agree with and approve of the Affirmation, though they have refrained from signing it." Content The Affirmation has six sections that can be summarized as: The Bible is not inerrant. The supreme guide of scripture interpretation is the Spirit of God to the individual believer and not ecclesiastical authority. Thus, "liberty of conscience" is elevated. The General Assembly has no power to dictate doctrine to the Presbyteries. The General Assembly's condemnation of those asserting "doctrines contrary to the standards of the Presbyterian Church" circumvented the due process set forth in the Book of Discipline. None of the five essential doctrines should be used as a test of ordination. Alternated "theories" of these doctrines are permissible. Liberty of thought and teaching, within the bounds of evangelical Christianity is necessary. Division is deplored, unity and freedom are commended. Referring to the Five Fundamentals as "particular theories", the Affirmation's argument is succinctly summarized in two sentences: Some of us regard the particular theories contained in the deliverance of the General Assembly of 1923 as satisfactory explanations of these facts and doctrines. But we are united in believing that these are not the only theories allowed by the Scriptures and our standards as explanations of these facts and doctrines of our religion, and that all who hold to these facts and doctrines, whatever theories they may employ to explain them, are worthy of all confidence and fellowship. Partly due to the acceptance of the Auburn Affirmation, Presbyterian traditionalists who found themselves displaced because of it went on to found the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. This church maintains the older standards, such belief in the five essential doctrines (listed above) and the inerrancy of the bible; these are the minimum requirements for membership in an OPC congregation and ordination for its ministers. Discussion of the Affirmation continued into the 1940s when the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (aka, Southern Presbyterian Church) began to consider union with the northern Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., with conservatives charging that the Affirmation was indicative of the theological posture of the northern denomination. External links Full text Auburn Affirmation - Covenant Network of Presbyterians Presbyterian Church (USA) News - Presbyweb - Auburn Affirmation The Auburn Affirmation - The PCA Historical Center Conservative Presbyterian Responses 1925: "Liberty Within Evangelical Bounds," by David S. Kennedy 1925: "Shall the General Assembly Represent the Church?," by J. Gresham Machen 1925: "Are There Two Religions