Candidates
for Moderator respond to questions:
The Rev.
Jack Rogers
[5-15-01]
Question:
In the debate about Amendment
0, it has been argued that the recently adopted G-6.0106b reflects
"essential" parts of our polity and should therefore be
applied to our theology about marriage. What would you say are the
"essential tenets" of the Reformed tradition (not just
"from the book," but from your own convictions!), and how do
they guide you in dealing with G-6.0106b?
Our theology
should be developed in response to Scripture as reflected in our
Confessions, then applied to questions of polity, not the reverse. The
biblical essentials in our Book of Confessions are,
first, those matters that have to do with salvation, our relationship to
God. Our understanding of the Triune God, and especially of the person
and work of Jesus Christ are therefore at the center. In concentric
circles around that center are Reformation commitments to justification
by grace, through faith, and the authority of Scripture. Still further
out would be Reformed doctrines such as the sovereignty of God, election
to salvation and service, the covenant life of the community,
stewardship of God's creation, the sin of idolatry, and a commitment to
transforming society in obedience to the Word of God. These are some of
the confessional essentials on which we have formed a consensus called
Reformed Theology.
There is no
confessional warrant for sexual matters as essentials of theology.
Sexuality is not mentioned in the Nicene or Apostles' creeds, nor in the
Scots Confession, the Barmen Declaration, or A Brief Statement of Faith.
When sex is mentioned in the Heidelberg Catechism, the Second Helvetic
Confession, and the Westminster Standards it is to cause us to reflect
more deeply, such as the urging that married, as well as single people,
should live chaste (disciplined and responsible) lives. To achieve
doctrinal status in the Book of Confessions requires a
very extensive process involving two committees, three Assemblies and a
two-thirds vote of the Presbyteries. That is the process by which we
reach a theological consensus in discerning essentials.
Question:
In light
of recent demands that our GAC affirm Christ as the only way to
salvation, how might we reconcile the statements in our confessions that
say God's love extends to all people, with other statements that say
salvation is only through Christ?
I teach and
believe Scripture and the creeds in our Book of Confessions.
Jesus Christ is fully human, fully God, come down from heaven for our
salvation. I know no other way for me to be reconciled with God than
through Jesus Christ. That is what I know. There is much that I do not
know. I would not put limits on God's surprising mercy and grace. For
that reason I need to stay open to the views of those who differ with
me.
Question:
The
213th General
Assembly will begin with a workshop on racism. Do you believe that
racism is a real problem in our Presbyterian Church? How would you move
us toward fulfilling the mandates of recent Assemblies to develop more
racial-ethnic congregations?
Racism is a
fundamental problem in American society. It is imbedded in the history
of our nation, and the Presbyterian Church in this country.
Presbyterians practiced slavery, supported segregation, and continue to
be a more than 90% white church. Racism is in our bones. What makes it
so dangerous is that the privileges that we, in the white majority,
enjoy are for the most part unnoticed by us. Our predecessors laid a
foundation of white racial superiority in this country. We have the
responsibility to abolish it and lay a new foundation of racial
equality.
I will move toward
fulfilling our promise to raise the percentage of persons of color in
our denomination by listening to the recommendations of the
racial-ethnic caucuses, and supporting them in developing strategies for
increasing the number of our racial-ethnic congregations. Additionally,
I would encourage the denomination as a whole to consider ways to create
intentional multi-ethnic congregations. I live gladly in a state where
whites are no longer the majority population and believe that
multi-ethnic diversity will enrich our lives.
Question:
Questions
of sexuality continue to dominate our life as a church. Do you see any
creative ways to work through these questions? Is there a "third
way" that you would encourage us to follow?
The third way will
be the Presbyterian way. We have traditionally focused on beliefs
essential to our salvation in Jesus Christ, and allowed freedom of
conscience in theological matters on which we do not have a strong
consensus. Our salvation is not dependent on our views, or practice, of
sexuality. The most often cited text in the debate over homosexual
practice, Romans 1, leads to the point that all of us are equally
sinful, and are saved only by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. The only
explicit mention of homosexuality in the Book of Confessions
is a 1962 insertion into the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563.
In the 1920s when
it appeared that the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. might split, the
solution was to study the causes of unrest in the church. We need to
appoint a group of wise people to investigate our current tensions, in
the light of Scripture and our Confessional standards, and help us
re-center on the Presbyterian way for our time.
On the
web: http://www.sftssc.edu/jackrogers.html
E-mail: jbrogers@aol.com
