Modernism and th Evangelicals of all denominations have been openly shocked by the devastating, machine-like workings of the Eos Angeles Presbytery . The latest action of this Presbytery h as been to forbid its ministers to teach at the Bible Institute of Eos Angeles. This is the story of this latest action— an action that has been described by one Presby ter ian as " t h e product of men of little minds and littler hearts .” There is an acknowledged danger that, in exposing such a story , more dam age to the cause of Christ will he done. It is, therefore , the sincere p rayer of the editors that no such damage w ill he done and that the Ho ly .Spirit will take away anything that is not true or fa ir ly stated.
A nother incident in the long list of evidences which mark the apostate condition of the Pres byterian Church, USA, occurred re cently in connection with a meeting of the Los Angeles Presbytery. At that meeting, which was held on January 12, 1954, three members of the Presbytery, who are also members of the faculty of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc., were ordered to appear before the General Council of the Presbytery to be questioned concerning their relationship to the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. The evident intent of this procedure was to force the brethren either to renounce their Presbyterian affilia tions or to desist from teaching at the Bible Institute and no longer to have any official connections with it what ever. Following two or three meetings with the General Council, a statement was prepared for and passed by the Presbytery enumerating five points which emerged from the discussion and which led the Presbytery to direct “ that the Reverend Paul M. Aijian, the Reverend Dean Nauman and the Reverend J. Vernon McGee, if they desire to remain members of
pulpit during the years of his pas torate. He resigned his work in Santa Ana, to become the Stated Clerk of the Los Angeles Presbytery. The three members of the Presbytery named above had each obtained per mission to labor without bounds of Presbytery and teach at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. How ever, the three men were condemned for having their names appear as professors in the recently established Talbot Theological Seminary, with out asking permission to labor with out the bounds of the Presbytery in this regard. They were condemned in the statement because, “ they have never secured nor have they at any time asked for permission to labor in Talbot Theological Seminary.” This condemnation is very strange in view of the fact that in the very next paragraph, the statement reads, “ It is unrealistic to attempt to divorce an evaluation and judgment of Talbot Theological Seminary from a similar evaluation and judgment of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc.” In. view of the fact that the gentlemen named above had obtained permission to labor without bounds to teach in the Bible Institute, and in view of
the Presbytery of Los Angeles, be re quested to sever their relationship with the Bible Institute of Los An geles, Inc., and the Talbot Theologi cal Seminary, beginning one year from the date of the meeting of this Presbytery.” The declaration prepared by the General Council and passed by the Presbytery is too lengthy to quote in its entirety; however, there are certain statements which were made which reveal the deplorable condition into which the Presbyterian Church has officially degenerated. The document is signed by 0. Scott McFarland, who serves as the Stated Clerk of Presbytery. He formerly served for approximately 20 years as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana. During the term of his pastorate, the church grew numerically; but there were many who were heartsick over the decline of spiritual zeal and interest which was evidenced during the time of his pastorate. During his pastorate, the church stopped holding Sunday eve ning services and likewise closed out the mid-week prayer meeting. Many earnest Christian people testified to the outstandingly modernistic mes sages which he proclaimed from that
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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