A Presbyterian by any other name

Patrick at Clarity and Resolve notes the decision of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to divest its $8 billion portfolio from companies that do business with Israel. This decision is indeed disgraceful, but to be expected from the PC-USA, one of the most liberal Christian denominations in the country. I do feel the need to point out that while the PC-USA is by far the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country with over 2.5 million members, it does not speak for all Presbyterians.

The Presbyterian Church in America broke away from the PC-USA in the early 70's, in opposition to the larger denomination's growing liberalism. As of 2000, the PCA had over 300,000 members, and was growing rapidly. The PCA has not joined with the PC-USA in its Israel bashing, and many of its leaders have signed petitions requesting that the PC-USA rethink its decisions. These PCA leaders have been joined by many PC-USA ministers who do not share the liberal views of their governing assembly.

In short, the PC-USA is indeed shameless in its blind anti-Israel bias, but there are significant numbers of other Presbyterians who are completely steadfast in their support of the nation of Israel. When discussing Presbyterians, it is always important to distinguish between PC-USA and PCA.