Scholar who favors same-sex unions may become candidate for moderator
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, December 14, 2000
Dr. Jack Rogers, a prominent scholar in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who has recently argued for same-sex unions, may become a candidate for moderator of the 2001 General Assembly.
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t care what you call it – marriage, domestic partnership, holy union,” Rogers said in the November-December More Light Update, a publication of More Light Presbyterians. “It is not the form I am interested in but the function. It seems to me that it is in the best interest of the state, and of the church, to recognize and encourage persons who are willing to make life-long commitments to each other and to children they raise.”
Before he can become a candidate for moderator, Rogers must be selected by the San Gabriel Presbytery in California as a commissioner to the General Assembly.
In November, after procedural snags, the presbytery failed to select commissioners to the General Assembly. Rogers was one of the nominees then, and, according to a presbytery notice posted on the San Gabriel web site, is still a candidate for commissioner and possibly moderator.
The presbytery announced that it will reconsider electing commissioners and Rogers’ candidacy for moderator at its Jan. 9 meeting.
In the past, Rogers has been considered an evangelical voice in the denomination. Rogers is the author of Presbyterian Creeds, an historical account of the emergence of the creeds that are in the Book of Confessions. He is co-author of another historical book that covers The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible from the Church fathers through contemporary scholars.
More recently, however, Rogers allowed More Light Presbyterians to publish his views about same-sex unions and served as a seminar leader at the October conference of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians.
More Light Churches and the Covenant Network of Presbyterians are leading the assault on Biblical and Reformed standards on two fronts. They have announced their intention to support overtures that would strike G-6.0106b, the “fidelity/chastity” standard required for ordination, from the Book of Order. And they are leading the opposition to Amendment 00-O, which would prohibit Presbyterian ministers from performing same-sex unions.
Because of Rogers’ reputation, they are widely distributing his views in an attempt to show that they represent the moderate-centrist viewpoint in the denomination.
Both groups also support interpreting Scripture in a manner that varies from the Reformed tradition of letting Scripture be its own interpreter. While claiming that they believe the Bible is authoritative for life and faith, they recommend subjective interpretation that allows a reader to discard passages that he or she does not agree with. For example, they reject Paul’s admonitions against homosexual activity by declaring that Paul did not understand homosexuality and therefore was in error.
Rogers recently retired as vice president and professor of theology at San Francisco Theological Seminary. In his article for More Light Presbyterians, Rogers calls for adapting Scripture and the church’s standards to conform to cultural and legal standards.