Which way, ELCA? Assembly votes on sexuality Friday
Rev. Robert C. Baker has some excellent critique of the ELCA convention's action so far. The vote on the so-called "Sexuality Document" is Friday. Bioethike » Blog Archive » Which way, ELCA? Assembly votes on sexuality Friday
[...] I would suggest that the central question facing our brothers and sisters in the ELCA is this: Having rejected God’s Word in Scripture, are we now to reject God’s Word in creation? Colleagues from my side of the aisle, The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, as well as other conservative commentators, will surely pillory the ELCA regarding this matter regardless what the Assembly decides (”I can’t believe they did that!” or “They should have never let it get this far!”). But I fear what my colleagues will not do is get to the root of the problem. In typical fashion, they will limit themselves to arguing on two fronts: for biblical authority and against homosexuality. They won’t seek to understand that the problem goes much deeper. We’re not talking simply about the Bible and its do’s or don’ts. We’re talking about God’s Word in nature. Natural Law. The meaning and purposes of marriage. Why God created male and female in the first place. The proper roles of men and women. All that stuff we used to talk about as Lutherans, but now we talk about it in so very, very different ways. And when we start talking about those things, we’ve got some soul searching to do. Like, why we allow unscriptural divorce in our churches, even among our clergy. Why we say that abortion in some circumstances is permissible. Why we do not talk about marriage but rather “sexuality,” a Romantic concept based on feelings and in use only about 200 years. And why we no longer teach what Luther and orthodox Lutheran theologians taught about contraception. Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust is neither biblical, nor is it confessional. Heck, it mentions the word “sexuality” 123 times, but the word “Bible” only 3 times. As I’ve argued before, it is the last, gasping breath of the Twentieth Century Project, which templates systematic categories rather than deriving its doctrine and practice from the Scriptures. See “Bakernitions” for more details. So, which way, ELCA? God’s blessings as you deliberate. I pray that you side with God and His Word, the Bible and in Creation. Eventually, we in the LCMS will also have to ask ourselves the same question. It’s just a matter of time. And how we’ve answered so far could deal with some improvement.
