'Nowhere, Never, by No One.'

At the CT site, S. Donald Fortson III examines "The Road to Gay Ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)."

He writes, "Church history is crystal clear: Homosexual practice has been affirmed nowhere, never, by no one in the history of Christianity." Adoption of amdendment 10-A is therefore, by definition, anti-catholic.

Jim wrote, "This is not your grandmother's church." Fortson also shares, "When I was a young ministerial student studying at a mainline Presbyterian seminary I read Don Williams's 1978 book, The Bond that Breaks: Will Homosexuality Split the Church? and I recall wondering if homosexual ordination would find acceptance among Presbyterians during my lifetime. Now, more than 30 years later, I have an answer to my question."

Speaking of changes of a lifetime, here's the message concerning Amendment 10-A from last year's moderator of the General Assembly.

And it is worth recalling this moment from last year's assembly:

Archpriest Siarhei Hardun from the Orthodox Church of Belarus:

“Christian morality is as old as Christianity itself. It doesn’t need to be invented now. Those attempts to invent new morality look for me like attempts to invent a new religion — a sort of modern paganism.

When people say that they are led and guided by the Holy Spirit to do it, I wonder if it is the same Spirit that inspired the Bible, if it is the same Holy Spirit that inspires the Holy Orthodox Church not to change anything doctrinal or moral standards? It is really the same Spirit or perhaps there are different spirits acting in different denominations and inspiring them to develop in different directions and create different theologies and different morals?

My desire is that all Christians should contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all delivered to the saints, as St. Jude calls us to do (Jude 1:3). And my advice as an ecumenical advisory delegate is the following: ‘Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’” (Romans 12:2).

Comments

[Christopher Hathaway]

The Moderator says that PCUSA is a "big tent". In biblical language that would be wide gate and a broad road.

[Deacon Michael D. Harmon]

I have read several comments from PCUSA traditionalists who say they will continue to "witness from within" regarding the truth of Scripture on this issue. If the experience of the Episcopal Church is any guide (can't comment on the UCC, as so far as I can tell it had no traditionalists, they all left for other Congregational polities such as the CCCC a long time ago), to hold to Scriptural truth will make you a bigot, a homophobe, unloving, hateful, and a general all-around layabout with bad body odor. Those people who think they can continue in communion with those who despise them are whistling softly past a very large graveyard. Gays may say they are fighting "hatred," but it is only so they have room to apply it themselves. As Fr. Neuhaus said, "Where orthodoxy is optional, it will eventually be proscribed."

But then, I hear Vichy France was a nice place to live, and Vidkun Quisling did a wonderful job of running Norway.