Having been thinking about the General Assembly again and the controversy that seems to be gathering around it, it seems that the trenches have been well dug already.
The Rennie case is a complex one and there are varying legitimate views on the matter.
For someone who is theologically centrist (with evangelical leanings) it is becoming increasingly difficult to have a firm view on the matter.
There is the matter of a congregation’s right to call. Some see this as an unarguable right to call whomsoever they want. That is not the case. There are approved categories that have to be applied here so it isn’t as straightforward as that argument goes.
There is the issue of ‘the unity of the church’, which all ordained people take a vow to protect. That is a real problem here and the argument is over who is causing the unity to be disrupted.
There is the place of Scripture. There is no doubt that people ‘cherry pick’ (as one of my elders rightly said) texts, and there is an issue about which part of Scripture holds supremacy. Some argue NT over OT, and others subdivide the NT into Jesus over Paul. The general tenor of Scripture, however,would seem to be against accepting the case. I read that Mr. Rennie claimed the Bible said nothing about same sex relationships in the society of the time. Paul goes against the matter, but in any case, there is evidence of same sex relationships in the society of the time counter to Mr. Rennie’s assertion.
There is the tension between the church being a prophetic voice to society, and the church being moulded by society. Being in the world but not of it would seem to indicate to me that there will be times when the church will be villified by society. This may be one of those times. Is this, perhaps, one of those moments when Jesus himself spoke of when we are ‘not to be surprised when the world hates you’ (Matthew 5) ?
There will be a lot of angst on Saturday evening at the GA, and I am still praying for the mind of Christ to be found on this matter, that debate may well be vigorous and passionate, but that it will also be gracious, and that some form of reconciliation may be found at the end of it.