WEBLOG: Splitting the Church with liberal/ conservative politicking theology

And on the homosexuality issue, at least one church is calling the ball on the underlying issue of Scriptural interpretation. Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson, leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, called for a global, ecumenical council on the Christian interpretation of Scripture. In his report Aug. 9 at the 2005 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA Hanson called for the Pope, the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, and the Anglican and Lutheran Communions to come together to address a church identity crisis due to the dominance of a "fundamentalist-millenialist-apocalypticist reading of Scripture."

Blaming one interpretation or another for the Church identity crisis may not be the point, however. Most Americans have no interpretation of Scripture impacting their lives at all. The latest Barna survey of 1,002 adults nationwide indicates that only 5 percent of Americans claim a biblical worldview. In spite of the fact that most Americans consider themselves to be Christian, very few adults base their moral decisions on the Bible, and surprisingly few believe that absolute moral truth exists.

So if not the Bible, on what do Americans base their moral decisions? According to the study, some 54 percent said they use specific principles or standards they believe in. Another group (24 percent) simply does what feels right or comfortable. The rest are conflict avoiders and base their decisions on pleasing people or on whatever choice will create the best outcome.

So, it's like this:

The Bible is univocal on seeing homosexuality as sinful
Reformation churches historically accepted the absolute authority of the Bible for all of faith and practice
Lierals took over mainline denominations last century, substituting their alien and hostile theology and ethics for anything remotely related to the Bible
When Christians urge a return to Biblical values...they are being "divisive."

Got it.

Dan
Biblical Christianity BLOG

Read all of the Bible and you will see a clear picture: God created man and created woman to meet man's need. The only sex condoned in Scripture is between a man and his wife. There is NO reasoned construct in the Bible to condone homosex - or adultery. Homosexuality is pictured in Romans as a sign of the depravity of lost man and the hardening of that man's heart toward God.

Man's opinion matters not. God has spoken and His Word will not change with the whimsy of sinful man.

If they do so and still regard the Bible to be literally interpreted, it's hypocrisy, plain and simple.

I take it that you have never read Acts 15 or you would know why it is silly to equate eating shellfish with homosexual acts. Simply put, Christians are not bound by the dietary restrictions of Judaism but they are bound by the restrictions concerning sexual behavior.

There, I've said it!

Maybe it's just me. But, I fail to see much of any distinction between those three (or four) answers.

Looks to me as if they're splitting hairs.

It comes down to whether or not you believe the Holy Spirit has guided the thinking of the Church down through the ages. Christians who do believe that (Catholics and Orthodox mainly) rely on the traditional readings of the Scriptures to guide their own interpretation. Those who think the Spirit flew the coop (or who regard the Spirit as an interesting, but dated, figure of speech) are left to their own devices. Not surprisingly, those devices very closely resemble the opinion of the elites in the secular world.

Romans 1

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;
31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

This is the first text available to us after the ACTS
Paul seemed to be fairly unequivocal on this point specifically
Even under the new law
You deny this witness at your great peril

Your's in Christ

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