American Presbyterian Church
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This is a small denomination in the Eastern United States. For larger churches with similar names, see the Presbyterian Church in America or the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The American Presbyterian Church is a small Reformed Christian denomination in the United States formed in 1979. As of 2006, there were three congregations in the Eastern U.S.
[edit] History
The APC was a breakaway from the Bible Presbyterian Church. The founders of the APC felt that the BPC had been committed to fundamentalism over Calvinist theology. At first the APC tried to reform the denomination more along the lines of the standards of the church (viz., the Westminster Standards), and had an influence at the BPC's Faith Theological Seminary. When Dr. Charles Butler was fired from Faith Seminary and founded his own (Reformation Seminary), the BPC General Synod fired him and ministers who supported him. They founded the APC as a result.
The APC was named such because they believed they were continuing the American presbyterian tradition. "(The APC) identified with the Old Side in the schism of 1741 and with the Old School in the schism of 1837. They were influenced by the great Presbyterian theologians that America has produced, not only such men as Charles Hodge, but also the Southern Presbyterian theologians, especially Dabney and Thornwell."
[edit] Distinctives
The APC has a strong belief in Calvinist doctrine and practice. Some of its distinctive beliefs include the following:
- Strict subscription to the Westminster Standards
- Exclusive psalmody and a capella singing, and that singing of uninspired hymns is heresy
- Total Abstinence from alcoholic beverages
- Refusal to celebrate "unscriptural holidays" such as Christmas
- Belief in Biblical inerrancy, and specifically that of the Textus Receptus
- Historic, nondispensational premillennialism
The APC also denounces such views as the framework hypothesis, open theism, and the New Perspective on Paul as heresies. They also have a section called "Gilded Tombs" where they denounce Isaac Watts, Jonathan Edwards, and B.B. Warfield, theologians who many other Reformed Christians revere.
[edit] External links
- Official Site of the APC - Has a great deal of information on the history of the APC and other Presbyterian churches and articles on Reformed theology
- American Presbyterian Press
