By Alan F.H. Wisdom, The Layman Perhaps the most significant action of the 2016 Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly was final approval of the Belhar Confession for inclusion in the denomination’s Book of Confessions. The 1980s liberation theology manifesto exercised an influence that was already apparent in the Portland assembly’s other business—especially its discussions of…
By Alan F.H. Wisdom Two years after the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly ordered denominational divestment from three corporations doing business with Israel, the 2016 assembly will receive proposals for further measures directed against the Jewish state. Two overtures from local presbyteries would protest Israel’s presence in the predominantly Palestinian West Bank by targeting corporations…
By Alan F.H. Wisdom A proposed resolution from the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) faults “Israel’s policy trajectory of continued settlements and brutal occupation” for difficulties in achieving a peace settlement with the Palestinians. By contrast, the resolution declines to attribute blame to the other side in the…
By Marie Bowen, Presbyterians Pro-Life. The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy brings a resolution (Item 11-14) for commissioner approval to the Presbyterian Church (USA) 222nd General Assembly meeting in Portland, Oregon June 18-25, 2016. The resolution includes a pastoral guidebook, a statement of affirmation, and recommendations for conversation and advocacy. It’s long—49 pages—but the…
NGO Monitor reveals new report by church seeking to actively promote economic attack on Jewish state while downplaying Arab terror. By Ari Yashar, Arutz Sheva. A new report by an official committee of the Presbyterian Church (USA) shows how the church is actively promoting the BDS movement seeking to economically cripple Israel, and downplaying Palestinian Arab…
By Viola Larson, Naming His Grace blog The Presbyterian Church (USA) through the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and their journal Unbound: An Interactive Journal of Christian Social Justice, has stepped beyond the boundaries of Scripture and confession. The being of God and the person of Jesus are deeply effected in their November edition,…
By John McMillan A friend, the chair of an economics department, posted an article for comment. In it a woman complains about her increasing property tax bill. “I’m at the breaking point,” says the woman. “It’s not because I don’t like paying taxes. I have voted for every park, every library, all the school improvements,…
The Presbyterian Church (USA), which pays no Federal Income taxes or property taxes as a non-profit religious organization, wants to see your taxes raised. Produced by the denomination’s Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and backed by the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the tax reform proposal entitled “Tax Justice: A Christian Response to a New Gilded…
By the Presbyterian News Service At its June 6-8 meeting in Albany and Schenectady, N.Y., the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy heard from its study teams, discussed General Assembly referrals and met with local Presbyterians engaged in outreach in Albany Presbytery. The 12-member committee is elected by the General Assembly to help the whole…