So as I continue to think about the Presbyterian Church ordination issue, I think a little more background info is in order. I was sharing this with a friend and realized it was probably a good thing to put out there for everyone to read and understand as part of my thought process.
So.... Here's where we are.
1. Presbyterian Church (USA) is organized a lot like the US Government. So the "rules" at the top govern everyone, but there is still room for local government as well - as long as they fit within the guidelines of the overall agreed-upon structure.
2. This is a Church. We believe in the holiness of the Bible (Scripture). And over the centuries, humans have written Confessions which explain what it is that we believe, based on Scripture. These are considered to be the guiding documents of our faith. YOU don't have to agree with them, but those of us in the PCUSA have said that we do, and that we agree to be governed by them.
3. We used to have a clause in our "Book of Order" (our book of laws and governances) that was pretty clear about who could be ordained: "fidelity in marriage" (no adultery) or "chastity in singleness" (no couples living together before marriage - homosexual OR heterosexual).
The complication came when the recent vote changed the wording.
We removed the clear and explicit wording, so it seems as if we have cleared the way to ordain homosexuals (and heterosexuals who are living together without being married, technically, right?).
BUT!
We still have the same standard to meet for ordination. We still expect the same standards of holiness of our leaders. So, has anything really changed?
What then does it mean to be ordained, or chosen? What do we expect from those who are set apart as leaders and teachers? What does scripture expect of them?
And what does scripture really have to say about homosexuality? Not the bits and pieces that people have been pulling out of context for years, but the whole of scripture. What does Christ have to say?
------
Many people like to point back to the struggle for women to "earn" the right to be ordained. This isn't the right to vote. Who should and should not be ordained is not something that is arbitrarily decided, but is something that is prescribed by the will of God. To Christians, this isn't something that social pressure can decide; it is something that has to be understood as allowed from within Scripture - something permitted by God.
So when the issue of ordaining women was being discussed, it was not because women had earned the right to vote that changed the mind of the Church leaders, it was a new way of understanding and studying scripture that allowed a new understanding to emerge. By reading the whole of Scripture - taking it as a complete work and not just as little bits and pieces - a new story, a new meaning emerged. By understanding the audience to whom passages were written, a new light was shone on the intent. And so, sentences that had once seemed so cold and harsh to women in the church: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet." (1 Tim2: 12), " Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church." (1 Cor 14: 34-35) when read in context as part of letters to specific churches addressing specific issues at a specific time, have an entirely different understanding. Particularly when you can turn the page and read a story of an amazing woman who lead a church or founded a church or performed a miracle. There were women leaders in the first century too, clearly. And well-respected ones.
And so, I have hope that a similar reading and understanding may come about for this issue.
But it takes time and careful study.
Social pressure cannot change Scripture, no matter how much we may want it to. And I cannot go against what Scripture tells me, no matter how much it hurts me and the friends that I love.
So, I will read and study and pray. I will hope to see what it is that God intends for His people. What it is that love is supposed to look like. And how it is that He would like for me to lead His people.
And I'll keep sharing with you, my friends, what I learn.
So.... Here's where we are.
1. Presbyterian Church (USA) is organized a lot like the US Government. So the "rules" at the top govern everyone, but there is still room for local government as well - as long as they fit within the guidelines of the overall agreed-upon structure.
2. This is a Church. We believe in the holiness of the Bible (Scripture). And over the centuries, humans have written Confessions which explain what it is that we believe, based on Scripture. These are considered to be the guiding documents of our faith. YOU don't have to agree with them, but those of us in the PCUSA have said that we do, and that we agree to be governed by them.
3. We used to have a clause in our "Book of Order" (our book of laws and governances) that was pretty clear about who could be ordained: "fidelity in marriage" (no adultery) or "chastity in singleness" (no couples living together before marriage - homosexual OR heterosexual).
The complication came when the recent vote changed the wording.
We removed the clear and explicit wording, so it seems as if we have cleared the way to ordain homosexuals (and heterosexuals who are living together without being married, technically, right?).
BUT!
We still have the same standard to meet for ordination. We still expect the same standards of holiness of our leaders. So, has anything really changed?
What then does it mean to be ordained, or chosen? What do we expect from those who are set apart as leaders and teachers? What does scripture expect of them?
And what does scripture really have to say about homosexuality? Not the bits and pieces that people have been pulling out of context for years, but the whole of scripture. What does Christ have to say?
------
Many people like to point back to the struggle for women to "earn" the right to be ordained. This isn't the right to vote. Who should and should not be ordained is not something that is arbitrarily decided, but is something that is prescribed by the will of God. To Christians, this isn't something that social pressure can decide; it is something that has to be understood as allowed from within Scripture - something permitted by God.
So when the issue of ordaining women was being discussed, it was not because women had earned the right to vote that changed the mind of the Church leaders, it was a new way of understanding and studying scripture that allowed a new understanding to emerge. By reading the whole of Scripture - taking it as a complete work and not just as little bits and pieces - a new story, a new meaning emerged. By understanding the audience to whom passages were written, a new light was shone on the intent. And so, sentences that had once seemed so cold and harsh to women in the church: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet." (1 Tim2: 12), " Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church." (1 Cor 14: 34-35) when read in context as part of letters to specific churches addressing specific issues at a specific time, have an entirely different understanding. Particularly when you can turn the page and read a story of an amazing woman who lead a church or founded a church or performed a miracle. There were women leaders in the first century too, clearly. And well-respected ones.
And so, I have hope that a similar reading and understanding may come about for this issue.
But it takes time and careful study.
Social pressure cannot change Scripture, no matter how much we may want it to. And I cannot go against what Scripture tells me, no matter how much it hurts me and the friends that I love.
So, I will read and study and pray. I will hope to see what it is that God intends for His people. What it is that love is supposed to look like. And how it is that He would like for me to lead His people.
And I'll keep sharing with you, my friends, what I learn.
