The Office of Theology and Worship is charged with working on theological issues in all aspects of life: from reflection on the confessions, to exploring the connections between the Triune God and everyday life, to dealing with the theological and ethical implications of science.
Our Challenging Way is our explanation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s statement on marriage, faithfulness, sex and ordination. You can find our full statement and explanation of Our Challenging Way here.
Faith and Polity
At our 2012 General Assembly in Pittsburgh we found ourselves facing a basic question: what is the relationship between our confession of faith and our polity? This is not a new question. We have faced this question repeatedly, since the early days of Presbyterians in the United States. Barry Ensign-George and Charles Wiley reflect on this important question in “Constituting Us: Confessions and Polity in the PC(USA).
Christology
The comprehensive witness of the Book of Confessions is sufficient to lead, instruct, and guide the church. From time to time, however, questions arise in the church that call for careful articulation of a particular aspect of Christian faith, drawing upon the testimony of the confessions in a way that illuminates the unique and authoritative witness of the Scriptures. Such occasions do not require a new confession, but rather a faithful expression of the consistent teaching of Scripture and the confessions. In this way, we may be helped to reappropriate central affirmations of the faith and to renew our faithful witness in the world.
In recent times, some within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have expressed understandings of Jesus Christ that other Presbyterians believe breach the limits of Scripture and the church’s confessions. Many Presbyterians have been dissatisfied with responses to the controversy, and some have questioned the clarity of the General Assembly’s affirmation of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
The 213th General Assembly (2001) requested the Office of Theology and Worship to help the church better understand the theological richness of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The Office of Theology and Worship has prepared a concise articulation of the church’s historic faith, which also expresses our clear convictions.
Related Papers
Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ
The 214th General Assembly (2002) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted (497-11-5) to affirm “Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ,” commend it to the church, and urge its study throughout the church.
The Crucified One is Lord
Confessing the Uniqueness of Christ in a Pluralist Society. Commission on Theology, Reformed Church in America.
Esperanza en el Señor Jesucristo
Reciban abundancia de gracia y de paz mediante el conocimiento que tienen de Dios y de JesÏs, nuestro Seøor.
Jesus is Lord
How the Earliest Christian Confession Informs Our Proclamation in a Pluralistic Age, by Marianne Meye Thompson, Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary.
Is there saving grace for those who do not profess faith in Jesus Christ?
Rev. Dr. Malcolm Brownlee, Interim Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Beckley, WV.