I’ve written before about how Presbyterians changed their views on the civil magistrate and how this shift is reflected in the American revision of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF). When the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America adopted the Westminster Standards in 1788, they amended the Standards in four places: WCF 20:4, 23:3, 31:3; and the Westminster Larger Catechism 109. The most significant change is in WCF chapter 23, where the third article was almost completely rewritten.
The stakes may not seem very high, and the whole debate may seem like little more than historical wrangling. But this is quite a live issue in the Presbyterian world. For one thing, all ministers and officers in the PCA and the OPC subscribe to the American revisions. If the two documents are just different in emphasis, then a minister in the PCA could say, “Sure, I agree with my own denominational standards, but they don’t contradict what the Westminster Assembly decided in 1646.” On the other hand, if the two versions are mutually exclusive, then a man must decide which view of the civil magistrate he affirms.
Similarly, many suggest that there was a single Reformed political theology from Calvin to Turretin to New England to the eighteenth-century Presbyterians. If these proponents can show that there was a consistent view for 250 years, then anything deviating from that view should be considered less than truly Reformed. My contention is that Reformed political thought has not been static, and, in fact, that American Presbyterianism saw itself as correcting elements of the earlier tradition. Read more»
Kevin DeYoung | “Contradict the Original Version on the Doctrine of the Civil Magistrate?” | Themelios 50.1.
RESOURCES
- Subscribe To The Heidelblog!
- Download the HeidelApp on Apple App Store or Google Play
- Browse the Heidelshop!
- The Heidelblog Resource Page
- Heidelmedia Resources
- The Ecumenical Creeds
- The Reformed Confessions
- The Heidelberg Catechism
- The Heidelberg Catechism: A Historical, Theological, & Pastoral Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2025)
- Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008)
- Why I Am A Christian
- What Must A Christian Believe?
- Heidelblog Contributors
- Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button or send a check to
Heidelberg Reformation Association
1637 E. Valley Parkway #391
Escondido CA 92027
USA
The HRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Heidelblog
The Heidelblog has been in publication since 2007. It is devoted to recovering the Reformed confession and to helping others discover Reformed theology, piety, and practice.
More by Heidelblog ›