Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Encyclopedia
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a conservative
Presbyterian
denomination located primarily in the United States
. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
(PCUSA) who strongly objected to the pervasive Modernist theology during the 1930s (see Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy). Led by J. Gresham Machen, who had helped found Westminster Theological Seminary
, the church attempted to preserve historic Calvinism
within a Presbyterian structure.
, Geerhardus Vos
, and B. B. Warfield, Machen was one of the chief conservative professors at Princeton Theological Seminary
, which until the early twentieth century was a bastion of orthodox Presbyterian theology. In 1929, the seminary
board reorganized along more theologically liberal lines, and appointed professors who were significantly more friendly to modernism and some forms of liberalism
.
Machen and a group of other conservatives objected to these changes, forming Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929. Then, objecting to theological positions that he believed compromised the distinctives of the Reformed tradition, if not the basic tenets of Christianity itself, Machen pled his case before the General Assembly of the PCUSA. The Assembly refused to take action, and so Machen and several other professors, along with a group of fellow conservatives, formed the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions.
In 1934, the General Assembly condemned this action and Machen and his allies were deposed from the ministry of the old Church. On June 11, 1936, Machen and a group of conservative ministers, elders, and laymen met in Philadelphia to form the Presbyterian Church of America (not to be confused with the Presbyterian Church in America
which was organized some forty years later). The PCUSA filed suit against the fledgling denomination for their choice of name, and in 1939, the denomination adopted a new name as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
At the time leading up to the founding of the OPC, Machen and his allies in the PCUSA were considered to be prominent leaders of Christian fundamentalism. Machen and the majority of the OPC, however, were committed to the historic Reformed tradition with plenary statements of faith, rather than to the fundamentalist movement, which, in the estimation of many in the Reformed tradition, was inadequate in its doctrinal formulations. By 1937, a faction of the OPC more committed to a bare Fundamentalism, distinguished by such things as total abstinence from alcohol, premillennialist eschatology, opposition to the ecumenical movement
, and political activism against the Communist Party
, broke away under the leadership of Carl McIntire
to form the Bible Presbyterian Church
.
Early leaders in the denomination include Cornelius Van Til
, Gordon Clark
, Oswald T. Allis
, Robert Dick Wilson
, R. B. Kuiper, and later John Murray
.
, the largest conservative Reformed denomination in the United States. The two differ from each other more in origin and history than doctrine, though the OPC is traditionally more conservative than the PCA in its approach to worship, government, and discipline; further, the OPC, as a historically Northern U.S. body, was not informed culturally by the Lost Cause of the South as were the churches that would form the nucleus of the PCA. The OPC is a member of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council
(NAPARC), and the International Conference of Reformed Churches
(ICRC).
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
denomination located primarily in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was a Presbyterian denomination in the United States. It was organized in 1789 under the leadership of John Witherspoon in the wake of the American Revolution and existed until 1958 when it merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North...
(PCUSA) who strongly objected to the pervasive Modernist theology during the 1930s (see Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy). Led by J. Gresham Machen, who had helped found Westminster Theological Seminary
Westminster Theological Seminary
Westminster Theological Seminary is a Presbyterian and Reformed Christian graduate educational institution located in Glenside, Pennsylvania, with a satellite location in London.-History:...
, the church attempted to preserve historic Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
within a Presbyterian structure.
History
Standing in the tradition of men like Charles HodgeCharles Hodge
Charles Hodge was the principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878. A Presbyterian theologian, he was a leading exponent of historical Calvinism in America during the 19th century. He was deeply rooted in the Scottish philosophy of Common Sense Realism...
, Geerhardus Vos
Geerhardus Vos
Geerhardus Johannes Vos was an American Calvinist theologian and one of the most distinguished representatives of the Princeton Theology. He is sometimes called the father of Reformed Biblical Theology.-Biography:...
, and B. B. Warfield, Machen was one of the chief conservative professors at Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
, which until the early twentieth century was a bastion of orthodox Presbyterian theology. In 1929, the seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
board reorganized along more theologically liberal lines, and appointed professors who were significantly more friendly to modernism and some forms of liberalism
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
.
Machen and a group of other conservatives objected to these changes, forming Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929. Then, objecting to theological positions that he believed compromised the distinctives of the Reformed tradition, if not the basic tenets of Christianity itself, Machen pled his case before the General Assembly of the PCUSA. The Assembly refused to take action, and so Machen and several other professors, along with a group of fellow conservatives, formed the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions.
In 1934, the General Assembly condemned this action and Machen and his allies were deposed from the ministry of the old Church. On June 11, 1936, Machen and a group of conservative ministers, elders, and laymen met in Philadelphia to form the Presbyterian Church of America (not to be confused with the Presbyterian Church in America
Presbyterian Church in America
The Presbyterian Church in America is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination, the second largest Presbyterian church body in the United States after the Presbyterian Church . The PCA professes a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work, and Christian education...
which was organized some forty years later). The PCUSA filed suit against the fledgling denomination for their choice of name, and in 1939, the denomination adopted a new name as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
At the time leading up to the founding of the OPC, Machen and his allies in the PCUSA were considered to be prominent leaders of Christian fundamentalism. Machen and the majority of the OPC, however, were committed to the historic Reformed tradition with plenary statements of faith, rather than to the fundamentalist movement, which, in the estimation of many in the Reformed tradition, was inadequate in its doctrinal formulations. By 1937, a faction of the OPC more committed to a bare Fundamentalism, distinguished by such things as total abstinence from alcohol, premillennialist eschatology, opposition to the ecumenical movement
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
, and political activism against the Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
, broke away under the leadership of Carl McIntire
Carl McIntire
Carl McIntire was a founder of, and minister in, the Bible Presbyterian Church, founder and long president of the and the American Council of Christian Churches, and a popular religious radio broadcaster, who proudly identified himself as a fundamentalist.-Youth and education:Born in Ypsilanti,...
to form the Bible Presbyterian Church
Bible Presbyterian Church
The Bible Presbyterian Church is an American Protestant denomination.-History:The Bible Presbyterian Church was formed in 1937, predominantly through the efforts of such conservative Presbyterian clergymen as Carl McIntire, J. Oliver Buswell and Allen A. MacRae. Francis Schaeffer was the first...
.
Early leaders in the denomination include Cornelius Van Til
Cornelius Van Til
Cornelius Van Til , born in Grootegast, the Netherlands, was a Christian philosopher, Reformed theologian, and presuppositional apologist.-Biography:...
, Gordon Clark
Gordon Clark
Gordon Haddon Clark was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. He was a primary advocate for the idea of presuppositional apologetics and was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years...
, Oswald T. Allis
Oswald T. Allis
-Biography:He was born in 1880 and received his doctorate from the University of Berlin, and received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Hampden Sydney College in 1927. He taught in the Department of Semitic Philology at Princeton Theological Seminary . In 1929 Allis, J. Gresham Machen,...
, Robert Dick Wilson
Robert Dick Wilson
Robert Dick Wilson was an American linguist and Presbyterian scholar who devoted his life to prove the reliability of the Hebrew Bible...
, R. B. Kuiper, and later John Murray
John Murray (theologian)
John Murray was a Scottish-born Calvinist theologian who taught at Princeton Seminary and then left to help found Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught for many years.-Life:...
.
Ecumenical relations
The denomination maintains a cordial relationship with the Presbyterian Church in AmericaPresbyterian Church in America
The Presbyterian Church in America is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination, the second largest Presbyterian church body in the United States after the Presbyterian Church . The PCA professes a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work, and Christian education...
, the largest conservative Reformed denomination in the United States. The two differ from each other more in origin and history than doctrine, though the OPC is traditionally more conservative than the PCA in its approach to worship, government, and discipline; further, the OPC, as a historically Northern U.S. body, was not informed culturally by the Lost Cause of the South as were the churches that would form the nucleus of the PCA. The OPC is a member of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council
North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council
The North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council is an association of several Presbyterian and Reformed churches in the United States and Canada...
(NAPARC), and the International Conference of Reformed Churches
International Conference of Reformed Churches
The International Conference of Reformed Churches is a federation of Reformed or Calvinist churches across the world. Its theology is more conservative than the larger World Alliance of Reformed Churches and Reformed Ecumenical Council and is similar to that of the World Reformed Fellowship.-...
(ICRC).
Further reading
- Gatiss, Lee. Christianity and the Tolerance of Liberalism: J.Gresham Machen and the Presbyterian Controversy of 1922-1937. London: Latimer Trust, 2008 ISBN 978-0-946307-63-0
- Churchill, Robert King. Lest We Forget : a Personal Reflection on the Formation of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Philadelphia : The Committee for the Historian of The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 1987. ISBN 0-934688-34-6
- Longfield, Bradley J. The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists, and Moderates. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-19-508674-0
- Hart, D.G. Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8010-2023-9
- Hart, D.G., and John Muether. Fighting the Good Fight of Faith: A Brief History of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Philadelphia: The Committee on Christian Education and the Committee for the Historian of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 1995. ISBN 0-934688-81-8
- North, Gary. Crossed Fingers: How the Liberals Captured the Presbyterian Church. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics. 1996. ISBN 0-930464-74-5
- Calhoun, David B., Princeton Seminary: The Majestic Testimony, 1869-1929. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1996.
- Rian, Edwin H. The Presbyterian Conflict. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 1940. ISBN 0-934688-67-2
- Loetscher, Lefferts A., The Broadening Church: A Study of Theological Issues in the Presbyterian Church Since 1869. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
- Elliot, Paul M., Christianity and Neo-Liberalism: The Spiritual Crisis in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Beyond, 2005, Trinity Foundation, ISBN 978-0940931688