Friends,
This year’s General Assembly in Portland covered a lot of controversial issues, most of which addressed issues of urgent contemporary importance. Presbyterians at General Assembly talked about and took actions around such matters as justice in the Holy Land, climate change, and racial inequality. We also elected a set of top denominational officials that, for the first time in our history, does not include a White male. But, historically speaking, the most important decision we made may have been taking the last step in adopting the Belhar Confession as part of the Presbyterian Book of Confessions.
The Book of Confessions, which is part of our constitution, is a collection of statements Christians have made over the years, which the Presbyterian Church (USA) considers to be faithful statements within their historical contexts. These confessions generally date from one of three historical eras. There are two confessions from the fourth century of the common era, when the church was working our key theological ideas about Jesus and about the Trinity; there are several confessions dating from the time of the Reformation, when Protestant Christians were figuring out what it meant to practice a faith not tied to Rome; and there are confessions from the 20th century.
The first 20th century confession is a rejection of Nazism, crafted by a dissenting movement within the German Protestant Church. The second 20th century confession is a pastoral response to the upheavals of the 1960’s. The third 20th century confession was written as part of the reunion of Northern and Southern Presbyterian Churches, which had been divided since the Civil War.
Now we’re including the Belhar Confession, a statement of faith from Apartheid-era South Africa. It is a statement that condemns any faith that divides people along racial lines, and, as such, it has the potential to speak powerfully to issues such as economic, educational, and structural inequality in the United States, the occupation of Palestine and immigration. It is—in my opinion—a most welcome addition to our Book of Confessions.
For a PDF version of the Belhar Confession, visit: https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/theologyandworship/pdfs/belhar.pdf
God’s Peace,
Ben