Compared with American Presbyterianism
The school keeps a running comparison with American Presbyterianism, as taught at The Log College & Seminary. It is a feature of the courses, not their frame.
The 1647 text and the 1788 revision
American Presbyterian churches confess the Westminster Standards as revised in 1788. This school teaches the 1647 text, as adopted by the Church of Scotland, and studies the 1788 changes as a subject in their own right.
| Place | 1647 text | 1788 American text |
|---|---|---|
| WCF 20.4 | Those who publish errors may be proceeded against by the censures of the church “and by the power of the civil magistrate”. | The words on the civil magistrate are removed. |
| WCF 23.3 | The magistrate is to take order that unity and peace be preserved in the church, the truth kept pure, and corruptions in worship prevented, and he may call synods. | The magistrate may not interfere in matters of faith; his duty is to protect the church, giving no preference to any denomination. |
| WCF 31 | Magistrates may lawfully call synods; ministers may meet in synod of themselves when magistrates are open enemies of the church. | Synods are called by the church’s own officers. |
| WLC 109 | Among the sins forbidden by the second commandment: “tolerating a false religion”. | The phrase is removed. |
Where the curricula differ
| Subject | American Presbyterian emphasis | This school |
|---|---|---|
| Church history | The Reformation in general, then colonial America, Old Princeton and the Old School and New School division | Scotland from the Reformation to the Disruption of 1843, and the continental churches from Geneva to Dort |
| Piety | English Puritans and the New England line of Edwards | The Scottish divines (Rutherford, Durham, Boston, the Erskines) and the Dutch Further Reformation (à Brakel, Voetius) |
| Confessions | The Westminster Standards as revised in America | The 1647 text beside the Three Forms of Unity, compared article by article |
| Covenant and grace | Puritan and American covenant theology | The Marrow controversy, the Secession, and the Cocceius-Voetius debate |
| Church government | The American books of church order | The Books of Discipline, the Form of Government and the Church Order of Dort, side by side; discipline and the diaconate as full courses |
| Worship | Broad surveys of public worship | The Psalter, the Directory and the continental liturgical forms, with exclusive psalmody and Dort art. 69 each taught from its own advocates |
| Church and state | Read through the 1788 text and Southern Presbyterian thought | Christ’s headship and the two kingdoms in the Scottish tradition |
| Soul care | Nouthetic counseling | The experiential tradition of Boston and à Brakel: the minister as physician of souls through the ordinary means of grace |
| Languages | Greek and Hebrew | Greek and Hebrew, with theological Latin and Dutch for advanced study |
American Presbyterian teachers are used freely, except on Westminster chapters 20.4, 23 and 31, where their material is marked as comparison. See the confessional policy for sources.