What Does "Confessional" Mean?

Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism. As a minister in the PCA, I’m held accountable for preaching and teaching what is consistent with these standards. If you want to know what you’re going to hear at Cornerstone, you’ll get a pretty good idea by examining those documents. We believe that these are the truths Scripture teaches.

In this blog post, Carl Trueman explores the the meaning of “confessional.” He argues that, while it may be in vogue in certain circles to claim the moniker “confessional,” it is an inescapably ecclesiastical idea. If you separate the term from the church, it becomes rather useless. The article is helpful for anyone seeking to understand better what it means to be confessional. As the inertia of American Christianity is ever pushing toward a churchless faith, Trueman’s article provides more reasons to resist that momentum.