The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume be required to agree with the ǡ which historically serves as an important confessional document— second only to the Bible, yet directing the standardization and translation of the Bible in Presbyterian churches.2 The territory within about a fifty-mile radius of Charlotte, North Carolina, is historically the greatest concentration of Presbyterianism in the southern United States, while an almostidentical geographic area around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, contains probably the largest number of Presbyterians in the entire nation With their members’ traditional stress on higher education, the largest Presbyterian congregations can often be found in affluent, prestigious uptown suburbs of American cities The Presbyterian denomination currently has declined to 1.7 million members worldwide as of 2014 It has been estimated that 58 percent of the members of the Presbyterian Church (USA) did not grow up in the denomination As is true with all the mainline Christian denominations, they have had a drop in membership over the last decade God or Gods “We trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.” There is one essence of God; the emphasis is on oneness, not three-ness The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God—but they are one God They teach that through the Holy Spirit, God empowers us to grow in faith, make more mature decisions, and live more faithful lives The Spirit gives us the will, as Jesus said, to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The Holy Spirit gives believers the authority to accurately interpret the Bible, just as the Spirit enabled the original writers of scripture to tell truthfully about God, Jesus, and everything else we need to know The Spirit also gives authority to the church to act in God’s name for the good of humanity The Spirit gives every person a sense of calling to a special function in the world, in keeping with God’s providence and Jesus’s summons to follow him Among the fruits of the spirit identified by the apostle Paul are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control ~ 179 ~