Tragedy of blessing same-sex couples
Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008
I, for one, welcome the ruling from the GAJC regarding Jane Spahr. It serves as a clear reminder that theological ambiguity is no foundation for the Christian life.
In truth, the 2000 decision to “bless” same sex couples is a tragedy, and contrary to Scripture. It should never have passed. Jane Spahr has shown us that like Bill Clinton, “is” can be what you desire it to be.
The human dilemma of seeking to serve the Lord on our own terms continues.
Is Jane Spahr just another woman (person) at the well, “… you worship what you do not know?” Truly fascinating.
Jerry Voss Millbrook Fresno
Welcome to Wonderland
Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wow, what a shocker. The GAPJC found a way to obviate clear church teaching and standards – yet again.
Quoting the Spahr article: “Jane Spahr testified at three levels of church court that she had conducted ‘marriage’ ceremonies for two lesbian couples. But the highest court in the Presbyterian Church (USA) ruled that Spahr had done no such thing.”
Funny, but as I understand it, in a case before the courts involving illegal activities, one of the bedrock issues to be established (along with opportunity and capability) is intent.
Is there doubt in any one’s mind what Ms Spahr’s intent was? Clearly, it was to perform marriage ceremonies for these two couples.
Not so, says the GAPJC. There is no such thing according to our constitution so she couldn’t have done it. Really? Perhaps we should ask the four participants what they think: It is clear what Ms Spahr thought.
Welcome to wonderland. I think it can only help us to bear this nonsense if we adopt the philosophy of “like Alice, I try to believe three impossible things before breakfast.”
Don’t worry; it’s just another little slide on the slope.
Rev. Jim Yearsley Tampa, Fla.
Witness Via Vandalism?
Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The recent incident of vandalism at Moorpark Presbyterian Church is surely horrifying. It underscores the blatant disregard for the intrinsic and instrumental sanctity of traditional Christian institutions and soteriology at large. The brigands responsible should undoubtedly be prosecuted.
What’s even more frightening is that, if caught, these miscreants need only appeal to the General Assembly’s Permanent Judicial Commission. Upon arrival, they need only refer to their foul deed as “alternative decorating” or some other “politically correct” label. They can submit their actions cannot be characterized as vandalism, because to do so would abridge their right to self-expression guided by conscience, which has been emphasized in PCUSA thinking for the past several decades.
They can say that what they wrote on the walls of the church, misspellings and all, is a reflection of the religious and spiritual diversity upon which the PCUSA has come to pride itself. And since there is nothing in the PCUSA constitution that explicitly condemns pentagrams spray-painted on church walls, the charges are without merit, anyway. At which point, they can be assured of full vindication-possibly even a lucrative offer to moderate a nationwide lecture series from the Re imagining God or More Light movements!
Who knows? This could lead to a new progressive trend in PCUSA thinking and “witness for Christ” that will more than likely also enjoy an unqualified imprimatur from Clifton Kirkpatrick and/or his successors, as virtually all other types of vandalism have.
Lord knows it would not be the first time this tactic has worked! Am I right or am I wrong?
Eric Wells Boardman, Ohio
Typo or Twist?
Posted Tuesday, April 29, 2008
(Regarding a quote attributed to Sherill Figuera, who was among the same-sex couples ‘wed’ by Rev. Jane Adams Spahr – ed.)
Maybe I’m picky, but it seems to me that if one is going to quote the Bible about speaking truth, one might at least get the quote from probably the most recognized Bible verse correct.
All dozen versions I looked at for John 3:16 say “For God so loved the world…” or something very similar, not “For God to love the world”.
The second implies there is something the world must do in order to gain God’s love. The first tells us how much he really does love us. At first, I thought maybe it was a typo, but when I look at the keyboard, I doubt that is the case.
Just makes me wonder…
Evan Dowdy Brighton, Colo.
GA staff questioned
Posted Tuesday, April 29, 2008
How much does it cost to send 344 people to California for a week?
How many of these people will engage in partisan politics to promote the views of the GAC?
Jack Vanderbleek Elder, Northeast Presbyterian Church, St.Petersburg, Florida
The meaning of mission
Posted Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The recent article about the number of GA staff people being assigned to the General Assembly meeting included the link to the list presented to the GAC. What I find to be sadly descriptive of the state in which the PCUSA finds itself comes under the heading of “Mission.”
Of the 344 people assigned to GA, more than half (199) are in the area of Mission (that’s good!). But the breakdown of those 199 tells another story that’s not so good. Fifty-one (51) of those are with Racial Ethnic & Women’s Ministries, 50 are with World Mission, 35 with Compassion, Peace and Justice, 29 with Theology Worship and Education, and only 18 with Evangelism and Church Growth.
The picture gets worse when looking at those who are actually assigned to committee work: Forty-one (41) for Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries, 16 each for World Mission and Compassion, Peace and Justice, 10 for Theology Worship and Education, and only 2 (that’s right – two!) with Evangelism and Church Growth.
How can we take seriously words from denominational headquarters about the importance of Evangelism and Church Growth when the number of staff people in that area who will attend GA and resource committees is only a fraction of other areas of “mission?”
Inquiring minds want to know….
Rev. Harper Brady Concord Presbyterian Church , Baden, Pa.
Terminal illness?
Posted Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Broken Covenant: Signs of a Shattered Communion (Reformation Press) documents the defilement of the PC (USA) and its headlong descent into apostasy and its cultural accommodation since 1926.
Earlier Rev. J. Gresham Machen foretold the cancer’s consequences in his book Christianity and Liberalism published in 1923. A Presbyterian educator and theologian, Rev. Machen ultimately was drummed out of the corps for daring to tell the truth.
And four centuries earlier John Calvin also anticipated the established churches’ decadence in his Institutes of Christian Religion first published in Latin in 1536. Calvin said, “It is therefore an audacity, closely allied to a sacrilege, rashly to turn Scripture in any way we please, and to indulge our fancies as in sport; which has been done by many in former times.” (English Translation, Grand Rapids, 1947, p. xxvii) (emphasis added).
And, “It is one of the characteristics of the divine word, that whenever it appears, Satan ceases to slumber and sleep. This is the surest and most unerring test for distinguishing it from false doctrines which readily betray themselves, while they are received by all with willing ears, and welcomed by an applauding world.” (Ed. 1536) (Cited on p. 15 of Henry Beveridge’s translation of the Institutes, 1989, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids)
Art Montgomery Elder (inactive) , Santa Barbara, Calif.
GAC sending staff to G.A. as ‘advisors’
Posted Monday, April 28, 2008
I was amused to hear your report about the General Assembly Council sending staff “advisors” to certain committees at this upcoming General Assembly.
I can imagine the quality of their advice on crucial issues of the faith – “Has God said…?”
Toby Brown
A response to the letter by Jim Yearsley
Posted Monday, April 28, 2008
The Rev. Jim Yearsley notes in his latest letter [Letters, April 23, 2008]: “This is especially troublesome when you recognize that the majority (65 percent plus/minus three percent) of the rank and file membership of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is clearly evangelical and conservative. That stands in exact opposition to the PCUSA clergy self-identification as liberal progressives. For this information, refer to the denomination’s own statistical studies.”
Okay, I did look at the statistics on the PCUSA Web site regarding a 2005 study. Guess what? More pastors believe in the after life than do the members of congregations – 86 percent of the members believe this as of 2005, whereas 95 percent of pastors do. While this is not a large difference, I still found it interesting that more pastors who effectively play a large role in ruling the PCUSA believe in life after death than the members they serve.
Regarding the Bible, 18 percent of the members believe it to be the literal word of God, compared to five percent of the pastors. The rest believe that it is to be interpreted to some degree or another.
This raises the interesting question of what it is to be a conservative in light of how the Bible is taken? Are those that take it literally without question the conservatives? If so, then 65 percent of the PCUSA is not conservative, as Mr. Yearsley would like to believe. If not, then the majority of the PCUSA is conservative, but then so are the pastors and leadership that rule it.
32 percent of members believe that all religions are equally true, whereas only seven percent of pastors agree.
Okay, so let’s get real here. What does being liberal really mean in the debate? Why are pastors who make up the leadership of the PCUSA being often portrayed as the bad guys and the members of the congregation as simply blind followers? It’s absolutely ridiculous to make such a claim.
I like to think of this situation more as a church dinner or get together. We all like to aspire to the idea of getting along, which is really a great idea and more in line with what Christ demonstrated. The problem gets to be when some crazy person, or seems to be crazy, brings a strange dish that doesn’t seem to fit in or is to most people’s taste. What happens is the community of faith lets the person be part of the community without question and lets faith be the rule that the person needs to be loved and accepted.
Somehow, I expect without intimately knowing that some of the other groups Mr. Yearsley struggles with are trying to do the same within the PCUSA. Jesus did so likewise.
Earl C. Apel deacon, Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio
Ecclesiastes and the Washington Office
Posted Monday, April 28, 2008
Now and again, it is interesting to take something completely out of context and see where it leads. Consider:
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV): “The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.”
Is there a message for our Washington Office here?
John Cowan Cartersville, Ga.
Mainline’ denominations, cultural dinosaurs
Posted Monday, April 28, 2008
As I survey the landscape of the Presbyterian Church (USA), I am convinced that ours is a dying denomination. We have strayed far from the authority of Holy Scripture and the centrality of Jesus Christ.
The signs of our demise are everywhere. For example, the PCUSA continues to decline by tens of thousands of members every year; sadly, such has been the case for decades (yes, decades). In the 1960s, mainline churches accounted for about 40 percent of all American Protestants. Today, the number is closer to 12 percent, and shrinking fast.
Further evidence of the final gasps of a dying entity can be seen in the draconian tactics our leaders employ to stop conservative churches from exiting the denomination.
What is more, we mainliners (more appropriately “sideliners”) embrace a governing structure that is locked in a 1950s time warp. I think here of American car manufacturers with their overpaid executives, plethora of middle-level managers and outdated manufacturing structures.
The parallels to mainline/sideline Protestantism are striking. Just like many corporate officials, 21st-century denominational bureaucrats are out of touch with their constituents and the times in which we live. Unwilling to respond to their “market audience” (grassroots Presbyterians), mainline institutionalists are also unwilling to exchange outdated “business” practices for more streamlined and effective ones.
Our rule book, the Book of Order, grows more and more bloated and is cited and discussed ad nauseum at our presbytery, synod and General Assembly “business” meetings. Scripture is largely ignored and pressing issues such as evangelism, church growth, moral and spiritual revival, etc., are rarely addressed.
While conservative, Bible-believing churches continue to grow, the membership of mainline Protestantism continues to shrink. Amazingly, the number of ministers – at least in the liberal PCUSA – is increasing. Unless the Lord intervenes from on high, mainline Protestantism will continue to wither away … or sink deeper into the sea of irrelevancy … or go the way of dinosaurs … or, well, you pick your metaphor.
As long as mainline Protestantism steers its present course, with spiritual pirates at the helm, I am pessimistic about its survival. I am, however, extremely optimistic about the Body of Christ, and regularly remind myself of Jesus’ words that the gates of Hades will not overcome His Church.
Mainline denominations will come and go, but the Body of Christ will endure.
Rev. Scott Luckey New Orleans, La.
More on the marks of the true Church
Posted Friday, April 25, 2008
Earl Apel [Letters, April 24, 2008] asks what are the first two marks of the true Church. They are found in the Scots Confession, 3.18, thus:
- “The notes of the true Kirk, therefore, we believe, confess, and avow to be: first, the true preaching of the Word of God, in which God has revealed himself to us, as the writings of the prophets and apostles declare; secondly, the right administration of the sacraments of Christ Jesus, with which must be associated the Word and promise of God to seal and confirm them in our hearts; and lastly, ecclesiastical discipline uprightly ministered, as God’s Word prescribes, whereby vice is repressed and virtue nourished.”
What we are witnessing is the lack of teaching and knowledge of our Confessions, for which our pastors and sessions are responsible for. It also is indicative of the disdain many in the church have for the idea that there are (not “might be”) marks of the (not “a”) true Church. I wonder if it is worth noting in the present context that our Confessions are higher in authority than the Book of Order. But, then again, there is too much disdain for that, too. The only answer to inadequate understandings of what constitutes truth, righteousness, the nature of the true Church (as opposed to the false church), is to lift up again Scripture and our Confessions. In descending order, of course.
Rev. Steven L. Seng First Presbyterian Church , Wellsburg, W.V.
The marks of the true Church
Posted Friday, April 25, 2008
Earl C. Apel [Letters, April 24, 2008] asks what are the other two marks of a true church?
The Protestant Reformers gave these two marks to be: “Where the Gospel is properly preached and where the sacraments are properly administered.”
I would also refer him to the Westminster Confession Of Faith, Chapter 25 Article 4:
- “The catholic church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less visible. And particular churches, which are members thereof, are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the Gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered and public worship performed more or less purely in them.”
Robert Demarest Cuminale Charlotte, N.C.
No common frame of reference
Posted Friday, April 25, 2008
It is difficult to carry on an effective correspondence when there is no common frame of reference. I fear that is the case with Deacon Apel [Letters, April 24, 2008] and so many of us with whom he seems to “have issues.”
In the Reformed tradition, we have a systematic theology. It includes many sources of understanding our faith. Primary among them is Scripture, God’s inerrant Word. Subordinate to Scripture we have the Confessions – you may recognize them as Part I of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Book of Order – Part II. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you – especially as an ordained officer in the church – should have and study all three of these.
Allow me to help you with your confusion about the marks of the true church. From the Scots Confession (Chapter XVIII), they are:
- “The notes of the true Kirk, therefore, we believe, confess, “and avow to be: first, the true preaching of the Word of God, in which God “has revealed himself to us, as the writings of the prophets and apostlesdeclare; “secondly, the right administration of the sacraments of Christ Jesus, “with which must be associated the Word and promise of God to seal and “confirm them in our hearts; and lastly, ecclesiastical discipline uprightly “ministered, as God’s Word prescribes, whereby vice is repressed and virtue “nourished. Then wherever these notes are seen and continue for any time, “be the number complete or not, there, beyond any doubt, is the true Kirk “of Christ, who, according to his promise, is in its midst.”
A belief in the Trinity is not one of the marks. It is, however, an essential tenet of Christian belief. Now as to Deacon Apel’s comment about the Book of Order and prohibitions – “Rather, it is veiled regarding ordination and one could say that is smoke and mirrors in practice.”
Uh, not exactly. In fact, in addition to the specific directives of the Book of Order, over the years, the General Assembly has on numerous occasions issued authoritative interpretations and guidance. These are regulatory in nature and have the force of the constitution behind them. This is hardly smoke and mirrors.
Rev. Jim Yearsley Tampa, Fla.
A reply to the letter by Jim Yearsley
Posted Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Rev. Jim Yearsley [Letters, April 18, 2008] makes some good comments about the apparent wishy-washy attitude in the Presbyterian Church (USA) about so-called unrepentant LGBT persons. I couldn’t agree more.
One statement I found interesting: “The truth is that this denomination speaks out of both sides of its mouth and has completely forgotten or ignored the third mark of the true Church – discipline.”
I will certainly agree with the observation that the PCUSA seems to be speaking out of both sides of the mouth. I’m just curious about what are the first and second marks of the true Church? I missed that, unless it is implied somewhere. In fact, I never thought of discipline as being a mark of the true Church but, rather, the Trinity, God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. It seems simple and straightforward to me that the concept of the Trinity keeps one on the right path and, thus, is what is relevant.
It seems to me these days so many ignore the Trinity and focus on one specific idol. This applies to liberals and conservatives, as well as those in the middle. This includes the worship of the Bible, the Constitution, a church building, a certain cause, etc.
The nice thing about the Trinity is we don’t just worship something confined in human terms. Rather, it is expanded and forces us to even be uncomfortable at times. We don’t just worship God who created us, but we also include Jesus who was indeed human and walked among us, and also include the Holy Spirit that moves within us and indeed makes us fully alive rather than among the walking dead.
It is the Trinity, I think, that is at work among many in the PCUSA. Certainly, everything is not going to be perfect or correct. We could have just had the Dynamic Duo – that being God and Christ – and ended it there. Maybe that would have made things much simpler. But through the Holy Spirit, that lives and breathes in each of us as Christians, there is certainly a huge difference! Faith is definitely not easy.
Back to the debate, the answer is quite simple. The PCUSA, in fact, does not go to the point of explicitly stating that unrepentant LGBT persons (whatever unrepentant means in their case) cannot be active members of a church or even serve in several capacities that include leadership in non-ordained positions. So, the PCUSA obviously believes (conservatives, middle and liberal) that these so-called unrepentant sinners can indeed freely support the church financially with their gifts, support the church in ministry through serving in Christian education and heading committees, lead the church in worship as liturgist or musician, speak to the church as a guest speaker, etc. The real nitty-gritty comes down to who can be ordained as a deacon, elder or minister. The fuss about this implies that only the ordained make a difference or really matter. But anyone who is part of any church in any denomination knows better.
I expect that is why the PCUSA Book of Order is even wishy-washy on the subject. Read through it and you will find no explicit prohibition about LGBT persons in the first place. Rather, it is veiled regarding ordination and one could say that is smoke and mirrors in practice. And note that this was adopted by conservatives as well as others. So, sometimes it does help to look into the mirror as long as the smoke hasn’t covered it too much. I am also an unrepentant sinner, knowing that I will always sin until the end of my life and it is impossible to claim that I will have repented of every sin committed until my dying day. The Bible makes this clear that we will all sin until our dying day and for anyone to claim to be so perfect and always in repentance is simply a lie and in conflict with what Jesus taught us.
Earl C. Apel deacon, Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church , Cincinnati, Ohio