Judging and Confessing

          Our current “We Confess” series is looking at how Presbyterian Confessions of Faith speak of the big questions of life and belief. It is a good reminder of the care with which our faith forbears have sought to discuss the workings of God.

          It makes for a healthy contrast to the shoot-from-the-hip religious pronouncements of some very public figures. Recently, Rev. Pat Robertson declared that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke was divine retribution for Sharon’s plan to cede some land to Palestinians (he later apologized). It was reminiscent of Rev. Jerry Falwell’s famous statement after the September 11 attacks saying they were partly due to God’s anger at “the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians.”

          It’s easy for individuals to claim to speak for God when they have a bias to uphold, or a political axe to grind. A recent Boston Globe editorial contrasted these judgments with words from Martin Luther King, Jr. the night before he was killed: “I just want to do God’s will.”

          Presbyterians who want to do God’s will turn to scripture, of course, and also to the Confessions. They show how fellow believers have applied scripture to theological questions and historical crises through the centuries. They aren’t God’s Word, but have the weight and legitimacy that come from the church’s approval and use through centuries (or decades).

          When Presbyterian preachers preach, or teachers teach, or spokespersons speak, they too may make from-the-hip-remarks (being just as tempted as anyone else). But what they say must be considered alongside our Confessions of Faith. These don’t dictate what must be said, and they don’t provide answers for every issue thoughtful Christians face, but they do show the boundaries within which our particular faith has been expressed, and offer a sort of “roadmap” of major themes.

          For example, Presbyterians in response to Robertson or Falwell would find in our Confessions a strong emphasis on the sovereignty of God. This has as a kind of “flip side” a strong caution against claiming God’s authority to pronounce judgment on others. They would also need to consider the strong evidence from our Confessions that God in Christ acts far more reconcile our broken relationships than to take sides and punish.

          Presbyterians can speak prophetically – but recognize that the message must ultimately be a working out of the time-tested patterns we find in our Confessions. They guide us to “bear a present witness” to God’s word in the age in which we live.

Peace,

Rod