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Church leaders refute Presbyterian Layman charges

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"A Call for Civility"

Rogers, Kirkpatrick reject ''apostasy'' accusation

by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE -- August 7, 2001 - In a strongly worded letter to the board of directors of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, the moderator and stated clerk of the General Assembly have asked the conservative group to "reconsider" its accusation in the July issue of The Presbyterian Layman that the 213th General Assembly was "apostate."

The American Heritage Dictionary defines apostasy as "an abandonment of one's religious faith, political party, cause or principles."

An editorial in the post-Assembly issue of the bimonthly tabloid newspaper, published by the Presbyterian Lay Committee, pointedly refused to call the General Assembly by its name, referring to it instead as a "Convention Center gathering."

In another column in the same issue, Presbyterian Lay Committee chairman Robert L. Howard of Wichita, Kan., wrote: "The Louisville conclave does not deserve to be called a General Assembly of the Church. A Gross Aberration is more descriptive."

In their letter to the group, Rogers and Kirkpatrick affirmed that "you certainly have the right to express disagreement with actions of an Assembly," but told the Lay Committee that the charge of apostasy "is clearly beyond the spirit of our ordination vows."

The full text of the Rogers-Kirkpatrick letter, dated Aug. 3 and also sent to commissioners to the Assembly and to middle governing body offices :

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

We greet you in the name of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. We write you out of solemn duty as officers of the 213th General Assembly. We write in reference to the editorial in the Presbyterian Layman entitled "An Apostate Assembly."

The editorial reads in part:

"We declare this Convention center gathering [213th General Assembly] an apostate assembly. We do so fully aware of the gravity of that charge. The root word is apo-histanai. Histanai means "to stand" and "apo" means to depart from that stand. An apostate assembly is one that has abandoned its religious tradition and the moral principles that emanate from it. That is precisely what this assembly has done."

Apostasy refers to the total repudiation and abandonment of the Christian faith. Historically, apostasy is only declared by a church court which has rendered a judgment only in response to the gravest of offenses in teaching, usually by individual members, but from time to time by other church courts or churches. When apostasy is declared, it serves as a basis for denying the authority of the body under judgment and as the basis for breaking Christian fellowship with its members. We do not believe that a body like the Lay Committee, which is not a church, has the authority to declare apostasy and would respectfully submit that such a judgment on the 213th General Assembly is in error.

The 568 commissioners whose actions you have unilaterally declared to be apostate began the assembly by affirming that "Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior" during the their initial commissioning on Sat., June 9, 2001. These commissioners were duly elected by their presbyteries. They are ministers of Word and Sacrament (primarily local church pastors) and elders, who serve on the session in their local congregations. They were chosen to be commissioners because of their distinguished and faithful service in their presbyteries. They spent many hours in prayer and in preparation for their work at General Assembly. While at the assembly, they engaged in daily worship and in private devotions. During the plenary sessions they sang with enthusiasm the great hymns of the church, recited our historic confessions, and a holy quiet descended upon the hall when they were called to prayer. These ministers and elders, men and women, young and old, sought to discern the mind of Christ and to represent their fellow Presbyterians well and faithfully. There is no evidence that they sought to abandon their faith or their moral principles. Your editorial suggests two reasons that the 213th General Assembly was apostate:

	that "rather than affirm the Church's faith that Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all, the assembly played politics with the faith"
	that the assembly voted to remove the "fidelity and chastity" language found in G-6.0106b.

In its action on salvation through Jesus Christ the assembly declared:

"We confess the unique authority of Jesus Christ as Lord. Every other authority is finally subject to Christ. Jesus is also uniquely Savior. It is his life, death, resurrection, ascension and final return that restores creation, providing salvation for all those whom God has chosen to redeem. Although we do not know the limits of God's grace and pray for the salvation of those who may never come to know Christ, for us the assurance of salvation is found only in confessing Christ and trusting Him alone. We are humbled in our witness to Christ by our realization that our understanding of him and his way is limited and distorted by our sin. Still the transforming power of Christ in our lives compels us to make Christ known to others."

While one may have preferred different language to affirm the teaching of Scripture about Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it is simply not appropriate to equate the General Assembly's statement on salvation in Jesus Christ as a repudiation of the Christian faith.

The second action that you cite, the proposal to amend G-6.0106, is certainly an action which many faithful Presbyterians believe is contrary to God's will, but it cannot constitute apostasy. This provision only became part of the Form of Government in 1997, and no one would suggest that the church was apostate for all the years prior to the adoption of this particular Constitutional revision. It should also be noted that the assembly did not take final action on this matter. That can only be done with the affirmative vote of a majority of the presbyteries on the proposed constitutional amendment.

In our ordination vows we promise to be governed by our church's polity, abide by its discipline, and be a friend among our colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God's Word and Spirit. (G-14.0207). The right to disagree with the actions of a General Assembly and to seek to change such policies is a fundamental principle of Presbyterian governance. It is also an established constitutional truth that "all councils may err." (G-1.0307). You certainly have the right to express disagreement with actions of an Assembly and to work through duly constituted governing bodies to change them. However, to imply the abandonment of Christian faith and to presume to make solemn declarations of apostasy on faithful ministers and elders duly elected to serve as commissioners by their presbyteries is clearly beyond the spirit of our ordination vows.

We urge you to reconsider your charge of apostasy on the 213th General Assembly and the ministers and elders who served as its commissioners.

May God's richest blessings be with you!

In His Service,

Rev. Jack Rogers,
Moderator of the 213th General Assembly

Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick,
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

cc: Commissioners to the 213th General Assembly

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