Overture 04-52. On Examining the Conscience of Candidates—From the Presbytery of Hudson River.

The Presbytery of Hudson River respectfully overtures the 216th General Assembly (2004) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to approve the following guidance for the church:

“That the General Assembly, out of concern for the peace, unity, purity, and progress of the church, and for the integrity of Christian conscience of its ministers, elders, and deacons does the following:

“1. Affirms the primary role of The Book of Confessions as guide to interpreting Scripture in the ex-amination of candidates for ordination as ministers, elders, and deacons, and their reception or transfer into new installed calls, congregations, or appointments to mission service.

“2. Affirms the freedom of Christian conscience of candidates under God in interpreting articles of faith contained in those confessions, both because the confessions point to the need to interpret Scripture in accordance with ‘saving faith,’ and because the church as a whole has resisted legalism and encourages ever-reforming creativity ‘when it bears a present witness to God’s grace in Jesus Christ’ (The Book of Confessions, 9.01).

“3. Recalls that the words ‘essential and necessary’ articles or tenets were used in the Presbyterian church’s 1729 Adopting Act to point to basic elements of Christian faith found in the Westminster Confes-sion, thus allowing candidates to ‘declare scruples’ on nonessential elements in those standards, rather than compel ‘strict subscription’ or absolute conformity to any document, system, or doctrinal words secondary to Scripture.

“4. Affirms the responsibility of presbyteries to safeguard the process of spiritual discernment in search processes, the collegial ethos of mutual respect among presbyters, and the healthy range of congre-gational vocations, by not elevating the use of particular lists of ‘essentials’ or ‘fundamentals’ over our con-fessions or Scripture itself.

“5. Encourages committees on preparation for ministry and committees on ministry to help candidates, congregations, and presbyteries resist any ‘politicization’ of the call process that would enforce checklists of doctrinal particulars, while also ensuring a wholeness of Trinitarian faith and understanding of Presbyterian and Reformed tradition in each individual candidate.”

Rationale

“The whole counsel of God” is contained in the Bible, according to the Westminster Confession (The Book of Confessions, 6.006); other confessions and amendments to Westminster stress more the continuing witness of the Holy Spirit in the heart of each believer. In 1729, when the first North American Presbyterian church was formed, it affirmed the right of candidates to declare “scruples” on matters that were to others crucial, such as the fate of unbaptized children. Such disputed matters were deemed “nonessential articles” in “the system of doctrine” that Westminster was purported to contain. After the divisive experience of the church with lists of “fundamentals” in the 1920s, the church chose to develop a Book of Confessions rather than any inevitably limited list of essentials. In a parallel way, 20th century biblical theology lifted up the great themes of Scripture and showed the limits of using “proof texts” in exegesis.

In times of controversy, it may be tempting to simplify the identity of the church on a regional or other basis. The great Reformed themes of “God alone, Scripture alone, Christ alone, grace alone, and faith alone” invite us to unity and mutual encouragement. Our 20th century confessions point us to essential acts of love and justice in the world. This overture encourages us to affirm the wisdom of the whole denomination and the responsibility of presbyteries to care for individual candidates and congregations in light of the truth of the whole Gospel.