Schism is something that the Bible does not mention under that term very often. But the Bible is clearly opposed to it. One hopes, therefore, that all Christians are against it too.
But liberal Protestants sometimes find a way to be against schism and yet for it at the same time. By saying they are against it, but attacking those Christians who do not agree with them at all points, the liberals actually promote schism.
O. P. C. “Founded” by Liberals – This confusing double-faced approach is going on today; but it is nothing new. In one sense, the major founders of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church were the members of the General Council of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. in the 1930s.
It was these leaders in the old Presbyterian Church who induced the General Assembly of that church to order its lower judicatories to discipline those men and women who were promoting the work of preaching the gospel outside the borders of the United States. The General Council should have welcomed as much preaching of the gospel as possible. Instead, it succeeded in getting a number of men declared to be deposed from the ministry, and in having other penalties applied to men and women for being zealous to preach the gospel.
If the General Council had not objected to the preaching of the gospel, there would have been no new Presbyterian Church in 1936. These men accomplished schism even while saying they were against it.
Southern Schism—by Whom? – An editorial in The Banner (Christian Reformed Church weekly) of October 8, accuses a number of Christians in the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. (“Southern”) of promoting schism. But, of course, this has the whole thing upside down.
The Bible-loving Christians in the southern Church have not left that church. What they want to prevent is being forced into the ministry and membership of a united Church that would have few or no required standards of belief and teaching. The United Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. has none now except for one sentence that probably excludes honest atheists from its ministry.
Our Christian brethren in the South are not innovating a new church. They are simply declaring that, when the one they now have is abolished by the liberal forces, they intend to continue to have one.
The Sad Necessity – Of course, it is an exceedingly sad thing that this is necessary. If the liberal Protestants now in the Presbyterian Church, U. S. were not promoting schism, through their insistent drive to merge with the United Presbyterian Church, there would be no need for the formation of any new or continuing church. These liberals have already forced the foundation of a new foreign missionary agency to serve Bible-believing Presbyterians in the South.
We think it is uncharitable and contrary to the spirit of Christian love for anyone to say that those who are trying to maintain the authority of the Bible are schismatic. We would be mightily encouraged if the editor of The Banner would break the old liberal tradition of accusing one’s opponents of crimes in order to cover up the fact that you are committing them yourself. If the editor would see to it that all of the facts on both sides of the conflict are stated honestly, he would perform a genuine service to truth; and, we presume, that is what he is interested in.
Dr. Woolley is professor of Church history at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and was one of the original members of the organization that sent Bible-believing missionaries abroad to maintain pure preaching of the Word for the Presbyterians in the 1930s. His article is reprinted by permission from the November issue of THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN.
But liberal Protestants sometimes find a way to be against schism and yet for it at the same time. By saying they are against it, but attacking those Christians who do not agree with them at all points, the liberals actually promote schism.
O. P. C. “Founded” by Liberals – This confusing double-faced approach is going on today; but it is nothing new. In one sense, the major founders of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church were the members of the General Council of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. in the 1930s.
It was these leaders in the old Presbyterian Church who induced the General Assembly of that church to order its lower judicatories to discipline those men and women who were promoting the work of preaching the gospel outside the borders of the United States. The General Council should have welcomed as much preaching of the gospel as possible. Instead, it succeeded in getting a number of men declared to be deposed from the ministry, and in having other penalties applied to men and women for being zealous to preach the gospel.
If the General Council had not objected to the preaching of the gospel, there would have been no new Presbyterian Church in 1936. These men accomplished schism even while saying they were against it.
Southern Schism—by Whom? – An editorial in The Banner (Christian Reformed Church weekly) of October 8, accuses a number of Christians in the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. (“Southern”) of promoting schism. But, of course, this has the whole thing upside down.
The Bible-loving Christians in the southern Church have not left that church. What they want to prevent is being forced into the ministry and membership of a united Church that would have few or no required standards of belief and teaching. The United Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. has none now except for one sentence that probably excludes honest atheists from its ministry.
Our Christian brethren in the South are not innovating a new church. They are simply declaring that, when the one they now have is abolished by the liberal forces, they intend to continue to have one.
The Sad Necessity – Of course, it is an exceedingly sad thing that this is necessary. If the liberal Protestants now in the Presbyterian Church, U. S. were not promoting schism, through their insistent drive to merge with the United Presbyterian Church, there would be no need for the formation of any new or continuing church. These liberals have already forced the foundation of a new foreign missionary agency to serve Bible-believing Presbyterians in the South.
We think it is uncharitable and contrary to the spirit of Christian love for anyone to say that those who are trying to maintain the authority of the Bible are schismatic. We would be mightily encouraged if the editor of The Banner would break the old liberal tradition of accusing one’s opponents of crimes in order to cover up the fact that you are committing them yourself. If the editor would see to it that all of the facts on both sides of the conflict are stated honestly, he would perform a genuine service to truth; and, we presume, that is what he is interested in.
Dr. Woolley is professor of Church history at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and was one of the original members of the organization that sent Bible-believing missionaries abroad to maintain pure preaching of the Word for the Presbyterians in the 1930s. His article is reprinted by permission from the November issue of THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN.