 Will the real Jerusalem Council please stand up?  The Layman – Volume 39, Number 1 – Posted January 23, 2006
It did not turn out that way. Instead of soul-stirring Bible study and preaching, I was harangued about social justice; instead of getting to the heart of our denomination’s loss of members and a return to our first love, we spent the church’s resources addressing a vast range of topics from unilateral disarmament to the Middle East. I had a hard time distinguishing this Christian assembly from that of the State of Ohio’s. Now the image of the Jerusalem Council is raised by the stated clerk’s praise of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity. When its report came out, the clerk said its method of deliberation was like that of the Council. However, the stated clerk did not want to press the analogy. And we can see why. The Jerusalem Council spoke a clear word to the issue of circumcision for Gentile believers. The Council spoke confidently with divine authority: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us …” (Acts 15:28). And the result was “the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers” (Acts 16:5). The PUP report fails on all three counts. First, it does not speak a clear word; it says we need to continue to “discern matters that unite and divide” us, without naming even one of those issues to guide us in the process. Instead of a definitive word, we get the vague nostrum of continued discussion. The PCUSA has been discussing whether homosexual behavior is immoral for 27 years. There is no argument today that was not raised 27 years ago; the report suggests no way to measure when we reach “adequate” discernment. Second, unlike the Council, the PUP report does not speak with confidence from the Word of God. It says “Biblical literature on human sexuality … is diverse, subtle, and complex” and tells us to seek “Christ-like alternatives to the ‘yes/no’ forms about sexuality …” The report does not once refer to Scripture on the subject or study the many times Christ addresses moral issues with a “yes” or a “no.” It does not show us examples of Jesus saying, “You have heard it said … but I say it is too subtle and complex to know God’s will.” Although the task force cannot yet discern God’s law about sexual morality, it boldly recommends “in the meantime” that ordaining bodies can ordain officers engaging in homosexual behavior if they discern the truth before the rest of the church does. The Jerusalem Council boldly told believers they should “abstain from sexual immorality” (Acts 15:29). The Council heard Scripture speak a clear “no;” the same Scripture speaks today, but some modern ears don’t hear properly. Third, the effect of the PUP report has been immediate disagreement. Just after it was published, leaders of PCUSA renewal groups gave their assessment: It would undermine the purity of the church and exacerbate disunity. Members of the PUP task force are traveling to presbyteries as members of the Jerusalem Council did, but the church is not being strengthened in the faith. Instead, the line between truth and error on which our faith stands is being blurred with a public relations campaign of “Peace, peace” when there is no peace (Jer. 6:14). To see fully the difference between the councils of A.D. 40 and 2005, let Gerrit Dawson and Mark Patterson, two keen theologian-pastors, guide you. Their book, Given and Sent in One Love: The True Church of Jesus Christ, addresses the PCUSA’s illness that PUP evades. They shine the clear light of Scripture on God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – to show us the real peace, unity and purity available to the Church in the deed of grace – Jesus Christ on the cross. Come and meet the real thing. Then you can pick out the true Jerusalem Council from false ones. Peggy Hedden, an elder in Columbus, Ohio, is the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Lay Committee. |
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