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PAGE 5—September 6,1973
Presbyterian Religion
BY WILLIAM J. WHALEN
Presbyterianism takes its name from its form of church
government and its theology from a 16th-century French lawyer
and reformer, John Calvin. The various Protestant churches in
this tradition are known as Presbyterian, Reformed or Calvinist.
Besides the 4,500,000 Presbyterians in the United States there
are substantial numbers in Scotland, Holland, South Africa,
Switzerland France, and northern Ireland and smaller numbers
in Germany, Hungary, England, and mission fields.
The name “Presbyterian” comes from a Greek word meaning
“elder.” Within the congregation the minister is known as the
teaching elder while a group of elected and ordained laity are
called the ruling elders. Together they form the Session and 20
to 30 Sessions comprise a Presbytery which corresponds to a
diocese. The Presbyterian system rejects the authority of
bishops but unlike the Baptists and strict Congregationalists it
recognizes a ruling body beyond the local church.
John Calvin left the study of law to embark on a career of
church reform in 1533. At the age of 27 he published his
“Institutes of the Christian Religion,” a classic of Reformed
theology. In it Calvin emphasized the sovereignty of God and
carried the idea of predestination to a conclusion which neither
Catholics or Lutherans reached. He reasoned that God both
elects some souls to heaven and damns others to hell. Christ
died only for those predestined to salvation.
“PRESBYTERIANISM takes its name from its form
of church government and its theology from a 16th
century French lawyer and reformer, John Calvin.” A
sketch of John Calvin. (NC Sketch courtesy Claretian
Publications)
BY STEVE LANDREGAN
If the last 9,000 years of human history were reduced to an
hour, the American Revolution took place 1.31 minutes ago.
Columbus discovered America 3.2 minutes ago, the Magna Carta
was signed 5.05 minutes ago, Jesus Christ was crucified 12.93
minutes ago. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt 21.81
minutes ago. Abraham arrived in the Land of Caanan 26.48
minutes ago, the Egyptians built the first pyramind 31.81
minutes ago, the Stone Age ended 32.16 minutes ago, man first
made pottery 56.48 minutes ago, and one hour ago in the lower
Jordan River Valley, in a depression more than 1,000 feet below
sea level, prehistoric men built the world’s first real town, at a
place we call Jericho.
In his book, “Palestine Before the Hebrews,” Dr. Emmanuel
Anati tells the fascinating and mysterious story of the first
Jerichoans, who built a fortified city with a temple and public
buildings 4,000 years before the pyraminds were built in Egypt.
Scientists call this era Neolithic, which literally means the
New Stone Age. It was an age in which the primitive hunter and
fisherman learned to plant, grow and harvest crops, but more
The use of slides or films at Mass and other liturgical
celebrations has not yet become common in parishes around the
country. But the trend is certainly in that direction.
In a recent brief study on this subject the authors noted a
dozen substantial resource items currently available which either
tell how to plan and execute multi-media worship services or
actually offer materials for them.
These visuals, however, while of superior, professional
quality, are only “canned” productions. They lack, in the
opinion of Father James McConnell, pastor at St. Mary’s Churchy
in South Amboy, N.J., a local touch. Parishioners do not see
any familiar faces or places in them. He feels this represents a
serious deficiency and greatly diminishes their impact.
Those who prepare the liturgies at St. Mary’s have attempted
to correct that weakness by developing homemade colored
slides to accompany congregational singing and to complement
the celebrant’s homily.
For example, the popular and contemporary hymn
“Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do
unto me” includes a refrain, “Now enter into the home of my
Father.”
The St. Mary’s liturgists obtained several frontal and aerial
slides of the church itself. Then, each time the phrase “home of
my Father” occurs, they flash (employing successfully, the rear
view projection method) one of these pictures before the
people.
The song, based on Jesus’ words in Matthew (25: 31-46) also
mentions “When I was hungry, you gave me to eat, when I was
thirsty, you gave me . . .”
From France Calvin moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where he
set up a strict theocracy. His interpretation of the Christian life
stressed industry, thrift, godliness, and sober living. After a few
years the citizens rebelled against his thorough-going rule and
sent Calvin into exile, but he was eventually invited back and
ruled the city from 1541 until his death in 1564.
A one-time Catholic priest, John Knox embraced Calvinist
principles during a stay in Geneva. Returning to his native
Scotland he challenged the Catholic Queen Mary Stuart and
succeeded in establishing Presbyterianism as the state religion.
In England the Presbyterian wing of the Puritan party gained
control of Parliament and convoked the Westminister Assembly
in 1643. During a five-year period these divines prepared the
Westiminister Confession which became the doctrinal statement
of Scottish, English, and American Presbyterianism. The
Confession reaffirmed Calvin’s views on predestination: “By the
decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and
angels are predestined unto everlasting life, and others
foreordained to everlasting death.”
Scotch-Irish, English, and Dutch immigrants brought
Presbyterianism to America and Christians of these nationalities
remain the mainstays of the major Reformed bodies in the U.S.
Eleven signers of the Declaration of Independence were
Presbyterians and English loyalists often referred to the
American Revolution as the Presbyterian Rebellion.
Presbyterians insisted on a college-educated ministry and
were outstripped by the enthusiasm of Baptists and Methodists
in carrying their denomination to the West and South and to the
black community. Schisms and bitter theological battles also
handicapped the growth of Presbyterianism. The southern
synods withdrew in 1857 over the issue of slavery; northern and
southern branches have not been able thus far to heal this
division.
Largest Presbyterian Church in this country in the
3,373,890-member United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.
Contemporary Presbyterians honor the genius of Calvin and the
historical importance of the Westiminister Confession but
seldom follow his theology in such questions as total depravity
and double predestination.
The Presbyterian Church in the U.S. is the southern branch of
the Presbyterian tradition and reflects a more conservative
theological and social stance. It reports 958,195 adherents.
Seven smaller Presbyterian bodies enroll about 175,000
members. Two denominations of Dutch heritage also base their
theology and policy on Calvinism: the Reformed Church in
America (383,000) and the strict Christian Reformed Church
(281.000).
The teaching elder or pastor preaches the word of God and
administers the two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s
Supper. The ruling elders are elected and ordained, as are the
deacons who are changed with helping the poor and needy.
At least three Presbyteries make up a Synod. The Synods
form the General Assembly which has customarily met each
year. The democratic and representative structure of
Presbyterians exerted a significant influence on the development
of American political life.
important it was the age in which man learned to trade.
Through trade man was able to obtain materials in regions
other than those where they grew and were produced. It was
trade that made it possible for the first time for man to become
specialists in activities other than those directly connecting with
food gathering and producing.
With the beginning of trade the cross pollination of cultures
began. Men’s journeys were for purposes other than hunting
parties or war parties. Not only products and raw materials were
traded but along with them ideas.
Jericho, nestled in one of the hottest and lowest spots on the
earth, apparently became the first town and the first trading
center in the world. Along with trade came wealth, and along
with wealth came greed and covetousness, and thus we find that
man’s first center of trade was also man’s first fortified city.
By modern standards Jericho was a hick town of 2,000
people, but in a Stone-Age world where few men had emerged
from caves and mud huts it was a veritable metropolis.
Appropriate slides from the local scene visualize these words:
A family at dinner, a hospital patient, old clothes hanging on
the line to dry, an old house, an elderly man sitting alone at
home, someone talking in a phone booth, a busload of children,
a senior citizen and the nun who is comforting her.
To illustrate the second approach: At a Mass whose theme
centered around the elderly, the homilist concluded his words
with a series of colored slides accompanied by pertinent
comments.
Aerial view of the city - “Many live here, some of whom
need help and support;” St. Mary’s Church -- “People who
gather in this place are joined by a common faith in God;” older
couple holding hands - “The Lord gives joy when persons live
together in love.”
Four individuals working at a conference table - “The elderly
assist in planning our liturgies;” school children supervised by an
older woman - “Youngsters learn to knit from ladies who have
skills to share;” man with a ledger book - “retirement from an
account’s task in the company means freedom to help at the
Darish.”
A lady in bed with her husband at the door bearing a lighted
candle - “The priests bring Holy Communion to those who
can’t come to Church;” nun visiting a shut-in - “But others visit
the sick, too;” a nurse caring for an elderly person - “Christ is
present in those we serve.”
Two senior citizens outside the church - “St. Mary’s is also
their home;” exterior shot of the structure with crowded
exodus of parishioners after Mass - “Soon you will leave this
building and go about your tasks. May love, care and service the
elderly be one of them.”
“THE QUESTION OF ABRAHAM bears down on
each person because the story of Abraham is also
about every man. ‘Why did God choose me?’ People
have grappled with that question of choice or election
BY FATHER CARL J. PFEIFER, S.J.
My very learned lawyer friend went into a pout rather than
attempt to answer my simple question. Several couples were
meeting regularly with me to study the Bible twice a month.
This particular evening we were exploring the story of Abraham
in the book of Gneesis. After the group had shared their
impressions of the story, I asked: “I wonder why God chose
Abraham?” That’s when my normally loquacious attorney put
on a glum face, shifted about nervously, and refused to say a
word.
His reaction was understandable and honest. Rather than
attempt glib answers, he preferred silence, for my simple
question touched one of the deepest mysterious of life. The
question about Abraham bears down on each person, because
the story of Abraham is also about every man. “Why did God
choose me?” People have grappled with that question of choice
Dr. Ananti relates a variety of interesting discoveries of the
archeologists studying pre-pottery age Jericho. Among them was
the fact that the cat first became domesticated there about four
thousand years earlier than any other known place.
Of far greater significance is the fact that the town was
surrounded by “an enormous defensive wall built of stone, some
of them weighing several tons . . .The fortifications included
one, and perhaps more, massive round towers, which are a
model of sophisticated architecture.” Amazingly enough the
Jerichoans of 9,000 years ago even built a moat around their
city.
Scholars at Jericho have also discovered from the same era
water storage reservoirs, and a cultic temple area. All this in
spite of the fact that the same people had not yet learned to
make pottery.
The presence of the fortifications and public buildings
indicate some type of slave labor and the whole comples reflects
an unbelievable genius for leadership and organization for men
still in the Stone Age.
Archeologists and other scholars have sought to solve the
mystery of why the world’s first town and first center of trade
would develop in this particular spot. Hunting, farming, even
fishing (on the assumption that the Dead Sea might not have
been quite so dead), could not account for the phenomenon.
The answer to the mystery, that Jericho was a center of trade
in the Neolithic age, was provided in part by the discovery in
the ruins of obsidian, turquoise, various colorings and shells,
known to be from areas far removed from the Jordan Valley.
On the other hand, Jerichoans had close at hand natural
materials in great demand even in 7,000 BC. In the dawn of the
era of farming there was a great need for salt as man began to
boil meat and eat cereals. Jericho had an abandant supply of salt
in the Dead Sea.
Another item provided by the Dead Sea was bitumen, which
is still found in large lumps floating on the sea’s surface. The
ancients had two different names for the Dead Sea - the Salt
Sea and the Lake of Asphalt.
The bitumen was used to waterproof woven articles - Moses’
basket in the bulrushes (Ex. 2:34) - and early boats - Noah’s
Ark (Gen. 6:14). Archeological evidence indicate it was the
earliest adhesive used to cement flint tools to their handles.
Finally, there was sulphur, which is still gathered from the
plain of Jericho, and was useful for preparing early medicines,
lighting fires and for ritualistic and magical purposes.
Salt, bitumen and sulphur, the makings of the first center of
world trade are still very necessary items to man even in the
Space Age.
But the mystery of pre-pottery Jericho doesn’t end there.
The thriving town and culture came to an abrupt end and was
abnadoned for centuries. Finally, it was resettled by a much
more primitive culture.
The mystery of why the first trading center of the world
came into being has been solved but the mystery of why it
disappeared has not. Perhaps the archeologists will find the
answer in the next carefully sifted shoveful of Jerichoan soil.
for centuries.” A boy’s contemplative look suggests
Abraham’s question. (NC Photo by Father Algimantas
Kezys, S.J.)
or election for centuries. “Am I saved by God or by my own
actions?”
John Calvin had a very clear, precise answer. “We assert that
by an eternal and immutable counsel, God has once and for all
determined, both whom he would admit to salvation, and whom
he would condemn to destruction.” This complete option for
God’s predominant role in man’s destiny became the theological
foundation of the Presbyterian tradition within Protestantism.
This was some four centuries ago.
The intervening four hundred years have mellowed that
seemingly harsh view. Twentieth century Presbyterianism has
modified Calvin’s postion on predestination even to the point of
rejecting it in its original form.
The proposed new Presbyterian confession of faith affirms
that salvation occurs when devine love heals the conflicts that
separate man from God. Man is responsible for his response to
that healing love. No one ends up in Hell or Heaven except as a
result of his free moral choices.
Although the interpretation of Calvin’s teaching has so
radically changed, the focus of his teaching remains
characteristic of the Presbyterian tradition. Calvin focused on
God’s sovereign role itt man’s salvation. ’
Presbyterians today echo that emphasis on the primacy of
God and his love in man’s efforts to grow in Christian life.
Personal responsibility for one’s actions is preserved, but man
does not save himself by his own efforts. Salvation, wholeness,
holiness depends on God’s healing, saving love.
In an age of excessive humanism this awareness of God’s
initiative in man’s life is refreshing and sound. It recalls the
beautiful insight of the Psalmist, “Unless the Lord build the
house, they labor in vain who build it” (Ps 127:1). Or the
teaching of St. Paul to the Christians at Ephesus: “It is owning
to his favor, that salvation is yours through faith. This is not
your own doing, it is God’s gift; neither is it a reward for
anything you have accomplished, so let no one pride himself on
it.” (Eph: 2:8-9).
Our human efforts are necessary but not sufficient to make
us whole. Wholeness, or holiness, is something for which we
bear responsibility, but only as cooperators with God’s enabling
love. As Jesus reminds us in the Gospel according to John:
“Apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). Already 10
centuries before Calvin the Church officially taught: “For such
is God’s goodness to men that he wills that his gifts be our
merits, and that he will grant us an eternal reward for what he
has given us.”
You may be wondering how this answers the question I posed
to my Bible study group: “Why do you suppose God chose
Abraham?” “Why did God choose me?” It does not answer the
question, for no “answer” is possible in the face of so deep a
mystery of human existence.
Faced with that mystery, Presbyterianism - in many ways
closer today to Roman Catholic tradition than to John Calvin --
reminds us where to focus our attention, namely on God more
than on man. Presbyterians and Roman Catholics believe that
God’s love takes the initiative in man’s wholeness and holiness,
in man’s salvation. Both believe that man is responsible for how
he responds to that love, and that reward or punishment hang
on his own free choices.
Both believe further that man’s good choices, while truly his
own, are made possible by God’s love. Ultimately both pause in
silent wonder before the mystery of God’s love for us, conscious
of the responsibility that love brings: “God chose us in him
before the world began, to be holy and blameless in his sight, to
be full of love” (Eph 1:4).
“JERICHO, nestled in one of the hottest and lowest
spots on the earth apparently became the first town
and the first trading center in the world . . .
surrounded by . . . ‘fortifications (which) included one
and perhaps more, massive round towers’ ” (NC Photo)
/
[Know Your Faith)
Jericho Was Man’s First Trade Center
Home-made Visuals
BY FATHER JOESPH M. CHAMPLIN
Religions of the World Series--
Presbyterian Focus on God