Bible Presbyterian Church
| Main Classification | Evangelical, Protestant |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Orthodox |
| Polity | Presbyterian |
| Founded Place | Collingswood, New Jersey |
| Congregations | 28 |
| Membership | 3,500 |
| Separated From | Orthodox Presbyterian Church |
| Separations | Evangelical Presbyterian Church, American Presbyterian Church, Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church |
| Separations | Evangelical Presbyterian Church, American Presbyterian Church, Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church |
| Website | BPC.org |
The Bible Presbyterian Church is an American Protestant denomination in the Reformed tradition. It was founded by members of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church over differences on eschatology and abstinence, after having left the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America over the rise of modernism.
The denomination comprises 28 churches, 27 in the United States and 1 church in Alberta, Canada divided between the Great Western Presbytery, the Eastern Presbytery, the Great Lakes Presbytery, and the Florida Presbytery. The highest governing body is the Synod.
History
Origin
The Bible Presbyterian Church was formed in 1937, predominantly through the efforts of such conservative Presbyterian clergymen as Carl McIntire, J. Oliver Buswell and Allan MacRae. Francis Schaeffer was the first minister to be ordained in the new denomination. The First General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church was held in 1938 in Collingswood, New Jersey.
The Bible Presbyterian Church broke from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) in 1937, the latter formed slightly earlier in 1936 and a continuation of the Presbyterian Church of America (not to be confused with the similar but later Presbyterian Church in America). The name had to be changed because of a successful lawsuit in civil court by the mainline denomination regarding name infringement – a trademark-violation issue. After the conservative faction had left the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), considerable dissension became apparent among the conservatives themselves, and it became evident that there were two groups within the OPC. The first group was more closely bound to traditional modes of worship, theological formulations, and the like. This group held to the classic formulations of Reformed theology (as mediated through the Westminster Confession and the catechisms) and piety, thus forming an "orthodox" faction.
The other faction espoused a conservatism that showed a more keen interest in cultural and political matters, and saw the actions of the PCUSA as symptomatic of a rejection of long-held principles of conservative Christianity by much of the larger American society. This group was essentially fundamentalist in nature, and became associated with the "Bible" faction. McIntire laid the basis for much of what was to come to be called the "Christian right" in American religion and politics.
Two main issues made the existence of these factions within the OPC evident. The first had to do with a classic Reformed piety over against a piety of fundamentalism. It came down to a conflict over the use of alcoholic beverages. The "orthodox" side condemned drunkenness, but nevertheless did not agree that Scripture required Christians to totally abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages, while the "Bible" side asserted that the Bible prohibited the consumption of alcohol entirely (see also Christianity and alcohol).
The second issue was over faithfulness to covenant theology versus the toleration of dispensationalism. Those on the "Bible" side had come to tolerate, and even use, the popular Scofield Reference Bible whose notes taught the theological system called dispensationalism, rather than covenant theology historically held by most Reformed churches. Scofield's notes were under considerable criticism by faculty members of Westminster Theological Seminary, who led the "orthodox" faction. Historic premillennialism was tolerated within the OPC, yet the dispensational form of premillennialism was considered to be serious error. Those who came to call themselves "Bible Presbyterians" saw the serious criticisms against Scofield's notes as a swipe against historic premillennialism itself, rather than merely the dispensational form of premillennialism, and wanted the freedom to use the Scofield Reference Bible. The formal exodus of Bible Presbyterian churches came about in 1938, only two years after the forming of the OPC, immediately after the failure of Milo F. Jamison, a dispensationalist, to be elected Moderator of the General Assembly. The split was not on unkind terms, as was the case with the original split with the PCUSA. The Bible Presbyterian Church has always maintained the unity of the covenant of grace (a decidedly non-dispensational position), and, in later years, passed resolutions against dispensationalism in its annual Synod meetings.
First split
From 1955 to 1956, a fairly acrimonious split occurred in the Bible Presbyterian Church, resulting in the Bible Presbyterian Church Collingswood Synod and the Bible Presbyterian Church Columbus Synod.
While the Bible Presbyterian Church Collingswood Synod remained under the influence of McIntire, the BPC Columbus Synod, which included such men as Francis Schaeffer and Jay E. Adams would eventually move beyond its Bible Presbyterian Church heritage and eventually would take the name the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in 1961 (which is not to be confused with the current denomination of the same name, founded in 1981). In 1965, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod, a denomination of "new light" Covenanter descent, to form the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES). The RPCES would eventually merge with the Presbyterian Church in America in 1982.
Shortly before the split, the Bible Presbyterian Church had established Covenant College and Covenant Theological Seminary, both of which would be supported by the BPC Columbus Synod/Evangelical Presbyterian Church and both would follow the Evangelical Presbyterian Church into first the RPCES and then the PCA.
Second split
The remaining synod retained the name "Bible Presbyterian Church." In the 1970s, a group of churches split from the denomination, espousing a premillennial eschatology. In addition, the separate churches split for advocating exclusive psalmody and abstinence from alcohol.[1][2] This denomination, known as the American Presbyterian Church, has remained small since its formation. In 2022, it was composed of 2 churches, which together had 60 members.[3][1]
Third split
On March 28, 2008, the South Atlantic Presbytery voted by a wide margin to disassociate from the Bible Presbyterian Synod, in opposition to formal relations recently established between the Synod and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The presbytery took the name Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church.
Recent history
Today the North American body has 33 congregations. Bible Presbyterians do not have synod-controlled boards for missions and education, but annually approve independent agencies for mission work, as well as colleges and seminaries.
Doctrine
The Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, and Shorter Catechism was adopted in the first Bible Presbyterian Synod in 1938. The Synod adheres to the 1788 American Revision of the Westminster Confession.[4]
The denomination describes itself as an evangelistic and confessional church which believes in historic Calvinism.[5] It holds to the five fundamentals and describes itself as being opposed to modernism, compromise, indifferentism, and worldliness.
General Synod
| No. | Year | Date | City | Venue | Moderator | Stated Clerk | Assistant Stated Clerk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1938 | Sep 6-8 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev J U Selwyn Toms | Rev Dr H McAllister Griffiths | ||
| 2nd | 1939 | Nov 14-16 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Harold S Laird | Rev G Douglas Young | ||
| 3rd | 1940 | Oct 22-24 | Chester, PA | Rev Dr Allan A MacRae | Rev G Douglas Young | ||
| 4th | 1941 | Oct 14-16 | Charlotte, NC | Rev Edgar A Dillard | Rev G Douglas Young | ||
| 5th | 1942 | Nov 5-10 | St. Louis, MO | Rev J Gordon Holdcroft | Rev Stanley P Allen | ||
| 6th | 1943 | Oct 14-19 | Wilmington, DE | Eld Roland K Armes | Rev Stanley P Allen | ||
| 7th | 1944 | Oct 12-17 | Greenville, SC | Rev Dr J Oliver Buswell, Jr | Rev Stanley P Allen | ||
| 8th | 1945 | May 24–29 | Harvey Cedars, NJ | Harvey Cedars Bible Presbyterian Conference | Rev Flournoy Shepperson, Sr | Rev Stanley P Allen | |
| 9th | 1946 | May 23–28 | Collingswood, NJ | Bible Presbyterian Church of Collingswood | Rev Dr Carl McIntire | Rev Robert Hastings | |
| 10th | 1947 | Jul 17-22 | Tacoma, WA | Tacoma Bible Presbyterian Church | Rev Dr Roy T Brumbaugh | Rev Robert Hastings | |
| 11th | 1948 | May 13–19 | Nashville, TN | Bible Presbyterian Church of Nashville | Rev Francis A Schaeffer | Rev Robert Hastings | |
| 12th | 1949 | May 16–31 | Baltimore, MD | Bible Presbyterian Church of Baltimore | Eld Dr Peter Stam, Jr | Rev Robert Hastings | |
| 13th | 1950 | Jun 1-6 | St Louis, MO | First Bible Presbyterian Church of St Louis | Rev G Douglas Young | Rev Robert Hastings | |
| 14th | 1951 | May 31 - Jun 5 | New York, NY | Shelton College | Rev John W Sanderson, Jr | Rev Robert Hastings | |
| 15th | 1952 | Aug 21-26 | Pasadena, CA | Highland College | Rev Dr Robert G Rayburn | Rev Robert Hastings | |
| 16th | 1953 | Jun 4-9 | Elkins Park, PA | Faith Theological Seminary | Rev William A Mahlow | Rev Robert Hastings | |
| 17th | 1954 | Jun 3-9 | Greenville, SC | Bible Presbyterian Church of Greenville | Rev Dr Linwood G Gebb | Rev Robert Hastings | |
| 18th | 1955 | Jun 2-8 | St Louis, MO | Rev Dr J Oliver Buswell, Jr | Rev Robert Hastings | ||
| 19th | 1956 | Apr 5-11 | St Louis, MO | Rev Dr R Laird Harris | Rev W Harold Mare | ||
| 20th | 1956 | Nov 23-27 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Carl McIntire | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Emanuel Peters | |
| 21st | 1957 | Nov 2-6 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Clyde J Kennedy | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev John E Janbaz | |
| 22nd | 1958 | Oct 22-27 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Charles E Richter | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev John E Janbaz | |
| 23rd | 1959 | Oct 21-26 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Arthur G Slaght | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Robert B Vandermey | |
| 24th | 1960 | Oct 19-24 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev John E Janbaz | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Robert B Vandermey | |
| 25th | 1961 | Oct 19-24 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr J Philip Clark | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Robert B Vandermey | |
| 26th | 1962 | Oct 17-22 | Collingswood, NJ | Rev Dr Albert B Dodd | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev Robert B Vandermey | |
| 27th | 1963 | Oct 16-22 | Cape May, NJ | Christian Admiral | Rev Dr George W Fincke, Jr | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev James Blizzard |
| 28th | 1964 | Oct 14-20 | Cape May, NJ | Christian Admiral | Rev Dr Lynn Gray Gordon | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev James Blizzard |
| 29th | 1965 | Oct 19-25 | Cape May, NJ | Christian Admiral | Rev Dr Carl McIntire | Rev A Franklin Faucette | Rev James Blizzard |
| 30th | 1966 | May 18–23 | Boston, MA | Statler Hilton Hotel |