"Confusion After Heresy Trial”

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31627, 13 March 1968, Page 16

"Confusion After Heresy Trial”

Three letters expressing concern at the confusion and disquiet surrounding the heresy trial of Professor L. G. Geering last year, were received at a meeting of the Presbytery of Christchurch yesterday.

The letters, from the St David’s parish, Hornby, and the Cust-Oxford and Malvern parishes were written after their session meetings. Many feel that in exonerating Professor Geering on the one hand and accepting the doctrinal statement of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, the chur-’h has in effect a double stand,” said the Hornby letter, signed by the session clerk (Mr G. K. Nicolson). “Our session feels that there has been an abandonment of the historic Presbyterian, faith. We urge the Presbytery to have the whole matter re-opened at General Assembly level,” the letter said. The Malvern church expressed concern over the confusion among Presbyterians as a result of the debate of the heresy trial and the subsequent verdict of the General Assembly on the acceptability of Professor Geering’s beliefs.

After a retreat was held for the elders of the Malvern church, a seven-point affirmation of faith, in contrast to Professor Geering’s views, was made.

A letter along similar lines was received from the CustOxford parish .

The letter from Cust-Oxford was referred to the presbytery committee on matters of doctrine, the Malvern letter was read and received, and the third letter was referred to the steering committee. Members of a special presbytery committee, set up to deal with such matters, met with members of the Rangiora church session after a letter expressing concern at the results of the Geering trial was received at the previous presbytery meeting. A reply to the session was drafted by the commttee and approved by the presbytery; it will be presented to the session on March 24. The Rev. R. M. Rogers, convenor of the committee, said that the reply would not be made public until after it was presented to the session.

The presbytery decided not to support the Presbytery of South Auckland in its approaches to the doctrine committee of the General Assembly. It was felt that the assembly had made the necessary arrangements for the committee to consider the matters of controversy, and then to issue a statement on “the substance of the faith.”