All of us may not agree with every phrasing of the faith statements: Some sound like echoes of another century, and many people may be anxious whether the "other side" (whichever side they may see as "other") will abide by the new rules. Even so, we welcome the report and sincerely hope we can hear each other in Presbytery and congregational discussions.

On ordination, one of the most contentious issues, the report upholds two complementary positions, recommending that the General Assembly (1) maintain a national standard for ordination (Book of Order G-6.0108), and (2) recognize the responsibility of the governing body that ordains to apply those standards on a case-by-case basis.

The report contains references to Presbyterian history on the second point, but several references are missing in the history of the Presbyterian Church in the USA. I would like to point to some of those.

The history of the Presbyterian Church (USA), which now includes the story of its several parts, is not presented in chronological order anywhere. That is a pity. My outline owes a debt to Lefferts A. Loetscher's The Broadening Church and A Brief History of Presbyterians, and also to the Oxford History of Christianity, ed. John McManners, and Kenneth Scott Latourette's A History of Christianity, vol. II. It would facilitate discussion to have a clear historical outline. Is anyone interested in putting it together?

The report reminds us that the first Presbyterian congregations were established in 1640, and the first Presbytery (Philadelphia) in 1706. A decade later the Synod was organized.

The first major legislation, The Adopting Act, was passed by the General Synod in 1729. The Synod adopted the Westminster Confession and the two catechisms and required all ministers to subscribe to them. They did not have to accept them word-for-word, but "as being in all essential and necessary articles, good forms and sound words and systems of Christian doctrine." Any minister who did not accept part of the Confession or of either catechism needed to state his view; and the ordaining body was to decide whether it involved essential doctrine. Westminster now defined sound theology, but the door was left open for interpretation.

The General Assembly was organized in 1788, at which time a split between Old Side (conservative) and New Side (liberal), which had occurred in 1741, had already been healed. But in 1837 another split occurred, between the Old School and the New School. The two schools came together again in 1869, at least in the northern church. But the struggle went on. Heresy trials were held for Swing, McCune and Briggs. Because of Briggs' trial, in 1892 Union Theological Seminary in New York annulled its agreement with the General Assembly. The battle – not surprisingly – was largely over biblical interpretation.

The General Assembly met in Portland, Oregon, and left for the church The Portland Deliverance: "Our church holds that the inspired Word, as it came from God is without error .. . All who enter office in our Church solemnly profess to received them [i.e., the Scriptures] as the only infallible rule of faith and practice. If they change their belief on this point, Christian honor demands that they should withdraw from our ministry."

"As it came from God" is vague. Is it the King James Version? The Hebrew and Greek texts? The original writings, lost long ago? Whatever it meant, the Old School had won. Conservatives tried to stamp their perspective on the church more and more. In 1895 the General Assembly ordered the Presbytery of New York not to receive under care those who studied in seminaries not approved by the General Assembly (i.e., Union). But in 1897 the Assembly, upon considering the respective powers of the Assembly and the Presbyteries concerning ministerial candidates, "reaffirmed the Assembly action of 1806," which acknowledged that Presbyteries possessed much broader discretionary powers in these matters.

However, the Old School still had the votes and tried to draw the lines in another way. The 1899 General Assembly adopted a declaration that four doctrines were fundamental: (1) the inerrancy of Scripture; (2) the inerrancy of all statements made by Jesus; (3) the belief that the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ; (4) the doctrine of justification through faith alone. Still more certainties were discovered. The 1910 General Assembly embraced a new list of five essentials:

(1) The Holy Spirit so inspired the scribes as "to keep them from errors."

(2) Jesus was "born of the Virgin Mary."

(3) Christ offered himself as "a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice."

(4) "[H]e arose from the dead with the same body in which he suffered."

(5) "[H]e showed his power and love by working mighty miracles."

Then the protest started. In 1924, 97 ministers (including 47 graduates of Union in New York and 2 from Princeton) signed a statement pointing to inconsistencies. This was The Auburn Affirmation. It pointed out that the Adopting Act of 1729, the basis for reunion of the Old and New Schools in 1869, and the Declaratory Statement of 1903 (which modified the Westminster Confession on predestination) all provided an open door for interpretation. The doctrinal deliverances closed the door. The unrest spread. In response the 1925 General Assembly set up a Special Committee (known as the Swearingen Committee) to study the causes of unrest. The Committee reported in each of the next two years. In 1926 the Committee reported on Church Unity. They considered the historical background and found that the Christian principle of toleration was "embedded in the constitution." They said, "The Presbyterian system admits of diversity of view where the core of truth is identical." (The Task Force Report also notes this.) Then the Special Committee added: ".. .the real innovators were those who tried to force the church into unanimity" in responding to theological change.

The report then turned to the "essential and necessary articles." The Adopting Act "conferred no authority on any judicatory to state in categorical terms what doctrines were "essential and necessary" to all candidates and ministers.

Santa Fe, N.M.

The Rev. Dr. Aurelia Fule served for many years on the staff of the Office for Theology and Worship in Louisville.