ELCA Assembly: Was God in Either Whirlwind?
The problem is that the statement focuses on conscience where it should focus on God's commandments in the moral ordering of the Christian life, three dissenting members of the ELCA task force on sexuality said earlier this year:
By focusing on trust, freedom, and love of neighbor, the social statement … strains forward to see what God might be doing anew within the community of faith, particularly in regards to conduct of persons who are homosexual, rather than building on the foundation depicted in the creation accounts of Genesis. The concept of freedom of the Christian, while helpful in our understanding of salvation by faith alone, cannot be the justification for a lifestyle and behavior contrary to the biblical witness and the moral tradition. … By centering on justification by faith, the social statement minimizes the role of the Law in Christian life, contrary to Luther's exposition of the Christian life in the catechisms, and is at odds with the Lutheran Confessions.
Lutherans Concerned, the main LGBT advocacy group within the denomination, hailed the vote as a victory: "There is still much work to do, but the door to full inclusion of LGBT members and their families is now most definitely open."
Lutheran CORE (Coalition for Reform) decried the document: "We mourn the decision by the Churchwide Assembly to reject the clear teaching of the Bible that God's intention for marriage is the relationship of one man and one woman. It is tragic that such a large number of ELCA members were willing to overturn the clear teaching of the Bible as it has been believed and confessed by Christians for nearly 2,000 years."
Jaynan Clark, WordAlone's president, was blunt: "It is appropriate that we call this a 'social' statement for we have just swapped society's statements and trends for God's Word and teaching."
Still, the bigger battle is probably still to come: On Friday, the gathering will consider a change that would allow churches to call pastors and other church leaders "in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships."
(Update: On Friday, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted to allow "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as rostered leaders of this church." See the CT Liveblog for more updates.)
Copyright © 2009 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Christianity Today's earlier coverage includes:
Seven Years in the Making, Draft ELCA Statement on Sexuality Punts | "This church does not have consensus," committee says. (March 14, 2008)
Moving to 'Acceptance' | Mainline Lutheran assembly urges bishops not to discipline gay ministers. (September 12, 2007)
'Compromise' Settles Nothing | ELCA assembly opens door to same-sex blessings (September 14, 2005)
Streaming This Weekend, May 24, 2013
Boy Scouts' Membership Change May Grow Christian Youth Clubs
You Can't Think Your Way to God
Building Peace in the Heart of Darkness
(on articles open to the public, you must at least register for a free account).
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Newsletters
Google
Comments
Displaying 1–3 of 139 comments
See all comments
VJC/Val
Reply to:Barry B. Posted: August 31, 2009 12:56 PM Romans 1:18-32, exactly. ELCA cannot force any church to uphold this rule. A pastor cannot force a congregation to hold this rule. The congregation votes on the Pastor they call. ELCA can vote until they are blue in the face, but cannot make a church move on this issue. Majority of ELCA's funds come from the church level. I expect a lot of churches are going to speak against this through their wallets. This is not over with the ELCA. The fight of God's True Word will continue. www.wordalone.org
VJC/Val
In rely to J.Ward Posted: August 25, 2009 8:33 PM I am also a member of the ELCA and Word Alone. God loves us! However, He hates the deeds of homosexuality because they are sinful. It is a clear sin in the bible and Jesus turned the tables over in the temple for a reason. He loved the moneychangers. He had dinner with the sinners, but did not allow them to corrupt him or the Father, his Word or His House. Break away from the ways of the World and return to the Word of God. Also, don't just use Paul as an excuse for Women leadership in the church. Paul was addressing a corrupt church in Corinth. That's why he addressed homosexuality in I Corinthians 6:9. He is very clear throughout the bible. J.Ward Posted: August 25, 2009 8:33 PM I don't believe that Christ requires us to loathe, despise, and reject those among us who are gay. ...
VJC
Barry B. also see Leviticus 20:13 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. 1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders. 1 Kings 14:24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. 1 Kings 15:12 He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made. 1 Kings 22:46 He rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa. 2 Kings 23:7 He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes, which were in the temple of the LORD and . .