1967 жылғы Исповедь: Пресвитериандық сенімнің жаңа тұжырымы

The Confession of 1967 is a confession of faith of the Presbyterian Church (U. S. A. ), abbreviated PC (USA). It was written as a modern statement of the faith for the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA), the "northern church", to supplement the Westminster Confession and the other statements of faith in its then new Book of Confessions. The document was influenced by Karl Barth, reflecting the view of Scripture espoused by the corresponding biblical theology movement prominent in mainline Protestant theological schools in the mid twentieth century. During the consideration of its adoption by the presbyteries, conservatives who desired the continuance of strict subscription to only the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Catechisms campaigned against its inclusion.

The Confession of 1967 was written and debated in a denomination that found itself in an era shaped by the social movements of the 1950s and 1960s. The sexual revolution, woman's liberation, the civil rights movement, and the anti war effort seemed to clash with the traditional values of the institutionalized church. Spirituality was in vogue, and the popularity of Eastern religious practices grew. A vocal minority of young Americans rejected organized religion along with the military, government and capitalism as part of "The Establishment". Many adults retained the religious values of their youth, but a vocal minority of the baby boomers rejected them. The counterculture was a powerful force in American culture and politics from the mid 1960s, when the oldest boomers became old enough to vote and actively influence America's society in many ways. Nevertheless, the social environment of the decade greatly impacted the Church and its members. As the leaders of the Church had done throughout its history, they sought reform and revision to remain current and relevant in a period of social changes. Thus the committee referred to the debates before the revolutions of 1848 and quoted a German theologian, Peter Schaff, who claimed in 1844 that the nature of Christian faith is not against but above reason. In the UPCUSA, such a desire to address modern social issues intersected with the theological implications of neo orthodoxy, which was "well established as the working theological consensus in the Presbyterian Church" by the late 1950s as "an alternative both to liberalism and fundamentalism." The Special Committee's report was first presented to the UPCUSA's General Assembly in 1965. The committee was chaired by Edward Dowey Jr., professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the single layman on the committee was the American philosopher Samuel Martin Thompson at Monmouth College (Illinois).

Much of the confession's text is dedicated to the subject of reconciliation. It is written in three parts which the committee's chair designates as representing the faith, the love, and the hope of the Christian tradition. Section I's message is seen as central to Christian doctrine and is essentially a reaffirmation of faith. The confession asserts that the Church has been reconciled to God.

Section II outlines how the Church should respond to God's grace and primarily deals with reconciliation between men. Dowey refers to this section as an expression of Christian love. The Confession states that to be reconciled to God is to be sent into the world as his reconciling community. The Church has been entrusted with God's message of reconciliation and it also shares his labor of healing the enmities which separate men from God and from each other. This part is written as a great call to action and is the committee's response to great human suffering. Throughout, they implore Presbyterian Christians, guided by the Holy Spirit, to act but cautions them to act with humility, for all men in their sin are compliant with evil. Furthermore, the confession points to four areas where it believes the Church has been specifically called to deal with crises in the modern era.

The confession affirms the racial equality of all men, brothers in Christ, and condemns those who dominate or patronize one another. It states that "God's reconciling love breaks down every form of discrimination based on racial or ethnic difference." Additionally, the confession claims it is the work of the Church to abolish such discrimination in society and care for those whom hatred has harmed. Many opponents maintain that the authors of the document deny that Christ died only for the sins of the elect rather than for all people, contrary to the original Westminster Confession. In its place, conservatives believe that the 1967 modification supports universalism. Additionally, they take issue with the more humanistic theology, focusing more on man's ability to "save himself", trivializing the centrality of God in the salvation of both individuals and society as a whole. There are those who believe that some of the phraseology suggests that man has the capacity for self transcendence. In the Protestant community the debate between God's sovereignty, scripture and freedom is long standing, with different communities weighting the role of man and God in salvation differently. However, conservatives claim that the confession all together leaves out God's spirit in the reconciliation of man to man. There was also backlash relating to the Church's interference into the political sphere. The Presbyterian Lay Committee voiced their concerns about the inappropriateness of a spiritual body turning away from its purported historical call to enter into secular affairs. United States Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, a Presbyterian elder, expressed his concern about the "disarmament mentality" suggested by the confession. The confession ultimately had broad support, being approved by presbyteries by a nearly 90 percent margin.