PROTEST

 70th (2003) General Assembly Orthodox Presbyterian Church

 

The undersigned respectfully protest the action of the General Assembly in sustaining Specification A of the Appeal of John O. Kinnaird as presented by Advisory Committee 10B, namely, "that the Session and the Presbytery erred in finding Mr. Kinnaird's teaching to be contrary to the Church's Standards", for the following reasons:

 

1.      The decision did not demonstrate that the specifications of error in the verdict of the Session of Bethany Church, Oxford, Pa., were false, namely, that "it is those who obey the law who will  be declared righteous on that Day of Judgement" sic), "those inside the city are those who have kept the law of God and those only", and "these good works are a required condition if we would stand in the Day of Judgement" (sic)... Who are those people who thus benefit - who stand in the Day of Judgement (sic)? They are those who obey the law who will be declared righteous".

 

2.      The failure of the Assembly to adopt reasons for deciding that the session and presbytery were in error in finding Mr. Kinnaird's teaching to be contrary to the Church's Standards, leaves the decision open to the impression that the entire content of the Kinnaird "Declaration" is fully acceptable in the Church, which the undersigned deny. In the opinion of the undersigned the "Declaration" is an untrustworthy document.

 

3.      The decision of the Assembly to sustain the appeal opens the gate, in the judgment of the undersigned, to the use throughout the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of a hermeneutic that allows  interpretations of Scripture that are out of accord with the whole body of the Word.

 

 

(signed)

John P. Galbraith

Michael P. DeLozier

John P. Jambura

Steven F. Miller

Mark C. Mueller

Jack W. Pluister

Murali Rao

Marcus J. Serven

William D. Swink

Larry E. Wilson