PCA HISTORICAL CENTER
Archives & Manuscript Repository for the Continuing Presbyterian Church

Denominational Records|
Manuscript Collections
|
Biographies
|
Oral History Interviews
|
Research Library
|
subglobal1 link | subglobal1 link | subglobal1 link | subglobal1 link | subglobal1 link | subglobal1 link | subglobal1 link
subglobal2 link | subglobal2 link | subglobal2 link | subglobal2 link | subglobal2 link | subglobal2 link | subglobal2 link
subglobal3 link | subglobal3 link | subglobal3 link | subglobal3 link | subglobal3 link | subglobal3 link | subglobal3 link
subglobal4 link | subglobal4 link | subglobal4 link | subglobal4 link | subglobal4 link | subglobal4 link | subglobal4 link
subglobal5 link | subglobal5 link | subglobal5 link | subglobal5 link | subglobal5 link | subglobal5 link | subglobal5 link
subglobal6 link | subglobal6 link | subglobal6 link | subglobal6 link | subglobal6 link | subglobal6 link | subglobal6 link
subglobal7 link | subglobal7 link | subglobal7 link | subglobal7 link | subglobal7 link | subglobal7 link | subglobal7 link
subglobal8 link | subglobal8 link | subglobal8 link | subglobal8 link | subglobal8 link | subglobal8 link | subglobal8 link

Recent Accessions and Current News :
Four blogs to follow:
We have four blogs now, started in an effort to cover much of the territory that is the PCA Historical Center.
1. PCA History - will be concerned with items specific to the history of the PCA and its formation.
2. The Continuing Story - will have more wide-ranging information on the theologically conservative side of American Presbyterianism.
3. What's New and What's Old at the PCA Historical Center - frequent updates on work at the PCA Historical Center, new accessions, etc.
4. A Providential Archivist - Notes, readings and other information on archival studies.

On the Revision of the Confession of Faith (1890)
Written by Dr. Benjamin B. Warfield in 1889 in opposition to modernists and others seeking to "downgrade" the confessional standards of the Church. In typical Warfield fashion, he provides brilliant insight into the substance of the debate and a devastating critique of the errors promulgated by Dr. Charles Briggs and others who would dilute the Westminster Standards.
Chapter 5: Confessional Subscription and Revision

Posted:
The History Behind the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, by Dr. George P. Hutchinson.


Pictured above, Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield at age 13. Photograph dates to 1864. From an original copy preserved at the PCA Historical Center.
  New: "The Third Revision of the Directory of Worship" (PCUS, 1885)   • Recent Accessions & Current News
Newly posted, from The Presbyterian Quarterly: PCA Logo Contest
Articles on the Diaconate
Selected Quote from "The Deaconship," by the Rev. Jame B. Ramsay (p. 15):
"But, it may be asked, of what use are deacons to take care of the poor in churches where there are no poor, or but two or three ? That, indeed, is a sadly defective state of the church where there are no poor; there must be something very deficient in its zeal and aggressiveness, if amidst the multitudes of poor around us, and mingling with us, there are none in the church itself. When we remember that Christ in his message, sent to John the Baptist, declares it to be a proof of his Divine mission, worthy to stand at the close of the brief summary of his most striking miracles, as of equal or even greater convincing power; and that the adaptedness of the Gospel to come down to the most despised and degraded of our wretched race—to seize and elevate the vast masses of humanity from their down-trodden condition—is one of its most distinguishing characteristics, and one of the most striking proofs of its Divine origin—Is it not evident that any church that fails to gather in the poor, fails in accomplishing one great design of the Gospel, and in presenting to the world one of the most convincing proofs of the truth and power of Christianity ?" [emphasis added]

Campbell, W.A., "The Power of the People in the Government of the Church" TPQ 8.3 (July 1894): 404-415.
English, T.R., "On Licensure," TPQ 5.1 (January 1891): 100-107.
Jacobs, Ferdinand - "On the Examination of Ministers" TPQ 4.2 (April 1890): 289-294.
Lapsley, R.A., "Has the Southern Presbyterian Church Any Distinctive Principles?" TPQ 15.3 (July 1901): 414-430.
This is an interesting article on several levels. Regrettably it reflects the segregationism of that era, in a brief comment on page 416. Curiously however, that same comment also makes it clear--at least in Lapsley's view--that segregationism was not a distinctive of the Southern Presbyterian Church.
But the main point of Lapsley's article has to do with a comparison of PCUS and PCUSA polity, and it is for this latter reason that the article is being presented here.
Palmer, Benjamin M. - "The Ancient Hebrew Polity," The Presbyterian Quarterly 12.2 (April 1898): 153-169. [.pdf only]
Smith, Samuel M. - "The Presbyterian Pastorate" TPQ 3.2 (April 1889): 256-261.

         
On the Value of Records:
"The American writer, Bell Hooks, in her latest book, Belonging: A Culture of Place (New York: Routledge, 2009), gives us this interesting perspective on the value of the record: 'In the past I have often scoffed at those folks who cannot go anywhere without a camera, a recording device, video, without some instrument to document for the future. Now that I have witnessed the deep pain and grief that can be caused by loss of memory, through illness, dementia and Alzheimer’s . . ., I can acknowledge the value of documentation for a future time. I know firsthand what a blessing it is to have a record – a way to remember that goes beyond the mind.' " (pp. 185-186).
[from the blog, Reading Archives, by Richard J. Cox]



 


About Us | Site Map | Policies | Contact Us | © 2009 PCA Historical Center. All Rights Reserved.
The Historical Center of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is a ministry of the PCA Stated Clerk's Office, with facilities located in St. Louis, Missouri on the campus of Covenant Theological Seminary. Our mission is to document the story of the conservative Presbyterian movement of the 20th & 21st centuries. The concept of the "continuing church" dates back to the Scottish Presbyterian churches of the 17th century and reflects the effort to maintain a faithful, Bible-believing Church, true to the Lordship of Christ. The PCA Historical Center currently hold the records of six conservative Presbyterian denominations, as well as manuscript collections for over 100 individuals connected with these Churches, documents concerning the histories of about seven hundred Presbyterian congregations, and a modest research library of over 5,000 volumes focused on American Presbyterianism..
Last update : 9 June 2010.