The statement concluded with, "We must declare our conscience at whatever cost. We recognize that if our military escalation is not reversed, the time may come when those who dissent because they seek peace will be placed under even greater pressure, and that the possibility of significant influence by the church on public policy will have disappeared. Should that time come, we urge our corporate church and our individual church members still to exercise the voice of conscience...."

This oblique exchange between the Church and the Defense Department reflects some of the transformations that are taking place in America right now. The Church spoke its mind clearly; the Department in effect said, "That's all right." And nothing has changed. New political activists are formed by such experiences.

The Church adopted a relevant, contemporary Confession--it included powerful, prophetic lines--and it adopted a strong resolution of dissent and warning about the war in Vietnam. It is a good Confession, both from the perspective of faith and for the sake of the world. But it is too late by two generations, and it took too long to get through the Barrier Act once the decision to formulate it was taken.

Since the first World War, and especially in the last nine years, our culture has moved away from itself. It has been inwardly and externally transformed. But awareness of this transformation's meaning has not developed into the shared consciousness which a Confession requires. Right now is no time for Confessions.

Instead, manifesto and declaratory action seem to be more appropriate for this time. Liturgy and ethic, made articulate in humane and political commitment, are the best inner and outward expressions of the power that is now largely nacent in the Church. The language of "must, if, may, and urge" which is the hortatory language of Confessions written in a time of failing faith, can be transformed into "have, did, shall, and join us." That is the language of manifesto.

The importance of the exchange within the Church and the Defense Department rests partly in the fact that such experiences transform confessional statements into declaratory acts. Polarization occurs. Conflicts develop. People who were silent begin to speak out. Values that people have held intellectually--about justice, truth, love, and compassion--become acts as well as beliefs. People who until recently led quiet and uninvolved lives are becoming political activists. Some are members of churches and others are not. And as the force of their commitments may chance to coincide with each other's and with some formal statement within the Confession, the dynamic qualities of a manifesto become associated with the Confession. Confessional language says, "Everyone should tell the truth" and "There is no moral issue more urgently confronting our church and nation than the war in Vietnam. The hour is late; the church dare not remain silent. We must declare our conscience." The language of manifesto says, "This is the way it is," and "I won't go."

If it is true that a manifesto is more appropriate to the summer of 1967 than a Confession, an interesting possibility is raised. Is it possible that committed unbelievers may be of more help to the Church in fulfilling its stated task than many of its members?

Theology and Ecumenics

The Confession has established a new way of doing and using theology in the church. The church has defined the task of confessional theology as "understanding the gospel." It has broadened the base of historic creeds, catechisms, and declarations to be used as guides to aid in that task, and thus made the discovery of what Presbyterians now believe is both more difficult and more interesting.

Deacons, elders, and ministers of the Presbyterian Church are required to subscribe to the faith of the church at the time of their ordination. The meaning of subscription, however, has been effectively changed. The old form enquired of a candidate for ordination, "Do you sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith of this Church, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures?" The reference was to the Westminster Confession of Faith which is now one of the nine symbolic documents in the Book of Confessions.

The new subscription form enquires, "Will you perform the duties of ruling elder (or deacon) in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of the Scriptures, and under the continuing instruction and guidance of the confessions of this Church?" The differences between the old and new forms of the question make clear how the church expects its members hence forth to do their theology. Jesus Christ is to be obeyed; the Scriptures are "the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church catholic"; and the nine confessions are for "continuing instruction and guidance." The elders who enquired about possible jeopardy to their security clearance missed these distinctions.

It is refreshing, after 21 years of ordination, to hear the church say it is "aided in understanding the gospel by the testimony of the church from earlier ages and from many lands." The Westminster Confession fits in its original 1646 context. To see behind Westminster the struggle of the Scots and English for political and ecclesiastical control encourages a new approach to politics today.

Slight faults might be found with the Book of Confessions. One is the absence of any document out of the Lutheran tradition. Heidelberg is German Reformed (1563) and Barmen is German (1934), but one of Luther's catechisms would have been helpful. A second is that no witnesses are included from the continents of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Perhaps a supplemental book with representative liturgies, statements, or documents from non-confessional churches could be put together.

The Scots Confession (1560), the Second Helvetic Confession (Swiss, 1562), the Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), and the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds complete the Book.

But the Book of Confessions remains open, and this has a theological and ecumenical significance that might be overlooked in the easy tendency to think of the Confession of 1967 as the "new" Confession, replacing Westminster, rather than as one of the nine in the Book of Confessions.