First Things RSS Feed - Joseph D. Small https://www.firstthings.com/author/joseph-d-small en-us Copyright 2025 First Things. All Rights Reserved. ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) Mon, 20 Jan 2025 16:53:31 -0500 https://d2201k5v4hmrsv.cloudfront.net/img/favicon-196.png First Things RSS Feed Image https://www.firstthings.com/rss/author/joseph-d-small 60 Presbyterians' Procedural Problems https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2014/07/presbyterians-procedural-problems https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2014/07/presbyterians-procedural-problems Thu, 10 Jul 2014 00:00:00 -0400 The 221st General Assembly (2014) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will be remembered for its approval of same-sex marriage, but its most lasting effect may be the decisive victory of proceduralism—the displacement of substantive consideration by parliamentary process in the service of prevalent opinion. The church’s reliance on legislative procedures produces, but decisions do not necessarily signify agreement . Presbyterians are divided on a number of important matters, but proceduralism overrides differences by simplifying issues, hastening legislative decisions, and producing winners and losers.

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]]> Presbyterianism’s Democratic Captivity https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/03/presbyterianisms-democratic-captivity https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/03/presbyterianisms-democratic-captivity Thu, 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500 There was a time when the Presbyterian Church’s voice mattered, when its witness informed and transformed American culture. That time is rapidly receding into the mists of civic and cultural disestablishment. As its influence has waned, the church has failed to recognize the ways in which an institution that had previously transformed the culture is now being transformed by the culture.

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