Reconciliation today - a hope and an imperative in church and in society

a special report from Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon Society Issues Analyst

[2-6-02]

Feb. 5, 2002 - A group of about 120 converged on the Stony Point Conference Center February 3 and 4 for a conference on the Confession of 1967 with the theme, "The Hope of Reconciliation Today." As Chris Iosso said in opening the conference, "This is the beginning of the 35th anniversary celebration of the Confession of 1967." It is a celebration that the Witherspoon Society hopes to continue by sponsoring a series of regional conferences on "C-67," as it is affectionately called. One of the participants in the audience commented at one stage of the conference that "the hope of the church lies in this kind of theological reflection." Other participants seem to agree.

I'll try to give some of the highlights. The addresses will be printed, probably in somewhat condensed form, in an issue of Church and Society within a few months, certainly in time for the General Assembly.

Click here for the full text of this address.

Douglas Ottati of Union Seminary in Richmond kicked off the discussion by pointing out that C-67 is "part of a package"; it was adopted only as part of the larger Book of Confessions, and it was not intended to stand on its own. Like the Barmen Declaration and the more recent Brief Statement it assumes other confessional statements, and thus it can afford to be "thematic." C-67, of course, looked at what was at stake in the divisions in society during the Sixties, and it found the biblical message of reconciliation to be especially appropriate.

Continuing his theme, Ottati reminded us that all of the Reformed confessions were written with an awareness of earlier confessions and were immediately sent to other churches to continue the conversation. In keeping with that tradition, then, our "confessional standard" is the entire Book of Confessions, which understands itself as a provisional reading of the message of Scripture; it cannot be narrowed down to three or four or five "fundamentals." The most appropriate way to observe the anniversary of C-67 is to read both Scripture and the confessions and engage them in further dialogue about the issues of our own day.

Issues not touched by C-67

One of the participants in the audience used the felicitous expression "redefining reconciliation." That is exactly what we were challenged to do by a number of the speakers. Some of them pointed primarily to omissions in C-67, others pointed primarily to new issues of which the drafters could not have been fully aware.

Two views on homosexuality

One controversial issue was highlighted early on by two speakers, Paul Capetz of United Seminary in the Twin Cities, who recently gave up his ordination as a Presbyterian minister because of G-6.0106b, and George Hunsinger of Princeton Theological Seminary, who elaborated on his recent defense of G-6.0106b and explained how he thinks it can be broadened to make a place for "responsible discretion" on the part of governing bodies.  [The full text of Dr. Capetz' address is available on this site.]

Capetz dealt forthrightly with the scapegoating of gay and lesbian people that has been reinforced by Christian teachings through the centuries and continues into our own day, as demonstrated by the lynching of Matthew Shepard several years ago. His question was this: "What would it mean for gay people to be reconciled with the church?" Then he suggested that the more basic question is, "What would it mean for the church to be reconciled with gay people?"

In the course of a very rich address Capetz reminded us that the Brief Statement challenges the church to "hear the voices of those long silenced" and to "unmask idolatries in church and culture." He suggested that C-67 itself exemplifies the "moral confusion of our time." But he also appropriated C-67's own affirmation that people reconciled to God can have "joy and respect for their own humanity and that of other persons" and "commit themselves to a mutually shared life" (C-9.47). What makes this larger interpretation of C-67 possible is something that happened soon after the writing of this confession -- Stonewall in 1969, when gay people refused to "sit at the back of the bus" and decided to come out and affirm their own humanity. The church, however, has yet to acknowledge the positive side of finitude and particularity and difference.

Capetz dealt with the issue of the biblical passages that seem to condemn all homosexuality. He refuses to explain them away; instead he said that "the Bible is wrong," and he tried to understand why the Bible said what it did. His approach, in other words, is not to throw the Bible out, but to discern God's will today.

George Hunsinger took a different approach, insisting on the "plain sense of Scripture." This does not mean he was unaware of the importance of interpreting Scripture, for he recognized that the ancient world had no understanding of sexual orientation; to them all same-sex relationships seemed voluntary, and usually they were casual or exploitative in character. But his own emphasis is on thinking with Scripture, not against it. While he recognizes that a homosexual orientation, like a heterosexual orientation, is a deep inclination that cannot be called either voluntary or addictive, his own view is that it is still contrary to God's intention for humanity, thus a "tragic disorder," but not an abomination. He would require neither reorientation nor celibacy, which, he recognizes, runs counter to Reformed doctrinal principles.

His own approach, he said, is like that of some other "progressive traditionalists" like Helmut Thielicke, Robert Benne, and Alexander McKelway, who try to clear the way for "a more generous orthodoxy" by having greater tolerance for ambiguous or "borderline" situations. Recognizing that the church has always ordained sinners, since there are no other candidates, Hunsinger is ready to ordain those who are in committed, faithful relationships and interpret G-6.0106b in a way that acknowledges these persons and gives "responsible discretion" to governing bodies. If Amendment A should fail this year, Hunsinger's position, while it is widely spoken against by both liberals and conservatives, will become all the more important, perhaps the only place where there is room for debate and maneuver.

Women: absent voices

Homosexuality, of course, was one point on which C-67 and the Book of Confessions have been found lacking, or at best controversial. Another is the role of women in the church, who were already being ordained but were somehow overlooked in the writing of C-67.

Heidi Hadsell, President of Hartford Seminary, recalling the many statements that confessions are written in a specific context, said that this makes it all the more important to ask who is at the table. Women are absent from the language of C-67, and even this absence can teach us much, she said. The existence of an inclusive language version (which was used at the conference) does not help very much, for it still does not address women's issues. The question is not merely who is present, but who has voice and is really conversing with others. Those who are not present will be spoken for anyway, and women are spoken for in the "men" or the "we" who constantly appear on the pages of C-67 without any sense of uneasiness. The historical study of Scripture and of all human institutions has been helpful to women by tracing all that intervenes between the exercise of traditional power and the uttering of words like "we," Hadsell said. And the increased presence of women in the church's leadership has brought a major change. But C-67 cannot be given much credit for this.

The world scene, and specifically its religious pluralism, is another topic largely ignored in C-67. Philip Wickeri, who spent twenty-some years as a missionary in China and is now a professor at San Francisco Theological Seminary, had some favorable things to say about C-67 (it kept the youth of his generation inside the church, he said), but he soon went on to point out that the momentum was soon lost, just when the World Council of Churches was doing new thinking in a post-colonial setting and style, and Europe was moving beyond its "Christendom" mentality and paying attention to secularization. Wickeri called special attention to the Christocentrism of C-67, which is inevitably a perspective "from above," losing the perspective "from below," from people's own histories as they are embedded in the natural world. What is needed now, he said, is a shift from Christocentrism to a "Trinitarian" approach, far more promising as we seek a theological understanding of religious pluralism -- a pluralism that is no longer across the world from us, when a mosque is right down the street and Buddhism can be drawn to our attention through our own children.

Technology: new speed, new separation

Richard Hong reinforced some of Wickeri's points about our current situation and corrected some common misconceptions about it. Technology, he said, has not basically changed since 1967. McDonald's and jet airplanes were already on the scene. Even PCs and the Internet have made communication quicker but not really different; paper use is not reduced but increased with the growth of PCs, copiers, and faxes. Technology mainly enables us to do what we already decided to do, but do it more quickly. The most noticeable influence of technology has come with cable; the increase in television channels leads to a fragmentation of the audience, when even the most popular shows do not have the same market share that they would have had during the Sixties. Technology has generated fragmentation in other ways, too. The private car encouraged the growth of suburbia. Now the Internet is encouraging communication through separation rather than contact, a situation in which "reconciliation" is likely to be only a facade.

The natural world, our environment

Finally, while C-67 gave some acknowledgment to the environment and the nascent environmental movement, Carol F. Johnston of Christian Theological Seminary was critical of its approach. Nature enters chiefly as the theater of divine and human action, and very little is said about the nurture or liberation of the world as a whole. By contrast the Bible is full of concern about the land, fruit trees, animals, and crops, even commanding a Sabbath rest for the land. The prophets think of justice as a right relationship including all the creatures, and they look forward to a restoration of the peaceable kingdom in a new heaven and new earth. The wisdom tradition, often ignored because it is so low-key, encourages the cultivation of a healthy community over time -- "women's work," Johnston said. For many reasons, then, there is a need for a new understanding of vocation, stewardship, even of reconciliation, the restoration of healthy relationships with God, neighbor, and nature, all species together.

Continuing issues

I have summarized the comments on omissions and on new issues. But of course there are many continuing issues that are dealt with in C-67 and continue to be with us.

Racial justice

The confession strongly advocates racial justice, of course, and there have been advances in civil rights; but there have also been reversals through court and legislative action, and we may legitimately ask how much progress has really been made since the Sixties. Curtis Jones of Baltimore, who was to have spoken about empowerment, self-determination, and cultural identity, was unable to attend because a million dollars were at stake in the Maryland legislature. Race and racism remain a major issue for those who claim to take the Book of Confessions seriously.

Poverty

Poverty is another issue highlighted in C-67. Annie Rawlings of the Beck Institute on Religion and Poverty at Fordham University in Manhattan reminded us that we are still engaged in debates over the relative importance of "personal responsibility" and "structural" factors such as wages, welfare payments, and the cost of housing. Debates about poverty are full of blame, of either the poor or the rich. Going on to make a comparison with the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions we have seen in South Africa and Latin America, Rawlings commented that these debates too often lack appreciation of the truth and its complexities. Statistics on poverty, preventable diseases, and deaths are needed; and the way they are used indicates not only advances and declines but also the way society defines what is tolerable (what may look like improvement may simply reflect a lower minimum wage or a lower measure of the costs of living). Clearly we need increased ability to deal with complex issues, she said, getting beyond stereotypes. But she did not leave it there. The rich have been getting dramatically richer, and this is not a benign statistic. She recalled a debate in which Henry Kissinger asked in exasperation, "What do you want us to do?" and William Sloane Coffin replied, "Our job is to tell you, 'Let justice roll down like waters'; your job, sir, is to fix the irrigation system."

Peacemaking

Donald Shriver, President Emeritus of Union Seminary in New York and chair of many Presbyterian committees and task forces, dealt with peacemaking. In a series of personal reminiscences he noted the many intersections among political, personal, and family issues and emphasized the importance of recognizing, as Oliver Cromwell urged the Scots, that we may be wrong. A wise North Carolina judge, he commented, said that in his own experience "justice is the search for justice." Shriver's recently published book on forgiveness in society emphasizes restraint, understanding, and hope, for society means having to live with each other, taking each other seriously by caring enough to argue with each other. "We can't shrivel the scope of God's mercy to people like us," he concluded.

Tensions in the church

The need to keep living and arguing with each other over issues that go back to the Sixties and before was brought to us by Lew Daly of the Institute for Democracy Studies, author of A Moment to Decide. He traced the activities of conservatives in the Episcopal, the United Methodist, and the Presbyterian churches, with a total budget of $12 million annually. The conservative Institute on Religion and Democracy has an explicit strategy of regaining control of the mainline denominations, defunding the National and World Councils of Churches, advancing the evangelical foreign policy agenda of emphasizing "religious persecution" and muting attention to human rights, encouraging a more unilateral approach to U.S. foreign policy, and promoting marriage and the family while putting obstacles in the way of same-sex relationships, domestic partner benefits, and any sexual expression outside marriage.

C-67 and the Theological Task Force

Progressives and conservatives will doubtless encounter each other -- or perhaps speak past each other -- during the work of the new Theological Task Force on the Peace, Purity, and Unity of the Church over the next three years. It has been charged to deal with many issues, including but not limited to "Christology, biblical authority and interpretation, ordination standards, and power."

But we cannot abandon our responsibilities to the Theological Task Force. The 35th Anniversary of C-67 -- and of the entire Book of Confessions, as Ottati reminded us -- is an appropriate time for us to reread the whole book, engage the confessions just as they tried to engage the issues of their own times, and ask in fresh ways what the Word of God is for us today.

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