By Gregg Brekke, Presbyterian News Service.
In response to recent inflammatory statements made by politicians, T. Erskine Clarke, editor and publisher at the Journal for Preachers and professor emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary, has issued a letter appealing Christian to “seek to be agents of God’s justice and reconciliation in the world.”
As of 12:30pm EDT today [Dec. 10, 2015], over 320 people had signed their names to the growing list of those reaffirming what the letter calls “Christian commitments” to oppose a climate of fear, the stereotyping of racial ethnic persons, the proliferation of guns and gun violence, the demonization of refugees and dangerous isolationism.
The full text of the appeal and PCUSA seminary president signatories, as of press time, can be found by clicking here.
23 Comments. Leave new
Some imams recognize the need to pause immigration until we get a better handle on who we are admitting. Why can’t PCUSA leaders take a sensible, balanced approach?
http://www.fox4beaumont.com/community/features/community-news/stories/local-imam-says-he-forced-resign-because-he-agrees-trump-muslim-immigration-1932.shtml
How nice of Mr. Clark to tell us how to be politically sensitive and how to think. Unfortunately, Mr. Clark needs to think deeper. This politically sensitive “be nice” atmosphere they are spreading around is covering a dark cloud that doesn’t play by their rules.
What is their end game? To do away with scriptural exclusivity that Christ is the only way and the only truth and the only way to find life. Sorry Mr. Clark we are not all going to the same place in the “bye and bye” and it is not loving respect to affirm people living in darkness.
Notably, Auburn seminary is not actually a PCUSA seminary although they do have a covenant of agreement with the PCUSA. Also notably, University of Dubuque Seminary is a PCUSA seminary and their President did not sign this letter. Full disclosure…
To me, this is not a problem of people, but a problem of government. For example, the letter mentions:
A climate of fear….(caused by a government lack of accountability for the responsibilities it has taken upon itself).
The stereotyping of racial ethnic persons…(if citizens do not think the government has a handle on violent members of a group; then, the safe thing is for one to selectively verify members of a group.
The proliferation of guns and gun violence….(obviously, the government “gun check system” is – along with a lot of other things – a total failure).
The demonization of refugees and dangerous isolationism….(currently, citizens do not know who is a refugee and who is a terrorist. Further they have NO confidence that the government knows, either).
To me, peace (of mind) is the issue – not “y’all behave, now, you hear?
P.S. When I saw the article headline: PCUSA Seminary Presidents Unite in Appeal to End Fear, Distrust, I though the article was going to be about the current state of the PCUSA – an article closer to home. You know, I wonder if the Congregation departures, from PCUSA, have had an impact on Seminary enrollment.
Just curious.
I know some of the signatories on this letter and can reasonably surmise certain things about the others based on the theological/political/social positions of their respective institutions.
So, I am wondering how many of these signatories are:
… unapologetically evangelical in their theology?
… publicly opposed to SSM and the ordination of GLBTers?
… contributing members of the Republican Party?
… voted for GW Bush, John McCain or Mitt Romney?
… known to oppose abortion and federal funding for Planned Parenthood?
I suspect, and will be happy to have someone prove me wrong, that all of these folks are left-leaning in their politics and “progressive” in just about every way.
If so, then what we have here is nothing but a bunch of left wing politicos criticizing a bunch of right wing politicos over policy differences.
How shocking is that?
And who, outside of their own echo-chambers, gives a rat’s derrière what these posturing seminary bureaucrats think?
” to oppose a climate of fear” tell that to congregations trying to depart the pcusa with a bunch heretics breathing down their necks with dollar signs in their eyes, hell, this crowd is part of the “climate of fear”!!
Me too!
I suspect not. Prospective seminary students from Evangelical Presbyterian congregations, irrespective of denomination, are drawn to seminaries that will teach them sound Biblical thinking to undergird their preaching and teaching, rather than to seminaries that will teach them to subject the infallible Word of God to the fallible authority of literary and historical criticism, which all the PC(USA) seminaries do, thereby compromising their effectiveness in preaching and teaching.
To be sure, some PC(USA) presbyteries require candidates for the ministry to study at least one year at a PC(USA) seminary, and they might lose prospective students who fit that demographic.
However, most of the students going to PC(USA) seminaries come from theologically liberal congregations, which are not the congregations currently separating themselves from the denomination. I suspect that enrollment at PC(USA) seminaries will not be significantly affected by departing Evangelical PC(USA) congregations.
How naive you are Pres,
Have you not read the scriptures for yourself or do you need a bunch of Seminary professors to regurgitate what they think the bible teaches? Why not pick up a copy of the Bible and read it for yourself and we will so who is so simple minded!
Probably none of these signors are evangelicals. The PCUSA by and large is not evangelical. Who cares how they voted? What does matter here is their moral stance which is firm, and Christ-like. I will take them any day over the President of Liberty University who showed blatant bigotry and hatred in his comments about Muslims recently.
Same old boilerplate of leftist rhetoric along with the same old names attached. Nothing new here; the election season is upon us; expect more of the same old pious, yet silly remarks from this crowd. Also expect the anti American, pro-leftist National Council of Churches and Wold Council of Churches to chime in with similar remarks.
Firm moral stance???!!!
Having been on the inside of high level politics, I reckon an operative from the White House or Democrat National Committee ‘did lunch’ with lobbyists representing many of these signers’ lobbying non-profits based in D.C. During lunch, the conversation went something like this: ‘Black ministers are meeting with Trump and other republicans. Hillary’s polling numbers are down and American citizens are worried about the deteriorating global situation. We progressives have worked closely together on political issues and your help is needed now. The Iowa Caucus and primaries begin in about 8 weeks; have your people draw up a rough draft to calm things down; email us a copy; we’ll edit the final draft for public consumption. Great meeting old friends and anxious to work in lockstep to advance our political ambitions.”
Most of the signatories are liberal down the line, but Richard Mouw is an evangelical (former President of Fuller Seminary). Craig Barnes may still be one.
Thank you for your reply, John E.
Richard Mouw has long been considered an evangelical and one assumes that he remains so in retirement, although Fuller was, as you know, never a PCUSA institution.
Craig Barnes was said to have begun his move out of evangelicalism during the time that he was at Shadyside Pres, and my guess is that by now he is almost certainly either on the outer fringes of the movement or more-or-less out of it completely. But I do not know for sure.
Nevertheless, your input here was very helpful. I looked through the list of all of the signatories on the letter’s web site, and I did see a few individuals whom most people would consider to be on the center-right side of the denomination, but not just a whole lot of them.
In any case, thanks.
Institutional, political and ideological rot has manifested itself in the PCUSA entity in all shapes and forms. None more pronounced as political correctness and the chilling of free expression. Where the PCUSA is no longer able to put together Islam and terror in the same sentence and lacks both the moral or ethical courage to do so. As if ISIS is some villain out of a James Bond film with no theological world view. So it uses episodes of religious based terror to make political points on gun control, and immigration policy. Or in the great moral equivalency of modern liberalism, blame Christians and their cultural arrogance and imperialism for the terror on our streets.
But like the recent commentary from the Moderator on the matter, these tenured academics employ the same tired old methodology from the security of their class rooms and ivy walls. they lecture with an air of intellectual superiority, and then sit down and await others to proclaim their brilliance.
Another sign post on the post-Christian organizations path to irrelevancy and nothingness. Nothing new here folks, move along now.
Pray for President Obama and our military and defense leaders because he is meeting together with them about the troubles with the Muslim
Radicals and civil war in the Middle East. It doesn’t matter what “political party” you identify with….you can pray?
You give the PCUSA too much credit or influence in the public square and policy arena. Having worked in DC in a military capacity one sees who moves and shakes about Capital Hill, K street, and who and whom shuttles in and out of the diners on Constitution.
Even with an ideologically very friendly presence in the White House. the DC office of the PCUSA sort of hangs around, may get an invite to the random 2,000 lobbyist lunches that the various liberal think tanks hold on a daily basis. But this is not 1955, when Carson-Blake would call Eisenhower in the oval office. This is 2015. the PCUSA is simply another signature line on another leftest policy brief, looking around, begging the folks in power take them seriously, always looking to hitch their wagons to the Quakers, UCC, Episcopals, who ever else picks up their phone calls. You lose 70% of your membership base the last 40 years, folks see though that and draw their own conclusions.
Politicians and elected officials on any level are not stupid. They know when the “PCUSA” speaks, be it the Louisville, UN office, DC office, they only speak for a very, very small group of a very small and dying political/religious sect.
Unfortunately, clicking their heels together three times and closing their eyes as tight as they can is not going to make the angry radicals go away – you can’t just look at a dire situation and resolve that we are just going to look the other way and pretend that that is the answer
“The world needs men and it would be sad if we’re just the Christians who did not wish to be men”. – Karl Barth, The knowledge of God and the Service of God.
Given his position on same-gender “marriage”, it would seem to me that Craig Barnes has joined Jack Rogers and Mark Achtemeier in the ranks of the Erstwhile Presbyterians.
The statement by the good professor defines the problems of PCUSA. In touch with Political Correctness, Globalism, Progressive agendas and out of touch with the people who populate the universe from which membership is drawn. Is it any wonder ECO appeals to so many and pulls them away from PCUSA.