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Discover the church’s core beliefs
and practices
The theology of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is rooted
in Scripture and expressed in The Book of Confessions. Watch
these video segments in which staff of the Theology Worship and Education
ministry area discuss some of the church’s core beliefs and practices.
Confessional Resources
The conflicts among us — both the big and the little
ones — are evidence of our struggle to define the character
of Christian community. What will we say “Yes” to
and what will we say “No” to? What is essential
if community is to be Christian? What is important if Christian
community is to be identifiably Reformed? What is a matter of
pastoral and ecclesial discretion? We don’t agree about
these things, of course. But we are not the first people to
ask the questions. We do not have to bear the weight of these
problems alone.
The confessions may be particularly important at times when
the church faces pressures from the culture, raising questions
of identity distinct from the culture, or when the church faces
conflict within, raising questions about the shape of evangelical
identity, for these are precisely the situations that gave rise
to most of our confessional standards. Since we are challenged
by the same issues that challenged the confessions’ framers,
we can listen and learn from the ways they understood the crises,
and the ways they responded. And as we listen to those who have
gone before us, we may even discover that we are able to listen
more openly to those who are with us now.
The Belhar Confession
The 216th General Assembly (2004):
- Commends the Belhar Confession to the church for reflection, study, and
response, as a means of deepening the commitment of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
to dealing with racism and a means of strengthening its unity;
- Requests the General Assembly Mission Council, Office of Theology and Worship,
to prepare materials to facilitate churchwide reflection and study;
- Urges each presbytery and all congregations to undertake a study of the
Belhar Confession before the 218th General Assembly (2008);
- Directs the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Mission Council, Office of Theology and Worship, to receive responses, prepare
a summary, and report results to the 218th General Assembly (2008), together
with possible recommendations for further engagement with the Belhar Confession.
Toward that end, the text of the Belhar Confession can be downloaded here.
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