423:, p. 65) quotes the following excerpt from the Pacific Act: "that if any person called upon to subscribe shall scruple any phrase or phrases in the Confession, he shall have leave to use his own expressions, which the Presbytery shall accept of, providing they judge such a person sound in the faith and that such expressions are consistent with the substance of the doctrine, and that such explications shall be inserted in the Presbytery books; and that this be a rule not only in relation to candidates licensed by ourselves, but all intrants into the ministry among us, tho' they have been licensed or ordained elsewhere."
221:. The synod affirmed their belief in religious liberty and the independence of the church from government interference, declaring that it did "not receive those articles in any such sense as to suppose the civil magistrate hath a controlling power over Synods with respect to the exercise of their ministerial authority; or power to persecute any for their religion".
251:] in the Church's theological history", while also formally tying that theology to the Westminster Standards. Nevertheless, the ambiguity surrounding the meaning of "essential and necessary articles" would lead to further controversy in later years as the range of alternative interpretations continued to expand.
176:
Ethnic and cultural tensions fed the controversy because New
Englanders also felt that the Scottish and Scotch-Irish clergy were attempting a takeover of the synod. The Scotch-Irish party outnumbered the New Englanders, and the number of Scotch-Irish ministers and churches only increased over time as
148:
of New Castle
Presbytery and was supported by Presbyterians with Scotch-Irish and Scottish backgrounds. Thomson argued that the theology contained in the Westminster Standards, though not the document itself, had scriptural authority. The Scotch-Irish were convinced, based on their experience in the
258:
in 1789, it adopted a new formula for ordination. Ministerial candidates were asked, "Do you sincerely receive and adopt, the confession of faith of this church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the holy
Scriptures?" The phrase "system of doctrine" was widely interpreted in the spirit
127:
initially had no official confessional statement, as
American leaders tried to maintain unity and avoid division. By the 1720s, however, a number of factors forced the synod to consider codifying its theology and polity. The question of subscription was initially raised in reaction to the synod's
205:
as being "in all the essential and necessary articles, good forms of sound words and systems of
Christian doctrine." This language distinguished between the essential and nonessential parts of the standards. A minister who did not accept any particular part of the confession or catechisms could
224:
The
Adopting Act was unanimously approved on September 19, 1729. After passage, the act was put into effect, and ministers were invited to state scruples. No one offered any disqualifying objection. While imperfect, this compromise held American Presbyterianism together until the
172:
be affirmed as the common standard for faith and practice. Rather than scrutinizing the beliefs of ministerial candidates, Dickinson thought it would be more helpful to examine their personal religious experience.
139:
In 1724, New Castle
Presbytery began requiring its ministerial candidates to affirm the statement, "I do own the Westminster Confession as the Confession of my faith." A synod-wide requirement to subscribe to the
255:
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of the
Adopting Act. Therefore, a minister was required to accept only those parts of the Westminster Confession that are "essential and necessary" to the system of
523:
632:
515:
178:
161:
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in 1720. Other issues included instances of clerical sleeping during worship and disputes between ministers and their congregations in New York.
105:. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the language of the Adopting Act would be used to justify increasingly broad interpretations of the standards.
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to his presbytery or the synod, which would then decide if the minister's scruples involved "essential and necessary articles of faith".
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558:
230:
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In 1729, the synod reached a compromise with passage of the
Adopting Act, which was likely composed by Dickinson and modeled on the
61:" to the "essential and necessary" parts of the standards, but defining what was essential and necessary was left to individual
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120:
42:
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97:. Continued controversy over the meaning of subscription and interpretation of the Westminster Standards led first to the
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and effectively elevate a human interpretation of scripture to the same level of scripture. Dickinson preferred that the
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immigration continued. Some New
Englanders accused their opponents of using subscription to purge the synod of English
62:
58:
194:
197:. The act required all ministers to declare "agreement in and approbation of" the Westminster Confession and
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263:. In the 19th and 20th centuries, ministers began to interpret the confession in increasingly broad ways.
157:. They believed strict adherence to the Westminster Standards was the best way to prevent such deviation.
69:
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550:
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141:
129:
124:
81:
38:
34:
607:
543:
Fortson, S. Donald III (2007), "The Adopting Act Compromise", in Fortson, S. Donald III (ed.),
282:, pp. 63–67) offers a brief overview of the subscription controversies in those countries.
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had preoccupied Presbyterians in Scotland, Ireland and England for some time. In America, the
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612:. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath-School Work. 1904. p. 94.
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54:
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The Broadening Church: A Study of Theological Issues in the Presbyterian Church Since 1869
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ministers, who preferred unqualified subscription to the confessions in order to maintain
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The text of the Adopting Act begins with "Although the Synod do not claim or pretend..."
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According to church historian Lefferts A. Loetscher, the Adopting Act became "a kind of
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50:
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164:, opposed the idea on the grounds that requiring subscription would deny the
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of the Westminster Confession, which dealt with the relationship between
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Old World, that refusal to subscribe tended to be the first step toward
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and believed that requiring subscription violated the principle of
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Records of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
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When the Philadelphia Synod re-organized itself into the national
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A controversy over whether ministers must subscribe (affirm) the
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lenient treatment of Robert Cross, a young pastor from
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The Adopting Act is significant to the development of
57:. Presbyterian ministers were required to believe or "
585:. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster Johh Knox Press.
516:"Jonathan Dickinson and the Subscription Controversy"
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sufficiency of the Bible in matters of faith and life
493:Balmer, Randall Herbert; Fitzmier, John R. (1994).
256:
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
499:. Denominations in America. Vol. 5. Praeger.
574:. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
546:Colonial Presbyterianism: Old Faith in a New Land
524:Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
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213:The synod also clarified its understanding of
153:and other beliefs that were incompatible with
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160:Presbyterians from New England, led by
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115:Presbyterianism in the United States
95:Presbyterianism in the United States
514:Bauman, Michael (September 1998).
80:, who preferred less hierarchical
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103:Old School–New School Controversy
68:The act was a compromise between
568:Loetscher, Lefferts A. (1954).
121:Westminster Confession of Faith
43:Westminster Confession of Faith
579:Longfield, Bradley J. (2013).
144:was first proposed in 1727 by
1:
231:Old Side–New Side Controversy
99:Old Side–New Side Controversy
531:(3): 455–467. Archived from
229:revived old disputes in the
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453:Balmer & Fitzmier 1994
358:Balmer & Fitzmier 1994
343:Balmer & Fitzmier 1994
292:Balmer & Fitzmier 1994
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638:Presbyterian Church (USA)
109:Subscription controversy
551:Pickwick Publications
227:First Great Awakening
142:Westminster Standards
130:New Castle Presbytery
125:Synod of Philadelphia
113:Further information:
39:Westminster Standards
35:Synod of Philadelphia
643:1729 in Christianity
31:Adopting Act of 1729
195:Pacific Act of 1720
41:, particularly the
553:, pp. 63–86,
215:chapters 20 and 23
203:Shorter Catechisms
162:Jonathan Dickinson
33:was an act of the
496:The Presbyterians
345:, pp. 24–25.
261:Reformed theology
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477:Loetscher 1954
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319:Longfield 2013
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37:that made the
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53:churches in
51:Presbyterian
47:confessional
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18:Adopting Act
465:Bauman 1998
394:Bauman 1998
370:Bauman 1998
151:Arminianism
134:fornication
622:Categories
506:0313260842
487:References
245: [
179:Puritanism
76:, and the
267:Citations
185:Enactment
155:Calvinism
59:subscribe
208:scruples
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237:Legacy
199:Larger
536:(PDF)
519:(PDF)
170:Bible
587:ISBN
555:ISBN
501:ISBN
201:and
29:The
248:sic
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