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To maintain consistency, from religionsfacts.com as well (like SDA's and Dr. Carson's)
" Presbyterianism Facts: Stats
texts Bible (Old Testament and New Testament)
Presbyterianism Facts: Beliefs
scripture The Bible is inspired. "For some, that means the Bible is inerrant. For others, it means that even though the Bible is culturally conditioned and not necessarily factual or even always true, it breathes with the life of God." (PCUSA)
authority "Our standards of belief are to be found in the Bible and in the Church's historic Confession of Faith." (CofS)
human nature "No one of us is good enough on our own--we are all dependent upon God's goodness and mercy... from the kindest, most devoted churchgoer to the most blatant sinner." (PCUSA)
salvation "We are able to choose God because God first chose us." (PCUSA)
Trinity "We trust in the one triune God." (PCUSA)
Jesus "fully human, fully God." (PCUSA)
resurrection of Jesus Christ "died, was buried, and was resurrected by God. For Christians, this resurrection is God's most amazing miracle and proof that Jesus was indeed divine." (PCUSA)
Presbyterianism Facts: Practices
intercession of saints No.
What is Presbyterianism?
In the Christian religion, Presbyterianism, whose bodies are also called Reformed Churches, share a common origin in the 16th-century Swiss Reformation and the teachings of John Calvin, and today is one of the largest Christian denominations in Protestantism.
There are about 75 million Reformed or Presbyterian Christians worldwide; about 2.5 million belong to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The name "Presbyterian" comes from the representational form of church government called presbyterian. In presbyterian churches, governing authority is given to elected lay leaders known as "elders" (or "presbyters"), who work with the congregation's ordained minister. Presbyterian belief and practice center on the Bible and the sovereignty of God.
John Calvin
Presbyterian and Reformed churches have their historical roots in the thought of John Calvin, a 16th-century French reformer. Calvin trained for the Catholic priesthood at the University of Paris and later as a lawyer, but he eventually converted to the Reformation movement and became a theologian and minister. He wrote a great deal during his career, including Bible commentaries and the Institutes of the Christian Religion, a work of systematic theology.
The PC(USA) summarizes Presbyterian beliefs this way:
God is the supreme authority throughout the universe. Our knowledge of God and God's purpose for humanity comes from the Bible, particularly what is revealed in the New Testament through the life of Jesus Christ. Our salvation (justification) through Jesus is God's generous gift to us and not the result of our own accomplishments. It is everyone's job - ministers and lay people alike - to share this Good News with the whole world. That is also why the Presbyterian church is governed at all levels by a combination of clergy and laity, men and women alike. {1} Although all Presbyterian and Reformed churches share these basic emphases, there are some differences between various church groups.
The Presbyterian Church of Australia, for instance, remains open to the possibility of salvation of infants and those with no knowledge of Christ, denies "double predestination" (predestination to condemnation), and teaches that fallen humanity is capable of some virtuous actions. {2}
In the United States, the liberal end of the Presbyterian/Reformed spectrum is represented by the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC stresses unity of all believers and encourages theological diversity among its members more than other Presbyterian churches. {3}
Much more conservative is the Presbyterian Church in America, whose members affirm the inerrancy of the Bible, the truth of the Calvinist teachings represented by "TULIP," and seek to distance themselves from more liberal branches of the Presbyterian denomination.
Like many Protestant churches, Presbyterians recognize only two sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper (or Communion).
Women may be ordained to the ministry in many Presbyterian churches, but not all.
In the Church of Scotland, the ordination of women was granted in 1968 after a group of six women made an impassioned plea to the General Assembly on the basis of an "increasing consensus of opinion in the churches that there is no valid theological reason against the admission of women to the ministry." {7} The first woman was ordained in 1969 in Aberdeen. However, women may not be ordained in Australia.
In the United States, women may be ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Church of Christ, but not in the Presbyterian Church in America or the Reformed Churches of the United States."
" Presbyterianism Facts: Stats
texts Bible (Old Testament and New Testament)
Presbyterianism Facts: Beliefs
scripture The Bible is inspired. "For some, that means the Bible is inerrant. For others, it means that even though the Bible is culturally conditioned and not necessarily factual or even always true, it breathes with the life of God." (PCUSA)
authority "Our standards of belief are to be found in the Bible and in the Church's historic Confession of Faith." (CofS)
human nature "No one of us is good enough on our own--we are all dependent upon God's goodness and mercy... from the kindest, most devoted churchgoer to the most blatant sinner." (PCUSA)
salvation "We are able to choose God because God first chose us." (PCUSA)
Trinity "We trust in the one triune God." (PCUSA)
Jesus "fully human, fully God." (PCUSA)
resurrection of Jesus Christ "died, was buried, and was resurrected by God. For Christians, this resurrection is God's most amazing miracle and proof that Jesus was indeed divine." (PCUSA)
Presbyterianism Facts: Practices
intercession of saints No.
What is Presbyterianism?
In the Christian religion, Presbyterianism, whose bodies are also called Reformed Churches, share a common origin in the 16th-century Swiss Reformation and the teachings of John Calvin, and today is one of the largest Christian denominations in Protestantism.
There are about 75 million Reformed or Presbyterian Christians worldwide; about 2.5 million belong to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The name "Presbyterian" comes from the representational form of church government called presbyterian. In presbyterian churches, governing authority is given to elected lay leaders known as "elders" (or "presbyters"), who work with the congregation's ordained minister. Presbyterian belief and practice center on the Bible and the sovereignty of God.
John Calvin
Presbyterian and Reformed churches have their historical roots in the thought of John Calvin, a 16th-century French reformer. Calvin trained for the Catholic priesthood at the University of Paris and later as a lawyer, but he eventually converted to the Reformation movement and became a theologian and minister. He wrote a great deal during his career, including Bible commentaries and the Institutes of the Christian Religion, a work of systematic theology.
The PC(USA) summarizes Presbyterian beliefs this way:
God is the supreme authority throughout the universe. Our knowledge of God and God's purpose for humanity comes from the Bible, particularly what is revealed in the New Testament through the life of Jesus Christ. Our salvation (justification) through Jesus is God's generous gift to us and not the result of our own accomplishments. It is everyone's job - ministers and lay people alike - to share this Good News with the whole world. That is also why the Presbyterian church is governed at all levels by a combination of clergy and laity, men and women alike. {1} Although all Presbyterian and Reformed churches share these basic emphases, there are some differences between various church groups.
The Presbyterian Church of Australia, for instance, remains open to the possibility of salvation of infants and those with no knowledge of Christ, denies "double predestination" (predestination to condemnation), and teaches that fallen humanity is capable of some virtuous actions. {2}
In the United States, the liberal end of the Presbyterian/Reformed spectrum is represented by the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC stresses unity of all believers and encourages theological diversity among its members more than other Presbyterian churches. {3}
Much more conservative is the Presbyterian Church in America, whose members affirm the inerrancy of the Bible, the truth of the Calvinist teachings represented by "TULIP," and seek to distance themselves from more liberal branches of the Presbyterian denomination.
Like many Protestant churches, Presbyterians recognize only two sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper (or Communion).
Women may be ordained to the ministry in many Presbyterian churches, but not all.
In the Church of Scotland, the ordination of women was granted in 1968 after a group of six women made an impassioned plea to the General Assembly on the basis of an "increasing consensus of opinion in the churches that there is no valid theological reason against the admission of women to the ministry." {7} The first woman was ordained in 1969 in Aberdeen. However, women may not be ordained in Australia.
In the United States, women may be ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Church of Christ, but not in the Presbyterian Church in America or the Reformed Churches of the United States."
