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What major changes have American Presbyterians made to the Westminster Confession of Faith?

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As someone who generally affirms the Westminster Confession of Faith, one comment I hear periodically is that I therefore must believe that the Pope is the Antichrist. However, the Confession published by my denomination (the [PCA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterian_Church_in_America)) does not say anything like that. It does, however, include the following note: > This text of the Westminster Confession of Faith is that adopted by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1936 and by the Presbyterian Church in America in 1973. It is derived from a 1646 manuscript edited by S. W. Carruthers and incorporates revisions adoped by American Presbyterian churches as early as 1789. So apparently the "Westminster" Confession of Faith I subscribe to is not exactly the same as the one written by Westminster Divines in the 1640s. This is a bit disconcerting, as I [recently argued](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/a/52589/21576) that Reformed theologians would never simply "update" the Confession if they suddenly changed their minds regarding some core doctrine. My question, then, is: **what is an overview of the changes made by American Presbyterians to the Westminster Confession of Faith up to 1936?** Put another way, what are the several most significant edits to the WCF made by the large/longstanding Presbyterian denominations in the United States, up to and including any changes made by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1936? ---- In case it's not clear, this means no [Savoy Declaration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy_Declaration) , even though it was adopted by Americans (they were congregationalists, not presbyterians), no [Philadelphia Confession](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1689_Baptist_Confession_of_Faith) (Baptists), and no explanatory notes (a la the "Testimony" of the RPCNA). Similarly, no mere spelling or grammar fixes, or even "modernizations" or other wording tweaks that generally preserve the original meaning.
Asked by Nathaniel is protesting (42928 rep)
Sep 14, 2016, 11:33 AM
Last activity: Dec 5, 2022, 11:20 PM