The Debate (Part 1)

Nearly anyone with an awareness of contemporary western Christianity, will be familiar with some of the debated issues of the present day. The supposedly unified Roman church is at odds with itself on a number of issues, including those relating to marriage and sexuality [1], and abortion (which more than 50% of US RC’s believe should be legal regardless of circumstances [2]). The largest Baptist affiliation is suddenly having to remove multiple churches from affiliated status [3] while also coming under investigation by the Department of Justice with allegations of widespread sexual abuse [4]. Many Presbyterians [5] & continental Reformed Churches [6] are embroiled in a debate over concepts related to human sexual activity, preferences, identity, and how those activities, preferences, and identities relate to church membership, leadership, and evangelism. Within Methodism, a divide is growing on issues related to human sexuality [7], and that is being played out in the West [8] and globally [9]. Lutheranism in the United States has been through similar divisions in the past [10]. Others groups could be mentioned, this list is far from exhaustive. For as short as this list is I hope this list serves to demonstrate the recurring themes hotly debated within groups claiming the name of Christian today.

While we live in an age where Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Zers are all active and sharing a digital space called the Internet, the conversations relating to religion are much different from those prior to the mass adoption of the Internet. Politics, religion, and finances were the socially accepted triumvirate of topics that were taboo among polite company over much of the 2nd half of the twentieth century. Today, speaking of taxation policies, immigration, and even gun laws might make for awkward conversational topics for many, but those issues are not nearly as polarizing as the present “hot topics” within Christianity at large. 

The issues of tension remembered by history among the Greatest Generation were vastly different. The Greatest Generation lived through, debated and fought wars over issues related to human rights, the political ideologies of fascism, communism, capitalism, and global nuclear annihilation. For those whose young adulthood was influenced by the global events of world wars and the proliferation of communism, they had different specific topics of tension. Their controversial topics discussed in government-funded schools related to the Red Scare of communism, and potential nuclear war, not the merits or demerits of transgenderism, or practicing “safe sex”. 

If you wanted to make a list of topics that are most heavily debated and discussed in contemporary Western circles, this would be a great “starter pack” of hot topics:

• Human sexuality.

• Authority structures defining what is good or evil.

• Adopted preferences versus preferences inherent to a person’s identity.

To illustrate the tension within each of these topics, consider the following sentences:

“It is wrong to speak, think, or take actions that oppose [x] sexual preference”

“It is wrong to speak, think, or take actions that support [x] sexual preference” 

“No one should have the right to speak authoritatively against an individual’s choices”

“Using a person’s preferred pronoun is [insert statement of support or opposition]”

If I was thinking of the fastest ways to remove myself from conversations leaving as many burned bridges as possible, the above sentences would provide a great starting point. 

For a moment, consider the consequences of stating any one of these example sentences in a public format. If you were to state one of the above in a face-to-face environment in your workplace, school, or at a family gathering, would there be relational, personal, or social consequences? While each of us lives in vastly different local situations, the widespread adoption of internet-mediated communication has brought the global into the local in a manner previously inexperienced within human history. One byproduct of our current polarized culture is the current cultural confusion and malaise regarding human sexuality, moral authority, and identity. 

Distinctives

Any of these above sentences is an absolute fire starter in today’s conversational environment. For some, these sorts of topics are even forbidden or strictly enforced in places of employment. These are not the topics that were the defining debates of previous generations. I can imagine what my deceased Grandfather who fought in World War 2 would say to each of these statements. For each statement, he surely would have had a different perspective and thought process than those engaged in the cultural dialog today. 

Yet, for all the differences between what the Greatest Generation debated and discussed, we find similarities. Fascism, communism, and nuclear war all threatened a way of life and a perspective on life that has been overwhelmingly influenced by explicit Christian principles embodied in thousands of years of human history. Similarly, the hotly contested topics of our age (sexuality, authority, and identity) threaten the way of life encapsulated within thousands of years of Christian history. 

While there are distinctives among Roman Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Reformers, Methodists, and Lutherans, there are some unifying distinctive traceable through history. For 2,000 years consistent biblical teaching has been unified on the significance of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and the exclusive necessity of faith in the person and work of Christ for salvation. The earliest church councils recognized the centrality of Jesus as core to the faith. Departures from these unified teachings have more or less ebbed and flowed throughout the history of the church. Deviation from loyalty to Christ is by necessity, a departing from the Christian faith. This is partly what makes the hot topics of today so “hot”.

God’s Word has much to say about human sexuality, origin and use of authority, and personal and corporate identity. What is at stake in these issues is serious and sobering. While some have argued that these topics are more an issue of individual conscious, preference, and culture [11], others have maintained a long standing biblical perspective that God’s Word speaks authoritatively on issues of sexuality [12], authority, and identity.

Just as the Greatest Generation had to grid themselves up and courageously suffer through tremendous periods of strife in fighting against the threats of their day, so too will our generations today. The debates surrounding these hot topics are not secondary inconsequential disagreements. The issues surrounding sexuality, authority, and identity are fundamental issues for humanity. 

For the next few Redeeming Family original posts (released weekly on Fridays) we will be briefly discussing the ongoing triumvirate of topics besetting Western Christianity today: Sexuality, Authority, and Identity.

Further Reading:

Does the Bible talk about Sex? A Sexual Textual

We are talking about THAT (sex) in church?

How to Delight and Rest with your Children this Summer

The most controversial chapter in the Bible (Revelation 20 & the Millennium)

Sources:

[1] “German Catholic theologians and clergy have mobilized against a recent ruling from the Vatican that said the Catholic Church would not bless same-sex unions. The ruling “is characterized by a paternalistic gesture of superiority and discriminates against homosexual people and their lifestyles,” according to a statement put together by the Catholic Theological faculty at Munster University, published Tuesday. “We decisively distance ourselves from this position,” it said. The statement, signed by 266 theologians, said the ruling lacks “theological depth, hermeneutical understanding as well as argumentative stringency.”German Catholic clergy rebel against Vatican over same-sex unions | CNN

[2] “More than half of U.S. Catholics (56%) said abortion should be legal in all or most cases,” 8 key findings about Catholics and abortion | Pew Research Center

[3] “In its meeting Tuesday (Feb. 21), the SBC Executive Committee deemed six churches to be not in friendly cooperation—five of whom for having a female functioning in the office of pastor—including one of the largest churches in the Convention, Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.”EC removes six churches from cooperation including Saddleback Church | Baptist Press

[4] “Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination's major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse. The SBC's Executive Committee has received a subpoena, but no individuals have been subpoenaed at this point, according to the committee's lawyers. "This is an ongoing investigation and we are not commenting on our discussions with DOJ," they said.”Top Southern Baptists stonewalled and denigrated sex abuse victims, report says : NPR

[5] “Last year in Dallas, amidst an ongoing controversy surrounding Side-B “Gay Christianity” and the Revoice conference, the Presbyterian Church in America’s (PCA) General Assembly voted to commend CBMW’s Nashville Statement as a “biblically faithful declaration.” The General Assembly also voted to form a study committee that would “study the topic of human sexuality with particular attention to the issues of homosexuality, same-sex attraction, and transgenderism and prepare a report.” While the PCA was not able to assemble this year due to COVID-19, today the study committee released their report on human sexuality for denominational consideration. This PCA report represents a significant development in the ongoing debate about Side-B “Gay Christianity.”PCA Committee Releases Human Sexuality Report, Signals Agreement with Nashville - CBMW

[6] “The Christian Reformed Church of America voted on Tuesday to recommend a report on human sexuality to churches. The CRC’s 2022 Synod meeting has been happening throughout the week at the campus of Calvin University in Grand Rapids. After an afternoon of discussion, delegates voted to recommend the Human Sexuality Report “as providing a useful summary of biblical teaching regarding human sexuality.” Two voted to abstain, 45 voted no and 131 voted yes.”CRC Synod votes to recommend Human Sexuality Report | WOODTV.com

[7] “What some are calling a schism in the United Methodist Church over the issue of homosexuality is also affecting churches in the Pacific Northwest, although to a lesser degree.As many as 30 churches out of 400 churches in what’s known as the Greater Northwest Area that includes Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Alaska have considered or are considering leaving the United Methodist Church.” This church is divided on LGBTQ+ rights. The split may hit Idaho, the Northwest (yahoo.com)

[8] “The Global Methodist Church, a new, more conservative Methodist denomination, announced Thursday it will officially launch in May, the biggest step so far in the highly anticipated split of the United Methodist Church over LGBTQ rights.” United Methodist Church split: New denomination announces May launch (usatoday.com)

[9] “On the Saturday before the vote, Dr. Jerry P. Kulah, Dean of Gbarnga School of Theology at the United Methodist University in Liberia gave an incredible speech at the Reform and Renewal Coalition Breakfast of the United Methodist Church General Conference. His remarks were a stunning rebuke to those who were trying to mangle Christianity and do away with biblical principles.”How faith-filled Africans saved the United Methodist Church from accepting gay ‘marriage’ - LifeSite (lifesitenews.com)

[10] “The underlying motivation for breaking off from the ELCA is a devotion to Biblical teachings. Lutheran CORE activists treat the Bible as the source of all moral instruction and criticize the ELCA as straying from this "one-and-only" holy book of "truth". Paraphrasing Paull Spring, the bishop of the brand new fundamentalist offshoot, Andrew Welsh-Huggins of the Associated Press reports that conservative Lutherans have "serious concerns about the ELCA's movement away from holy scriptures as the final authority for church beliefs".”

Lutherans Split over Bible Beliefs, Social Justice Issues (themonastery.org)

https://www.themonastery.org/blog/lutherans-split-over-bible-beliefs-social-justice-issues

[11] “If the widely esteemed Eugene Peterson were still pastoring today and a gay couple in his church who were “Christians of good faith” asked him to preside at their wedding, would he do it? He answered that question this summer in a word: Yes.”

Why is sexuality such a big deal for the church? (religionnews.com)

https://religionnews.com/2017/08/22/why-is-sexuality-such-a-big-deal-for-the-church/

[12] “But even as some have forsaken the Bible’s teaching on issues related to sexuality, the majority report is just the opposite. Across the United States, millions of Christians have shown no signs of softening their commitment to the Bible’s teaching on human sexuality.”

Why Christians can’t compromise on human sexuality - ERLC

https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/why-christians-cant-compromise-on-human-sexuality/