A Comparison of WCF 23.3 (Of The Civil Magistrate)

Westminster Confession of Faith chapter 23, section 3 is a very interesting section if for no other reason than it has been modified so differently by various American Presbyterian denominations. Below is a link to a PDF I put together with a side-by-side comparison of this section as it appeared in the original Confession, as well as how the ARP, PCA, OPC, RPCNA, EPC, and PCUSA have modified it.

WCF 23.3 Comparison Chart (PDF)

WCF 23.3 Comparison Chart (Word) 

EPC: Speeding Down "PCUSA Road" as Fast as They Can?

I found the sequence of headlines on The Aquila Report this evening interesting. This headline:

Evangelical Presbyterian Church Clears Way for Women to Serve as Pastors

Was followed by this headline:

Will Presbyterian Church USA Redefine Marriage?

And then this one:

PCUSA Net Membership Loss for 2009 Totals 63,000 Members, Another 3%

Does anyone in the EPC realize that one thing leads to another, the end result being the death (spiritual followed by numerical) of your denomination?

I realize that there are a number of churches leaving the PCUSA to go into the EPC, but I wonder if the EPC realizes just how much of the PCUSA they are welcoming into the EPC?

Miracle: The Second Definition

Mostly because of this article written a couple of months ago by Dr. William Evans, I have been paying a bit closer attention to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) than I previously had. I'll save most of my comments about the EPC for a future post (posts?), but I couldn't pass up this article, posted to The Layman Online yesterday:

A Miracle in the Making: Women as Teaching Elders in the EPC

For those of you unfamiliar with The Layman Online, here is point 1 of their Objectives:

1. To provide reliable information and resources concerning significant issues confronting the PCUSA and the Church Universal, thereby equipping and empowering faithful congregations and leaders in the PCUSA and other denominations to fulfill the Great Commission in the 21st century.

So, The Layman is a news outlet for "conservative" PCUSA congregations. Since the PCUSA has been losing "conservative" congregations faster than a oil out of a BP rig, and since a large number of these congregations are finding their way into the EPC, it is no surprise to find this story on The Layman.

What did surprise me was the use of the word "miracle" to describe the EPC's proposed [further] acceptance of women teaching elders. So, I turned to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia to find a definition of "miracle":

The miracle proper is a work of God (Exodus 7:3 ff; Deuteronomy 4:34-35, etc.; John 3:2; 9:32-33; 10:38; Acts 10:38, etc.); but as supernatural acts miracles are recognized as possible to evil agencies (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 13:14; 16:14, etc.).

So, I guess it is a miracle after all. Now, for a definition of equivocation, see the EPC's position paper on women's ordination.