Overtures attack evangelicals’ motives, intelligence and integrity An analysis by Robert P. Mills The Presbyterian Layman Tuesday, May 18, 1999
Johnson’s acronym provides a useful lens through which to view the 211th General Assembly, which will meet June 19-26 in Fort Worth. From the plethora of pre-Assembly convocations sponsored by the Covenant Network and its allies, through commissioner committees staffed by agenda promoters, to plenary decisions that could again be subjected to moderatorial manipulation, the GLARF agenda will be a prominent feature of this Assembly’s life and work. Nowhere is this more evident than in a series of overtures (requests to change the denomination’s policies and procedures) sent from presbyteries to this Assembly. The March/April issue of The Presbyterian Layman analyzed attempts to repeal or render unenforceable the “fidelity and chastity” clause of our denomination’s ordination standards. “Enforcing Inclusive Language,” which begins on page one of this issue, considers a proposal to enforce the use of inclusive God-language in Presbyterian worship services. This analysis will consider coordinated opposition to ministries that assist gays and lesbians who wish to leave the homosexual lifestyle. Ministries to gays and lesbians Overture 99-56 from New York City Presbytery begins by asking GA “to repent of the sin of homophobia and of all violence – physical, psychological, emotional – and spiritual, based on perceptions of sexual orientation.” (Chicago, Detroit and Genesee Valley have approved overtures with almost identical language.) It also wants the Assembly to “Direct all agencies of the General Assembly, and strongly encourage synods, presbyteries, congregations and affiliated educational institutions, to refrain from supporting, implementing, or sponsoring therapies or ministries which attempt to alter a person’s sexual orientation.” “Homophobia” is a GLARF-coined buzzword used to slander those who accept as true the biblical teaching that homosexual behavior violates God’s will for his human creation. The label is promiscuously applied: all who accept the biblical prohibition of homosexual behavior are by definition homophobic. Since homophobia is equated with intolerance (one of the few sins remaining in liberalism’s lexicon), those who accept the teachings of Scripture are automatically judged guilty of intolerance, thus their point of view must not be tolerated.
(It is worth noting that a recent article in the APA Psychological Bulletin, the journal of the American Psychological Association, has begun promoting pedophilia. The article maintains that sex between children and adults is not harmful and, in fact, can be a positive experience for the child.) In the face of unambiguous biblical prohibitions, and despite the personal testimonies of countless individuals to the contrary, GLARF insists that homosexual orientation cannot, indeed must not, be changed. The voices of individuals or organizations opposing the APA must be slandered, intimidated, or legislated into silence. Notice should also be taken of Overture 99-47 from Giddings-Lovejoy which, within its laundry list, asks that GA “support legislation enforcing enhanced penalties for hate crimes prosecuted under federal law.” The GLARF connection couples “enhanced penalties” with New York City’s description of homophobia as “violence,” effectively making it a hate crime to offer God’s healing power to those struggling to gain freedom from homosexual inclinations, and potentially subjecting anyone who offers such a ministry to “enhanced penalties.” Potential impact These three clusters of overtures – fidelity and chastity, inclusive God-language and healing ministries to gays and lesbians – assault the “motives, intelligence or integrity” of the vast majority of Presbyterians. (The language comes from “Guidelines for Presbyterians During Times of Disagreement,” adopted by the 1992 GA.) What is the impact of such an onslaught? Consider the following response: “What is advanced when one Christian questions the integrity of another Christian? Questioning the intentions of those with whom one disagrees is destructive. Conversations are ended, debate is closed, any possibility of reconciliation is destroyed.” Those words are from a letter dated April 1999, signed by Robert Bohl and John Buchanan, former GA moderators who are co-moderators of the Covenant Network. They come one paragraph before its authors attack a Layman article and editorial as “reckless and offensive.” (Click here for the entire letter.) By questioning the motives of those who support our constitution’s current ordination standards; by questioning the intelligence and integrity of those who insist on referring to God in the ways by which God has revealed himself in Holy Scripture; by questioning the motives, intelligence and integrity of those who accept biblical and personal testimonies to the life-changing power of Jesus Christ, these overtures – and their supporters – are tearing at the tenuous threads by which the PCUSA has managed to remain connected in these times of disagreement. The gay, lesbian and radical feminist agenda, of which these overtures are merely the more visible examples, will command center stage at the Fort Worth Assembly. If commissioners adopt this agenda – which opposes and denigrates Scripture, Christian tradition and the experiences of those set free from bondage by Jesus Christ – if they attempt to uproot the life and work of the PCUSA and replace it with another gospel, they will end conversations, close debates and destroy possible reconciliations. |
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