By Joshua Bower, StayPCUSA
Last year the 220th General Assembly gave the Office of Theology and Worship the task of creating and distributing materials that would help presbyteries and congregations enter into “a season of serious study and discernment concerning its meaning of Christian marriage.” On April 29th the resulting study was released: “Christian Marriage in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” So…it’s out there, but is it worth your time to use it?
I’ll start here by acknowledging that most of the folks I know think that a study on marriage in the PC(USA) is—as my grandpa used to say—as useless as a screen door on a submarine. We’ve debated sexuality to death in the PC(USA). We almost voted to change the definition of marriage from “1 man 1 woman” to “2 people” last July, and most folks think it’ll be redefined sooner rather than later. So, again, what’s the point of studying this “issue” anymore? And, for many of my friends, they have the only reason they need to not participate: it comes from the PC(USA)! There’s an underlying assumption that if something comes out of Louisville, it’s left-wing heresy.