Re General Assembly Coverage, July/August
General Assembly agreed with a petition to lift a ban placed upon Rev. Darryl Macdonald that does not exist for any other homosexual minister of the United Church. The committee said, “accepting the petition removes an anomaly.”
The anomaly, in my view, is not that Macdonald is treated differently than other homosexual ministers of the United Church, but that other homosexual ministers of the United Church are treated differently than Macdonald. The reason for the ban was not personal; it was imposed because of conduct unacceptable by the Presbyterian Church in Canada’s standards.
GA’s decision indicates that we are on a slippery slope. We must be vigilant because our adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
Richard Lancing, Pierrefonds, Que.
Re Word to Word, Letters, April
Perhaps Rev. John Fraser would be kind enough to enlighten me and others of the precise areas in the Bible where God has spoken His word regarding homosexuality, and then to explain how those words can be relevant to us in the 21st-century when psychiatrists and psychologists assert that a person does not choose to be either homosexual or heterosexual. We are born female or male, homosexual or heterosexual.
It is time for our faith community to open the dialogue further and to have articles written by our learned theologians in our national magazine would seem to me to be a helpful beginning, just as debates at General Assembly would be.
Andrew Faiz, in his article Advocating for Advocacy, in the same issue comments about how change takes place in small, teensy tiny ways and that it takes effort and work, debate and discussion. Let us continue to discuss this matter by understanding God’s spoken word in the context of the times in which the Bible was written.
Susan MacRae, Glen Haven, N.S.
A note from the managing editor: Our editorial mantra is to create a space within the magazine for ongoing conversation. While we may edit letters we rarely refuse them publication. Conversation isn’t easy; it requires openness. We do our part by publishing thoughts, ideas and opinions of members of this denomination.
Yet, when it comes to homosexuality, it seems to me conversation is not happening. We are not talking to each other but at each other. I don’t mean to pick on the two passionate letters above, but they do illustrate the point. Both express equally popular, if polar opposite, theological positions, held by many and repeated in these pages many times.
I’m no theologian but I understand there is no hierarchy of sins. Sin is separation from God; Jesus the shepherd seeks out the lost.
There has been a simmering sniping on the issue of homosexuality in this section of the Record for quite a while. It is not our intention to be censors. But it is nigh past time for us to be more judicious in choosing letters for publication.
Various reports and papers on homosexuality within the Presbyterian Church in Canada take pains to speak of the issue in terms of morality. That covers a wide array of human activity, not just sex.
As our Living Faith series illustrates every month, there are shadings and subtleties in understanding our relationship with God. Grace is the gift that makes it easier. May I humbly suggest our future conversations on sexuality begin with grace?
