All Comments for: Ready to Implode? | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Free Newsletters:

RSS Feeds |

Audio |

Twitter

Home > 2007 > April

Christianity Today, April, 2007 |

Ready to Implode?

PCUSA congregations prepare shift to Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Leslie Scanlon | posted 3/15/2007 04:42PM

Fed up with what they see as a liberal slide in the Presbyterian Church (USA), the New Wineskins Association of Churches voted February 9 to initiate a significant shift in the Reformed world.

Meeting ...

[Reader Reviews]

Average User Rating:

Rate and Comment on this article

Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 comments.

Page: 1

Show All

Greg Livingstone

Posted: March 29, 2007 8:22 AM

The EPC brings Presbyterians back to their original world mission mandate: the Muslim World. 70% of EPC's missionaries are doing pioneer church planting among Muslims in Africa and Asia. Many of our churches have women elders, and both charismatics and Democrats are fully "at home". As a former UPUSA elder, rejected by their Mission Commission because "the Muslims don't need Christ", I ended my search for openhearted, compassionate biblical people in the the EPC! It's a great church!

iCalvinst

Posted: March 22, 2007 11:12 AM

I grew up in this denomination, I was offered a free scholarship to their flagship seminary (Princeton), but turned it down to attend Westminster (their historic rival) instead because they were not truly Reformed. They do not believe in the literal physical resurrection of Christ, nor the virgin birth, and they have long surrendered the inerrancy of scripture. If there was hope of Reforming the denomination I might have stayed, but this is a denomination that is able to hold its churches hostage on issues of polity simply because they own the buildings (real estate) in which they worship. I for one am glad to see this day, though I expected it 14 years earlier. Women who would seek ordination can join Joyce Meyer or the Episcopalians, I don't see the problem since honest adherence to the Westminster Standards (our historic confessions) were never important to them anyway. To those who believe PCUSA is an evangelical denomination, they haven't been since the 1920's.

Anna	Posted: March 18, 2007 1:17 AM

Mother, Child and womb to replace Father, Son and Holy Ghost. You can go to the Unitarian Church for that crap. So for same sex they're changing the beliefs of the Church. I want to ask Jesus who is a man what he thinks of this new religion. Who are these General Assembly voters reinventing our Church and what churches are sending them. They don't read the Bible and definitely haven't studied church history and its Christian beliefs. They seem to be sporting their own Reformation and a new church with new beliefs. Is the Nicene Creed next. Oh, the Eucharist, will that be celebrated as a sex orgy. This is a easy way to get the church buildings and the name of a mainstream church without the work of starting and building up a new church with new beliefs. Meantime the true Presbyterian believers who do read the Bible and follow Presbyterian beliefs have to start all over again rebuilding Presbyterianism. All so some can sink to the cravings of their bodies and not put their eyes on Jesus

sue	Posted: March 15, 2007 7:38 PM


Such disgust is oozing through this comment. When ever we state that "All liberals" are enemies of God we as Christians can rightfully be accused of judgement and intolerance. How do you actually define a "liberal"? How can this person know exactly what God's ideas are? Such an overstatement that the war is God's idea is ridiculous no matter how you few the war.

Greg	Posted: March 15, 2007 5:12 PM


It's about fear of real equality, fear of diversity, a hathotic reaction to threats to established power hierarchies and a kneejerk prejudice towards gays. Literal interpretation has always been about domination and submission of others. Denominations that split over gays as they once split over abolitionism (just before my grandfather was born) should simply be abandoned.

James D. Roper

Posted: March 15, 2007 2:03 PM


The recent situation with the Episcopal Church (USA) and now this with the PCUSA gives me great hope. As an evangelical pastor in the United Methodist Church, such an arrangement might not be out of the question for us, too. We'll have to wait and see.

Rick Murray

Posted: March 15, 2007 1:24 PM

New Wineskins is premature in setting a gateway for departure. I prefer to be part of the "faithful remnant" in the PCUSA. I'm struck by the fact that Jesus never advocated leaving the church of his day as off base as it was. I'm challenged by the fact that Paul, for the most part, preached to the Jewish "church" first and then when he got kicked out house churches began to mulitply in every city. I agree with Ron Scates that PCUSA may implode and it would be far wiser to have like minded and linked up churches around the country able to help pick up the pieces.

Walter

Posted: March 15, 2007 12:01 PM


Getting serious about Scripture and not just over who is in charge. That´s refreshing. J.Gresham Machen would be pleased. "New Wineskins" seems to be a needed addition to other denominations, as well. Let´s hope it catches on.

Elizabeth P.

Posted: March 15, 2007 11:25 AM


A helpful article on how our evangelical brothers and sisters in the PCUSA are dealing with an increasingly troubling denominational structure. It will be interesting to see how the EPC adjusts to a possibly large influx of formerly PCUSA churches.

Carl T. Fynboe

Posted: March 15, 2007 11:24 AM

The "New Wineskins", I believe, describes very well the dilemma facing several of the mainline churches regarding the Authority of Scripture as it relates to the Inspired Truth of the Word of God as found in the Old and New Testaments. Even though new associations of Christian Churches will be established on withdrawal from these mainline denominations, there will be a common thread which binds all of us together in worshipping the one Triune God in His One True Church under the banner of the Words of Christ. Are too many of our mainline American Protestant churches bodies tending in the direction of preaching a social, secular gospel, and forgetting our foundational roots in the Scriptures as inspired by God and His Writers? We continue to pray for His Guidance and Wisdom.

Raymond Takashi Swenson

Posted: March 15, 2007 11:11 AM

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am amazed that so many other Christians want to exclude me and other "Mormons" from Christianity because we believe the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three separate persons who are unified in purpose and power but not a single substance, while "mainline" churches are still considered Christian even if they do a sex change for God the Father. Many mainline church ministers deny the reality of the resurrection, but are still "Christian", while Mormons, who reaffirm the Biblical witness of the empty tomb and the living, wounded Christ are assailed for allegedly worshipping a "different Jesus." Mainline churches increasingly ordain unrepentant homosexuals as ministers, but Mormons are criticized over marriage practices that were stopped a century ago. Mormons know and believe the Bible. Evangelical Christians have more in common in core Christian beliefs with their Mormon neighbors than with many mainline churches

Narrow Road

Posted: March 15, 2007 10:03 AM

We are in the time of the apostasy. It is utterly insane to think that a homosexual or lesbian can come into the christian faith and receive salvation without repentance of there abominal sin. But such is the case and this time was prophesied. So leave the false teachers and liberal christian to there assured destruction. Never, ever take the side of the palestinians against Israel. For isreal has been fighting the Beast (Islam) with little help. www.abrahamic-faith.com get the book ISLAM PEACE OR BEAST. God will put an end to Islam when he returns as written in Zechariah 14. The war in Iraq is God's idea as the USA is fallowing up the ground so that the Islamic anti-christ can appear on the scene and threaten Israel and invade Jerusaelm as stated in Zecharia 14. All liberals and muslims are the enemies of God. Stand fast elightened brothers and sisters because things are going to get interesting. Praise God for his soon coming SON.

Page: 1

E-mail this page

Write CT

Print this article

Post a comment