Homosexual Favorability (Pcusa)
According to MinistryWatch on July 25, 2024: “The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) voted nearly two to one to effectively require candidates for ministry to endorse homosexuality and related practices if they wish to be ordained.”
Shocked? Once upon a time, nearly everyone would be astounded to hear such a statement, but so many churches have given into liberalism these days, that such announcements can scarcely raise an eyebrow. First, it should be noted that the PCUSA is one of the most liberal groups in the country; other Presbyterian churches may not have fellowship with them. The Presbyterians have more than one division within their denomination. Baptists have about 26. But the thing to note is that the New Testament does not authorize any religious denomination—let alone a couple dozen subdivisions within each one. Jesus built only one church—His (Matt. 16:18). He shed His blood for only that one body (Acts 20:28). All of the names one sees on church buildings while driving up and down the streets of a city are of manmade origin and exist without the approval of God or the authority of Jesus.
Likewise not authorized is a General Assembly which seeks to make laws based on man’s opinions. Only one decision-making group is mentioned in the New Testament—in Acts 15. The apostles and elders came together to consider the claims of the Judaizing teachers (Acts 15:6). Today, the church does not possess inspired apostles. The second thing of note is the problem they faced was resolved by an appeal to Scriptures (Acts 15:14-17). Logic and reasoning also played a role (Acts 15:7-11). Of these three, inspiration is the greatest. The PCUSA delegates are certainly not inspired; they did not appeal to the Scriptures but rather violated them; and their decision was not logical.
Yet by a 2-1 margin the group voted to make—as a qualification for ordination—an endorsement of homosexuality. One wonders if there are any other sins that one of their candidates must endorse—adultery, drinking parties, fornication, gambling, witchcraft, and other things listed in Galatians 5:19-21 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. They might run into trouble if they required approval of lying (Rev. 21:8). Ordination is yet another thing that the New Testament does not teach—at least the way religious denominations practice it. Plenty of passages use the word ordain, which may come from one of several Greek words. The most common meaning of the word is “appoint.” In the New Testament, no one attended a seminary or was ordained by a religious denomination. Preachers needed to be pure in body (1 Tim. 4:12) and in their teaching (1 Tim. 4:16).