover Presbyterian Church in Mechanicsville, Va., notes what it calls the “the theological discord with the Presbyterian Church (USA) as was apparent in the 216th General Assembly,” then criticizes denominational policies on abortion, ordination, marriage and the family, and the war in Iraq.
The session points to what it calls “a disturbing trend in the Presbyterian Church (USA) – to embrace worldly cultural and political beliefs before embracing (or quite possibly disregarding) God’s inerrant Word given to us in the Bible,” then calls on the denomination to “accept the Bible as the authoritative word of God, bearing witness to the Living Word, Jesus Christ.”
The complete text of the session’s statement is as follows:
“It is with sorrow and great concern that the Session of the New Hanover Presbyterian Church acknowledges the theological discord with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) as was apparent in the 216th General Assembly of 2004. We are dedicated to prayerfully seeking God’s guidance in these matters.
“We increasingly feel led to reaffirm and confess our faith as a witness to the Lordship and love of Jesus Christ, not as an act of divisiveness, but as an act of faithfulness, in love, and with the conviction that the confession of the principles expressed herein will foster the peace, unity, and purity of the church.
“We, the Session of New Hanover Presbyterian Church, believe it is necessary to make known these concerns not only to the members of this congregation, but also to the Presbytery of the James and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as a whole, to be a faithful witness in response to the distortions and resulting confusion that exist regarding areas of theology within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
Concerns
The Value of Every Human Life
“We believe that the Bible strongly affirms the value of every human life – born and unborn.
Psalm 139:13-16 – “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Jeremiah 1:5 – “”Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“We believe that abortion is wrong, and that we as Christians are called to defend the defenseless – the unborn child. We also believe that the policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) as a pro-abortion denomination is wrong and indefensible. Furthermore, we believe that the failure to condemn partial birth abortion in the last General Assembly, and the denomination’s continued support of abortion of viable babies, is wrong and is without excuse. We pray for God’s truth to reach this denomination on this issue.
Sanctity of Marriage
“God calls Christians to holiness in all aspects of life. This includes, but is not limited to, honoring the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, fidelity in marriage, and chastity in singleness.
Genesis 2:24 – “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 – ” Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
Romans 1:24-27 – “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”
“We believe that the current trend in our denomination to redefine the definition of marriage and family is wrong and is not supported by Holy Scripture. We believe that the 2004 General Assembly’s failure to support a Federal Marriage Amendment was wrong. We believe that the Assembly’s failure to support “A Christian Declaration of Marriage” was wrong. Instead, the Assembly took a step in the opposite direction by urging “..the Congress of the United States of America to recognize those state laws that allow same-gender union and to change federal laws to recognize all civil unions licensed and solemnized under state law to apply in all federal laws that provide benefits, privileges, and/or responsibilities to married persons.”
“We would like to note that we do agree with PC-USA’s current position of the “authoritative interpretations” of 1978 and 1979 regarding ordination rules, and pray that the denomination will not continue to challenge these rules.
Pronouncement on the War in Iraq
“We are shocked by the General Assembly’s approving the resolution entitled, “Iraq: Our Responsibility and the Future,” which declared the war in Iraq “immoral, unwise, and illegal.”
“Many of the members of our congregation are war veterans. Members of our church are serving – or have served – in this war in Iraq. We are saddened that the General Assembly could make a negative judgment on this war, our soldiers, and this administration – as members of this denomination continue to serve our country and maintain a wartime presence there. These soldiers need our prayers and support – not our condemnation. We disagree with and reject the General Assembly’s actions in this regard.
“Finally, in any war, there always exists defense intelligence which remains classified and cannot be communicated to the press. For the General Assembly to make a judgment without all the facts – is irresponsible.
“We question the logic, the motives, and the necessity of making such a pronouncement.
Concern Summary – A Denomination “Of The World?”
“As Christians, we are called to be “in the world, but not of the world.”
John 15:19 – “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.”
“The points in this paper reveal a disturbing trend in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): to embrace worldly cultural and political beliefs before embracing (or quite possibly disregarding) God’s inerrant Word given to us in the Bible.
“In the first concern of this paper (“The Value of Every Human Life”), the Bible is clear in affirming the value of every human life – born and unborn. However, our denomination continues to embrace the culture of the world and support abortion.
“In the second concern of this paper (“Sanctity of Marriage”), the Bible is clear in the definition of marriage. However, the actions of our 216th General Assembly show that our denomination seems to be headed toward a downhill trend of recognizing and supporting same-sex unions and redefining the term “family.”
“In the third concern of this paper (“Pronouncement on the War in Iraq”), we address a political statement by the 216th General Assembly about America’s involvement in the current war in Iraq. We disagree with the logic and truth of this political statement, but more importantly, we question the necessity for the General Assembly to get involved in this political debate. “It is our prayer that this denomination will accept the Bible as the authoritative word of God, bearing witness to the Living Word, Jesus Christ.”
II. Confession
Be it known that the Session of New Hanover Presbyterian Church confesses:
Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all and the way of salvation.
The Bible is the authoritative Word of God, bearing witness to the Living Word, Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is the Church’s only infallible rule of faith and practice.
The Bible strongly affirms the value of every life – born and unborn.
God calls Christians to holiness in all aspects of life. This includes, but is not limited to, honoring the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, fidelity in marriage, and chastity in singleness.
This resolution is not meant to diminish or supersede other doctrine or truth contained in the fullness of Holy Scripture or the Book of Confessions. We encourage everyone to consider these statements and to be guided by them.
It is our hope that the Body of Christ be strengthened and encouraged through this expression of faith.