wfn.org | Amendment Partisans Disagree over Possibility of Witch-hunts

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

8-January-1997 
 
 
97019           Amendment Partisans Disagree over  
                    Possibility of Witch-hunts 
 
                          by Alexa Smith 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.-- Probably no debate on the "fidelity and chastity" 
amendment raises more hackles -- or more trenchantly draws the line between 
supporters and opponents -- than arguments about how the amendment will be 
enforced if passed. 
 
     Opponents lift out the last line -- "Persons refusing to repent of any 
self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be 
ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders or ministers of the Word and 
Sacrament" -- and shout warnings of witch-hunts, inquisitions and frivolous 
judicial cases. 
 
      Just as zealously, supporters say that those already ordained by the 
church ought to be examining such "self-acknowledged practice" regularly as 
a spiritual discipline and that committees ought to be attentive already to 
moral and ethical dilemmas in their oversight and evaluation of officers. 
 
     "I think we can have clear statements of what our standards are 
without saying that we mean chaos or witch-hunts," said the Rev. Henry 
Greene of Dinuba, Calif., who chairs the board of Presbyterians for Renewal 
and who is baffled by the outcry against the last line of the proposed 
amendment. 
 
      He believes the line is simply about the examination of conscience in 
a church that has historically had few persecutions.  "We've had 18 years 
of definitive guidance and authoritative interpretation. Has that resulted 
in witch-hunts?  I believe the answer is no." 
 
     Greene insists that the language of the proposed Amendment B doesn't 
diverge from existing language about standards for the church and its 
officers already in the "Book of Order."  
 
      "Has this resulted in witch-hunts? No, it [hasn't]," Greene said, 
citing G-6.0108, which says that church officers "shall adhere to the 
essentials of the Reformed faith and polity as expressed in the  Book of 
Confessions' and the Form of Government," while still allowing for freedom 
of conscience.   
 
     "That is a clear statement of oversight, of watchfulness, of 
evaluation for officers of the church," Greene said, arguing that the 
proposed amendment is not a new brand of legalism. 
 
     He also cited D-2.0203(b) in the "Book of Order," which describes an 
offense as "any act or omission by a member or officer of the church that 
is contrary to the Scriptures or the  Constitution of the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.).'" 
 
      That's an incomplete analysis, says the Rev. Eugene TeSelle of 
Nashville, president of the Witherspoon Society and a professor of church 
history and theology at Vanderbilt University's Divinity School.  TeSelle 
agrees that the "Book of Order" is already explicit about governing bodies' 
responsibilities toward officers and candidates for ordination -- which is 
one of the reasons he wants the amendment to fail.   
 
     But TeSelle believes that "refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged 
practice which the confessions call sin" is not the same as insisting upon 
adherence to faith and polity. Moreover, he is convinced that the amendment 
will be enforced selectively -- with gays and lesbians first and then 
others on the margins of the Presbyterian Church.  
 
     "Once [those words] are in there, we can't overlook them," said 
TeSelle, who is adamant that if the amendment doesn't apply to sins like 
gluttony and usury (charging interest on a loan), language about "what the 
confessions call sin" ought not be there at all.  "Once that last sentence 
of the amendment is on the books, there's no way to limit it. ... 
 
     "We hope the Spirit will prevail, but the letter [of the law] is 
there.  And the letter will be taken literally," he said, particularly in 
adversarial settings. 
 
     That is not an assertion to which amendment supporters give much 
credibility -- from former General Assembly moderator the Rev. David Dobler 
of Anchorage, Alaska, to the Rev. Kathy Goodrich of Reading, Pa., a member 
of the Synod of the Trinity's Permanent Judicial Commission and a leader of 
The Coalition, an alliance of "renewal" groups within the denomination. 
 
     Dobler dismisses accusations of potential harassment on the grounds 
that the Presbyterian Church has historically resisted them and says he has 
heard of only a few outings (the public disclosure of a person's sexual 
orientation against their will) of gay or lesbian church officers.  "We 
have a good history in the Presbyterian Church," he said.  "We don't do 
witch-hunts."  For instance, he explained, few churches that have refused 
to ordain women have been called to account and some churches continue to 
ordain gay and lesbian Presbyterians, despite denominational policy. 
 
     Goodrich says Presbyterian polity is a protection against abuses. "The 
issue is not screening out fallen people. ... We've all made mistakes," 
said Goodrich.  
 
      She believes that the amendment offers grace and that screening 
processes by judicial commissions will eliminate cases that are frivolous 
or mean.  "[Accusations like] somebody said that somebody said that 
somebody saw ... all the hearsay, all the  everybody knows that' ... won't 
hold up," she told the Presbyterian News Service. 
 
     The wording of the amendment requires self-acknowledgment of sin, she 
said.  "[You're] not going to be able to touch half of these people, if 
that's your goal in life.  If you want a witch-hunt, you're going to need 
something very different [from what this amendment proposes]," said 
Goodrich, who said its passage will prohibit the ordination of practicing 
gays and lesbians but not celibate gay people. 
 
     Greene is quick to point out that the word that follows the 
controversial phrase "self-acknowledged" is "practice" -- not a one-time 
error or an isolated act, but a repeated practice. 
 
     But those who oppose the amendment find little solace in such 
assurances -- such as the 60 ministers, former General Assembly moderators 
and other church leaders who signed an open letter to the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.) that has been circulating in the denomination during the 
past few weeks. 
 
     One of the signers, former moderator Robert Bohl, now of Kansas City, 
Mo., argues that witch-hunting and retribution are a part of this 
denomination's life.  The amendment, he says, only abets those tendencies. 
 
      "History has proven this to be the reality," said Bohl, who said he 
is aware of at least two outings of gay clergy in the past six years.  And 
he says he knows of groups on both ends of the theological spectrum who'd 
like to dig up information to use in personal attacks against individuals 
who hold differing theological or ideological positions.   
 
     "The opposite of love is fear. ...  And fear has bred a great deal of 
contempt into the life of the church," said Bohl, who argues that this 
amendment creates more problems than it solves.  "We've treated each other 
badly ...  If you don't play by my rules, I'm gonna watch ya.' ... This is 
not a matter of biting or not biting the bullet. 
 
     "[The amendment] should have put one question [to the church].  Shall 
we or shall we not ordain gay and lesbian persons?  And make the wording 
very precise," he said, adding that while he does not support the 
ordination of gays and lesbians right now, neither does he support what he 
calls "a bad piece of legislation" that tries to address more than the 
church has studied. 
 
     McCormick Theological Seminary president Cynthia Campbell,  one of the 
signers of the open letter, believes that the proposed amendment creates 
more problems than it solves.  The letter raises questions such as "What 
happens when sessions and presbyteries do not agree about what constitutes 
sinful behavior?"   "What about behaviors that are now considered sinful 
but  are not mentioned in any confessional standard?"  The letter also 
questions "who decides what is full and appropriate repentance." 
 
     "It's almost impossible to understand what it means," said Campbell, 
who says that clear interpretation is necessary for enforcement.  "I don't 
want to use the word  witch-hunt.'  I don't use that word.  But the 
language occasions ambiguity that makes for bad legislation. ... 
 
     "Sometimes legislation has unintended consequences.  I think that's 
what this is." 
 
     But Greene -- and others who back the amendment -- hold the opposite 
opinion. Amendment B, he says, provides the moral clarity the denomination 
has been straining for regarding homosexuality and sets standards for 
heterosexual behavior as well. 
 
      But it also does more, he argues.  "That line," he said, referring to 
the much-debated final sentence of the amendment, "lifts the amendment 
beyond sexual practice to the behavior of our whole lives. ... 
 
     "That means the amendment is speaking to the whole church. ... If not 
for that line, this amendment would just be about sexual practice." 
 
      Though he says he's seen witch-hunts that charismatics have endured 
in this denomination, Presbyterian and Reformed Renewal Ministries 
International executive director the Rev. Zeb Bradford Long believes 
passage of the amendment is crucial. Long says the amendment is a "call to 
holiness" and it ought to "cause a great deal of soul-searching on the part 
of all of us in leadership ... not only for sexual expression, but for our 
whole lives." 
 
      Long insisted that the clarity the amendment provides is exactly the 
kind of "clear, decisive witness" needed by the Presbyterian Church 
(U.S.A.), so he's willing to live with the risk that the amendment could be 
abused.   
 
     "We know all about witch-hunts," he told the Presbyterian News 
Service, referring to the experience of some charismatics.  "There's always 
the potential for human sin to get into these things.  ... There's always 
those kinds of dangers," he said, arguing that the denomination's theology, 
polity and history of definitive guidance itself are safeguards. 
 
      "I don't want to dismiss those fears," Long said. "But personally, I 
don't think they're grounded.  ... All of what is in the amendment is in 
place and has not created a witch-hunt. Instead, let's look at this 
amendment as an opportunity for renewal." 

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