# WCF: PCA Amendments



## Solo Christo (Nov 25, 2005)

> _from pcanet.org:_
> 
> The First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, meeting at the Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Alabama, December 4-7, 1973, adopted the Confession of Faith, the Larger Catechism and the Shorter Catechism as the doctrinal standards of the Church.
> 
> ...



Where can one get access to the minutes of the meetings which resulted in these amendments (especially from 1973)? Or perhaps some writings on the matter?

And would anyone care to comment on these amendments?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Nov 26, 2005)

This previous thread discusses some of the changes. 

The 1973 General Assembly minutes may be available here.


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## Solo Christo (Nov 26, 2005)

Thanks Andrew.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Nov 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Solo Christo_
> Thanks Andrew.



You're welcome, Mike!


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## Contra_Mundum (Nov 27, 2005)

How come this fact is consistently left off the list of 1789 "changes" to the Standards: WLC 109, excision of the phrase: "tolerating a false religion"

???


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Nov 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Contra_Mundum_
> How come this fact is consistently left off the list of 1789 "changes" to the Standards: WLC 109, excision of the phrase: "tolerating a false religion"
> 
> ???



Good question, Bruce. Lee Iron's list of the changes does make reference to WLC 109 but also notes that '"tolerating a false religion" is erroneously printed in various recent editions of the Westminster Standards published by Great Commission Publications.' Perhaps that error -- along with the fact that the phrase consists of just a few words -- makes the amendment more likely to be overlooked. 

I have always found it odd that they didn't change WLC 191 where it says one aspect of praying "Thy kingdom come" means to pray that the church would be "countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrate." Likewise, the section in WCF 23.2 where the civil magistrate is enjoined to "maintain piety." If they were going to be consistently anti-theocratic, I think those clauses should have been deleted too.


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## Contra_Mundum (Nov 27, 2005)

Andrew,
I think the phrase was deleted, not because the Americans were consistently anti-theocratic (many of the states having state-sponsored churches). Rather, I think it was a less-than theological decision, based on contemporary usage of the word in a secular sense and pragmatism. The new country, and the new national presbyterian church, existed in places where Romanism was officially tolerated, Pennsylvania was radically tolerant (which toleration promoted the proliferation of presbyterianism).

In other words,, presbyterians wanted to be thought of as tolerant in the new political state of affairs...


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Nov 27, 2005)

> _Originally posted by Contra_Mundum_
> Andrew,
> I think the phrase was deleted, not because the Americans were consistently anti-theocratic (many of the states having state-sponsored churches). Rather, I think it was a less-than theological decision, based on contemporary usage of the word in a secular sense and pragmatism. The new country, and the new national presbyterian church, existed in places where Romanism was officially tolerated, Pennsylvania was radically tolerant (which toleration promoted the proliferation of presbyterianism).
> 
> In other words,, presbyterians wanted to be thought of as tolerant in the new political state of affairs...



The American Presbyterian Church (excepting the Covenanter tradition) objected to theocratic principles of government espoused by the Westminster Standards as early as 1729. The 1788 revisions came at the same time and place as the formulation of the US Constitution so I would certainly grant that the Presbyterian Church was attempting to conform its standards to those of the new national charter. But I do believe that the American non-Covenanter Presbyterian tradition was uncomfortable in principle and in practice with theocratic formulations in the Westminster Standards from very early on and hence the changes. Their changes though were not entirely consistent and that is reflected today in the tensions that remain between the clauses I cited versus the clauses that were deleted. The changes reflect a drift away from theocracy as taught by the Bible and the Westminster Assembly and towards pluralism and tolerance as found in the modern American Presbyterian church. 

Incidentally, the RPCNA has similar tensions between the the 1646 WCF and the 1980 Testimony regarding church-state relations.


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