American Decades
The Presbyterians and the Auburn Affirmation
The Conflict between Modernism and Traditionalism.
The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (Northern) was deeply split at the turn of the century between conservative traditionalists and those more responsive to changes in biblical scholarship and the surrounding world. The modernists, as they would soon be called, believed it was time for a reexamination of the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), which was still the foundation of Presbyterian doctrines. Conservatives not only opposed such a reexamination but saw no reason for it. In 1910, at the close of the annual General Assembly, the conservatives succeeded in adopting a set of five "essential and necessary" doctrines for its ministers. They quickly became known as the Five Points. The Five Points included a belief in the inerrancy of the Bible, the virgin birth of Christ, his substitutionary atonement, his bodily resurrection, and the authenticity of miracles. These were similar to...
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1920's Religion
