 Network indoctrinates allies on interpretation of Scripture By John H. Adams The Layman Online Monday, November 6, 2000 PITTSBURGH – Jonah didn't preach in Nineveh and convert the people in the Assyrian capital. Paul exaggerated greatly when he said 500 people saw the risen Christ. And Biblical admonitions against homosexual activity were "cultural assumptions" that have no place in today's theology. Those and other conjectures were presented by speakers for the Covenant Network during a three-day indoctrination in how to refute Scripture that does not uphold the Network's goals of allowing ministers to perform same-sex unions and eliminating the constitutional "fidelity/chastity" standard for ordination. Authority not the issue More than 600 people attended the Network's conference Nov. 2-4 on "Biblical Authority and the Church" at East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. But Biblical authority was not the issue. Rather, speakers gave lessons in how to debunk Scripture by using subjective interpretation or giving reasons why the passages should not have been in the Bible in the first place. And if those measures fail, the Rev. Tricia Dykers Koenig told a workshop, she's ready to defy church law. "I hereby admit to you that I will break the law [banning same-sex unions] if it becomes a law," said Koenig, co-pastor of Noble Road Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Koenig, who was recently named to coordinate the Network's work with sympathetic congregations and individuals, said violating the denomination's constitution would simply tie up opponents in court cases and cost money. The Scripture being challenged by conference speakers focused on passages in the Old Testament and New Testament that condemn homosexual activity. Network's headliners The Network's headliners for the conference were Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary; William Placher, professor of religion at Wabash College, and Brian Blount, associate professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. They suggested interpretative approaches that conflict sharply with traditional Reformed theology and the Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Brueggemann, although teaching at a Presbyterian seminary, is ordained by the United Church of Christ, the first mainline denomination to approve ordination of self-affirming, practicing homosexuals. He is not confession-friendly. "Biblical authority is not to be settled by confessions," Brueggemann said. The 'better' interpreter Blount said the human spirit is a better interpreter than the Biblical text. "The role of the spirit is a constant. It teaches the essential voice of God." So if the "human spirit" finds the text troubling, then the text is wrong, Blount suggested. He gave several examples of what he decided were Biblical errors that had to be reinterpreted by the human spirit in the context of changing culture - including slavery, male superiority, and condemnation of homosexuality. Placher, who argued for the same result, took a different tack from Blount, who would have dismissed altogether Biblical passages that suggest homosexual activity is not part of God's divine order. Placher said interpreters should distinguish between what the Bible mentions and what it teaches. For instance, the Bible mentions slavery but does not teach that slavery is God's will, he said. And the Bible mentions homosexuality, but that does not constitute a teaching about homosexuality, he said. So why did Paul include homosexuality in a list of vices in Romans 1? That was "merely an assumption" by Paul, gleaned from common attitudes in the first-century culture, Placher said. "We need to decide what constitutes teaching and what constitutes cultural assumption," Placher said. 'Unbelievable' accounts Placher cited a number of Biblical stories – untrue, he declared – to demonstrate that the Bible needs to be interpreted in light of today understanding. Don't believe the tale of Jonah, he said, and especially the part about the conversion of Nineveh. And don't believe Paul when he wrote that Jesus appeared to 500 eyewitnesses after the resurrection, he added. He also warned against any interpretation that "seems to favor the powerful." Interpretive methods Brueggemann listed his suggested ways to interpret Scripture, including:
Blount said Scriptures "ought to be challenged when we find that they were influenced by their contexts and are damaging and not life-affirming." He called conservatives "not-quite-ready-for-prime-time interpreters who equate faith in God with faith in the written Word." He argued against the idea that Scripture stands the test of time. "Since we are always changing, our context is always changing, and the Word is always changing." For proper interpretation, Blount said, "The text must be in line with God's being in favor of liberation." Paul criticized He was critical of Paul's writing about women except for the passage in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Blount proposed an amendment: "Dare I say, even of sexual preference." "Biblical words are not the last word," Blount said. "They are the living Word." The purpose of the conference was to prepare Network allies to conduct an effective campaign against the proposed constitutional amendment, 00-O, which would prohibit ministers from conducting same-sex unions, and to generate overtures and support for another constitutional amendment on ordination standards. The Network wants to eliminate the provision that prohibits officers of the church from being self-affirming, practicing adulterers or homosexuals. Leaders of the Network expressed concern that they would face tough opposition if they did not use the Bible effectively to argue their cases. |
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