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The PCUSA Has Lost Its Moral Authority

42 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA / By /

The news is reported in The Layman that the Rev. Brian Merritt has defied PCUSA law, most recently upheld by the GAPJC in the Spahr case, and married a lesbian couple in Washington, D.C., over the weekend. Last week, the Rev. Brett Webb-Mitchell revealed in a blog entry on Huffington Post that for years his executive presbyter shielded him from ecclesiastical prosecution: “There were a handful of Presbyterian pastors who were out LGBTQ people before we Presbyterians amended our constitution. The reason no formal complaint was brought against me was because I was part of a Presbytery where powerful people […]

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Keep Calm and Carry On

3 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Board of Pensions, Marriage Definition, PCUSA / By /

 It sounds very English, doesn’t it? “Keep calm and carry on.” In fact, this was the message of propaganda posters printed for distribution throughout England as World War II was befalling Europe. You can hear more of the story from a YouTube video. To the person of faith, this poster is a succinct summary of God’s message during tribulation, “Do not fear; do not fret. Trust in the Lord and do good” (from Psalm 37). Sometimes we need the reminder when things go topsy turvy around us, which is how many evangelicals in the PCUSA feel the present moment. The

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Evangelicals Are in a Pickle: BOP and Personal Conscience

1 Comment / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Board of Pensions, Marriage Definition, PCUSA / By /

Evangelicals in the PCUSA are in a pickle. One week ago the Board of Pensions announced its decision to expand Benefits coverage to same-sex partners of Plan members. A lot of soul-searching has ensued, if my mailbox is any indication, and I have attempted to work through the issue for my own benefit here on this blog. My “research” has included correspondence or conversation with the Corporate Secretary of the BOP, Andrew Browne; Rev. John Huffman, a member of the subcommittee that took up the question; and with various “renewal network” folks watching the situation. I have also read the

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Board of Pensions Responds to Questions

4 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Board of Pensions, Marriage Definition, PCUSA / By /

Two days ago, I asked some questions and just received written reply from Andrew Browne, Corporate Secretary of the BOP. He commented that he would be adding these four questions and answers to the BOP FAQs on the matter. So by sharing his unedited (by me) comments, I am not talking out of school or putting words in BOPs mouth. These answers represent the BOP’s understanding of its relationship to and with the PCUSA.  So, here goes: Question 1: what is the actual relationship between the BOP and the PCUSA? Can GA decisions bind the work of the BOP? Or

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On the Other Hand: The Board of Pensions and the Gospel of Grace

8 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Theological Reflection / By /

Wow. Yesterday’s post about the recent BOP decision raised quite a stir. The mail and comments, all sent with honesty and feeling, reveal just what a conundrum we have with the Board’s decision. I urge you to read them here. If my perceptions are accurate, every person who wrote identified him- or herself as a theological conservative. And yet, even so, there were differences of opinion about how to respond. In follow up, then, let us consider other ways of looking at the issue. There are at least three possible reasons why participants in the Benefits Plan should let this

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Board of Pensions Introduces Plague of Termites

25 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, New Form of Government (nFOG), Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA / By /

Word came out on Saturday that the Board of Pensions of the PCUSA has extended spousal benefits to same-sex partners of plan members. After studying the issue at the request of the last General Assembly, the Board added a definition of “qualified domestic partner” to its benefits plan.   People who believe the Scriptures prohibit homosexual activity, including that occurring in a committed relationship, should be outraged at this decision. There are at least four reasons to object: 1. The change becomes effective January 1, 2013, without further action of the General Assembly and without a “relief of conscience” clause

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Justice and Non-discrimination?

6 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, PCUSA / By /

  The sixth argument for gay marriage, contained in the comments attached to the Spahr decision, included the justice issue. 6.  The right to marry is afforded to all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation. It is a matter of justice and pastoral care that the church must redefine marriage to reflect this basic right and end the discrimination directed at homosexual people. A fairly typical “secular” argument, here the demand for gay marriage is presented straight-up and boldly as a civil rights issue. But it is built upon a false assumption rampant in the world, and its reasoning cannot

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Children of a Lesser God?

1 Comment / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, PCUSA / By /

  For why is all around us here As if some lesser god had made the world, But had not force to shape it as he would? Alfred Tennyson Tennyson (1809-1892) The fifth objection raised in comments following the Spahr decision included the claim that LGBT couples are ethically and spiritually equal to heterosexual couples: 5. It is wrong for the church to perpetuate the idea that LGBT couples are “children of a lesser God.” They are the “ethical and spiritual equals of heterosexual couples” in God’s eyes. By emphasizing the traditions of heterosexual marriage, the church has done a

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Can a Word Definition Become a Prohibition?

6 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, PCUSA / By /

This is the fifth installment in a series of blogs responding to the concurrences and dissents attached to the recent GAPJC decision Spahr v. Redwoods Presbytery (Case 220-08). While the decision itself upheld the Presbytery’s rebuke of the Rev. Jane Spahr, HR, for conducting sixteen same-sex weddings, the comments attached to it mapped out arguments for changing the definition of marriage to allow the practice. Today’s topic is the following claim: 4. A definition of marriage as between a man and a woman does not, by its presence in our Directory for Worship, prohibit marriage of same-sex couples. It was

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The Right to Marry “in the Church”?

3 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, PCUSA / By /

The third major area of concern for folks desiring to see the PCUSA allow its pastors to perform same-sex weddings is a mixed bag, but I will tackle it as I originally summarized it: 3.  The definition of marriage found at W-4.9001 denies homosexuals their rights as full members of the PCUSA. Judicial precedent barring gays from marriage injures individuals and interferes with the church’s dialogue about how to celebrate the lives of homosexual people. The first question that arises is this one: with “full membership” in the PCUSA, does one secure the right to be married by a Presbyterian

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