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Larson v Los Ranchos: A Case of Presbydoublespeak

16 Comments / GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA / By /

Overnight I have had a chance to read not only the Final Decision and Order of the GAPJC in Larson v. Los Ranchos, but also the briefs submitted by the Complainants/Appellants and the Respondents/Appellees (the Presbytery). My initial summary of this case appeared in yesterday’s blog; today I’d like to share my impressions of what this decision means. Folks who believe a manner of life suitable for ordination in the PCUSA includes fidelity in heterosexual marriage and chastity in singleness are going to find it difficult to apply their reasonable biblical standard in ordination/installation decisions. Here’s what I observe to […]

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GAPJC Decisions Put the Squeeze on Evangelicals

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The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC)  has issued three Decisions after hearing oral arguments last Friday in Louisville. Each is disappointing to evangelical conservatives in the PCUSA, but taken together they create an odorous outcome for any presbytery trying to uphold a biblical understanding of marriage or congregations desiring a peaceable withdrawal from the denomination. A quick rundown of the case Decisions, which can be read in their entirety on the GAPJC website (scroll down to 221-02, 221-03, and 221-04):  221-02, Newark Presbytery v McNeill:  In 2009, Presbyterian teaching elder Laurie McNeill was married, according to Massachusetts law, to

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Is Our Teaching Method Watering Down Our Doctrine?

3 Comments / Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, Fellowship of Presbyterians, It All Started in the Garden, Marriage Curriculum, PCUSA, Personal, Teaching / By /

October has turned out to be an intense month of preparations, and my blog has gotten short shrift as a result. Aside from preaching every Sunday this month (an unusual schedule in my current context), I am giving a series of theological lectures on the topic “It All Started in the Garden: Theological Themes Arising Out of Genesis 1-3” and presenting three talks at the California Wee Kirk Conference next week (a plenary address, a sermon, and a seminar—all on different topics). Behind-the-scenes, I have been working with a colleague on a study guide for ECO’s “Essential Tenets” (ET) paper,

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Good Days and Bad Days

7 Comments / Food, It All Started in the Garden, Leadership and Spirituality, Personal, Theological Reflection / By /

This morning a Facebook friend posted his status: “Today is a good day.” Having just come off a bad day myself, the simplicity of his statement caught my attention and begged for reflection. Sunday for me was the sort of day Judith Viorst described in her class children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Well, I had one. Two events cast their deep shadows on this week’s Sabbath. The first occurred during worship and the second at home late in the day. On this particular week, my participation in worship was musical. The choir director

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Bone of My Bone, Flesh of My Flesh!

1 Comment / It All Started in the Garden, Marriage Curriculum, PCUSA, Teaching, Theological Reflection / By /

Slowly but surely we are doing the biblical work to seed our marriage curriculum for use in PCUSA circles. In my last post we observed that the accounts of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 emphasized different elements but had at least three features in common: they each announce a likeness that empowers human beings for meaningful existence, they each identify human sexual distinctions to be foundational, and they each differentiate humans from the rest of the creaturely world. In Genesis 1 we observed that there is no differentiation between male and female with regard to their being in the

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God Imparted Gifts to Humanity for Good Reason

Leave a Comment / It All Started in the Garden, Marriage Curriculum, Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Teaching, Theological Reflection / By /

26Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27            So God created humankind in his image,                       in the image of God he created them;                         male and female he created them. 28God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it;

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Log Dog Cannot Be God

2 Comments / It All Started in the Garden, Marriage Curriculum, PCUSA, Teaching, Theological Reflection / By /

On our early morning hikes through the Walnut Creek Open Space, we often encounter a delightful English lady with one or two dogs in tow. She is a volunteer at the local dog rescue shelter, and she just loves her pets. One lab mix we call “Log Dog” will carry a sizable tree branch all the way up the hill, sometimes dropping it at our feet in pride. Great fun. Anyway, for the first time in the years we have been acquainted, Dog Lady this week had along a Gentleman Friend who led Log Dog on the leash. My instantaneous

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It All Started in the Garden

1 Comment / It All Started in the Garden, Marriage Curriculum, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

Okay, let’s start. My next few posts will explore the themes in Genesis 1 through 3, particularly those that frame the marriage question. The discussion will intertwine with theological anthropology (the nature of the relationship between humanity and God). But first, at the request of one of my readers, for the sake of context I will list some other themes that have their genesis in the Creation and Fall accounts. The following concepts will be taught in my church class on the following schedule between now and Christmas, and the remaining topics will be covered after the first of the

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Marriage: “Let’s Start at the Very Beginning”

5 Comments / Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

Last night I launched my 2012-13 Bible study at church, called “It All Started in the Garden.” The class will take (at least) fifteen theological themes introduced in Genesis 1 through 3 and trace them through the Scriptures. As my blog readers have noticed over the last 198 posts, I quite frequently go back to Eden as my starting point on a topic. And yet, comments occasionally criticize my approach as misguided, believing that the Christian’s starting point for a topical study should always be “what Jesus said about it.” So I thought it would be helpful, in the midst

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Marriage: Models and Mirrors in Scripture

6 Comments / Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Teaching, Theological Reflection / By /

As we develop a curriculum on marriage for use in the PCUSA, we must take a look at some biblical data causing questions and confusion in the church. Readers of this blog and contributors of others have cautioned that a fair Bible study on the meaning of marriage must include the diverse forms family takes. There is no question that the biblical narrative reports polygamy (Lamech in Genesis 4, Jacob in Ge 29f) and concubines (Abraham, Ge 25:5; Solomon, 1 Kings 11). As an aside, it is interesting to note that there are no reports of homosexual marriages or polyamory

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