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91-670: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church ( OPC ) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), who objected to the rise of Liberal and Modernist theology in the 1930s. The OPC is considered to have had an influence on evangelicalism far beyond its size. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church

182-496: A Canaanite myth in which God creates the world by vanquishing the water deities: "Awake, awake! ... It was you that hacked Rahab in pieces, that pierced the Dragon! It was you that dried up the Sea, the waters of the great Deep, that made the abysses of the Sea a road that the redeemed might walk..." The first creation account is divided into seven days during which God creates light (day 1);

273-521: A Presbyterian polity. The offices of the church and corresponding duties can be found in the OPC Book of Church Order. A Session consists of the ministers and ruling elders of an individual congregation. The duties of the Session include overseeing public worship, the administration of Baptism and The Lord's Supper , the addition, removal, and discipline of members, and keeping records of membership. All of

364-404: A genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is in contrast to more vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the veracity of a myth is not a defining criterion. Although Orthodox Jews and "fundamentalist Christians" attribute the authorship of Book of Genesis to Moses "as

455-629: A faction led by Carl McIntire broke away to form Bible Presbyterian Church , affirming total abstinence from alcohol and premillennialism . In 1939, after PCUSA filed a lawsuit against the fledgling denomination for its name choice, the denomination adopted its current name, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (or, OPC). In 1961, the OPC published the Trinity Hymnal . It also publishes a journal called Ordained Servant . Since its founding,

546-459: A firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. On day two, God creates the firmament ( rāqîa ), which is named šamayim ( ' sky ' or ' heaven ' ), to divide

637-695: A king, God has merely to speak for things to happen. On day one, God creates light and separates the light from the darkness. Then he names them. God therefore creates time. Creation by speech is not found in Mesopotamian mythology, but it is present in some ancient Egyptian creation myths . While some Egyptian accounts have a god creating the world by sneezing or masturbating, the Memphite Theology has Ptah create by speech. In Genesis, creative acts begin with speech and are finalized with naming. This has parallels in other ancient Near Eastern cultures. In

728-714: A matter of faith," the Mosaic authorship has been questioned since the 11th century, and has been rejected in scholarship since the 17th century. Scholars of biblical criticism conclude that it, together with the following four books (making up what Jews call the Torah and biblical scholars call the Pentateuch), is "a composite work, the product of many hands and periods." The creation narrative consists of two separate accounts, drawn from different sources. The first account, in Genesis 1:1–2:3,

819-472: A matter of practical relevance in fields such as Christian education and Christian politics. It's also very relatable. For example, there is a question over whether Christian schools should attempt to enforce a specific religious doctrine , or whether they should simply teach general "Christian values". Similarly, some Christian political parties have been split over whether non-Christians should be allowed to participate—confessionalists, arguing against it, stress

910-480: A monotheistic creation in opposition to the polytheistic creation myth of ancient Israel's neighbors. Genesis 1 bears striking similarities and differences with Enuma Elish , the Babylonian creation myth . The myth begins with two primeval entities: Apsu , the male freshwater deity, and Tiamat , the female saltwater deity. The first gods were born from their sexual union. Both Apsu and Tiamat were killed by

1001-499: A more "scientific" model as imagined by Greek philosophers, according to which the Earth was a sphere at the centre of concentric shells of celestial spheres containing the Sun, Moon, stars and planets. The idea that God created the world out of nothing ( creatio ex nihilo ) has become central today to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism – indeed, the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides felt it

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1092-597: A quia subscription to the Book of Concord , as such the denominations are classified as being Confessional Lutheran . Those that are or were part of the Confessing Movement who eventually deemed dealing with theological liberalism and theological progressivism within Mainline Protestant denominations as not being tenable anymore would later join or start Confessional Churches and Denominations that continue with

1183-514: A single God whose power is uncontested and who brings order out of chaos. Creation takes place over six days. The creative acts are arranged so that the first three days set up the environments necessary for the creations of the last three days to thrive. For example, God creates light on the first day and the light-producing heavenly bodies on the fourth day. Each day follows a similar literary pattern: Verse 31 sums up all of creation with, "God saw every thing that He had made, and, indeed, it

1274-409: A substantial threat to the general health, safety and welfare of our citizens. Your own Christian background ought to demonstrate to you the practical benefits of upholding the biblical stand against homosexuality, especially in light of the current epidemic of AIDS and other diseases spread through homosexual conduct." The 68th General Assembly in 2001 declared “that the use of women in military combat

1365-483: A variety of political views. Carl Trueman , an ordained minister in the OPC, has authored Republocrat: Confessions of a Liberal Conservative (pub. 2010). Greg Bahnsen was also a key figure in the Christian Reconstructionism movement, with an emphasis of applying God's law to contemporary civil and legal matters. The 39th General Assembly, meeting in 1972, adopted a statement on abortion that included

1456-510: A work much alike to Genesis as known today. The authors of the text were influenced by Mesopotamian mythology and ancient near eastern cosmology , and borrowed several themes from them, adapting and integrating them with their unique belief in one God . The combined narrative is a critique of the Mesopotamian theology of creation: Genesis affirms monotheism and denies polytheism . Scholarly writings frequently refer to Genesis as myth,

1547-542: A “confessional age” (first evidence: Ernst Troeltsch , 1906) and with good reasons use the terms of confessionalization and confessionalism. In the second half of the 19th century the term confessionalism occurred in dictionaries. It referred to internal Protestant conflicts (orthodoxy v. “living” Protestantism), to conflicts between different confessional groups, to everyday resentments and to any exaggerated emphasis of religious identity against competing identities. The Catholic Staatslexikon in 1959 defines Confessionalism as

1638-477: Is also seen in the Genesis flood narrative , where God uses wind to make the waters subside in Genesis 8:1. In Enuma Elish , the storm god Marduk defeats Tiamat with his wind. While stories of a cosmic battle prior to creation were familiar to ancient Israelites (see above ) , there is no such battle in Genesis 1 though the text includes the primeval ocean and references to God's wind. Instead, Genesis 1 depicts

1729-417: Is ambiguous and can be translated in other ways. The NRSV translates verses 1 and 2 as, "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void   ..." This translation suggests that earth, in some way, already existed when God began his creative activity. Biblical scholars John Day and David Toshio Tsumura argue that Genesis 1:1 describes the initial creation of

1820-691: Is both contrary to nature and inconsistent with the Word of God,” In 2006-2007, a study committee formed by the General Assembly created a report that concluded that "the church should never turn its back on fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, whether they are legally or illegally in the country. We should be willing to see to the spiritual and physical needs of anyone who comes to the church." The report nonetheless recommended that illegal immigrants repent of their illegal activity. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has

1911-532: Is from what scholars call the Priestly source (P), largely dated to the 6th century BCE. The second account, which is older and takes up the rest of Genesis 2, is largely from the Jahwist source (J), commonly dated to the 10th or 9th centuries BCE. The two stories were combined, but there is currently no scholarly consensus on when the narrative reached its final form. A common hypothesis among biblical scholars today

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2002-418: Is given dominion over the animals. Eve , the first woman, is created from Adam's rib as his companion. The primary accounts in each chapter are joined by a literary bridge at Genesis 2:4 , "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created." This echoes the first line of Genesis 1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth", and is reversed in the next phrase, "...in

2093-638: Is mentioned 35 times, "heaven/firmament" and "earth" 21 times each, and the phrases "and it was so" and "God saw that it was good" occur 7 times each. The cosmos created in Genesis 1 bears a striking resemblance to the Tabernacle in Exodus 35–40 , which was the prototype of the Temple in Jerusalem and the focus of priestly worship of Yahweh ; for this reason, and because other Middle Eastern creation stories also climax with

2184-538: Is no complete combat myth preserved in the Bible. However, there are fragmentary allusions to such a myth in Isaiah 27:1 , Isaiah 51:9–10 , Job 26:12–13 . These passages describe how God defeated the forces of chaos. These forces are personified as sea monsters . These monsters are variously named Yam (Sea), Nahar (River), Leviathan (Coiled One), Rahab (Arrogant One), and Tannin (Dragon). Psalm 74 and Isaiah 51 recall

2275-600: Is that the first major comprehensive narrative of the Pentateuch was composed in the 7th or 6th centuries BCE. A sizeable minority of scholars believe that the first eleven chapters of Genesis, also known as the primeval history , can be dated to the 3rd century BCE, based on discontinuities between the contents of the work and other parts of the Hebrew Bible . The "Persian imperial authorisation," which has gained considerable interest, although still controversial, proposes that

2366-565: Is the Wöllner and Prussian Religious Edict of 1788 (though there might be earlier proofs for the English-speaking world). The international Congress of Vienna in 1815 still didn’t use the term confession to mark different Christian denominations. Labelling Christian groups “confessions” implied a certain degree of civil progress and tolerance, accepting that other parties also claimed absolute truth. The original intention to pacify conflicts between

2457-489: Is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity , told in the Book of Genesis ch. 1–2. While the Jewish and Christian tradition is that the account is one comprehensive story modern scholars of biblical criticism identify the account as a composite work made up of two stories drawn from different sources. The first account, in Genesis 1:1–2:3, is from what scholars call the Priestly source (P), largely dated to

2548-543: Is used to describe the desert wilderness. Bohu has no known meaning, although it appears to be related to the Arabic word bahiya ("to be empty"), and was apparently coined to rhyme with and reinforce tohu . The phrase appears also in Jeremiah 4:23 where the prophet warns Israel that rebellion against God will lead to the return of darkness and chaos, "as if the earth had been 'uncreated'". Verse 2 continues, " darkness

2639-666: The ruach of God [Elohim] moved upon the face of the waters." There are several options for translating the Hebrew word ruach ( רוּחַ ). It could mean "breath", "wind", or "spirit" in different contexts. The traditional translation is "spirit of God". In the Hebrew Bible, the spirit of God is understood to be an extension of God's power. The term is analogous to saying the "hand of the Lord" ( 2 Kings 3:15 ). Historically, Christian theologians supported "spirit" as it provided biblical support for

2730-575: The Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions , due to his concerns around tolerance of liberal theology on the PCUSA mission field. Machen's views were met with opposition. In 1935, the PCUSA General Assembly declared Machen's Independent Board unconstitutional, and gave the associated clergy an ultimatum to break their ties with it. When Machen and seven other clergy did not disavow

2821-503: The Persians , after their conquest of Babylon in 538 BCE, agreed to grant Jerusalem a large measure of local autonomy within the empire, but required the local authorities to produce a single law code accepted by the entire community. According to this theory, there were two powerful groups in the community, the priestly families who controlled the Temple, and the landowning families who made up

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2912-899: The Reformation , and particularly the theology of the French Reformer John Calvin . After his death, Calvin's doctrines were developed and set forth by a 17th-century assembly of British theologians in the Westminster Standards (which include the Westminster Confession of Faith , and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms ). The OPC thus holds to the Westminster Standards (with the American revisions of 1788) for doctrine and practice. The OPC provides

3003-711: The Thirty-nine Articles in Anglicanism). In intra-Christian dialogue, confessionalism was a significant consideration during the colloquies of Regensburg , Marburg , Montbéliard , and Kassel . However, various European free churches today consider their confessions to be important, for example, the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church and the Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church both require clergy and congregations to declare

3094-453: The creative word : "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" ( John 1:1 ). When the Jews came into contact with Greek thought, there followed a major reinterpretation of the underlying cosmology of the Genesis narrative. The biblical authors conceived the cosmos as a flat disc-shaped Earth in the centre, an underworld for the dead below, and heaven above. Below

3185-543: The "elders," which were in conflict over many issues. Each had its own "history of origins," but the Persian promise of greatly increased local autonomy for all provided a powerful incentive to cooperate in producing a single text. The creation narrative is made up of two stories, roughly equivalent to the two first chapters of the Book of Genesis (there are no chapter divisions in the original Hebrew text; see " chapters and verses of

3276-473: The "waters below", and day three the sea from the land. In each of the next three days these divisions are populated: day four populates the darkness and light with Sun, Moon and stars; day five populates seas and skies with fish and fowl; and finally land-based creatures and mankind populate the land. In the second story Yahweh creates Adam , the first man, from dust and places him in the Garden of Eden . There he

3367-424: The 16th and 17th centuries the term confession was only used for the documents of belief (cf. Confessio Augustana) while the religious communities of Roman Catholics , Lutherans , and Calvinists were referred to as “religious parties”, different “religions” or “churches” – not as confessions. In the late 18th century the term confession started to expand to religious bodies sharing a common creed. The first evidence

3458-501: The 1960s . Now confessionalism is of minor relevance in European state churches . It rose to importance in the early 19th century and nearly vanished in the 1960s. This is why some scholars talk about this time-period as a "second confessional age", comparing the dimensions of confessionalism with the "first confessional age" (16th to 17th centuries, for example Lutheran orthodoxy , Reformed scholasticism , Tridentine-era Catholicism , and

3549-461: The 6th century BCE. In this story, Elohim (the Hebrew generic word for " god ") creates the heavens and the Earth in six days, then rests on, blesses, and sanctifies the seventh (i.e. the Biblical Sabbath ). The second account, which takes up the rest of Genesis 2, is largely from the Jahwist source (J), commonly dated to the 10th or 9th centuries BCE. In this story, God (now referred to by

3640-480: The Bible "). In the first story, the Creator deity is referred to as " Elohim " (the Hebrew generic word for " god "), whereas in the second story, he is referred to with a composite divine name; " L ORD God". Traditional or evangelical scholars such as Collins explain this as a single author's variation in style in order to, for example, emphasize the unity and transcendence of "God" in the first narrative, who created

3731-518: The Creation to the Flood and its aftermath. The two share numerous plot-details (e.g. the divine garden and the role of the first man in the garden, the creation of the man from a mixture of earth and divine substance, the chance of immortality , etc.), and have a similar overall theme: the gradual clarification of man's relationship with God(s) and animals. Genesis 1–2 reflects ancient ideas about science: in

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3822-513: The Earth were the "waters of chaos", the cosmic sea, home to mythic monsters defeated and slain by God; in Exodus 20:4, God warns against making an image "of anything that is in the waters under the earth". There were also waters above the Earth, and so the raqia ( firmament ), a solid bowl, was necessary to keep them from flooding the world. During the Hellenistic period , this was largely replaced by

3913-437: The Hebrew bara' , a word used only for God's creative activity; people do not engage in bara' . Walton argues that bara' does not necessarily refer to the creation of matter. In the ancient Near East , "to create" meant assigning roles and functions. The bara' which God performs in Genesis 1 concerns bringing "heaven and earth" from chaos into ordered existence. Day disputes Walton's functional interpretation of

4004-780: The Independent Board, they were suspended from PCUSA ministry. In light of these events, Machen and a group of likeminded ministers, elders, and laymen met in Philadelphia on June 11, 1936, to form what they then called the Presbyterian Church of America (not to be confused with the Presbyterian Church in America , or PCA, which formed in 1973), with Machen as the first moderator. Other key figures at this time include Ned B. Stonehouse , J. Oliver Buswell , and Edward Joseph Young . Machen died shortly thereafter in January 1937. Later that year,

4095-469: The Jewish version has drastically changed its Babylonian model: Eve, for example, seems to fill the role of a mother goddess when, in Genesis 4:1 , she says that she has "created a man with Yahweh", but she is not a divine being like her Babylonian counterpart. Genesis 2 has close parallels with a second Mesopotamian myth, the Atra-Hasis epic – parallels that in fact extend throughout Genesis 2–11 , from

4186-465: The Memphite Theology, the creator god names everything. Similarly, Enuma Elish begins when heaven, earth, and the gods were unnamed. Walton writes, "In this way of thinking, things did not exist unless they were named." According to biblical scholar Nahum Sarna , this similarity is "wholly superficial" because in other ancient narratives creation by speech involves magic : The pronouncement of

4277-480: The Mesopotamian creation accounts. The gods in Enuma Elish are amoral , they have limited powers, and they create humans to be their slaves . In Genesis 1, however, God is all powerful. He creates humans in the divine image, and cares for their wellbeing, and gives them dominion over every living thing. Enuma Elish has also left traces on Genesis 2. Both begin with a series of statements of what did not exist at

4368-979: The OPC became a founding member of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC). Through NAPARC, the OPC enjoys fraternal relations with the PCA , the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America , the Reformed Church in the United States , the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church , the United Reformed Churches in North America , the Canadian and American Reformed Churches and several other confessional Continental Reformed and Presbyterian Churches in

4459-405: The OPC has produced numerous influential figures, including Scottish theologian John Murray , Dutch theologian Geerhardus Vos , American theologians Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. , Edmund P. Clowney , Loraine Boettner , and Meredith Kline , historian D.G. Hart , and presuppositional theologians Cornelius Van Til and Greg Bahnsen . The Orthodox Presbyterian Church traces its doctrinal beliefs to

4550-466: The OPC was a "largely white" denomination, due to losing "the allegiance of blacks during the ecclesiastical discrimination against blacks in the post-civil war period " and ecclesiastical "neglect" of minority groups. The report recommended more outreach to minority and urban areas. As of 2019, there is one black minister in the OPC. The OPC also has at least 6 Asian ministers, 3 Middle Eastern ministers, and 8 South American ministers. OPC ministers have

4641-667: The United States and Canada. The OPC is also a member of the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC), which includes Reformed & Presbyterian denominations from across the globe. Outside NAPARC and ICRC, the OPC has relations with the Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church , the Reformed Church in Japan , the Presbyterian Church in Japan and the Presbyterian Church of Brazil . Confessionalism (religion) Confessionalism can become

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4732-616: The United States: Central Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Southern New York, the Dakotas, Michigan and Ontario, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New Jersey, New York and New England, Northern California and Nevada, Northwest, Ohio, Philadelphia, South, Southeast, Southern California, Southwest, and Wisconsin and Minnesota. In the early 1970s, the General Assembly commissioned a 'Report of the Committee on Problems of Race', which stated that

4823-469: The affirmation that "voluntary abortion, except possibly to save the physical life of the mother, is in violation of the Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)." In 1993, the denomination petitioned then President Bill Clinton to continue to disallow homosexuals to serve in the military. The petition states that: "The practice of homosexuality is a reproach to any nation. It undermines the family, and poses

4914-579: The blood of the god Kingu . The grateful gods build a temple for Marduk in Babylon . This is similar to the Baal Cycle , in which the Canaanite god Baal builds himself a cosmic temple over seven days. In both Genesis 1 and Enuma Elish , creation consists of bringing order out of chaos . Before creation, there was nothing but a cosmic ocean . During creation, a dome-shaped firmament is put in place to hold back

5005-413: The coming J stories, which use only the name YHWH." The first account ( Genesis 1:1–2:3 ) employs a repetitious structure of divine fiat and fulfillment, then the statement "And there was evening and there was morning, the [ n ] day," for each of the six days of creation. In each of the first three days there is an act of division: day one divides the darkness from light , day two the "waters above" from

5096-470: The confessionalist view of religion is too narrow and that people should be able to seek religion in their own way, generally argue that it is the spirit and values of religion that matter, rather than the particular rules. Confessionalists generally counter that the "spirit and values" of any given faith cannot be attained without first knowing truth as given in formal dogmas . Framework interpretation (Genesis) The Genesis creation narrative

5187-497: The construction of a temple/house for the creator god , Genesis 1 can be interpreted as a description of the construction of the cosmos as God's house, for which the Temple in Jerusalem served as the earthly representative. The opening phrase of Genesis 1:1 is traditionally translated in English as " in the beginning God created". This translation suggests creatio ex nihilo ( ' creation from nothing ' ). The Hebrew, however,

5278-467: The creation narrative. Day argues that material creation is the "only natural way of taking the text" and that this interpretation was the only one for most of history. Most interpreters consider the phrase "heaven and earth" to be a merism meaning the entire cosmos. Genesis 1:2 describes the earth as "formless and void". This phrase is a translation of the Hebrew tohu wa-bohu ( תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ ). Tohu by itself means "emptiness, futility". It

5369-459: The creation of the material universe. Even so, the doctrine had not yet been fully developed in the early 2nd century AD, although early Christian scholars were beginning to see a tension between the idea of world-formation and the omnipotence of God; by the beginning of the 3rd century this tension was resolved, world-formation was overcome, and creation ex nihilo had become a fundamental tenet of Christian theology. The Genesis narratives are not

5460-476: The day that the L ORD God made the earth and the heavens". This verse is one of ten "generations" ( Hebrew : תולדות toledot ) phrases used throughout Genesis, which provide a literary structure to the book. They normally function as headings to what comes after, but the position of this, the first of the series, has been the subject of much debate. The overlapping stories of Genesis 1 and 2 are usually regarded as contradictory but also complementary, with

5551-526: The denominations in the 19th century turned into its opposite: Confession bore the ground for new conflicts, as for example in the Cologne conflict  [ de ] about mixed marriages in 1837. The Roman Catholic Church refused to consider itself as merely a confession. However ahistorical the terminology (cf. the latest semantical research of L. Hölscher), historians talk about the Early Modern period as

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5642-436: The divine word acted creatively. Its presence or absence is of no importance, for there is no tie between it and God. "Let there be!" or, as the Psalmist echoed it, "He spoke and it was so," [Psalm 33:9] refers not to the utterance of the magic word, but to the expression of the omnipotent, sovereign, unchallengeable will of the absolute, transcendent God to whom all nature is completely subservient. 6 And God said: 'Let there be

5733-418: The earth is a flat disc surrounded by the waters above and the waters below. The firmament is a solid dome that rests on mountains at the edges of the earth. It is transparent, allowing men to see the blue of the waters above with "windows" to allow rain to fall. The sun, moon and stars are underneath the firmament. Deep within the earth is the underworld or Sheol . The earth is supported by pillars sunk into

5824-486: The first (the Priestly story) concerned with the creation of the entire cosmos while the second (the Jahwist story) focuses on man as moral agent and cultivator of his environment. Comparative mythology provides historical and cross-cultural perspectives for Jewish mythology . Both sources behind the Genesis creation narrative were influenced by Mesopotamian mythology , borrowing several themes from them but adapting them to their belief in one God , establishing

5915-447: The following summary of its doctrine: Despite affirming the Westminster standards, OPC pastors and presbyteries teach a range of doctrines on the biblical creation accounts, from non-evolutionary framework and analogical interpretations to young earth . There is similar variability in terms of eschatology . At the 2024 General Assembly, the OPC reported 599 ministers and 33,520 members. The OPC has 17 Presbyteries across Canada and

6006-454: The heavens and the earth by himself. Critical scholars such as Richard Elliot Friedman , on the contrary, take this as evidence of multiple authorship. Friedman states that the Jahwist source originally only used the "L ORD " (Yahweh) title, but a later editor added "God" to form the composite name: "It therefore appears to be an effort by the Redactor (R) to soften the transition from the P creation, which uses only 'God' (thirty-five times), to

6097-408: The importance of religious doctrine, while non-confessionalists say that shared values are more important than adherence to exact beliefs. The comparative study of confessions is termed symbolics from the term "symbol" used to describe a creed or larger confession. Historically, the term confessionalism for the first time was used in mid-19th century. Of course the phenomenon of confessionalism and

6188-399: The members of local congregations and its ministers are organized by geography into a regional church, and the presbytery serves as its governing body. The presbytery is composed of all of the ministers and ruling elders of the various congregations in the regional church, and presbytery meetings are to consist of all ministers and one ruling elder from each respective session. The duties of

6279-575: The moderator and stated clerk of the previous General Assembly, and ministers and ruling elders representing their respective presbyteries. The OPC does not ordain women as pastors, elders, or deacons. At least one congregation allowed women to serve as unordained deaconesses, but that congregation has since closed. There are 38 mission works and eight active foreign mission fields in the OPC today: in China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Quebec, Uganda, Ukraine, and Uruguay. The OPC also has two missionaries currently serving in Japan. Japan was, historically, one of

6370-401: The moment when creation began; Enuma Elish has a spring (in the sea) as the point where creation begins, paralleling the spring (on the land – Genesis 2 is notable for being a "dry" creation story) in Genesis 2:6 that "watered the whole face of the ground"; in both myths, Yahweh/the gods first create a man to serve him/them, then animals and vegetation. At the same time, and as with Genesis 1,

6461-544: The oldest OPC mission works, but has since closed. One of the OPC's goals is that "indigenous Reformed churches be established which will provide fellowship and instruction, and make the gospel known in its own culture and in others". The OPC's Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension also serves to help sustain and plant congregations in the United States and Canada. Their duty is to aid presbyteries in planting congregations, finding pastors, purchasing property and church buildings, and assisting home missionaries. In 1975,

6552-413: The only biblical creation accounts. The Bible preserves two contrasting models of creation. The first is the " logos " (speech) model, where a supreme God "speaks" dormant matter into existence. Genesis 1 is an example of creation by speech. The second is the " agon " (struggle or combat) model, in which it is God's victory in battle over the monsters of the sea that mark his sovereignty and might. There

6643-497: The personal name Yahweh ) creates Adam , the first man, from dust and places him in the Garden of Eden . There he is given dominion over the animals. Eve , the first woman, is created from Adam's rib as his companion. The first major comprehensive draft of the Pentateuch is thought to have been composed in the late 7th or the 6th century BCE (the Jahwist source) and was later expanded by other authors (the Priestly source ) into

6734-405: The presbytery include overseeing evangelism and resolving questions regarding church discipline. The presbytery also takes candidates for ministry under its care, and examines, licenses and ordains them. It also, if necessary, can remove a minister. The OPC's General Assembly is the supreme judicatory, and as such, it is to resolve all doctrinal and disciplinary issues that have not been resolved by

6825-572: The presence of the Holy Spirit , the third person of the Trinity , at creation. Other interpreters argue for translating ruach as "wind". For example, the NRSV renders it "wind from God". Likewise, the word elohim can sometimes function as a superlative adjective (such as "mighty" or "great"). The phrase ruach elohim may therefore mean "great wind". The connection between wind and watery chaos

6916-421: The right word, like the performance of the right magical actions, is able to, or rather, inevitably must, actualize the potentialities which are inherent in the inert matter. In other words, it implies a mystic bond uniting matter to its manipulator   ... Worlds apart is the Genesis concept of creation by divine fiat. Notice how the Bible passes over in absolute silence the nature of the matter—if any—upon which

7007-435: The sessions and presbyteries. The other duties of the General Assembly include organizing regional churches, calling ministers and licentiates to missionary or other ministries, and reviewing the records from the presbyteries. It also arranges internship training for prospective ministers, and oversees diaconal needs. The General Assembly meets at least once a year, and is to have, at maximum, 155 voting commissioners, including

7098-612: The sky (day 2); the earth, seas, and vegetation (day 3); the sun and moon (day 4); animals of the air and sea (day 5); and land animals and humans (day 6). God rested from his work on the seventh day of creation, the Sabbath . The use of numbers in ancient texts was often numerological rather than factual – that is, the numbers were used because they held some symbolic value to the author. The number seven, denoting divine completion, permeates Genesis 1: verse 1:1 consists of seven words, verse 1:2 has fourteen, and 2:1–3 has 35 words (5×7); Elohim

7189-498: The stars, the " sons of God ", sang when the corner-stone of creation was laid. 3 And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. The process of creation illustrates God's sovereignty and omnipotence . God creates by fiat; things come into existence by divine decree. Like

7280-502: The term “confession”, from which the term confessionalism derived, is much older, referring to once individual belief, then collective belief. Furthermore, the term confession in different languages implies different notions (faith or denomination in English, croyance, culte, communauté religieuse in French). Adherents of confessional churches have often made a public profession of faith to declare agreement with their particular confession. In

7371-451: The traditions of their respective denominations and in maintaining orthodox doctrine while being ecclesiastically separate. The idea of confessionalism can generate considerable controversy. Some Christian denominations, particularly newer ones, focus more on the "experience" of Christianity than on its formal doctrines, and are accused by confessionalists of adopting a vague and unfocused form of religion. Anti-confessionalists, declaring that

7462-540: The universe, the former writing: "Since the inchoate earth and the heavens in the sense of the air/wind were already in existence in Gen. 1:2, it is most natural to assume that Gen. 1:1 refers to God's creative act in making them." Other scholars such as R. N. Whybray , Christine Hayes , Michael Coogan , Cynthia Chapman, and John H. Walton argue that Genesis 1:1 describes the creation of an ordered universe out of preexisting, chaotic material. The word "created" translates

7553-428: The water and make Earth habitable. Both conclude with the creation of a human called "man" and the building of a temple for the god (in Genesis 1, this temple is the entire cosmos). In contrast to Enuma Elish , Genesis 1 is monotheistic. There is no theogony (account of God's origins), and there is no trace of the resistance to the reduction of chaos to order (Greek: theomachy , lit. "God-fighting"), all of which mark

7644-439: The waters. Water was a "primal generative force" in pagan mythologies. In Genesis, however, the primeval ocean possesses no powers and is completely at God's command. Rāqîa is derived from rāqa' , the verb used for the act of beating metal into thin plates. Ancient people throughout the world believed the sky was solid, and the firmament in Genesis 1 was understood to be a solid dome. In ancient near eastern cosmology ,

7735-585: The words of E.A. Speiser , "on the subject of creation biblical tradition aligned itself with the traditional tenets of Babylonian science." The opening words of Genesis 1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth", sum up the belief of the author(s) that Yahweh , the god of Israel, was solely responsible for creation and had no rivals. Later Jewish thinkers, adopting ideas from Greek philosophy , concluded that God's Wisdom , Word and Spirit penetrated all things and gave them unity. Christianity in turn adopted these ideas and identified Jesus with

7826-453: The younger gods. Marduk , the leader of the gods, builds the world with Tiamat's body, which he splits in two. With one half, he builds a dome-shaped firmament in the sky to hold back Tiamat's upper waters. With the other half, Marduk forms dry land to hold back her lower waters. Marduk then organises the heavenly bodies and assigns tasks to the gods in maintaining the cosmos. When the gods complain about their work, Marduk creates humans out of

7917-484: The “endeavour of the confessions to defend their religious doctrine” and their identity, in opposition to indifferentism, but it also meant the “overemphasis of confessional differences, esp. transferring them into the realm of state and society”. In later editions of dictionaries there is no lemma any more since the phenomenon lost its wider impact. Confessionalism exerted a severe impact on European social and political history between 1530 and 1648 and again between 1830 and

8008-514: Was founded in 1936, largely through the work of John Gresham Machen . Machen, who, prior to this time was a PCUSA minister, had a longstanding distrust of liberalism in Christianity, as typified by the Auburn Affirmation . He and others founded Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929 in response to rising liberal sentiments at Princeton Theological Seminary , and in 1933, Machen formed

8099-526: Was the only concept that the three religions shared – yet it is not found directly in Genesis, nor in the entire Hebrew Bible. According to Walton, the Priestly authors of Genesis 1 were concerned not with the origins of matter (the material which God formed into the habitable cosmos), but with assigning roles so that the Cosmos should function. John Day, however, considers that Genesis 1 clearly provides an account of

8190-500: Was upon the face of the deep ". The word deep translates the Hebrew təhôm ( תְהוֹם ), a primordial ocean . Darkness and təhôm are two further elements of chaos in addition to tohu wa-bohu . In Enuma Elish , the watery deep is personified as the goddess Tiamat , the enemy of Marduk . In Genesis, however, there is no such personification. The elements of chaos are not seen as evil but as indications that God has not begun his creative work. Verse 2 concludes with, "And

8281-471: Was very good". According to biblical scholar R. N. Whybray , "This is the craftsman's assessment of his own work   ... It does not necessarily have an ethical connotation: it is not mankind that is said to be 'good', but God's work as craftsman." At the end of the sixth day, when creation is complete, the world is a cosmic temple in which the role of humanity is the worship of God. This parallels Enuma Elish and also echoes Job 38 , where God recalls how

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