User:Hec7/sandbox

The Confession of 1967 is a confessional standard or guide of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or PC(USA). The Special Committee on a Brief Contemporary Statement of Faith began preparing the Confession of 1967 in 1958; the confession was first published to the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly in 1965. The committee was chaired by Edward Dowey, Jr., professor at Princeton Theological Seminary. It was written as a modern statement of the faith of the then-main national Presbyterian body, the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, to supplement the Westminster Confession and the other statements of faith in its Book of Confessions.

The Confession of 1967 is considered heavily influenced by the neo-orthodox views of Karl Barth, the Niebuhr brothers, and other theologians of the age, reflecting the view of Scripture espoused by the corresponding "biblical theology" movement prominent in mainline Protestant theological schools of that time. During the time that its adoption was being considered by the presbyteries, conservatives, desiring the continuance of strict subscription to only Westminster and the Catechisms, campaigned against its inclusion, as a part of their larger protest against the denomination's increasingly progressive theological and ethical orientation. In one of the first major instances of pressure-group activity within a traditional Protestant denomination, the forerunner of the current-day Presbyterian Layman released several ads which opposed its passage. Despite the opposition, however, it passed the presbyteries by a nearly 90% margin and remains heavily studied in PC(USA) seminaries, although its extent of its use in the parish Christian education context is probably considerably less, due to the endurance of catechismal or biblicist customs in conservative congregations.

Historical context
The Confession of 1967 was part of the Church's response to the alternative social movements of the 1960's. The Sexual Revolution, Woman's Liberation, the Civil Rights movement, and the anti-war effort seemed to clash with the traditional values of the institutionalized church. During this time,spirituality was in vogue, and the popularity Eastern religious practices like grew. A vocal minority of young Americans rejected organized religion a long with the military, government and capitalism  as part of the "Establishment." Though the rebellion of the 1960's is often exaggerated and romanticized as most Americans remained rooted in traditional values, its impact was apparent on the institutions it challenged. As the Church had done throughout its history, it sought reform and revision to remain current and relevant in a period of revolution. In 1844 German theologian Peter Schaff remarked, that the Church was "directed by God to search the Scriptures continually. It belongs to the inmost nature of faith that it should raise itself continuously to clearer consciousness. Christianity is not against reason, but only above reason". In the Presbyterian Church (USA), such a desire to address modern social issues intersected with theological debate over the rise of neoorthodoxy. As result, in 1958 the PC(USA)chose to produce its first addition to the Book of Confession since 1907.

Theology
Much of the confession's text is dedicated to the subject of reconciliation. It is written in three parts which Edward Dowey, Jr., the committee's chairman, designates as representing the faith, the love, the and hope of the Christian tradition.

God's Work of Reconciliation
Section I is an account of the Church's faith. l. It first establishes God's transcendence over humanity, then describes the fall of man to sin, then depicts God's sacrifice and finally calls man to faith as a response to God's grace. It is told as a story of reconciliation, where God "alone reconciles the world to himself" by grace through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, This Reconciliation is one of the Bible's ultimate truths and an eternal promise that God has provided a way to heal the estranged relationship between man and himself after the fall. Section I's message is central to Christian doctrine and is essentially a reaffirmation faith. The confession asserts that the Church has been reconciled to God.

Ministry of Reconciliation
Section II outlines how the Church should respond to God's grace and primarily deals with reconciliation between man. Dowey refers to this section as an expression of Christian love. The Confession states that to be reconciled to God is to be sent into the world as his reconciling community. The Church has been entrusted with God's message of reconciliation and it also shares his labor of healing the enmities which separate men from God and from each other. This part is written as a great call to action and is the committee's response to the great suffering of their time. Throughout, they implore Christians guided by the Holy Spirit to act but cautions them to act with humility, for all men in their sin are compliant with evil. Furthermore, the confession makes clear that it is not a policy paper but points to four areas where it believes the Church has been specifically called to deal with crises in the modern era.

Racial Discrimination
The confession affirms the racial equality of all men, brothers in Christ and condemns those who dominate or patronize one another. It states that "God's reconciling love breaks down every form of discrimination based on racial or ethnic difference." Additionally, the confession claims it is the work of the church to abolish such discrimination in society and care for those who hatred has harmed. .

International Conflict
The confession asserts that the Church should not be a tool of nationalism nor extreme patriotism. Though God may use nations, in Christ there is not one state that stands above the rest. Additionally, the Church is called to be a leader in the search for international cooperation and peace. This is especially relevant in the age of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Enslaving Poverty
The confession claims in a world of plenty, the suffering of those enslaved by poverty is "an intolerable violation of God's good creation". The church is called to uses it resources as Jesus commanded to ease the hardship of the impoverished.

Sexual Anarchy
The confession asserts that the modern world has forgotten the true meaning of sex. By removing it from the sacred bounds of married life and childbearing, it has corrupted part of God's creation. It condemns overpopulation as carelessness and seeks an end to the exploitation of sexual symbols in the media. The church is called to guide society in these matters but is reminded to do so with compassion "for those caught in the moral confusion of our time". .

Fulfillment of Reconciliation
In Section III, the confession proclaims Christianity's hope. While it acknowledges the brokenness of the world, the confession reaffirms God's promise of the renewal and restoration of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. The comittee places their confidence in the work of God and not the strife of man; "in steadfast hope the church looks beyond all partial achievement to the final triumph of God".

Controversies and Theological Infulences
The controverisal element of the Confession of 1967 is not in its message of reconcilation. Instead, conservatives in the Presbyterian Church took issue with its Neo-orthodoxy infulences. These theological changes are subtle and often missed outside of thelogical scholarship.

Revelation The confession describes the Bible as the "word of God" and Jesus Christ as the incarnate "Word of God." As such, it claims Jesus Christ is the only infalliable source of revleation. The Scriptures are demoted to faithful wittnesses to true revelation in Christ. Conservatives believe the Bible to be equally as infalliable. The Confession of 1967 denies the Bible's inerrancy. Accordingly, the confession promotes reading the Bible historically and not literally.

It included a phrase that urged the pursuit of peace, "even at risk to national security."

Social Implications
The Confession of 1967 was a response both to theological discourse within the church and to the social issues of the day. Theologically liberal movements with the Presbyterian Church regarded the Westminster standards as an insufficient reflection of the Church's social teaching. They pointed to the confession's lack of the word neighbor and failure to call the modern church to love and social justice.