Questions tagged [westminster-confession]
A confession of faith sets forth doctrines, in a similar manner to a creed. The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards.
24
questions
4
votes
0
answers
57
views
Do memorialists oppose the Westminster Confession's explanation of real presence?
Many denominations affirm the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in communion, that in the communion Christ is in some sense really present in a way that is distinct from his general presence in ...
- 19.7k
3
votes
2
answers
179
views
Do Arminian Protestants agree with Chapter 3 Article 1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith?
Q: Do Arminian Protestants agree with Chapter 3 Article 1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith?
We read:
CHAPTER 3 -
Of God’s Eternal Decree
God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy ...
- 1,031
9
votes
1
answer
187
views
According to the Protestant denominations that hold to the doctrine of clarity of scripture, is Trinitarianism clear?
The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture (often called the perspicuity of Scripture) is a Protestant Christian position teaching that
"...those things which are necessary to be known, believed, ...
- 6,568
0
votes
1
answer
98
views
What do Reformed Christians understand by God's foreordination?
The reformed, Westminster Confession of faith, reads in chapter three:
God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His
own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes ...
- 1,853
8
votes
2
answers
241
views
Did 17th century Reformed Christians reject textual criticism?
The Westminster Confession says the following:
WCF 1.8: The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which at the time of ...
- 19.7k
3
votes
1
answer
156
views
Did the authors of the Westminster Confession of Faith ever explain why they thought God could not be the author of sin?
Ch3 of the W.C.of F. says "neither is God the author of sin".
One can make something which is entirely different from oneself. e.g. if someone makes a cake they do not become a cake themselves.
...
- 333
6
votes
2
answers
721
views
How are the bread and wine explained by those who forbid images of Jesus?
This question is directed at those who subscribe to the Westminster Standards, particularly Westminster Larger Catechism 109, which reads:
The sins forbidden in the second commandment are [...] the ...
- 42.3k
3
votes
1
answer
787
views
According to Anglicanism, is the Pope the Antichrist?
In the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter XXV, article 6, we read:
There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense, be head thereof; but ...
- 4,601
9
votes
1
answer
509
views
Did the authors of the Westminster Standards accept Roman Catholic baptisms as valid?
In the original version of the Westminster Standards, a highly regarded Protestant doctrinal statement, there's a line that is particularly famous:
There is no other head of the Church but the Lord ...
- 42.3k
2
votes
3
answers
332
views
Has Protestantism relegated the scripture to be the 'Subordinate Standard'?
It was very necessary for the early church to stand against doctrinal errors, such as Arianism and Sabellianism but, in the doing so, some chose to state a creed (the Athanasian Creed), rather than ...
- 23.6k
2
votes
1
answer
649
views
Why is the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism so different from the Westminster Confession opening statement?
The former is based on the latter, being drawn up by a special Assembly convened in London in 1643, to be a Catechism for the Christian Church in England, Scotland and Ireland. It was adopted by the (...
- 26.9k
7
votes
1
answer
121
views
What was Samuel Rutherford's view on the role of pastors in wedding ceremonies?
Samuel Rutherford was an important 17th-century Presbyterian theologian who had significant influence in the drafting of the Westminster Standards, still widely used as a part of the constitutions of ...
- 42.3k
4
votes
1
answer
466
views
Does the Westminster Confession affirm or deny Luther's predilection for Paul's writings?
My understanding is that the Westminster Confession is the official defining document of "Reformed theology". That is, if someone is "Reformed" then they agree completely or almost completely with the ...
12
votes
3
answers
848
views
How does the Westminster Confession address the paradox of the Bible canon?
Chapter I, Article IV of the Westminster Confession (1647) reads:
The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man, or ...
- 5,637
0
votes
1
answer
141
views
According to the Westminster Confession, what is the Biblical basis for the belief that the guilt of Adam and Eve was imputed to all mankind?
As a recent answer observes, the Westminster Confession of Faith explains:
Our first parents, being seduced by the subtilty and temptation of Satan, sinned, in eating the forbidden fruit. This their ...
- 5,637
7
votes
1
answer
484
views
Is Jonathan Edwards's view of "philosophical necessity" compatible with the Westminster Standards?
Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) was a major 18th century theologian who, though rooted in Reformed theology, innovated in some important ways. According to J. V. Fesko, in The Theology of the ...
- 42.3k
10
votes
2
answers
497
views
What is the biblical basis used by Reformed theologians to argue that all those dying in infancy are saved?
In American Presbyterianism and Reformed theology more generally, one of the controversial issues has been the fate of children dying in infancy. The Westminster Confession of Faith reads:
Elect ...
- 42.3k
4
votes
1
answer
504
views
Why have conservative Presbyterians objected to chapters on the Holy Spirit and the Gospel in the Westminster Confession?
In the United States, the mainline Presbyterian denomination (the PCUSA), along with several other Presbyterian bodies, include two chapters that were first added to the Westminster Confession in 1903....
- 42.3k
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What major changes have American Presbyterians made to the Westminster Confession of Faith?
As someone who generally affirms the Westminster Confession of Faith, one comment I hear periodically is that I therefore must believe that the Pope is the Antichrist. However, the Confession ...
- 42.3k
2
votes
1
answer
196
views
Why do some adherents to the Westminster Standards sing hymns, rather than just psalms?
The Westminster Confession of Faith, 21.5, in its list of elements that are "parts of the ordinary religious worship of God," includes the:
singing of psalms with grace in the heart
The Confession ...
- 42.3k
7
votes
1
answer
432
views
Why do Covenant theologians use the word "dispensation," and what do they mean by it?
The first time I read the Westminster Confession of Faith, a confession reflecting Covenant (or Reformed) theology, I was surprised to see the word dispensations used in it:
There are not therefore ...
- 42.3k
20
votes
1
answer
853
views
Have the individual commands of the OT Law ever been categorized as "Moral," "Ceremonial," and "Civil?"
Are there any historic Christian documents that provide a comprehensive categorization of the commands of the OT Law / mitzvot using the three categories from the WCF?
And, if so, then as a secondary ...
- 3,631
15
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What doctrinal changes did the Westminster Confession bring to the Church of Scotland?
After the reforms of the 16th century, the Scots Confession served as the primary confession for the Church of Scotland for just over 80 years. In 1648 it was replaced by the The Humble Advice of the ...
- 37.3k
22
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why are only some predestined?
Specifically with respect to the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)...
Chapter 3, paragraph 3 and 4, where it states:
III. By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men ...
- 455