Dan W., thanks for writing this. I did not pick up any inflammatory language coming from you in your original post. In fact, I thought it was very well written for the very reason that it was not inflammatory but informative. You clearly have concern about what you heard, as do I and many others (by the sounds of it). I took this as an attempt to simply inform us as to what you heard at the A1B meeting so that others, especially those outside of the GR area, might know the kinds of discussions that are taking place. The only inflammatory language I can discern is not coming from Dan's own words, but rather from the comments he has relayed to us. If Dan's report is accurate as to what was said at the meeting (i.e. that attenders were urged to not use scripture to make their case, but rather rely on personal stories), then we have good reason to share his concern. As Christians, the entirety of all that we believe rests on the authority of God's Word, not just for salvation but for all of the Christian life. Furthermore, the CRC is clear in it's stance on of the authority of Scripture. "The authority of Scripture is to be believed and confessed as an article of faith and is to be consistently applied and practiced in the life and ministry of the church." (https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/position-statements/bible-authority).
Posted in: Turning the CRC Into an Lgbtq+ Ally
Dan W., thanks for writing this. I did not pick up any inflammatory language coming from you in your original post. In fact, I thought it was very well written for the very reason that it was not inflammatory but informative. You clearly have concern about what you heard, as do I and many others (by the sounds of it). I took this as an attempt to simply inform us as to what you heard at the A1B meeting so that others, especially those outside of the GR area, might know the kinds of discussions that are taking place. The only inflammatory language I can discern is not coming from Dan's own words, but rather from the comments he has relayed to us. If Dan's report is accurate as to what was said at the meeting (i.e. that attenders were urged to not use scripture to make their case, but rather rely on personal stories), then we have good reason to share his concern. As Christians, the entirety of all that we believe rests on the authority of God's Word, not just for salvation but for all of the Christian life. Furthermore, the CRC is clear in it's stance on of the authority of Scripture. "The authority of Scripture is to be believed and confessed as an article of faith and is to be consistently applied and practiced in the life and ministry of the church." (https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/position-statements/bible-authority).