Theological Assessment of B.B. Warfield

A wonderful blog, "Pilgrimage to Geneva," although these able thinkers miss it when it comes to the Book of Common Prayer. They get much right, but get this point wrong.  Nontheless, this is a blog to follow.

http://pilgrimagetogeneva.com/2012/06/27/theological-assessment-of-b-b-warfield/

Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
2012 Spring Theology Conference
A Commemoration of Princeton 1812 -2012

Theological Assessment of B. B. Warfield Dr. Carl Trueman Professor of Historical Theology and Church History and academic dean/vice president for academic affairs at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. A Commemoration of Princeton 1812 -2012, Benjamin B. Warfield, Calvinism, Confessional, Confessions, Dr. Carl Trueman, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Spring Theology Conference, Old Princeton Seminary, Old School Presbyterian, OPC, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Pastoral Ministry, Presbyterian, Princeton Theological Seminary, Ref 21, Reformation 21, Reformed Audio, Reformed Podcasts, Reformed Theology, Theological Assessment of B. B. Warfield, Westminster Standards, Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia

11 Apr 1933: J.G. Machen v. Robert E. Speer, Liberalism in Presbyterian Missions

http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/?p=290

Be Ready Always

Professor J. Gresham Machen
(1881-1937)
Princeton Seminary
Westminster Seminary

The day of the debate had brought a crowd of Presbyterian elders to the sanctuary of the Fourth Presbyterian Church on that day of April 11, 1933. The topic was “Modernism on the Mission Field.” 

And the two individuals engaging in the debate were two “heavies” on opposite sides of the issue.

Dr. J. Gresham Machen was the recognized leader of the conservatives in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Founder and president of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was still a member minister of the New Brunswick, New Jersey Presbytery, though he had tried unsuccessfully to transfer to the Philadelphia Presbytery. Against him was Dr. Robert Speer, present head of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.

Dr. Machen began his presentation with a proposed overture from the Presbytery of New Brunswick to the General Assembly of 1933. The first two of four parts are the key ones, which I will quote word for word from the April 1933 Christianity Today article, and sum up the other two.

The Rev. Dr.
Charles Elliot Speer
(1867-1947)
Presbyterian Churchman
Secretary of Foreign
Missions (1891-1933?)

Point 1 of his overture was: “To take care to elect to positions of the Board of Foreign Missions only persons who are fully aware of the danger in which the Church stands and who are determined to insist on such verities as the full truthfulness of Scripture, the virgin birth of our Lord, His substitutionary death as a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, His bodily resurrection and His miracles, as being essential to the Word of God and our Standards, as being necessary to the message which every missionary under our church shall proclaim.”

In essence, this first proposition simply summed up the Declarations of the General Assembly’s five fundamentals which were considered as essential for the Church, its boards, and its ministers. It specifically repudiated the denials of the same by the Auburn Affirmation in 1924.

Proposition 2 of the proposed overture sought to “instruct the Board of Foreign Missions that no one who denies the absolute necessity of acceptance of such verities by every candidate for this ministry can possibly be regarded as a candidate to occupy the position of Candidate Secretary.”

This proposition addressed the important place which the Candidate Secretary has in ascertaining the theological convictions which each missionary candidate has to serve on the Foreign Field. In other words, in people such as Pearl Buck, who was openly denying the exclusiveness of the gospel of Christ, it is obvious that the Candidate Secretary had “missed the boat” in approving her as being a missionary to China.

The third proposition summed up that those who held that the tolerance of opposing views was more important than an unswerving faithfulness in the proclamation of the Gospel as it is contained in the Word of God, show themselves to be unworthy of being missionaries of the cross.

This proposition was aimed at those who had accepted the fundamental viewpoint of the book, “Rethinking Missions,” that denied the exclusivity of the gospel.

The last proposition sought to warn the Board of the great dangers lurking with union enterprises in view of wide-spread error.

Dr. Speer for his part of the “debate” simply dismissed each of the overture propositions. When the vote was taken on Dr. Machen’s proposed overture, it was voted down by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, with a majority voting in favor of confidence in the Board of Foreign Missions. Dr. Machen, Rev. Samuel Craig, and Dr. Casper Wistar Hodge asked that their names be recorded in dissent of the motion.

For a fuller account of the debate, click here.

PCA-Watch: Video Highlights from the PCA

Wes White offers highlights of the 39th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), reminding this scribe again of the youthfulness and--in many instances--helpfulness of this church.  Largely a southern movement in 1973, with certain emphases, it never was answered:  "Why didn't they join the Orthodox Presbyterian Church? 

http://www.weswhite.net/2011/07/video-highlights-from-the-39th-general-assembly/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=video-highlights-from-the-39th-general-assembly

Video Highlights from the 39th General Assembly

If anybody still remembers the 39th General Assembly, here are a few highlights:

1. Dr. Harry Reeder’s Sermon at the Tuesday Evening Worship Service (@ 49:58).
2. The ARP fraternal delegate states that since being married he has come to appreciate a few minutes of uninterrupted speech (56:30).
3. The debate over paedocommunion during the RPR Report, which recommended that the General Assembly disagree with Pacific Northwest’s decision to ordain a man who held to paedocommunion (129:49).
4. The debate on paedocommunion continues here. TE Andrew Webb and TE Scott Reiber gave excellent speeches in this second section.
5. TE Harry Reeder explained the work of the CMC funding plan subcommitte (75:23).
6. There was an interesting discussion regarding the way overtures came to the floor through the Committee of Commissioners during the report on the Committee of Commissioners for Mission to the world (139:00).
7. TE Wes White makes the least popular request of the General Assembly, asking that all the matters in the AC Committee of Commissioners’ Report be removed from the omnibus motion so that they would be considered individually (14:13).
8. The General Assembly took exception to the minutes of the Board of Directors who signed on to an amicus brief in a political matter (19:22). TEs Art Sartorius and David Coffin gave excellent speeches on this matter.
9. During a debate about a constitutional amendment that would allow for the Presbytery to appoint a temporary Session, TE David Coffin stated that there is no constitutional way for a congregation to call a meeting to approve a temporary session. Listen to RE Jerry Koerkenmeier explain that there is such a constitutional method for the congregation to do this (101:21).

The 75th Anniversary of the OPC, a Valiant Reformed and Confessional Church

http://www.opc.org/GA/media/

75th Anniversary Media

You may watch each session using the player above. To navigate among sessions, click the "play" links below.
If you would prefer to download the sessions, right-click or control-click the links that say "download" below and select "Save Link As...", "Save Target As..." or similar.

• The Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension → download · play
• The Committee on Christian Education → download · play
• 75th Anniversary Banquet, Rev. Donald Poundstone → download · play
• Interviews on the OPC's 75th Anniversary → download · play

Orthodox Presbyterians Rival Gospel Co-Allies Enthusiasm for Enthusiasm

http://oldlife.org/2011/06/23/orthodox-presbyterians-rival-gospel-co-allies-enthusiasm-for-enthusiasm/

General Assemblies are not always like this but the recent OPC GA did assume more the character of a national preaching conference (of course, minus the celebrity pastors) than a regular meeting of the church’s highest judicial body. All of the presentations from the OPC’s standing committees included historical overviews as well as substantial edification and exhortation from God’s word. Don Poundstone, a retired minister and home missionary, rounded out the proceedings with his address at the Saturday night banquet in which he argued, based on Christ’s responses to Pilate (John 18), that the OPC at its best had been a witness to the truth of Scripture and had affirmed that Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. Video recordings of most of the presentations are available here. (Foreign missions talks are unavailable because of the sensitivity of information regarding several fields of ministry.)

Arguably, one of the most moving parts of the Assembly came on Saturday morning during the presentation by the Committee on Christian Education. Part of the proceedings included a talk by Rev. John P. Galbraith, a 98-year old minister who actually studied at Westminster when Machen was still teaching and went on to serve in a variety of capacities, including General Secretary of both the Committee on Home Missions and the Committee on Foreign Missions. Even before speaking — which revealed a man with a mind still sharp and a tongue still eloquent — Galbraith received a standing ovation from commissioners and guests. The first words out of his mouth were those of the apostle Paul, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Galbraith then added, “And you applaud me?”

As near as I could tell, Galbraith’s deflection of applause characterized the week of presentations, devotionals, and sermons. Orthodox Presbyterians were glad to have reached the seventy-fifth birthday, but but they also knew that their history was not sensational or the product of their own faithfulness. (Self-promotion alert: see this point expressed in a different way here.) As cliched as it may have sounded, the truth that human accomplishments were less responsible than God’s grace for the OPC’s “success” was overwhelming sense among all those gathered. Part of the reason must have been that the last time the OPC met to throw a birthday party — in 1986 at Tony Campolo’s Eastern University — the church also voted itself out of existence. That is, the OPC accepted the invitation from the PCA to join and be received into the newer Presbyterian denomination. The proposal did not receive the super-majority of votes needed to be sent to the presbyteries for ratification. But a majority of commissioners in 1986 were willing to hitch their own and longer story to a communion that was less than fifteen years old. After twenty-five years of developments in both denominations, hardly anyone, at least in the OPC, regrets the rejection of J&R.

And so with quiet resolve and restrained joy Orthodox Presbyterians reflected on their past and heard preachers and missionaries recount the mighty deeds of God throughout redemptive history. It was by most accounts a time of great blessing for all who attended, and even prompted some to think that the OPC should sponsor its own national conference. Its speakers, like its history, would not be famous. And so the turnout would be light, insufficient to cover expenses. But those preachers would know their Bibles. Perhaps, just as important, they’d know their place — that the power of their words depends not on their own accomplishments or celebrity but on the God who gave them the word to proclaim.