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We can say
"what Baptists (or Methodists or Lutherans) believe" only
with some reservation. Devout members of every denomination hold a
wide variety of opinions on key questions of the faith--and
Presbyterians are no exception. In general, however, Presbyterians
have proven to be the great moderates of church history. The
"Presbyterian position" can usually be found by taking the
average of the two most divergent opinions on a given issue, as the
following questions illustrate.
How should the
church be governed?
All denominations
believe in the orderly exercise of governance, but they differ on
where they vest decisive authority. Episcopally governed churches
give primary decision-making power to bishops: for Lutherans,
Episcopalians and Methodists, as for Catholics, policies are set and
pastors are appointed by one designated leader. Congregationally
governed churches place this authority in the individual
congregation: Baptist and Congregational churches hire and fire their
clergy and decide on their own bylaws and beliefs. Presbyterians,
wanting to avoid both those extremes, set primary power in a
presbytery made up of the clergy and elder representatives of the
churches of a given region.
What does the
Eucharist mean?
 The
sacramental churches (especially Anglicans as well as Catholics)
hold that when you receive the Communion bread and wine, you are
truly receiving Jesus, because the bread and wine have been
transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Rejecting this, the
ordinance churches (almost everybody else) argue that nothing happens
to the elements: the bread and wine remain bread and wine, nothing
more. They are simply symbolic tokens to help you remember that Jesus
died for you. Presbyterians (and, with minor differences, Lutherans)
insist that while the substance of the bread and wine remain
unchanged, Christ is truly there to be received into the inmost being
of those who partake.
Who should be baptized?
In the view of
Pentecostal, Baptist and Holiness churches, baptism focuses on the
testimony of the believer: it is the symbolic act of obedience by
which a person declares his or her allegiance to Christ--and so it is
appropriate for those who have expressed their own faith in Jesus
(and not for infants). For Lutherans, Episcopalians and other
Protestants, like Catholics, baptism is especially the act of God by
which saving grace is given to the one being baptized. It is the
ordinary means by which you receive this grace, and so it is
necessary for all members of the family of faith (and therefore for
infants as well). Presbyterians see baptism as an affirmation of
faith on the part of the whole congregation, as we express our
confidence in God's call to the one being baptized. And we see
baptism as receiving the promise of God, which the one baptized will
live out in the time to come.
How should we
read Scripture?
In most
congregations there are those who see the Bible as an intriguing
collection of ancient folk tales, and others who claim every Biblical
word is absolute and authoritative. Unitarians and some others would
expect that we today might well be inspired by pondering on the
lessons of some of those tales, while members of the Church of Christ
and other denominations would scrupulously expect to apply every
Biblical detail to contemporary life. Most Presbyterians would place
themselves between these two positions: we take seriously questions
about the sources and genres of the Biblical text, and yet we have
confidence that the Bible is the pre-eminent way through which Jesus
calls and teaches his people.
What is the
relative importance of Word and sacrament for the spiritual nurture
of church members?
Some denominations
(Baptists, Pentecostals, many others) emphasize the Word, the Bible,
with detailed 30- to 40-minute sermons each Sunday, but celebrate the
Lord's Supper perhaps as infrequently as twice a year. Other
Protestants (Episcopalians, for example) join the Catholics in
celebrating the Eucharist at least once a week, usually accompanied
by a 5- to a 7- minute homily. Lutheran and Disciples of Christ
churches are notable for their stress on both Word and sacrament,
with extensive preaching and weekly Communion. Presbyterians also
claim Word and sacrament as an emphasis, but they are rather diverse
in how often they receive the Lord's Supper: the "average"
church probably celebrates Communion once a month, but many
congregations do so every Sunday and many others follow a quarterly
Communion schedule.
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