GAPJC Decisions

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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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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Second Class Citizenship?

5 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA / By /

  The second argument appearing in the Spahr decision comments:  2.  By refusing to marry homosexual pairs, the church is declaring them second-class citizens contrary to the affirmations in the Book of Order where full equality of all people in the church’s life is affirmed (citing F-1.0403, F-1.0404, G-1.0302). Citizenship in the Kingdom of God is granted by God under certain conditions, among them 1) faith in Jesus Christ, as in John 1:12: “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God”; 2) repentance, as in Acts 2:38: “Repent, and

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The Difference between Same-Sex Blessings and Marriages

1 Comment / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA / By /

Yesterday I outlined the various arguments found in the GAPJC decision that came down this week. While the “Decision and Order” itself upheld the constitutional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, several commissioners filed comments in support of gay marriage. These arguments have no force of law, but they do map out the strategy to secure a change in the definition of marriage at the upcoming General Assembly. Since that change appears to be the liberal goal this year, it is worth looking at each argument individually, examining assumptions, checking references, and answering them from a

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Spahr Decision Contains Arguments for Change of Marriage’s Definition

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

The Spahr Decision came out early Tuesday this week, and if one took only the Decision & Order itself, a conservative/evangelical like myself could be encouraged. The GAPJC upheld the Constitution and the decisions of the lower judicial commissions to declare that teaching elders may not officiate at same-sex weddings even when legal in a particular state. The basis for this ruling comes from the “definition of marriage,” found in our Directory for Worship: Marriage is a gift God has given to all humankind for the well-being of the entire human family. Marriage is a civil contract between a woman

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