Gay strife
As The Gazette reported this morning, two church denominations made some interesting rulings that will impact gays and lesbians in the church. Many mainline denominations are struggling with where homosexuals fit in their churches -- whether their relationships should be blessed, whether their sexual preferences and lifestyles preclude them from taking leadership roles. And these issues aren't going away any time soon.
Why? Because gay-rights proponents and church traditionalists both see the issue as one of soaring morality. The Rev. Jim Singleton, senior pastor for First Presbyterian Church, deliniated the quandry as well as I've heard lately: He said gay inclusion is a justice issue for liberals -- a long-standing prejudice that followers of Christ are morally bound to address and eliminate. For conservatives, though, this is a "righteousness" issue: Accepting sexually active gays as spiritual leaders goes against the will of God as expressed in the Bible. And while there are plenty of folks who fall betwen those two extremes, it's really hard to find middle ground.
A word we all heard this week in the Episcopal Church's General Convention and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s General Assembly was "calling." Some felt God was "calling" attendees to accept gays fully into the church, or return to his will, or even just grapple with these issues. Obviously, God can't be "calling" people to do all of these things at the same time. Or can he?
Why? Because gay-rights proponents and church traditionalists both see the issue as one of soaring morality. The Rev. Jim Singleton, senior pastor for First Presbyterian Church, deliniated the quandry as well as I've heard lately: He said gay inclusion is a justice issue for liberals -- a long-standing prejudice that followers of Christ are morally bound to address and eliminate. For conservatives, though, this is a "righteousness" issue: Accepting sexually active gays as spiritual leaders goes against the will of God as expressed in the Bible. And while there are plenty of folks who fall betwen those two extremes, it's really hard to find middle ground.
A word we all heard this week in the Episcopal Church's General Convention and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s General Assembly was "calling." Some felt God was "calling" attendees to accept gays fully into the church, or return to his will, or even just grapple with these issues. Obviously, God can't be "calling" people to do all of these things at the same time. Or can he?
posted by Paul Asay | 10:15 AM
1 Comments:
I'm not sure "calling" is the issue. In fact, I know it isn't. We can "feel" the "Spirit" leading us in all kinds of ways but the only real direction we have is from the Bible. Sadly, these kinds of contradictions are too common in churches because we've followed Jiminy Cricket too long. It is a much better (and Biblical) idea for all denominations to simply read the Bible and take it as it reads.
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