By Jeff Gissing, at JeffGissing.com
I am embedding a document produced by the Office of Theology and Worship at the Presbyterian Church (USA). It’s worth reading critically in order to get a handle around what we as a denomination have actually done with respect to the ordination of people who engage in same sex sex acts (i.e., homosexuals) and also in terms of the the redefinition of marriage.
Later this week and after Christmas day I’ll work through the document and offer some thoughts and responses.
Our Challenging Way: Faithfulness, Sex, Ordination and Marriage, by Barry Ensign-George and Charles Wiley, Office of Theology and Worship (download pdf file here.)
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“the PCUSA has now chosen the path of mutual forbearance”
The path of “mutual forebearance” seems to cost those of us who still believe in tradtional marriage more than those who think they are just splitting the difference with us. And the Book of Order seems to only apply to the trust clause these days as the AI vote was illegal. Mutual forbearance, give me a break!
Can a Denomination do this?
I would say that in the context of a normal or normative church governance, the give and take of polity and process, respect for rule of law, and all voices. Yes a church denomination is indeed free to interpret, apply, various policies in its constitution. Even as applies to matters of marriage policy and interpretation of those polices.
But as applied to the PCUSA, it has been my contention that the PCUSA is really not a religious denomination or even a religious entity in the traditional sense. The PCUSA gave up the ghost on that matter through the use of AI’s, abuses of power, and outright persecution and confiscation applied to those of faith who would disagree with the party line. The PCUSA of 2015 can be described as a clearing house or assortment of progressive/liberal special interest or narrow focus groups under a single masthead. All with conflicting agendas and pressure points. The chaotic, uncoordinated responses to Ferguson as well as the various tribal-special interest group responses to Immigration and Cuba point to that. The organization is drift less, lacking in organizational discipline or even competent governance.
So can the PCUSA as currently designed and constituted redefine marriage and sexual ethics? From a straight power politics, pressure point of view, yes. In the scope of eternal Scripture and Biblical witness, who are they kidding?
Position papers and posturing is a means of self delusion when one seeks to obscure the fact that they are avoiding the Truth.