Bible Presbyterian Church
Bible Presbyterian Church | |
---|---|
Evangelical Presbyterian Church, American Presbyterian Church, Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church | |
Congregations | 28 |
Members | 3,500 |
The Bible Presbyterian Church is an
The denomination comprises 28 churches, 27 in the United States and 1 church in
History
Origin
The Bible Presbyterian Church was formed in 1937, predominantly through the efforts of such
The Bible Presbyterian Church broke from the
The other faction espoused a conservatism that showed a more keen interest in cultural and political matters, and saw the actions of the PCUSA as symptomatic of a rejection of long-held principles of conservative Christianity by much of the larger American society. This group was essentially fundamentalist in nature, and became associated with the "Bible" faction. McIntire laid the basis for much of what was to come to be called the "Christian right" in American religion and politics.
Two main issues made the existence of these factions within the Orthodox Presbyterian Church evident. The first had to do with a classic Reformed piety over against a piety of fundamentalism. It came down to a conflict over the use of
The second issue was over faithfulness to
First split
From 1955 to 1956, a fairly acrimonious split occurred in the Bible Presbyterian Church, resulting in the Bible Presbyterian Church Collingswood Synod and the Bible Presbyterian Church Columbus Synod.
While the Bible Presbyterian Church Collingswood Synod remained under the influence of McIntire, the BPC Columbus Synod, which included such men as
Shortly before the split, the Bible Presbyterian Church had established Covenant College and Covenant Theological Seminary, both of which would be supported by the BPC Columbus Synod/Evangelical Presbyterian Church and both would follow the Evangelical Presbyterian Church into first the RPCES and then the PCA.
Second split
The remaining synod retained the name "Bible Presbyterian Church." In the 1970s, a group of churches split from the denomination, espousing a
Third split
On March 28, 2008, the South Atlantic Presbytery voted by a wide margin to disassociate from the Bible Presbyterian Synod, in opposition to formal relations recently established between the Synod and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The presbytery took the name Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church.
Recent history
Today the North American body has 33 congregations. Bible Presbyterians do not have synod-controlled boards for missions and education, but annually approve independent agencies for mission work, as well as colleges and seminaries.
Doctrine
The Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, and Shorter Catechism was adopted in the first Bible Presbyterian Synod in 1938. The Synod adheres to the 1788 American Revision of the Westminster Confession.[4]
The denomination describes itself as an
General Synod
No. | Year | Date | City | Venue | Moderator | Stated Clerk | Assistant Stated Clerk |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 1938 | Sep 6-8 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev J U Selwyn Toms | Rev Dr H McAllister Griffiths | ||
2nd | 1939 | Nov 14-16 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Harold S Laird | Rev G Douglas Young | ||
3rd | 1940 | Oct 22-24 | Chester, PA | Rev Dr Allan A MacRae | Rev G Douglas Young | ||
4th | 1941 | Oct 14-16 | Charlotte, NC | Rev Edgar A Dillard | Rev G Douglas Young | ||
5th | 1942 | Nov 5-10 | St. Louis, MO | Rev J Gordon Holdcroft | Rev Stanley P Allen | ||
6th | 1943 | Oct 14-19 | Wilmington, DE | Eld Roland K Armes | Rev Stanley P Allen | ||
7th | 1944 | Oct 12-17 | Greenville, SC | Rev Dr J Oliver Buswell, Jr | Rev Stanley P Allen | ||
8th | 1945 | May 24–29 | Harvey Cedars, NJ |
Harvey Cedars Bible Presbyterian Conference | Rev Flournoy Shepperson, Sr | Rev Stanley P Allen | |
9th | 1946 | May 23–28 | Collingswood, NJ | Bible Presbyterian Church of Collingswood | Rev Dr Carl McIntire | Rev Robert Hastings | |
10th | 1947 | Jul 17-22 | Tacoma, WA | Tacoma Bible Presbyterian Church | Rev Dr Roy T Brumbaugh | Rev Robert Hastings | |
11th | 1948 | May 13–19 | Nashville, TN | Bible Presbyterian Church of Nashville | Rev Francis A Schaeffer | Rev Robert Hastings | |
12th | 1949 | May 16–31 | Baltimore, MD | Bible Presbyterian Church of Baltimore | Eld Dr Peter Stam, Jr | Rev Robert Hastings | |
13th | 1950 | Jun 1-6 | St Louis, MO | First Bible Presbyterian Church of St Louis | Rev G Douglas Young | Rev Robert Hastings | |
14th | 1951 | May 31 - Jun 5 | New York, NY | Shelton College | Rev John W Sanderson, Jr | Rev Robert Hastings | |
15th | 1952 | Aug 21-26 | Pasadena, CA | Highland College | Rev Dr Robert G Rayburn | Rev Robert Hastings | |
16th | 1953 | Jun 4-9 | Elkins Park, PA | Faith Theological Seminary | Rev William A Mahlow | Rev Robert Hastings | |
17th | 1954 | Jun 3-9 | Greenville, SC | Bible Presbyterian Church of Greenville | Rev Dr Linwood G Gebb | Rev Robert Hastings | |
18th | 1955 | Jun 2-8 | St Louis, MO | Rev Dr J Oliver Buswell, Jr | Rev Robert Hastings | ||
19th | 1956 | Apr 5-11 | St Louis, MO | Rev Dr R Laird Harris | Rev W Harold Mare | ||
20th | 1956 | Nov 23-27 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Carl McIntire | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Emanuel Peters | |
21st | 1957 | Nov 2-6 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Clyde J Kennedy | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev John E Janbaz | |
22nd | 1958 | Oct 22-27 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Charles E Richter | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev John E Janbaz | |
23rd | 1959 | Oct 21-26 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Arthur G Slaght | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Robert B Vandermey | |
24th | 1960 | Oct 19-24 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev John E Janbaz | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Robert B Vandermey | |
25th | 1961 | Oct 19-24 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr J Philip Clark | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Robert B Vandermey | |
26th | 1962 | Oct 17-22 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Albert B Dodd | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Robert B Vandermey | |
27th | 1963 | Oct 16-22 | Cape May, NJ | Christian Admiral | Rev Dr George W Fincke, Jr | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev James Blizzard |
28th | 1964 | Oct 14-20 | Cape May, NJ | Christian Admiral | Rev Dr Lynn Gray Gordon | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev James Blizzard |
29th | 1965 | Oct 19-25 | Cape May, NJ | Christian Admiral | Rev Dr Carl McIntire | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev James Blizzard |
30th | 1966 | May 18–23 | Boston, MA | Statler Hilton Hotel |
References
- ^ a b c "Report on Presbyterian Denominations in the United States". February 15, 2014. Archived from the original on Nov 11, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "History of the American Presbyterian Church". Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "Churches Federated to the American Presbyterian Church". Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "WCF -- Bible Presbyterian Church General Synod".
- ^ "Bible Presbyterian Church General Synod".