Early this morning, official news came from the RCA and those “in the know” that 32 of the RCA’s 46 Classes have affirmatively voted to confirm the General Synod’s 2009 decision to make the Belhar Confession the RCA’s 4th theological standard.
Never, in the history of the Reformed Church, has the denomination added a theological standard (the other three predated the establishment of the RCA). It is a journey we have been walking since 1985 – three short years after the confession was written in South Africa (as, among other things, a theological condemnation of apartheid).
Those who know me know this is a decision I have hoped and prayed for since my days in seminary, however many of my friends and colleagues come from non-confessional traditions and don’t “get” why I would be so excited about the addition of a new “standard.”
Today, I write to you.
Let me admit a little secret that most confessional Christians either don’t know are don’t admit: When push comes to shove, we do not hold entirely to the reformation concept of sola scriptura. To be honest no one does. Everyone uses their own culture, education, experience, and established beliefs to help them understand the scriptures (sometimes faithfully, sometimes not).
The difference between confessional churches and non-confessional ones is that we admit our theological biases, and we have taken the time and energy to create (and/or adopt) denominational standards that help us define what aspects of our culture, education, etc. are appropriate for use in biblical interpretation and what their limits are.
In other words, everyone reads the scriptures through a specific set of lenses (sometimes this is done intentionally, other times accidentally). As a minister in the RCA, the most powerful of those lenses are the standards I affirmed as “faithful” upon my ordination (and will re-affirm every time I transfer to a new Classis).
The addition of the Belhar Confession to our list of standards in the RCA adds a new set of lenses to help us more faithfully embrace the fullness of the scriptures.
I can already hear the question: Why not just read the Bible?
That, unfortunately, is a question with a simple answer: the Bible is all-too often misused and abused.
Confessional standards set up theological fences (tested by time and careful discernment) to help ensure orthodoxy. Standards help clarify that some interpretations are misinterpretations – they help prevent the scriptures being misused (usually by the powerful and wealthy) to abuse (usually the weak and poor).
The Belhar, with it’s deep commitment to unity, justice and reconciliation, sets forth a lens that reflects Jesus’ ministry and teaching more clearly than our other three standards. It draws us out of an over-emphasis on Paul’s writings by calling us to recognize the Kingdom of God (that Jesus so frequently preached) and embrace it’s priorities.
None of this suggests that the other three standards are somehow “lacking” in what they intend to teach us. They simply arose out of different contexts and speak to different issues. As powerful and Spirit-informed as they are, they could not say what the Belhar says because they were not written when the Belhar was written by the people who wrote the Belhar.
By recognizing the Belhar as a confessional standard, the RCA is saying that after an extensive amount of time, thought, discernment and prayer, we believe that the the Belhar’s message speaks to the larger church, not merely to the post-apartheid church in South Africa. These are universal lenses that reflect the priorities Jesus expressed throughout his earthly ministry – and thus, they are lenses that we can – and should – use to faithfully interpret the scriptures.
I don’t expect that I’ll “convert” any of my non-confessional friends and colleagues into confessional Christians, but I hope this helps you understand a bit more why I’m so excited about this historic decision. Maybe you can even celebrate along with me (us)!
Grace and Peace,
`tim
