# Framework View and Ordination



## Parker234 (Aug 6, 2011)

I am currently a PCA member, and let me say right up front, I am not _necessarily_ persuaded of the Framework view of Genesis 1-2. That being said, I have been giving it some thought lately and spoken with some friends about the subject. I was cautioned about considering the Framework view because in the future I plan to attend Seminary at RTS and God-willing, be ordained in the PCA at some point in the future.

All that is background to say, the reason I was warned about the Framework view was not on grounds that it was wrong, unscriptural, or what have you. I was warned about the view because I am hearing from a lot of people that I could never get ordained in the PCA if I hold the Framework view (even though it appears to be an acceptable position according to the PCA's controversial Creation Study Committee Report).

So that's my question - in your experience, is it impossible to be ordained in the PCA if one holds the Framework view of Genesis? As a potential followup, are there other denominations such as the OPC or URC where such a position is more palatable?

[By the way, this topic is NOT an invitation to debate the merits of the Framework view. This is posted in the "Church Office" forum for a reason. Thank you for respecting the limits of what I want to discuss here.]


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## greenbaggins (Aug 6, 2011)

Adam, that would depend entirely on the Presbytery. Because of the PCA's position paper, many Presbyteries allow people to hold the Framework view. Other Presbyteries do not. So, for instance, Calvary Presbytery in South Carolina does not pass someone holding to the Framework view. Other Presbyteries would pass someone holding that view. It all depends on the Presbytery. That is the current practice, of course. That says nothing about whether this is the way things _ought _to be.


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## Semper Fidelis (Aug 6, 2011)

As Lane mentioned, it is not impossible to be ordained in the PCA but is Presbytery dependent. My own Presbytery recently ordained a man that held to this view. It also depends not merely on whether one holds to the Framework view, per se, but what might also attend to holding that view. A denial of a literal Adam is a much more consequential position as an example.


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## Jack K (Aug 6, 2011)

With any view where you're unsure how examiners will take it, it's generally likely to depend on two things:

1. The examining presbytery. Some presbyteries are more likely than others to be concerned about your view. You'll find elders who find it clearly in violation, others who have no problem with it, and still others who consider it questionable but not reason enough by itself to exclude you.

2. The totality of your doctrinal views and the reasons you hold them. To those who see your view as questionable, if you seem to be capitulating to science it will be a problem. But if your view stems from biblical evidence you can point to, that's likely to be different. If your thinking leads to other questionable views as well, expect to have a harder time. And if you have a long list of "allowable exceptions" to the confessions, that will make things more difficult than if framework is your only issue.

In short, the process is designed to have men examining the whole man, so an automatic answer is not possible. That said, I've been away from PCA matters for about six years now, so there are others on this board who can surely speak better to the specific issue of the framework view and how the PCA machinery has recently handled it.


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