The Last Presbyterian? Conversations with Ken Cuthbertson I

Director’s Note:  This week we discuss Ken Cuthbertson’s new book, The Last Presbyterian? Remembering the Faith of our Forebears (Wipf and Stock 2013).  Today, the first part of my interview with him, discussing the title, the “Jewishness”of Presbyterianism, and atonement.

Cynthia Holder Rich:  Talk about the title.  What does “The Last Presbyterian?” mean to you?

Ken Cuthbertson:  The title means several things, actually.  First, it stems from a question I was asked by my friend Rev. Jim Collie some years ago, “When the time comes to write the history of the final twenty-five years of the PCUSA, what will it say?”  Second, it comes from the fact that the last generation of those who grew to adulthood in the old United Presbyterian Church of North America, which features prominently in the book, is now passing quickly from the scene.  Those folks – including my husband’s parents – are now in their 80s and older.  I wanted to put down some record of that faith culture, in particular, lest it be forgotten.  And, finally, there is a double entendre in the subtitle.  I mean “remembering” in two ways, both in the sense of memoir and also as a “re-membering” in which key parts of the heritage can be engaged in new ways and carried on by those who will.  That is also why I chose the burning bush image and motto, something very historically Presbyterian, for the cover illustration: “It burned… but was not consumed!”

CHR: You talk about the Presbyterian “brand” – the “Jewishness” of this group of Christians, the emphasis on covenant, the love of God’s law and order, to the point that some old-time Presbyterians could be referred to as the Presbyterian “Taliban”.  Talk about how this kind of Christian expression and experience appeals to you.

KC: This will be quite a long answer….

I was being very careful in that one, and only, reference to the Presbyterian “Taliban.” I made it advisedly, but cautiously, in relation to the strain of radical Knoxian thought that inclined somewhat toward a theocratic Biblicism… very much like Christian Dominionism in our day.  When you read the history of the 17^th century Scottish Covenanters, they were often a pretty grim lot, and quite clerically dominated.  Nowadays some of their actions would quickly and easily be branded “terrorist” by the powers-that-be, and they essentially were viewed as such by the Stuart kings.  But, from another perspective, the commons and many of the persecuted ministers were freedom fighters, deeply engaged in a struggle against absolutism and tyranny… both religious and political. The facts are not “either-or”, but “both-and….” The Covenanters’ faith was “revolutionary” in a political sense, and uncompromising.  Because it was, they played a key role in the transition to a constitutional monarchy in Britain, and helped lay the groundwork for the later American Revolution.

The comments on Presbyterian “Jewishness” are related, but different, too.  In a negative sense Scottish poets and songwriters have spoken over the years of “Scots Jews come doon fra’ the mountains wi’ the law in their stany (stoney) hearts” (Hugh Mac Diarmid) and of John Knox’s “Gospel sae cold it would freeze up the joy in their hearts” (Battlefield Band).  There is a certain truth there… too often expressed in an uncomfortably anti-Jewish way.  We now know that the New Testament polemic against the Pharisees and the Jews was rather unfair and reactionary at the time it was written.  The reality is richer and more complex… and often rather Presbyterian.

What I try to show in the book is the more positive aspect of the deep grounding in the Hebrew scriptures and the notion of covenant.  It is rich both in describing the bond between us and God and in terms of the social bonds that unite a community.  I strongly believe that Knox’s view of covenant community was a well-spring of that deep belief in the common folk that still distinguishes Scotland from England, along with his insistence on education for all.  They had an intense commitment to rectitude and justice that expressed itself in community life, so much so that many in later generations became ardent abolitionists in the lead-up to the U.S. Civil War.  Their spiritual disciplines of psalmody and sabbatarianism were, in the best of times, balanced by a post-millenialist vision and desire to build God’s realm and “promote social righteousness” here and now… provisionally, but really.

Lastly, even though I am an unabashed follower of Jesus, one of the things I most value in the distinctive Presbyterian grounding in the Hebrew scriptures is that I think it helps us – potentially at least – to better relate to the other great Abrahamic faiths (Judaism and Islam).   We share so much in common, and some of the most soulful lovers of God I know come from those faiths.

CHR:  You comment on Question 20 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which is on atonement.  Say more about your understanding of the particularity of Presbyterian and Reformed approaches to atonement theology.

KC:  I teach historical theology, part-time, for an ecumenical graduate (MTS) program in Albuquerque.  We use Alistair McGrath’s book, Historical Theology.  In the first edition he has an excellent section on the elements of medieval theology that influenced Reformed theology in particular.   One of those was the concept of “voluntarism” in which there is no determinative reason that forced God’s hand in the atonement.  There was no “debt” to the Devil, as some early Christians had argued.  There was not even the necessity to placate God’s own inherent justice.  It was simply God’s free choice – God’s “mere good pleasure” – to, from all eternity, save the world by a redeemer.  That is different from Anselm, and it is different from traditional Fundamentalism too.  There was no necessity compelling God, there was freedom and… by extension… all was grace.  No explanation needed.  I still struggle with various aspects of atonement theory in general, but I really like this particular piece.

More information on The Last Presbyterian? is available at http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Presbyterian-Remembering-Forebears/dp/1620328704.