NO. But will another study really matter? In 1973, the CRC made a fairly brave declaration about homosexuality. In the 40 years since, we have done little to live out those initial convictions, or to follow them through to reasonable conclusions. Ironically, that same era launched the "women in ecclesiastical office" foray. Forty years later (forty years?!?) synod is asked to deal with requests to form a classis for congregations that want neither to live with the decisions arrived at studiously, prayerfully, and painfully nor to join with those who have "left" us to form a more perfect union. While I appreciate the sentiments that "culture" should not dictate our interpretations of Scripture, has anybody considered that there have never been interpretations of Scripture (including the creeds and confessions) outside of "culture?" Perhaps, more importantly, have we considered that WE ourselves may have become the "culture" we should be most cautious about allowing to influence our confrontation with the Scriptures. In the early 1970's, I was privileged to have breakfast with William Stringfellow. As I bumbled around explaining my little-known-mostly-Dutch denomination, he responded to the effect that immigrant congregations represented great hope for American Christianity since they were as yet untainted by the absorption of the faith into a national enterprise. That was yesterday. I fear that today the CRC is also "church as enterprise," absorbed in management debates, cautiously holding onto our original customers, avoiding the controversial, packaging for new consumers while "walking back" any bold Kingdom imperative that might offend. Like most of the rest of American "conservative" christianity, we have little or nothing to say of great Scriptural mandates about wealth and power, catering to economic "success," the market as servant rather than god, creation-keeping, the stranger in our midst, war and peace, or the overwhelming prophetic call for social justice. We are silent (and complicit) in the demonizing of gay people, the scape-goating of the world's economic and war-ravaged refugees, and the devastating devaluation of humanity that accompanies the growing global gap between the very wealthy and the rest of us. If another study will help...well, why not? But I'm not holding my breath...at my age, I don't have that much to hold.
I must have a dated version of Matthew 28...mine has something about Christ's authority, and about "making disciples of all nations" and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. If earth-keeping and social justice (the God-given right to human dignity) are not part of what Jesus taught (admittedly assuming He had some affinity with the OT concepts of humans in the image of God and the earth as a stewardship assignment), then I'm confused about the Gospel. I would suggest that synod declare that, far from being distractions, these things are essential and any gospel without them is heresy. I would further suggest (this from personal experience) that a whole Gospel is what a fractured world is hungry for.
Posted in: Are We Fully Equipped?
NO. But will another study really matter? In 1973, the CRC made a fairly brave declaration about homosexuality. In the 40 years since, we have done little to live out those initial convictions, or to follow them through to reasonable conclusions. Ironically, that same era launched the "women in ecclesiastical office" foray. Forty years later (forty years?!?) synod is asked to deal with requests to form a classis for congregations that want neither to live with the decisions arrived at studiously, prayerfully, and painfully nor to join with those who have "left" us to form a more perfect union. While I appreciate the sentiments that "culture" should not dictate our interpretations of Scripture, has anybody considered that there have never been interpretations of Scripture (including the creeds and confessions) outside of "culture?" Perhaps, more importantly, have we considered that WE ourselves may have become the "culture" we should be most cautious about allowing to influence our confrontation with the Scriptures. In the early 1970's, I was privileged to have breakfast with William Stringfellow. As I bumbled around explaining my little-known-mostly-Dutch denomination, he responded to the effect that immigrant congregations represented great hope for American Christianity since they were as yet untainted by the absorption of the faith into a national enterprise. That was yesterday. I fear that today the CRC is also "church as enterprise," absorbed in management debates, cautiously holding onto our original customers, avoiding the controversial, packaging for new consumers while "walking back" any bold Kingdom imperative that might offend. Like most of the rest of American "conservative" christianity, we have little or nothing to say of great Scriptural mandates about wealth and power, catering to economic "success," the market as servant rather than god, creation-keeping, the stranger in our midst, war and peace, or the overwhelming prophetic call for social justice. We are silent (and complicit) in the demonizing of gay people, the scape-goating of the world's economic and war-ravaged refugees, and the devastating devaluation of humanity that accompanies the growing global gap between the very wealthy and the rest of us. If another study will help...well, why not? But I'm not holding my breath...at my age, I don't have that much to hold.
Posted in: Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing
I must have a dated version of Matthew 28...mine has something about Christ's authority, and about "making disciples of all nations" and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. If earth-keeping and social justice (the God-given right to human dignity) are not part of what Jesus taught (admittedly assuming He had some affinity with the OT concepts of humans in the image of God and the earth as a stewardship assignment), then I'm confused about the Gospel. I would suggest that synod declare that, far from being distractions, these things are essential and any gospel without them is heresy. I would further suggest (this from personal experience) that a whole Gospel is what a fractured world is hungry for.