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51-518: Reformed Presbyterian may refer to: A mutually recognising set of churches listed at Reformed Presbyterian churches , including: The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (which includes a presbytery in Japan) The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland Any of

102-677: A minister of the established Church of Scotland in the parish of Balmaghie , was offered, and accepted, the officer of minister to the Dissenting Societies. M'Millan had been deposed from the established Church for persistent "protestation against all the corruptions, defections, errors, and mismanagements in the Church government of Scotland, as then established." He had also condemned the oath of allegiance to Queen Anne (r. 1702–1714), cousin and successor to William III . In 1743, another minister, Rev. Thomas Nairn (c. 1680–1764), who had left

153-455: A religion, they commonly define the Bible as the word of authority as a direct communication of the word of God. Different Christian denominations have differing interpretations of the meaning of the words within the Bible and therefore diverge in religious practice. In modern Christian research, academics have challenged certain beliefs about biblical authority and the Bible as an exact replica of

204-480: Is Rabbinic authority , meaning that the word of God is the final authority and that the word of Rabbis is derivative of this. The New Testament of the Bible is believed to be made up of accounts communicated orally by Jesus Christ. These accounts were narratively scribed by authors who were believed to have the divine right to communicate these words. According to the English Standard Version (2016), in

255-512: Is "inerrant" in matters of history and science, argued Rogers and McKim, constituted a 19th-century innovation. Woodbridge challenged this thesis in his 1982 book Biblical Authority: A Critique of the Rogers/McKim Proposal , arguing that for each of those categories, scripture has authority and is without error. Moreover, Woodbridge portrays this particular view of biblical authority as the normative, orthodox Christian position throughout

306-439: Is a large time gap between when original works in the Bible appear to have been written and the original relics that have been found of the writing, giving time for change between the original written word and what was canonised within the Bible. In some instances, the reported time over which a certain work was edited and changed, whether inadvertently or intentionally, was around one thousand years. There are several ways in which

357-552: Is biblical inerrancy. This concept outlines that there are no errors in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Current theological research offers an alternative perspective that the nature of the oral transmission of stories from Jesus Christ to the New Testament means that there must be room for flexibility within the principle of biblical inerrancy. According to university professor Andrew C. Witt's review of biblical research, there

408-702: Is derived from the Old Testament and relevant books. There are varying levels of literalness based on differing factions of Judaism. The Reform Jewish faction of Judaism follow the belief that the morals and interpretations dictated by the Bible and other sacred Jewish texts may be disregarded as they are irrelevant in modern times. The Orthodox Judaism faction believe that the principles should be maintained as they are relevant in modern times. A concept within Judaism that bears relevance to biblical authority in Christianity

459-543: Is error in the ancient recording of the oral word that differs from the standards of modern print practices. The New Testament was reviewed and edited for centuries prior to canonisation. Words changed over time to diverge from the direct oral teachings of Jesus Christ. Conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists reject such divergence and errancy, appealing to providential preservation and God's truthfulness . There are several criticisms of current sources of biblical authority within scholarly research. The first criticism

510-625: Is put forth by Paul J. Achtemeier in 1983. This criticism outlines two potential issues within the Bible. The first is intrinsic, meaning that there are actual errors in science, history and morality within the Bible. Achtemeier provides the example of Jesus' birthdate as an instance of an inaccuracy of history within the Bible. The second issue is extrinsic, in that the Bible can be used to hold one type of Christianity over others. Achtemeier says that these issues in combination cause issues in deriving biblical authority from Christian literature. Alternatively, in their 2013 review, Walton and Sandy raised

561-703: Is reflected in the Blue Banner associated with Reformed Presbyterianism; it proclaims "For Christ's Crown and Covenant," as the Covenanters saw the King’s attempt to revise the liturgy and government of the Church as an attempt to claim its headship from Christ. During the First English Civil War (1642–1646), English Parliamentarians defying Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , feared that Charles would secure

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612-508: Is said to provide additional proofs, such as Scriptural prophecy, to further confirm the faith of believers and refute the objections of unbelievers. Modern biblical research suggests that sources of biblical authority differ between the Old and New Testaments . This is based on the notion that the Old Testament of the Bible was collated over time via several authors, and thus may not be an objective source of authority. Additionally, research explores

663-571: The Reformed tradition (especially in presuppositionalism ) Scripture is regarded as self-authenticating, and does not require any further confirmation of its divinely authoritative nature other than the interior and subjective witness of the Holy Spirit in a believer. Since the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ( 1 Corinthians 2:14 ), the witness of the Spirit is necessary to confirm

714-716: The Roman Catholic Church . Each faction has unique interpretations of the Bible, but utilise the same biblical authority standard of sola scriptura . The term is attributed most often to Martin Luther , who was a leader during the Protestant Reformation , creating the Church that originally separated from the existing Catholic Church. Martin Luther's ideas of sola scriptura and biblical authority descend from St Augustine , who believed in biblical truth and guided critics in understanding and overcoming discrepancies within

765-587: The Sedition Act 1661 , declaring that the Solemn League and Covenant was unlawful, and that anyone who asserted that that Covenant continued to impose obligations on any person would be liable to a charge of praemunire . While the majority of the population participated in the established Church following the Restoration, the Covenanters refused to conform, instead holding worship services called conventicles in

816-585: The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms . Reformed Presbyterian churches describe their theology as apostolic, Protestant , Reformed (or Calvinistic), and evangelical . Members of the communion follow a historical-grammatical interpretation of the Bible, which is reflected in many of their stances on moral issues such as abortion , homosexuality , and gambling laws. Reformed Presbyterians place particular emphasis on

867-533: The history of Christianity . Interpretations of biblical authority differ between Christian denominations. In several Protestant factions (namely the Lutheran and the Calvinist traditions), the doctrine of sola scriptura ("by scripture alone") guides biblical authority. Sola scriptura outlines that the Bible is the sole source of authority. Protestantism has split into several factions since separating from

918-645: The kingship of Christ . Specifically, they believe that the state is under obligation, once admitted but now repudiated, to recognise Jesus Christ as its king and to govern all its affairs in accordance with God's will. Words from Colossians 1:18 express the core of Covenanter theology: "that in everything he [Christ] might be preeminent." The communion adheres to the regulative principle of worship , which holds that worship must consist only of elements affirmatively found in Scripture, or implied logically by good and necessary consequence . In keeping with their view of

969-517: The 16th century. In response to Charles I of England 's attempts to change the liturgy and form of government in the churches, which the free assemblies and the English Parliament had previously agreed upon, a number of ministers affirmed those previous agreements by signing the "National Covenant" of February 1638 at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh . Many signed in their own blood. Their cause

1020-451: The 20th century Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Reformed Presbyterian churches The Reformed Presbyterian churches are presbyterian in polity; members of each congregation elect elders who must be male, as they believe the Bible requires , and who must also be members of

1071-536: The Bible and sources of biblical literature in order to determine the accuracy and authority of its information in regards to communicating the word of God. It examines biblical literature in order to guide practice. Biblical authority can be determined through the processes of critical interpretation, known as exegesis , as well as hermeneutics , which refers to the science of interpretive principles. Differing interpretations of biblical authority by factions of Christianity has led to divergent practices. For example, in

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1122-503: The Bible is the final authority on interpretations of the word of God, and it consists of no errors or faults. The Old Testament of the Bible is believed to reveal the existence of divine power through human authors in Christian religion. The Old Testament is considered canon, which is utilised in Christianity to represent a standard of faith. It was first made use of in reference to the authoritative nature of sacred scripture. Authority in

1173-724: The Church of England along Presbyterian lines. In exchange, the Covenanters agreed to support the Parliamentarians against Charles I and the Cavaliers in the Civil War. The Solemn League and Covenant also asserted the "crown rights" of Christ as king over both Church and state, and the Church's right to freedom from coercive state interference . The majority of the English Long Parliament were amenable to these terms; many MPs were Presbyterians, while others preferred allying with

1224-720: The Church of England. The Parliamentarians defeated Charles in June of 1646. A brief Second Civil War from February to August of 1648 ended with Charles' defeat, trial, and execution . In the period of the Commonwealth (1649–1660) that followed the Civil Wars, Oliver Cromwell put Independents in power in England, signalling the end of the reforms promised by the Parliament. When the Stuart monarchy

1275-558: The Irish and North American Reformed Presbyterian churches, daughters of the Scottish church, each formed their first synod . Since then, the Australian, Cypriot, Filipino, and South Sudanese Reformed Presbyterian churches have been established. Biblical authority In Christianity , the term biblical authority refers to two complementary ideas: The case for biblical authority stems from

1326-654: The Killing Time . Between 1660 and 1690, tens of thousands of Scottish Covenanters fled persecution to the Irish province of Ulster , where they eventually formed the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland. The Church of Scotland was re-established along wholly Presbyterian lines in 1691, three years after the Glorious Revolution, and the great majority Covenanters and Covenanter ministers were readmitted. A dissenting minority, however refused to re-enter

1377-512: The Kirk of this "Revolution Settlement." They objected that the settlement was forced upon the Church and did not adhere to the previously-agreed Solemn League and Covenant, insofar as the state continued not to acknowledge the kingship of Christ. These dissenters formed into " United Societies " which eventually constituted the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Scotland. Because Covenanter ministers re-joined

1428-412: The Old Testament is sourced from the combination of doctrines , commandments and stories, as these are seen as the direct words of God. Further research suggests that traditionally, authority from the Old Testament is understood through authors of the books, who are figures such as Moses . This research proposes that biblical authority in the Old Testament is dictated by the authority figure who authored

1479-700: The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The member churches of the communion are: The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America has jurisdiction over the Japan Presbytery, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland has a mission in the French city of Nantes . All of the communion's members form the RP Global Alliance. The RP Global Alliance refers to itself as a "consultative community of Reformed Presbyterian Churches worldwide." Several denominations and individual churches not part of this group use

1530-756: The Scots to losing the Civil War. On 17 August 1643, the Church of Scotland (the Kirk) accepted it and on 25 September 1643 so did the English Parliament and the Westminster Assembly . Pursuant to the Solemn League and Covenant, the Westminster Assembly drew up the Westminster Standards , including the influential Westminster Confession of Faith , to define and implement Reformed standards of doctrine in

1581-402: The argument that due to the oral nature of Jesus’ stories in the New Testament, it cannot be assumed that every word should be taken literally. This perspective critiques the principle of biblical inerrancy within the concept of biblical authority. A further perspective of the Bible as a sacred text that holds authority is that there is little understanding of the process of canonisation. There

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1632-483: The book, as opposed to the direct word of God. This is because God is seen as the " divine author of Holy Scripture". Biblical scholars have suggested that the Old Testament was written over a three-stage development of canonisation and was not completed until the sixth century AD, which differs from other accounts stating that the Old Testament was written at different times between around 1200–165 BC. This understanding of authorship in ancient Israel contributes to

1683-409: The claim that God has revealed himself in written form through human authors and that the information contained in canonical books is not of human origin. It entails, but is not exhausted by, questions raised by biblical inerrancy , biblical infallibility , biblical interpretation , biblical criticism , and biblical law in Christianity . While there are many factions within Christianity as

1734-423: The congregation. These elders, along with a minister or pastor, make up the "session" governing a congregation. Ministers are known as "teaching elders"; other elders are known as "ruling elders." The teaching elder is not in authority over the ruling elders, nor are the ruling elders in authority over the teaching elder. The Reformed Presbyterian churches are a communion. All churches in the communion descend from

1785-577: The countryside. The conventicles were proscribed by the Conventicle Act 1664 and the Conventicles Act 1670 . Nevertheless, the Covenanters continued to assemble and preach at conventicles, and suffered greatly from persecution during the reigns of Charles II and James VII . The height of the persecution, from roughly 1679 to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, has subsequently become known as

1836-605: The established Church after the Revolution Settlement, the United Societies were without any ministers for sixteen years, until 1706. For those sixteen years, the Dissenting Covenanters maintained their Societies for worship and religious correspondence. There were about twenty such Societies, with a general membership of about seven thousand. In 1706, Rev. John M'Millan (or McMillan) (c. 1669–1753), previously

1887-626: The established Church and joined the Associate Presbytery , came over to the Societies, which were then constituted the Reformed Presbytery. The Reformed Presbytery increased in numbers, and in 1810 it was divided into three bodies—the Eastern, Northern, and Southern Presbyteries—which met the following year as the first Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. In that same year,

1938-777: The following North American churches: The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (split from Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America in 1833, joined Presbyterian Church in America in 1982) The Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States (began in 1983, arising from the Christian Reconstruction movement) The Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly (1991-) The Reformed Presbyterian Church – Hanover Presbytery (1991-) Various Presbyterian Reformed churches, including: Presbyterian Reformed Church (Australia) Topics referred to by

1989-422: The idea that the New Testament of the Bible is a recording of oral teachings of Jesus, which means that there is a degree of flexibility in the interpretation of biblical literature. Individual denominations of Christianity have differing takes on these theories of biblical authority. Biblical inerrancy is a common feature across interpretations of biblical authority in Christianity. It is a modern principle that

2040-546: The interpretation of authority as it indicates that the final words of the written Old Testament may not be literally taken from the authority figure whose words are recorded in the book. Judaism is based on aspects of the Old Testament of the Bible, with the Torah deriving from books of the Law . The writings of the Old Testament preserved Jewish tradition over events of persecution , capture and diaspora . In Judaism, biblical authority

2091-642: The late 1970s and early 1980s, a debate over biblical authority arose between Jack B. Rogers and Donald K. McKim , on the one hand, and John D. Woodbridge , on the other. Rogers and McKim, in their 1979 book, The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible: An Historical Approach , advanced the view that the Bible has authority over social endeavours (issuing imperatives for human conduct, for church organization , and for articles of faith ) but isn't necessarily reliable in its reportage of historical events and scientific facts. The belief that scripture

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2142-451: The original words of the Bible could have been changed in the years of canonisation. One of which is aural conditioning, meaning that similar sounds may have been misconstrued for other sounds, ultimately altering words that were recorded. There was the potential for visual confusion and mistakes, as graphics written in certain language versions of the Bible have similar characters that could be mistaken. Visual problems might include: During

2193-478: The regulative principle, Reformed Presbyterian churches only sing Psalms during service (a practice known as exclusive psalmody ), unaccompanied by instruments and to the exclusion of hymns , as they believe this is the only form of congregational singing evidenced in and therefore permitted by the Bible. Reformed Presbyterians have been referred to historically as " Covenanters " because of their identification with public covenanting in Scotland, beginning in

2244-469: The sacred text. Sola scriptura may be contrasted with prima scriptura (taught by the Methodist tradition), which holds that, besides canonical scripture, there can be other guides for what a believer should believe and how they should live. While maintaining the same notion that the Bible has final authority on the word of God, Catholicism utilises the additional concept of magisterium , meaning that

2295-455: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Reformed Presbyterian Church . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reformed_Presbyterian_Church&oldid=1220465255 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Presbyterian denominations established in

2346-415: The second book of Timothy (3:16) "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness". According to the doctrine, the Holy Spirit means that God is able to enact authority through Jesus Christ and his disciples, which is consistent with the source of biblical authority from the Old Testament. A core component of biblical authority

2397-611: The support and intervention of the Roman Catholic Confederate Ireland , as the latter in turn feared invasion by the Parliamentarians. The Parliamentarians sought the aid of the Scots, with whom they negotiated a treaty, called the " Solemn League and Covenant ." This covenant obligated the Parliamentarians to reform the Church of England "according to the Word of God, and the example of the best reformed Churches"—i.e., to reform

2448-582: The term "Reformed Presbyterian" in their names. While the Reformed Presbytery in North America (General Meeting) uses the name because of its claim to be the only true continuation of the RPCNA, most of these other churches are more distantly related and use the term for other reasons. Reformed Presbyterians believe that the supreme standard for faith and practice is the Bible, received as the inspired and inerrant Word of God. Reformed Presbyterians also follow

2499-533: The truth of Scripture in the heart of man, as in the case of Lydia of Thyatira , whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul ( Acts 16:14 ). John Calvin in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1.8.13), says that 'it is foolish to attempt to prove to infidels that the Scripture is the Word of God. This it cannot be known to be, except by faith'. Nevertheless, God

2550-417: The word of God. Significant perspectives suggest that the standards of accuracy most likely differ between ancient times and now, which must be considered when interpreting the Bible. Biblical authority refers to the notion that the Bible is authoritative and useful in guiding matters of Christian practice because it represents the word of God. The nature of biblical authority is that it involves critique of

2601-627: Was restored in 1660, some Presbyterians were hopeful; the new king, Charles II , had sworn to the covenants in the Treaty of Breda (1650) , in exchange for the Covenanters' aid in restoring him to the throne. These hopes were quickly dashed, and the Covenant repudiated. Likewise, the Westminster Standards were revoked as standards for the Church of England. Soon after the Restoration, Parliament (the so-called " Cavalier Parliament " of 1661–1679) passed

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