Feeling unwelcome
May 21, 1999
“Did the conservatives call for a boycott?”
That a former GA moderator even asked that question at the recent “unity in diversity” conference at Atlanta (see story) says much about the disconnect between Presbyterians in the pews and key segments of our denomination’s staff and elected leadership.
At the heart of this disjunction is an irreconcilable difference: Does our experience (more precisely, the opinions we form on the basis of our experience) have authority over Scripture or does Scripture have authority over our experience?
Theological conservatives uphold the unambiguous teachings of Scripture and the Church – that the Word of God is our standard for faith and life. Beliefs and practices that contradict Scripture must be rejected as being incompatible with the revealed will of God.
With God’s people through the ages, those who accept Scripture as authoritative joyfully sing, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous” (Psalm 19:7-9).
For liberal revisionists, however, when “the law of the Lord” collides with lifestyle preferences, personal experience becomes the ultimate authority. The Bible is reduced to an infinitely malleable document, with as many valid interpretations as there are interpreters. “That commandment may be true for you, but it’s not true for me” is the revisionist’s rallying cry.
Oddly, this relativist worldview (see story) is sometimes enforced with absolute authoritarianism. Consider, for example, the concept of boundaries to Christian faith and practice.
Theological liberals, who continue to dominate the PCUSA’s staff and elected leadership, insist that no such boundaries exist. But anyone who holds the contrary view is declared outside the confines of acceptable Presbyterian belief and thus need not apply for elected or staff positions. Or for spots on the platform at a conference on diversity.
Did conservatives call for a boycott of the Atlanta conference? No. They simply looked at the original agenda, with its preponderance of liberal participants, and decided not to go where they knew that their views would not be welcomed.