Witherspoon comment on "A"

Witherspoon on the defeat of "A"

A time to move beyond fear
with courage and hope

[2-22-02]

Please share your thoughts on this statement ... and on the defeat of Amendment A, and what may lie ahead. Just send a note, and we'll post responses below.

Members of the Witherspoon Society are saddened and disappointed that The presbyteries have failed to ratify Amendment A. Approval of the amendment would have allowed our church to move beyond the years of fruitless efforts to reconcile two opposing views of scripture and the life and teachings of Jesus.

While people are voting from many motives and convictions in this matter, fear and anxiety have seemed to weigh heavily in the debates and the votes. It may be fear of those who are seen as "different." It may be fear of change in our society and way of life. It may be fear of tension and division in the church. But we believe it is time to "be of good courage" and move beyond our fears, with wholehearted and joyous confidence in a loving God.

The Witherspoon Society is committed to an inclusive church as Our best expression of God's all-embracing love. Too often religion has been used to oppress and exclude. It is time for the church to bear some of the fruits of God's Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things." (Gal. 5:22-23)

Courage is indeed needed in the face of the threats that have been put forward: threats to withdraw money and to split the denomination, the fictitious threat of "enforced ordination," the claim of threats to biblical morality, marriage, and family values - all aimed at creating anxiety. It is time for courage and faith in the face of such threats.

Such tactics are used when there is a challenge to those who feel they are the keepers of the true faith. In truth, Amendment A is very much in keeping with our Reformed theology, Presbyterian polity, the message of love and reconciliation found in both the gospel and our confessions..

It took a long time, but the church finally accepted that a round earth circles the sun, that slavery is sinful, that women are as fully human as men and equally made in god's image. We have faith that one day the church will open itself again to the learning of science and the testimony of people's lives.

Why, in the face of massive hunger, illness, violence and death do we enact rules based on isolated and disputed verses of scripture, rather than on the whole body of the gospel? We rarely hear the passage from Ezekiel 16:48,49, in which it is said "This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy." It is time to move beyond our arguments over "purity," to join in the truly divine calling of doing justice, loving mercifully, and walking humbly with our God.

We stand with our sisters and brothers who are now excluded from fully sharing their gifts with our church, and look toward the day when all of us can join fully in our church's reconciling mission in the world.

We will continue to work for every vote in every presbytery, and urge all those who believe in an inclusive church to remain steadfast in the struggle. We must call on our church to be led by love, and not ruled by fear.

from the Executive Committee of The Witherspoon Society
February 22, 2002

At the risk of repeating ourselves, please share your thoughts on this statement ... and on the defeat of Amendment A, and what may lie ahead. Just send a note, and we'll post responses here.

Comments on the Witherspoon statement

NEW

Subj: Amendment A

Date: 2/27/02

I thank you for the hope in the statement. As a member of one of the Presbyteries that "switched" on this vote I am filled with sadness and frustration. Yet I do have hope that God’s amazing love will win over our human amazing fear. What was most frustrating for me was the number of folks who said they were uncomfortable with taking the words "fidelity and chastity" out of the Book of Order even though they do not like the intent of G-6.0106b. "How would that look in the headlines?"

Eek! If Jesus had been afraid of headlines would he have eaten with sinners? Healed on the Sabbath? Talked to a Samaritan woman? Taken up with a bunch of fishermen? Died on a cross?

May God help us! May Christ free us! May the Spirit fill us with courage!

Nan Clancy

Upper Sandusky, OH

Subj: The Heliocentric Theory and Homosexuality

Date: 2/25/02

The Bible expressly forbids homosexuality. Your analogies to the heliocentric theory being anathema in the Roman Catholic Church, slavery (which the Bible does not support) and the role of women in the Church are very poor ones indeed...and worn out.

Very Respectfully,

Earl Tilford

Subj: " A Time to Move Beyond Fear"
Date: 2/25/02

I am opposed to amendment A, but it is not from fear. Painting opponents as too emotional to have a rational position is a thin attempt to marginalize and belittle us all. Those in favor of amendment A have referred to opponents as schismatic fundamentalists, homophobes, and now fear filled. The Witherspoon Society would be better off trying to start a true dialogue rather than verbally attacking.

Doug Ramaker

Subj:
Date: 2/26/02

The vote on Amendment A had far less to do with "moving beyond fear and hope" as it did with affirming that as servants of Christ, we are not free to live a life of unrepentent sin. It is very discouraging to see so many in the "progressive movement" of the Presbyterian Church work so hard to justify a sinful lifestyle.

Dave Hirlinger Second Presbyterian Church Newport News, VA

Dave Hirlinger then sent a second note:

Subj: Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near ."
Date: 2/26/02

Proudly professing homosexuality is bad theology. Christians are to humbly confess their sins not proudly profess them. The "progressive movement" within the Presbyterian Church wrongly assumes that conservative Christians will not reach out to the homosexual community in love and lead them to Christ. Nothing could be further from the truth. But in so doing, conservative Christians acknowledge that the Holy Spirit brings about a change in the sinner that makes it impossible for one who has been born again to proclaim his sin as appropriate behavior. I know of no example in the Bible where a person did not change his, or her, behavior after choosing to follow Christ. Why, as the rich young ruler rode sadly away, didn't Christ call out and assure him that it was perfectly fine for the young man to keep his riches and still follow Christ? Homosexuality is sinful behavior. As such, it is to be turned away from, not embraced.

Dave Hirlinger Second Presbyterian Church Newport News, VA

Subj: The Bible expressly forbids...?
Date: 2/26/02

Not to belabor the obvious, but the Bible cannot "expressly forbid homosexuality," since the word did not exist at the time the Bible was written. The Bible expressly forbids all kinds of stuff that we as Christians now allow. (See the Levitical Holiness Codes.) The Bible also expressly forbids self-righteous judgment. (See Matthew 7) The verses used to persecute gay and lesbian people do not address the kinds of loving, growthful, respectful relationships we are fighting to have recognized and respected. Those verses address misbehaviors lacking all those attributes, and are wrong in the same way that heterosexual misbehaviors are wrong.

Tyra M. Reid Little Rock, AR

Subj: defeat of Amendment A
Date: 2/26/02

Dear Mr. King, although I am glad Amendment A was defeated, it has nothing to do with "fear." It has everything to do with awe and respect for God inspired Scripture that calls us to love everyone, and to call them to holiness, through the washing of sins in Jesus Christ and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. The fact is that I believe that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and that we are helpless to redeem ourselves. I find that to be the constant theme of the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments, and to have stood the test of time much better than the "progressive" alternatives of the last one hundred years or so. And yes, if the Bible includes homosexual behavior as falling short of God's will for our lives (sin), then I will call that behavior sin just as much as any other to which we are prone.

I do agree that it is time to move beyond the dissension of the last thirty years or so, and think that is best accomplished by agreeing that the theological distance between us cannot be papered over by commissions, polity, or endless amendments and votes. Wouldn't you agree that the best alternative at this point really is gracious separation? Each of us then can go about following God and pursuing justice the best way they know how. You can believe that the strength of societal liberalism and post modernist viewpoints will move the church in a generation or two to openly accept your interpretation -- and I can believe that your tired and sad philosophy is no match for God's revealed and unchanging Word.

Both of us though will be free to do something more constructive than tear at our own flesh year after year, with pain and anger on both sides the only result. Let us join together one last time, if only to agree to divide. Ironically, at this point it's the best way we can show our devotion to the denomination that we love in very different ways.

Sincerely,
Joe Young, 1847 Raintree Circle, Seabrook, TX 77586

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These comments have been updated on 03/10/10 .