One of the abiding criticisms from opponents of the Fidelity/Chastity ordination standard in the Book of Order (G.6-0106.b) has been that the term “chastity” is unclear in meaning. Recently, Dr. Mark Achtemeier raised this same objection in his recent debate with the Rev. Mark Loudon, that the chastity language in the Book of Order is “confusing.”
During the plenary debate at the 219th General Assembly in Minneapolis on the proposed new Form of Government, it was said that the first sentence of the Foundations of Presbyterian Polity introduces a Universalist creed into our Constitution.
John Calvin, to whom Presbyterian churches owe their primary inspiration, once said of his own work as a Protestant reformer: “Our constant endeavor, day and night, is not only to hand down the tradition faithfully, but also to put it in the form we think will prove best.”
The 219th General Assembly has once again sent to the presbyteries for adoption a proposed amendment to G-6.0106b (“Amendment 10-A”), the controversial “fidelity and chastity” clause of our Book of Order.
As the German writer Goethe put it “when eras are in decline all tendencies are subjective, but when matters are ripening for a new epoch, all tendencies are objective.”
“The cultures of North America and of Western Europe are in decline. They are obsessed with sexuality and have narcissistic and hedonistic tendencies, which, when combined with a desire for immediate gratification, are literally killing them….How can anyone think that morally sick and dying North American and European cultures are in any way competent to overturn 1970 years of Christian biblical interpretation about human sexuality and to completely ignore the testimony of the larger (and healthier) worldwide church which affirms that same-gender sexual practice is sinful?”
Our pastor counsels me to continue our debate about ordination requirements "in a rich, fruitful and scholarly way, which helps us understand what God is calling us to be and to do now and in the future."
Former PUP Task Force colleagues Mike Loudon and Mark Achtemeier have found many areas of agreement in their consideration of issues within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
