Presbyterian Church USA Considers Homosexual Clergy

I guess we have our answer to the question posed in a Christian Post story yesterday about a proposed change the Presbyterian Church wants to make in a translated version of the Heidelberg Catechism.

According to the article, in 1967 the Presbyterian Church adopted a 1962 Miller-Osterhaven version of the catechism in its Book of Confessions. This translation of the original German document is said to contain a reference to "homosexual perversion" not found in the original; the part in dispute is found in Question 87:

"Q. 87. Can those who do not turn to God from their ungrateful, impenitent life be saved?

A. Certainly not! Scripture says, 'Surely you know that the unjust will never come into possession of the kingdom of God. Make no mistake: no fornicator or idolater, none who are guilty either of adultery or of homosexual perversion, no thieves or grabbers or drunkards or slanderers or swindlers, will possess the kingdom of God.'"

From the language and list of sins in the original, it is obviously referring to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, which DOES contain the reference to homosexual behavior.

As Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary says

"The spirit of the text of the Catechism is clear enough. It is the exact opposite of the attempt now being made to make the Confessions open to homosexual practice," Gagnon said in a written argument last week. "The attempt at retranslation is not about history and honesty but ideology and a homosexualist agenda."

I consulted with two members of the clergy on this issue, and both agreed that while the term "homosexual perversion" was left out of the original translation, that omission in no way authorizes something that was not an issue when the catechism was originally written, but was becoming one in 1963 at the time of the re-translation. Here is what one of the clergy I consulted said:

Homosexuality was not a big issue when the Catechism was written (1563) like it is today. If it were then I guarantee you that the writer of the Catechism (Ursinus) would have included it.

I suspect that if it was not an error of omission in 1563, it was left out as a matter of propriety. That was certainly a more modest era, and less open to even the public discussion of any sexual perversion, than the world became in the 1960s.

But getting back to the statement I made in the opening paragraph of this post, a new story in today's Christian Post removes any reasonable doubt behind the motives of some to remove this term about "homosexual perversion" from the Book of Confessions.

In a 41-11 vote Tuesday night, the Committee on Church Orders and Ministry recommended to the 218th General Assembly – the denomination's highest governing body – that it delete wording in the ordination standard that requires "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness."

In other words, this committee within a Christian denomination which professes to believe in the Bible gave a green-light not only to homosexual behavior, but to allowing practicing homosexuals to become leaders in the church.

This flies not only in the fact of the Old Testament and New Testament condemnations against homosexuality, and ignores God's design for the expression of human sexuality, but also the command to expel unrepentant sexually immoral people from within the church.

This church committee has decided not only to ignore the call to expel unrepentant sexually immoral people, but has decided to allow them to lead the church!

What must Christ think of this kind of immorality within his Bride, the Church?