wfn.org | Assembly rejects declaration of irreconcilable impasse

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Note #6077 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

GA00128
June 29, 2000
 
Assembly rejects declaration of irreconcilable impasse, new abortion study

	by Bill Lancaster

LONG BEACH, June 29-- The 212th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) meeting rejected by a vote of 453-71 an overture that would have
declared an irreconcilable impasse to exist in the denomination.

	The Rev. Richard Leon from the Presbytery of Seattle and moderator of the
Committee on Theological Issues that brought the recommendation, said in
making his presentation, "We do not give up on God or the church by calling
it an irreconcilable impasse.  I think some of us were thinking that there
is the irresistible force of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is the gift of
unity to us and we believe that it's worth our effort to continue to dialog
theologically.  The more we dialog theologically, even with our differences,
the stronger we believe that we will be ."

	The overture, 00-05, received support from the Rev. Jack Patrick, a
commissioner from Beaver-Butler Presbytery which had sent the measure to the
Assembly.  "I believe that there is a great theological divide in our
denomination, and we as a church are not dealing with this theological
divide."  Pointing to one issue, homosexuality, he said, "We can no longer
ignore the central issues of theology in our church. We need to bring these
theological issues to the forefront so that we can declare what we really
believe as Presbyterians.  Diversity can only go so far before we no longer
can be called a confessing church of Jesus Christ."

	The Assembly approved the committee's comment on the action which says a
word of appreciation to the Presbytery of Beaver Butler for raising the
eight issues of theology. The comment says, "We choose rather to see
differences positively and believe that differences in fact have the
potential to make our unity in Christ even stronger." It then cites the book
of I Corinthians and directs the Assembly stated clerk to send the action to
middle governing bodies.

	The eight areas of concern raised by the overture are: Biblical authority,
Biblical interpretation, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the nature of
salvation, ethics, leadership, sanctification, and the church.

Abortion

	The Assembly rejected by a vote of 330-189 Overture 00-37 which called for
a new study on abortion from a strictly Biblical point of view that would
"avoid any attention to the social policy witness or secular precedence."

	Committee Moderator Leon said the committee felt that the 1992 policy had
been done in a balanced way and that a new study was not needed.

	Beth Caldwell, a Youth Advisory Delegate from the Presbytery of
Philadelphia, opposed the committee's recommendation and supported a
Biblical study of abortion.  "To this day I thank God and my grandmother for
the gift of life.  She, who was not even a Christian at the time, chose not
to abort my mother after she was a victim of rape.  I would not have existed
to share the amazing gift of life or speak to you today if not for her
sacrifice."  She said, "The more I am immersed in society, the more I crave
knowledge about what God says about the issues I face.  This is why I would
really value a study of this issue by the church which is Biblically
founded. ..."

	Paul Spierling from Presbytery of Hudson River supported the committee's
recommendation, speaking from his 40-years of experience as a gynecologist. 
"Almost never did I see a woman come to this decision casually or in a
carefree manner," he said.  "Indeed, they were distraught, and they found
themselves in a position that they never expected themselves to be in.  What
women in these circumstances do not need is the results of another study. 
What they do need is non-directive, supportive counseling to explore
choices, consequences that may stem from those choices, and the effects on
others around them from those choices.  What they do need is their church's
affirmation of their dignity as human beings and of their freedom of choice.
 It is that right that is being put at potential risk."

	The Assembly approved a "Monitoring Report on the Implementation of the
General Assembly Policy on Abortion" by a vote of 449-41 and referred it
along with the "Report on Problem Pregnancies and Abortion Prepared for the
problem Pregnancies Monitoring Team of the Advisory Committee on Social
Witness Policy" to six Assembly entities.  The report identifies material
that fails to follow a 1992 policy on abortion and calls for it to be
brought into compliance.  The 1992 statement is somewhat more restrictive
than an earlier policy.

Scripture
	
	The Assembly rejected by a vote of 443-58 Overture 00-21 from the
Presbytery of Northumberland, which would have offered an amendment to
Chapter I of "The Book of Order", elevating the role of scripture in the
life of the Church.  The Assembly rather affirmed current language that
places Christ above scripture.

Inclusive language 
				
	The Assembly approved the formation of a task force "to study the doctrine
of the Trinity in Presbyterian theology and worship, with particular
attention to the need to recover the terms and images that refer to the
being of the persons of the Trinity, as stated in 'Definitions and
Guidelines on Inclusive Language.'"

	The Rev. Charles Wiley, Associate for Theology in the Office of Worship,
told the General Assembly News, "The focus of the study is on the Trinity in
Presbyterian worship, theology and life, which will include but not focus on
Trinitarian language."  He said, "There is no intention to replace the
Trinitarian formula [Father, Son and Holy Spirit], but to enrich our ways of
understanding God."

Millennium, eschatology

	The Assembly approved by 456-53 having the Office of Theology and Worship
study the "Biblical, confessional and theological statements of our
denomination concerning eschatology, the millennium, the Second Coming of
Christ, and the judgment," and write a response to the popular theologies
that fill bookstore shelves.

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