 A Christmas contradiction  The Presbyterian Layman Volume 33, Number 6, Posted November 22, 2000
It’s all about Jesus. Meanwhile, at denominational headquarters, the General Assembly Council trifles with a different gospel. It’s not that they deny Jesus. They say they affirm the church’s faith. But fearing that Jesus alone may be too confining, they have given their imprimatur to a more inclusive scene. There’s room in this inn for Gaia, the “earth mother,” Buddha, Sophia, wiccans, warlocks, and whoever else might be conjured by human imagination. We don’t believe it, say members of the General Assembly Council, but we will include in our programs those who do. Declining to uphold the church’s faith, some council members seem to have forgotten the duty of their office. Scripture describes the result: “In those days there was no king [authority] in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” The council’s refusal in September to insist on the faithful proclamation of the gospel by every agency, program and employee under its jurisdiction hurls our congregations into a full-blown integrity crisis. How can we be loyal to our Lord and Savior while supporting a denominational budget that platforms pagan alternatives? None of us wants to make that choice. The council should not force us to make it. A call to leadership There is a solution to this dilemma. Highland Park, Montreat and other Presbyterian churches have proposed it. They are calling on the General Assembly Council to require all of its agencies to do their work under the authority of Scripture and in conformity to the denomination’s confessions. It is not enough for council members personally to affirm Biblical faith. They must insist that those whom they superintend do so as well. Some denominational leaders argue that this would box them in, rendering them unable to engage the religious pluralism that they say characterizes the modern world. But there is nothing particularly modern about the pluralism that they applaud. Today’s ideologies are mere re-runs of the paganism that was rejected by first-century Christians. Our call today – as it was centuries ago – is to give these aberrations, not a platform, but an answer. That answer is Jesus Christ. At issue here is not the “right” of some to follow different deities. If people choose to believe that God is a turnip, of course they have that right. But the Presbyterian Church (USA) is not obliged to showcase such notions. As our congregations turn their hearts and minds toward Bethlehem, let us renew our commitment to the King of kings and Lord of lords. In a welcome statement to the Presbyterian Coalition, John Detterick, executive director of the General Assembly Council, urged the church to make that commitment. Will the council follow his lead? |
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