Ratcheting up the rhetoric
McGeown analyzes the PRC schism as a case study in how escalating rhetoric perpetuates church division, tracing the controversy to a 2018 Synod decision regarding doctrinal error in preaching about the place of good works in relation to justification and the unconditional covenant. The article argues that while the original error was serious, subsequent labeling and accusations have been deliberately intensified to maintain factional loyalty and sow doubt among church members.
Introduction The schism in the Protestant Reformed Churches (PRC) affects life "all around us." Much more significant than any other issue is the rift that has taken place in our churches, separating very friends and families from one another. While the leaders of the schism call it a "reformation," I call it what it is: a sinful division in the church of Jesus Christ. The schism is being kept active by ratcheting up rhetoric. Rhetoric is "the art of effective or persuasive speaking or...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org