When we begin to “count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8), and when we “do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31), we experience contentment even with “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities” (2 Cor. 12:10). It is in our weakness that God’s grace and power shine brightest (vv. 9-10).

One of the most difficult things for people to do is to cease striving and rest. Yet striving after the things the human heart craves, like significance, security, and success, has not brought people contentment. Instead, people are frustrated, hate their jobs, despair of life itself, and grieve their failures and losses. The Preacher, whose words are recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes, is no stranger to such emotions. He could not stand to think that after working so hard he would have to leave it to another person to enjoy, not knowing whether that person would be wise or foolish with the assets he had worked so hard to attain (Ecc. 2:18-23). The fact that we cannot control the outcome of our endeavors, particularly after we have died, drives us crazy.
How do we learn the contentment that David learned when he testified, “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up” and “I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother” (Ps. 131:2)? David gives us the answer, “hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore” (v. 3). The Preacher gets at the same thing when he points us to God in Ecclesiastes 2:24-26.
The key to finding enjoyment in our work, as well as in eating and drinking, is to recognize that these are gifts “from the hand of God” (Ecc. 2:24). There is no enjoyment of these things apart from Him. Only the believer who is walking in His ways, pleasing Him in all that He does and says, receives the gifts of wisdom, knowledge and joy that gives work, food and drink meaning. In contrast, the unbeliever, who has also been given business to do by God, will experience hatred, despair, sorrow, frustration, and discontentment. Significantly, God uses the work of unbelievers to bless His people (2:26).
Psalm 1 characterizes these two kinds of people, the believer and the unbeliever, as the righteous and the wicked.
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One danger of reducing “the system of doctrine” down to a generic “Calvinistic system” – such as we see argued for by Charles Hodge – is that such a move was not the original intention of either our American Presbyterian forefathers or the Westminster Divines. What is fundamental to our doctrinal standards? Is it Calvinism? I would hope so. During Hodge’s day there were considerable battles over soteriology, so we should not be surprised to see him reduce the system of doctrine down to Reformed soteriology.[10]

“The words ‘system of doctrine,’ have a definite meaning, and serve to define and limit the extent to which the confession is adopted.” ~ Charles Hodge [1]
The Westminster Confession and Catechisms are a treasure. When people ask for a good one-volume systematic theology, I usually recommend the Confession and Catechisms. When I first became Presbyterian, I was under the assumption that we viewed the Westminster Standards as the system of Presbyterian doctrine because it is biblical.[2] I do not mean that I viewed them on equal ground with Holy Scripture. I viewed them the way Thornwell did, “it certainly is a convenience to have the teachings of the Bible reduced to a short compass, and announced in propositions which are at once accepted without any further trouble of comparing texts.”[3]
I came into the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) after the passing of Good Faith Subscription (GFS). I have always heard that passing it was a hopeful attempt at resolving arguments in the PCA regarding subscription to our doctrinal Standards. If that was the original intent, it is worth asking ourselves the question “is it working?”
It was over 20 years ago that we decided on GFS, and yet at 2021’s General Assembly there was still a need to have a discussion – which was very well attended – between two prominent Teaching Elders on confessional subscription and unity in the PCA.[4] I think part of our continued confusion has to do with how we understand the phrase “system of doctrine” in our BCO, “While our Constitution does not require the candidate’s affirmation of every statement and/or proposition of doctrine in our Confession of Faith and Catechisms, it is the right and responsibility of the Presbytery to determine if the candidate is out of accord with any of the fundamentals of these doctrinal standards and, as a consequence, may not be able in good faith sincerely to receive and adopt the Confession of Faith and Catechisms of this Church as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures.” (BCO 21-4.e, emphasis mine).
I wonder if many who hold a stricter view of subscription have the same view as Morton Smith, who argued that “full subscription does not require the adoption of every word of the Confession and Catechisms, but positively believes that we are adopting every doctrine or teaching of the Confession and Catechisms.”[5] I believe one could hold Smith’s view and still agree with BCO 21-4.e as it currently stands. The question is not over every proposition, but over every doctrine. Part of the confusion regarding how to interpret “the system of doctrine” and with subscription in general may be traced back to the published views of Charles Hodge.
Charles Hodge is rightly a giant in American Presbyterianism. However, he did contradict himself over the course of his writing on this topic of confessional subscription. Hodge at one place argued that “by system of doctrine, according to the lowest standard of interpretation, has been understood the Calvinistic system as distinguished from all others.”[6] Hodge argued that the theology in question which is contained in the Confession is basic Calvinism. He wrote in his book on church polity, “It is one thing to adopt the system of doctrine contained in the Westminster Confession, and quite another thing to adopt every proposition contained in that confession.[7]  John Murray takes issue with Hodge’s statement here, “It needs to be pointed out that Dr. Hodge is not accurate…It is not simply the system of doctrine contained in The Confession that is adopted; the Confession is adopted as containing the system of doctrine taught in Scripture.[8] John Murray gives an excellent short history of various General Assembly actions and statements on “the system of doctrine.”
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So many leaders in our churches today are so spiritually dead and morally bankrupt that they actually believe that strobe lights, smoke machines and ‘party, party, party’ is what we must now rely on to get folks in and build up the church. Good grief.

For some decades now I had a standard line about the decaying church surrendering to the surrounding culture, especially on things like homosexuality. I would often say this: ‘We might as well just give it all up and turn our churches into discos’ – or words to that effect.
I of course had in mind selling off empty church buildings. I did not think for a moment that folks might start taking my words to heart. I certainly did not think folks would do this to churches while they were still considered to be churches! But that now seems to be happening, and I guess nothing should surprise us anymore.
Churches used as discos? Yes, you heard me right. A friend in the UK just sent me this news item from the BBC, featuring this headline: “Canterbury disco: ‘Parties can get more people to visit church’.” The piece opens with these words:
When you think of a church or cathedral, the thing that might come to mind is it being a place and time for self-reflection. But lately there have been a series of silent discos taking place in cathedrals and historic buildings around the UK and Europe. “I love the idea of people dancing on a Saturday night and praying on a Sunday morning. I think we can do both,” the Reverend Jessica Fellows tells BBC Newsbeat.
The “disco-loving” vicar is a self-proclaimed Harry Styles fan who uses her church to organise silent discos as well as beer and carols events. “The more the merrier. We need people to come in and have fun – it’s not all boring and serious,” she says. She hopes these events can result in greater interest in religion, at a time of less interest.
In the 2021 census for England and Wales, a third of people under the age of 35 identified as Christian, compared to just under half of those under 35 in 2011. Church of England figures also suggest dwindling congregation numbers, with 2022 having an average weekly attendance of 654,000 people – up from 2021 but down from 854,000 people in 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-68279198
Oh dear. Discos to get more people in. Now why didn’t the disciples and those in the early church do things like that? Oh yeah, that’s right: they did not need to. They simply relied on faithfully preaching the gospel and trusting the Holy Spirit to do his work. So they didn’t do anything to ‘get people in.’
But so many leaders in our churches today are so spiritually dead and morally bankrupt that they actually believe that strobe lights, smoke machines and ‘party, party, party’ is what we must now rely on to get folks in and build up the church. Good grief.
The article goes on to say this:
The Reverend Michael Darkins from Hythe, just down the road from Canterbury, has put on concerts at his church as well as Warhammer game nights. “We’ve got this beautiful 11th century church… we’re known locally for our collection of 1,200 skulls in the crypt – so it’s the perfect aesthetic for that.”
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