PLC executives offer input
to marriage, civil union committee
The Layman, July 23, 2009
The executive leadership of the Presbyterian Lay Committee has answered a call for input on the question of same-gender partnerships’ place in the Christian community. The Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly’s Special Committee to Study Issues of Civil Union and Christian Marriage recently asked for input as it continues its study of the controversial subject.
Related story
Readers respond to PCUSA’s committee on civil unions
and marriage
The PLC’s response, which is printed in its entirety below, addresses the biblical definitions of “Christian community” and “civil unions and marriage.” The PLC also is encouraging other Christians to add their input to the study committee, which will report to the 2010 General Assembly. The whole church has been invited to weigh in on the subject and has until Aug. 16 to do so. Reponses are limited to 1,000 words and can be e-mailed to civilunion.marriage@pcusa.org or mailed to Civil Union and Christian Marriage Committee, Office of the General Assembly, Room 4621, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396.
The letter, signed by PLC President Carmen S. Fowler and Stephen G. Brown, chairman and CEO of the PLC, as it was presented to the committee:
The PCUSA General Assembly Special Committee
On Civil Unions and Christian Marriage
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Thank you for inviting members of the body of Christ to give input to your committee’s work.
You have requested comment on the question of the place of covenanted same-gender partnerships in the Christian community. Your request presupposes that same-gender sexual relationships can be covenanted. We contend that the only covenanted relationship ordained by God in which sexual intimacy is appropriately expressed is the marriage of one man and one woman. Our response will first address the biblical definition of “Christian community” and then address “civil unions and marriage.”
Defining “Christian Community”
The Bible, The Book of Confessions and The Book of Order affirm the following truths:
- The Church was created by, for and belongs to Jesus Christ. According to Jesus, His Church is composed of those whom he has chosen, who confess that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.[i]
- The Church is the Body of Christ. It finds its life in Him. Therefore it cannot endorse forms of life or manners of living that are contrary to His character or intentions. As the Body of Christ, the unity of the Church matters, and as the Bride of Christ, the purity of the Church matters.[ii]
- The Church is blessed with the gift of God’s Holy Spirit and the Word of God revealed in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church can discern the mind of Christ when she submits herself to the authority of God’s Word written. Under no circumstances do the Word of God Incarnate and the Word of God Written contradict one another.[iii]
- Christians experience genuine community in the Church where there is an authentic unity of the Spirit which produces the bond of peace.[iv]
Civil Unions and Marriage
The Word of God, which is the Church’s final authority in matters of faith and life, speaks clearly about marriage and sexual relationships. Submitting ourselves to the authority of God and seeking by the Spirit to discern the mind of Christ through an examination of the Bible, we find no warrant for the inclusion of same-gender civil unions in the Christian community, the Church of Jesus Christ.
God created us male and female. He gave us marriage, a complementary union in which each may be to the other a strength in need, a counselor in perplexity, and a companion in joy. God gave us marriage for the full expression of love, for the birth and nurture of children, and for the well-being of society. And God gave us marriage as a sign that points to the reality of Christ’s union with the Church, a holy mystery.
Jesus announced his blessing upon the institution of marriage by celebrating the wedding at Cana and by quoting the Old Testament proclamation that “From the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. They are no longer two but one, and what God has joined together, no one should seek to separate.”[v]
Marriage, therefore, is not our design; it is God’s design. Let us not presume to redefine, re-imagine, or re-engineer this covenantal union that was instituted by God, blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and is sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit. The role of the Church is to transform culture towards God’s plan for humanity, not to be conformed to the culture of the day.[vi] The Church must pastorally minister to all those who find themselves in conflict with God’s revealed design, including persons who engage in homosexual behavior. In this regard, we encourage your committee to examine thoroughly the biblically faithful resources that have been produced by the ministry of OnebyOne.
Let marriage be held in honor among us, and let us always rely on God’s Word as the final authority over our life and work.
The Presbyterian Lay Committee
Carmen S. Fowler Stephen G. Brown
President and Executive Editor Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
———-
[i] The Book of Order G-1.0100 (b)
[ii] The Book of Order G-1.0100 (c)
[iii] Westminster Confession of Faith 6.010
[iv] Ephesians 4:1-16
[v] Mark 10:6-9
[vi] Romans 12:1-2