Posted on 02/05/2005 4:19:09 PM PST by dianaA
The 542 GA Commissioners at the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Whereas, on July 1, 2004 Commissioners at the 216th General Assembly voted (431-62) to direct the Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI) initiate a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel, in accordance to General Assembly policy on social investing, and to make appropriate recommendations to the General Assembly Council for action;
And, whereas many in the worldwide Judeo-Christian community of faith have been deeply offended and have denounced this action. (The denouncements can be read at http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?presby2 or www.presbyweb.com or www.pcusaelders.org or http://home.comcast.net/~jat.action/#PCUSA );
And, whereas the General Assembly will not have a regular meeting until the summer of 2006;
And, whereas the Presbyterian Church (USA) Book of Order provides for Special Sessions through concurrence by 25% of the Commissioners.
Now therefore, we, the undersigned members, elders, and ministers of Presbyterian Church (USA), respectfully request the 216th General Assembly Commissioners re-examine the Biblical implications of their divestment actions and re-consider them in a fair and balanced forum by immediately calling a Special Session. We make this request knowing the General Assembly Council, which is charged with carrying out the will of the General Assembly, must proceed with selective divestment.
Furthermore, we call for the Commissioners to a Special Session of the 216th General Assembly to limit the purpose to the following order of business: 1. The Commissioners to the 216th Special Session shall suspend the rules for secret balloting and require all votes be recorded in an effort to restore confidence in the representative structure of the governance of the Presbyterian Church (USA). 2. The Commissioners to the 216th Special Session shall vote on a motion to rescind in its entirety the resolution to divest in multinational corporations operating in Israel. 3. The Commissioners shall call upon the Judeo-Christian community of faith and the Islamic community of faith to seek a peaceful resolution of issues that have led to violent conflict in the Middle East region and beyond.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
With a title like that , this Baptist just had to see what was up:')
LOL. I'm a baptist dispensationalist member of a Presbyterian (PCA) church I dearly love.
Where does that put ME?
Dan
Now I know why they have signs at all crosswalks cautioning us to watch for these guys. Evidently they can't watch for themselves because they've got their eyes closed to reality.
( . . . sorry, this Catholic just couldn't resist walking over here against the light to see what the Presbys were up to . . . :-D )
In California?
Well someone had to say it. :-)
Sort of what it would have been like had Britain stood up to Hitler when he wanted the Sudetenland. PC USA are nothing but a group of Islamofascist Nazis in phony Christian clothing. Outraged Christians turned ove the rock these vermin were hiding under, and now they are running scared.
LOL! Great minds travel the same channels . . .
D'oh! Nailed.
Hah! Nosy Catholic checking in here.
The Presbys still have remnants of anti-Semitism? Say it isn't so.
Yeah, me too. I quit the Presbyterian Church because they don't preach from the Bible, and those who are in top positions obviously don't understand the relationship that Christians have to the Jews/Israel. Had they read the Bible, they would KNOW. It doesn't take a Bible Scholar to understand. It's spelled out in black and white.
If you are or were Presbyterian and are tired of the shift to the Left they have made over the last 25 years or so, may I invite you to check out an Evangelical Presbyterian Churchin your area. The EPC broke away from the mainstream Presbyterians because of their liberal views and non-biblical teachings. My wife and I have been attending one for about two years now and strongly feel it's a good sound church to raise a family in. A nice bunch of Bush voting people too. I grew up in a Penticostal church and my wife a Covenant church, and we are both comfortable with the EPC.
Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Often referred to as the EPC, our family of churches is proudly celebrating its 24th year of existence in the work of the Kingdom. We are committed to the Bible as God's holy word, without compromise.
In The Beginning…
Presbyterians come in many varieties with new branches being formed in every generation. The EPC began in the fall of 1980 and spring of 1981 when a group of pastors and elders held meetings in St. Louis, Missouri for planning and prayer. They came from mainline Presbyterian denominations like the United Presbyterian (northern churches) and the Presbyterian Church in the United States (southern churches). These leaders had become increasingly distressed by liberalism within their denominations. They wanted to form a church that took seriously the words of Scripture, the theology of the historic confessions of the faith, and the evangelical fervor of Presbyterian founders. They envisioned a denomination that was truly evangelical and truly Presbyterian; hence the name.
http://www.epc.org/
I would have thought you would have been more at home in a Bible Church.
The EPC should be an easier fit for most folks leaving the PCUSA at this stage than would be either the PCA or the OPC. This is particularly true if they leave as a congregation. Three of the last four congregations to leave the PCUSA went to the EPC, the 4th went to the PCA.
If you study the history of Christianity, you will find that Christianity began as a Hebrew religion. As Jesus and most, if not all the apostles were Jewish, and the Church kept the Hebrew festivals, sabbath, and Torah teachings for at least three hundred years, a great deal of enlightenment is available in studying history. Modern preachers teach that Torah observance(also called 'the law') was done away with by Jesus (preposterous) and replaced by grace. Other politically correct teachings have led the Christian Church further away from what it was intended to be. Now we have a Church which makes a mockery of the Torah and leads followers into a composite of paganism and Torah observance. Sounds like total BS, but study your scriptures. Learn about the changes brought about by Marcion and Constantine. Find out where the name "Easter" originated. Find scriptural justification for keeping the day of the sun(Sunday) holy instead of the biblical Seventh Day (Sabbath). Try to find where in scripture it says to make the Savior's birthday into a holiday. Learn who 'Israel" is and what scripture says about the future of Israel.
What about the destiny of the Jews? Are they still His chosen people? Will they inherit salvation? Is modern Christianity begining to observe Torah and lead the Jews into a belief in Messiah? I believe so, but time will tell.
Flame suit ON.
Evangelicals believe in "covenant theology."
God has a covenant with the Jews, as set forth in the Old Testament
God has a covenant with the rest of mankind who accept Jesus Christ, as set forth in the New Testament.
God never breaks a covenant, although humans can disregard it. Thus, the Jews are still God's chosen people under the covenant of the Old Testament and should be respected as such by Christians. God extended his covenant to the rest of us through Jesus Christ.
Many evangelicals believe that when Jesus comes again, He will be recognized as the Messiah by both Christians and Jews.
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