J.D.,

I think historically it is the case that the WCF is an EP document. Therefore I have taken an exception in every Presbytery that I have been involved, since I do not believe that the Scriptures are EP (hence the exception).

The problem/tension comes in at the point in which church bodies (GAs, Presbyteries, Sessions) functionally choose to view the WCF as a non-EP document. I would personally prefer that teh WCF be amended at that point (and it is undoubted that there are the votes to do so), but it is my impression that teh PCA/OPC (for example) have consciously chosen not to amend the WCF so as not to unduly offend EP brethren, and "force" them by conscience to leave the denomination. So instead, you have instances where, for example, I have offered up an non-EP exception, and the Presbytery has refused to accept it, saying that it is not an exception.

This tension between reality (overwhelmingly non-EP in denominations) and formality (the clear EP language of the WCF) has been preferred to a clarity (aligning the Confession with practice) in an attempt to avoid division. Whether that is a good thing, I won't say here. But it is the reason for some confusion.

__________________
Fred Greco
Senior Pastor, Christ Church PCA (Katy, TX)
Christ Church Blog

"The heart is the main thing in true religion...It is the hinge and turning-point in the condition of man's soul. If the heart is alive to God and quickened by the Spirit, the man is a living Christian. If the heart is dead and has not the Spirit, the man is dead before God." (J.C. Ryle)