- Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States
Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States (WPCUS) is a small
Presbyterian denomination which was constituted in January 2006 inLansdowne, Pennsylvania . The founding churches separated from their former denominations and came together because of perceived equivocation on central Protestant doctrines and because of tolerance of perceived excesses inworship practices in other Presbyterian denominations. [(April, 2006, Page 14). "News: Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States." "Banner of Truth Magazine",Banner of Truth .] The founders were particularly concerned with the perceived spread of liberal teaching within Presbyterianism in theUnited States and in particular withFederal Vision theology, which they believe supplies a different understanding of doctrines such asjustification and theperseverance of the saints . [(January 3, 2006). "New Presbyterian Denomination." "British Church Newspaper".]The WPCUS strictly subscribes to the
Westminster Standards (The Westminster Confession of Faith,the Larger Catechism ,the Shorter Catechism , theDirectory of Public Worship , theDirectory for Family Worship , and the Form of Presbyterian Church Government) as they were originally adopted by theChurch of Scotland (1645-48) and the colonies of North America (1716). [ [http://www.wpcus.org/WPC_Covenant_of_Union.htm The Westminster Presbyterian Covenant of Union] ]Distinctives
Regarding its doctrine, the WPCUS:
* rejects all perceived variations from the Westminster Standards on the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone.
* adheres toyoung earth creationism in which creation took place within the space of six 24-hour days.
* believes incomplementarianism and rejects theordination of women to church offices (elder anddeacon ).
* adheres to and teaches that all nations have a moral obligation explicitly to recognizeJesus as king and supreme lawgiver in theirconstitution s,court s,legislature s, etc. and that the civilgovernment has the duty to legislate in conformity with God’s moral law summarized in theTen Commandments . Consequently, they work for the restoration of the establishment of the Christian faith in the United States and reject religious pluralism,secularism , and governmental authority that is not divinely mandated in accordance with their understanding of theWestminster Standards and the principles of theSolemn League and Covenant . (Compare Covenanting andEstablished Church .)Additionally, the WPCUS adheres to the following distinctives related to public worship:
* A strict interpretation of the
regulative principle of worship ;
* The exclusive use of the biblical Psalter for public worship, unaccompanied by musical instruments ;
* The rejection of the ecclesiastical calendar and holy days;
* The rejection of traditionalprayer book s and liturgies.References
External links
* [http://www.wpcus.org The Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States] , the official website
* [http://www.wpcus.org/wgm/index.php The Westminster Guardian] , the denomination's online magazine
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