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Note #8050 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Family resemblance
03543
December 17, 2003

Family resemblance

11th version of controversial paper exalts the 'marital-biological'

by John Filiatreau

LOUISVILLE - The latest draft of a much-contested policy paper on families
has a new name, a new theological backbone, and a new emphasis on what it
calls the "marital-biological" relationship between a man and a woman as the
ideal foundation for the Christian family.

Its key assertion is that it is "preferable, on the whole," for children to
be raised by a mother and a father who are married to each other and live in
the same home.

It also repeats the key assertion of the original, controversial version,
that "God works through all kinds of families" - but takes pains to point out
that some kinds are better than others.

The changing-families task force of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness
Policy (ACSWP) met last weekend at Louisville Presbyterian Theological
Seminary to discuss and revise the 11th version of what is not to be known as
"Transforming Families."

The report, initially titled "Living Faithfully with Families in Transition,"
failed to pass muster during last year's General Assembly and was sent back
to ACSWP for tweaking.

A highlight of the Dec. 12-13 meeting was the unveiling of a new chapter on
the theology of the family authored by the Rev. Charles Wiley, an associate
in the Office of Theology and Worship.

It says that, "while the basic marital-biological form is not the only
acceptable form of family, it ... exemplifies in a basic way God's ordering
of the interpersonal life for which he created humankind."

"The church affirms that marriage is instituted by God, that marriage is good
for human society, and that marriage is a form of family life that provides a
suitable context for the nurture of children," the new section says, adding:
"Affirmation of marriage's centrality ... is by no means a claim that
marriage exhausts what the church means by family."

"God works in and through all kinds of	families," Wiley points out, noting
that scripture affirms marriage but "also portrays other forms of human
flourishing appropriate to the service of God." As examples, he cites Naomi
and Ruth, David and Jonathan and Paul and Barnabas.

The theological section puts family in the context of baptism.

"In the baptism of children, family promises are placed in the context of the
wider community of faith," Wiley writes. "... A Christian understanding of
family flows from our ultimate commitment to the God who has called us into
covenant relationship through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit."

In the words of the Rev. Barbara J. Gaddis, a task force member, "The most
important family people are in is the church."

Critics of the original 43-page report claimed its authors had refused to
make moral distinctions, sidestepped Biblical teachings and placed families
headed by same-sex couples on the same moral plane with those headed by
married heterosexual couples, in violation of scripture and Christian
morality.

They corrected the perceived faults in a cryptic one-page substitute that
defined marriage, as PC(USA) doctrine does, as a union of "one man and one
woman."

Neither version managed to win approval at last year's General Assembly. The
commissioners sent both of them back for more work, asking ACSWP to try again
at next year's Assembly.

One of the authors of the substitute paper, Alan Wisdom, of Presbyterians in
Faith and Action, eventually was invited to join the group working on the new
report.

Wisdom attended the meeting, as did two members of the work group that
produced "Living Faithfully" - elder William J. "Beau" Weston, a sociology
professor from Centre College in Danville, KY; and Gaddis, a marriage and
family therapist from Boone, IA, the original task force chair.

A section of the new draft written by Wisdom included a proposal that the
Presbyterian Church (USA) endorse the Christian Declaration on Marriage, a
statement approved in 2000 by the National Association of Evangelicals, the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Southern Baptist Convention.

The declaration affirms marriage as a "holy union of one man and one woman"
and says "God has established the married state ... for spouses to grow in
love of one another and for the procreation, nurture, formation and education
of children."

The ecumenical statement initially also had the backing of Robert Edgar, the
general secretary of the National Council of Churches (NCC); but a few days
after signing he removed his name, explaining that "a number of the NCC
member communions interpret the document more as a condemnation of same-sex
unions than as an affirmation of marriage."

Some in the ACSWP task group had the same objection, especially to the
declaration's "one man/one woman" language, which has become shorthand for
opposition to civil or religious "unions" of homosexual couples.

Gaddis said signing the declaration would be perceived as taking a stand on
"an issue in our church that is going to rip us apart if we're not careful."
She contended that the "one man/one woman" phrase "would be a red flag to
most of the culture," and argued that "the idea that God established marriage
for the purpose of procreation" suits Roman Catholics but is "not an idea we
want to endorse."

She called the report's section on same-sex families "the third rail,"
implying that it is too inflammatory to broach directly.

Similarly, Eric Mount, a retired theology professor at Centre College who now
lives in Davidson, NC, said the marriage declaration, if it were included,
"could be the lightning rod" that shaped the public perception of the ACSWP
paper.

Gloria Albrecht, a sociology professor at Mercy University in Detroit, said
"at least two of the groups" that signed the declaration - the Catholic
bishops and the Southern Baptists - clearly have "ideas on marriage and on
equality between men and women" that are not in line with PC(USA) theology.

Wisdom, who said he'd included the suggestion in "an effort to define the
common ground," said he would red-pencil the proposal. "I sense a strong
majority wanting to take it out," he said, "but I wanted to have this
discussion."

Mount was assigned the task of hammering out a final version by mid-February,
when the report has to be ready for presentation to the General Assembly
three months later.

Peter Sulyok, the ACSWP coordinator, said the report evinces a special
concern for aspects of family life that affect children, and needs that
focus. "We have a broad topic, and we can't do everything," he said. Sulyok
added that the group is trying not to impinge on the work of the Theological
Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity in the Church, whose work touches upon
many of the same issues. That group will report its findings to the 2006
Assembly.

"Transforming Families" - the title is meant to suggest both the
transformation of families themselves and the transformation of the culture
that Christian families could help bring about - looks as if it may be 80
pages or more long.

The paper  urges parents to nurture their children "to become suspicious of
prevailing cultural attitudes towards wealth, consumption, entertainment and
sexual self-indulgence." It identifies "infidelity, physical and emotional
abuse, lovelessness, lack of mutuality, and casual divorce" as instances of
"the disordering of God's intention."

"God works in and through all kinds of families," it says, following up with
a demurral: "This affirmation does not bless every form of household, or lift
up every conceivable form of family life as a model."

As a model, it lifts up marriage - which it says "is associated with many
positive outcomes for women and men."

"Married people are, on the whole, happier, healthier, better off
financially, and more likely to be employed, than are single people," it
says, adding: "Research provides strong evidence that, on average, children
do better in healthy, intact two-parent (biological) families than they do in
stepfamilies, adoptive families or single-parent families."

But a section on socioeconomic conditions also says: "No significant
differences have been found between children reared by homosexual parents and
children reared by a traditional set of heterosexual parents."

A sentence in the section Wisdom wrote - "Research on same-sex partners and
their children is inconclusive so far" - was excised after several members
pointed out that the research isn't inconclusive at all.

"The gravest danger that faces all U.S. Christians," the report says, "is the
extent to which popular American values of materialism, consumerism, hedonism
and individualism shape our theologies, ethics, liturgical practices, and
church programs."

The draft says the church should work toward a society in which:

* "Chaste and disciplined singleness" is honored as an important vocation
within the family of God;

* The "marriage of man and woman is honored and recognized in law and custom
as a unique relationship of social importance" and "commended as an
aspiration for most adults";

* Other "family and family-like (family-extending) relationships," such as
adoption and stepparenting, are encouraged "insofar as they fulfill the
functions of family in a way that demonstrates and nurtures godly character";

The draft encourages Presbyterians to consider foster-parenting or adopting
children, and encourages parents and guardians who are unable to care
adequately for a child to consider making an "adoption plan."

Mount suggested lifting up the concept of "betrothal" for co-habitating
couples who say they intend to be married.

"Living together" before or in lieu of marriage came in for a lot of
discussion. According to the report, more than half of all first marriages
during the 1990s began with a period of cohabitation.

Researchers have found that cohabiting couples have more relationship
problems, less commitment and less happiness, than married couples; and that
divorce rates are higher in marriages preceded by cohabitation. But they also
have found that cohabiting couples who say they intend to marry do much
better than those who don't. That made some consider whether the report - and
the church - ought somehow to endorse the intention to marry, perhaps with a
rite of some kind to celebrate "betrothal."

"It's not true that if you've seen one cohabitation you've seen them all,"
said Mount, who contended that "serial marriage" is little better than
cohabitation.

The betrothal idea didn't get enough support to make its way into the report.

The task force also declined a recommendation from Wisdom and Jim Berkley, of
Presbyterians for Renewal, that the report include a restatement of the
PC(USA)'s "enduring understanding" that homosexuality is contrary to
scripture and not part of God's design.

A visitor, Charlyn "Sam" Stare, of Cincinnati, who said she attended the
meeting because "a number of folks in the (Presbyterian) Coalition asked me
to come," called the current families document "a very, very positive and
embraceable statement" that next year's Assembly will likely endorse. She
called the new material on theology and worship "wonderful," but said the
task force missed "an educational opportunity" by not including a section on
PC(USA) beliefs about homosexuality.

Berkley, noting that he was "not a fan of the previous report," said of the
new version, "You have the makings of an excellent report here." He also
commended the theological section, and said he is "confident that this can
pass the GA."

But he did have some quibbles. He said the report ought to point out that
some forms of family are "sinful, immoral, destructive, uncaring," and should
be less perfunctory in its treatment of homosexuality. He agreed with Stare
that a statement of PC(USA) policy on same-sex relationships and the
rationale behind it would be beneficial.

Berkley also said he detected a "sourness" and "jaundice" in the paper's
attitude towards traditional marriage, and said he thought some parts "make
Christianity sound un-pleasurable" and make the faith "look like  a weak
sister of hedonism."

He counseled against "dancing around" controverial issues, urging the task
force to "tackle them head-on" and not to "leave doors open, kind of
cleverly," as when the report slips in the loaded word, "partner."

At Weston's suggestion, the group agreed that the report on "changing
families" will include a section on what hasn't changed.

"The basic pattern of family life ... has not changed at the core," he said.
"... The kind of family life traditionally favored by the Presbyterian Church
is, in fact, still normal for Presbyterians, and, to a lesser extent, for
most Americans."

In a written commentary, Weston, a researcher and author, questioned many of
the authors' assumptions.

On divorce: "It is worth emphasizing that most first marriages do endure,
especially for Presbyterians and other religious people."

On socioeconomic conditions affecting families: "Americans, even poor
Americans, are better off than they were 30 years ago. ... The absolute
material condition of Americans is significantly better than it used to be."

On anti-poverty efforts: "The greatest public policy to reduce the economic
security of children ... is to promote the marriage of their parents."

On teen pregnancy: "It is worth reiterating the reassuring point that ...
most of these dire numbers ... do not apply to Presbyterians."

On the causes of economic inequality: "Family structure is now the main force
affecting the poverty of families of African-diasporan descent."

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