Westminster Larger Catechism
A. The duties required in the second commandment are, the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath instituted in his Word;518 particularly prayer and thanksgiving in the name of Christ;519 the reading, preaching, and hearing of the Word;520 the administration and receiving of the sacraments;521 church government and discipline;522 the ministry and maintenance thereof;523 religious fasting;524 swearing by the name of God;525 and vowing unto him;526 AS ALSO THE DISAPPROVING, DETESTING, OPPOSING ALL FALSE WORSHIP; 527 AND, ACCORDING TO EACH ONE’S ONE PLACE AND CALLING REMOVING IT AND ALL MONUMENTS OF IDOLATRY.528
WCF 23.3 says the magistrate has a duty to:
“protect the person and good name of all their people” and that no person “be suffered, either upon pretense of religion or of infidelity, to offer in dignity, violence, abuse, or injury to any other person whatsoever… and to take order, but all religious and ecclesiastical assemblies be held without molestation or disturbance”
According to the #PCA CN report WCF 23-3, means that the magistrates “posture toward false religion…does not extend to… exclusion from public office.” p. 2709, line 22.
It is obvious that the PCA CN report’s interpretation of WCF 23.3 is contrary to the original intent, especially when read in light of WLC Q. 108, capitalized section above. Indeed, quite to the contrary of what the PCA CN report’s interpretation of WCF 23-3 is it is obvious that prohibiting public office to non-Christians would be a way the Christian magistrate obeys WLC 108. It seems rather obvious that a Christian people would not desire to be ruled by non-Christians and so would not allow for such an eventuality.
Now for the observation touching the political lay of the land in the PCA,
It seems the politics of the PCA right now finds the R2K “confessionalists” willing to get in bed with the Kellerite Lib-tards to the end of ridding themselves of the 2K (Wolfean) confessionalists and the rump theonomic confessionalists. Those who desire “Big Tent” Presbyterianism seem to hav the whip hand.
The results of this will be, if successful, the driving out of the 2K and theonomists but only at the price of giving the Kellerites the upper hand guaranteeing the eventual PCUSAing of the PCA. The PCA has already been on this trajectory and nothing that is happening at this General Assembly is promissory of that being altered.
The faithful that are now in the PCA will have to do what their Fathers did in 1973 when they departed the PCUS.
