What's Up With the Presbyterians?

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Originally posted by fredtgreco
One final thing that I don't understand. You say that:

the Puritans were ejected en masse as soon as the Anglican liturgy was re-imposed on the Church of England in the 1660's. They chose to separate from the Church of England rather than to worship using the Book of Common Prayer for the sake of unity. In discussing the British Puritans' view on church unity as it relates to pure worship, it is important to distinguish between the church as it was reforming prior to 1660 and as it was deforming after 1660. Before, they stayed in the church and pressed for reformation; afterwards, they left the church en masse. Those who were called Puritans then became Non-Conformists.

It is my understanding that the Puritans remained in the Anglican Church for some years after the imposition of the Prayer Book and other matters. They never in fact "left" but where thrown out in the Great Ejection in 1662, when their ordinations were taken from them.

King Charles II was restored to the monarchy in 1660. Immediately certain Covenanters were arrested and executed. James Guthrie was executed in 1661. The Covenants were burned publically in London in 1661. The 1662 Act of Uniformity which required the use of the Book of Common Prayer among other things took effect on August 24, 1662 (known as Black Bartholomew's Day) and on that same day all Puritan ministers who would not agree to the terms of the Act were required to vacate their churches and manses. There was no time gap between when the Act took effect and when the Puritans left their churches and manses. 2000 Puritan ministers left the Church of England that day and officially became non-conformists.

The restoration of the monarchy (1660) also restored Anglicanism, and the Puritan clergy were expelled from the Church of England under the terms of the Act of Uniformity (1662). Thereafter English Puritans were classified as Nonconformists.

Source

It is referred to as the Great Ejection because the Puritans were ejected en masse on one day (the day the law took effect). Any ministers who agreed to abide by the law could stay in their churches and manses. Those who were ejected chose to leave because they could not in good conscience employ the Book of Common Prayer and other requirements made by the law.

 

[Arch2k]

From Reformed Theology of Worship - RPCNA

3.4. Unity of the ChurchChurches whose worship practices conform to the regulative principle of worship should enjoy and demonstrate unity in their most central purpose on earth. Worship governed by the Scriptures will be centered on Christ Jesus through the means of grace instituted in His Word. Such worship will avoid the temptation to innovate that has led to the fraying of the connection between contemporary Protestant worship practices and the worship of Christian churches in the past. Christ prayed that we would be one, a prayer that includes not only the Church living at any given time on earth but the Church through all of time (John 17:20-21; Heb.11:29-30). The surest path to vindicating this catholicity of the Church in worship is to worship according to the rule of the Scriptures. At the time of the Reformation, it was necessary for Christian leaders to guard the liberty of conscience of worshipers against centralized ecclesiastical tyranny. Today, we must guard the liberty of conscience of worshipers against the tendency of every congregation to claim the right to worship as it sees fit, where worship is redefined through practice, not biblical principle. We must not forget that it is Christ who is at the center of the worship of the Church, and that the Church´s worship is a response to His call to come before God. The Church enters into the heavenly sanctuary and bows before her Lord. This is not a place for self-expression or creativity. This is a place for holy reverence and joyful submission to His revealed will.

 

[fredtgreco]

Originally posted by Jeff_Bartel
From Reformed Theology of Worship - RPCNA

3.4. Unity of the ChurchChurches whose worship practices conform to the regulative principle of worship should enjoy and demonstrate unity in their most central purpose on earth. Worship governed by the Scriptures will be centered on Christ Jesus through the means of grace instituted in His Word. Such worship will avoid the temptation to innovate that has led to the fraying of the connection between contemporary Protestant worship practices and the worship of Christian churches in the past. Christ prayed that we would be one, a prayer that includes not only the Church living at any given time on earth but the Church through all of time (John 17:20-21; Heb.11:29-30). The surest path to vindicating this catholicity of the Church in worship is to worship according to the rule of the Scriptures. At the time of the Reformation, it was necessary for Christian leaders to guard the liberty of conscience of worshipers against centralized ecclesiastical tyranny. Today, we must guard the liberty of conscience of worshipers against the tendency of every congregation to claim the right to worship as it sees fit, where worship is redefined through practice, not biblical principle. We must not forget that it is Christ who is at the center of the worship of the Church, and that the Church´s worship is a response to His call to come before God. The Church enters into the heavenly sanctuary and bows before her Lord. This is not a place for self-expression or creativity. This is a place for holy reverence and joyful submission to His revealed will.

This is question begging, and does not explain then why the dozens of small denominations that have not only the same WCF 21 on worship - but the same interpretation of it are not united.

 

[JohnV]

To all:

I must apologize for my curt attitude lately. I should just stay out of threads like this. I know what's going on, because I am in the middle of it. As a matter of fact, it is focused on me. And it hurts, not only to be refused communion all these years, but to have anathemas hanging on me whenever I go to worship. It is so hard.

But that's no excuse. I'm going to try to refrain from posting further on such subjects. And I ask you all to forgive me for coming down hard and judgmental sometimes.

Instead, I'm going to open up a new thread on things that I left over a year ago, the Ontological Argument: updated. I've had quite a few discoveries since then, and that's why I left it alone, so that I could work on them.

Meanwhile, if we're all aiming to be one, like we are on this Board in spite of our differences and our problems, then I will most definitely support that endeavour. I have always supported those with whom I disagree, and I will strive to continue to do so.