Issue 5, 2005
Volume 11, Number 5 · Seven articles
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In this issue
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The Presbyterian Church
The Report of the Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity will NOT bring Peace, Unity or Purity to our Denomination
What would the Peace, Unity and Purity Task Force Report change in practice? Introducing the issue, the editors set out the renewal groups’ opposition, the proposed authoritative interpretation of G-6.0108, and a Task Force member’s answers at Shenandoah Presbytery.
The Board of Theology Matters2 min read -
The Presbyterian Church
Statement of Presbyterian Renewal Ministries On The Peace, Unity, And Purity Report
Can a report that lets ordaining bodies set aside explicit standards serve the church’s peace? Leaders of Presbyterian renewal organizations, meeting in Chicago, welcome the Task Force’s affirmations but conclude its Report will promote neither peace, unity nor purity.
Presbyterian Renewal Ministries5 min read -
The Presbyterian Church
Association for Church Renewal Statement (Ecumenical)
Is a “third way” on sexuality a real compromise? Renewal leaders from several North American denominations, gathered in Arlington, warn that keeping standards on paper while letting church bodies disregard them would empty those standards and set the church adrift.
Association for Church Renewal7 min read -
The Presbyterian Church
Peace, Unity, and Purity Report: Neither Faithful nor Effective
What did the Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity actually propose, and what would it do to ordination standards? Jim Berkley, who followed its meetings, weighs the good in the report, sets out its flaws, and urges a response that is biblical, loving and united.
James D. Berkley26 min read -
The Presbyterian Church
How to Read the PUP Report: Picking Up the Rhetorical Clues to What’s Important
How do you read a long denominational report without getting lost? Alan Wisdom says to start with the bold-print recommendations, watch the verbs, and see why Recommendation 5 is the real centre of the Peace, Unity and Purity report.
Alan F. H. Wisdom4 min read -
The Presbyterian Church
The Limits of Scrupling and The Adoption Act of 1729: The PUP Task Force’s Historical Problem
Does the Adopting Act of 1729 let each presbytery decide what is essential? Toby Brown reads the Act itself and finds that the early synod allowed scruples only within defined limits, so the Task Force misreads its own history.
Toby Brown6 min read -
Church History
The Strange Legacy of the Auburn Affirmation
Did the Auburn Affirmation of 1924 offer a middle way for the church? Paul Leggett traces its history and argues that its view of Scripture, its attack on Assembly authority and its talk of “theories” left doctrine without any meaningful definition.
Paul Leggett10 min read
