to maintain peace. Just as liberal theology was gaining acceptance in the 1930s, however, a new theological movement emerged as some liberals became disenchanted with the optimism of their tradition in the face of World War I, the Great Depression and the rise of European fascism. The neo-orthodox looked back to the Bible and the Protestant Reformers of the 16th century in order to construct a "more sturdy theology" able to address the crisis of Western culture. Unlike the liberals who tended to view the Bible "as a record of humanity's evolving religious consciousness", the neo-orthodox understood the Bible to be the instrument through which God spoke and revealed himself—in the person of Jesus Christ—to humanity. At the same time, neo-orthodoxy was distinguished from fundamentalism in its acceptance of biblical criticism and rejection of biblical inerrancy. While the Bible was an "adequate witness to the one revelation of God, Jesus Christ", it was a fallible document written by fallible men. Neo-orthodoxy was also characterized by an emphasis on divine transcendence rather than divine immanence, renewed affirmation of total depravity, and resistance to secularism and cultural accommodation within the church. By the 1940s, neo-orthodoxy and the closely related biblical theology movement had become the unifying doctrinal consensus within the PCUSA. Organization Governing bodies The Presbyterian Church in the USA was organized according to presbyterian polity. The church's constitution consisted of the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, the Form of Government (adapted from the 1645 Form of Presbyterial Church Government), the Book of Discipline (adapted from the Scottish Book of Discipline), and the Directory for the Worship of God (adapted from the 1645 Westminster Directory). Consistent with presbyterian polity, the governance of the PCUSA was vested in a series of judicatories. A local church was governed by the session, a body of ruling elders elected by the congregation and moderated by the pastor. The session was charged with overseeing the church's spiritual affairs and providing for public worship according to the Directory. The session was also responsible for dispensing church discipline to church members. Local churches were further organized into geographically defined presbyteries. A presbytery was a convention of all ministers within its jurisdiction and one ruling elder chosen by each session. Collegiate churches were entitled to be represented by two or more ruling elders in proportion to the number of its pastors. Presbyteries were responsible for examining, licensing and ordaining