By admin After decades of progressive opposition, leaders of the Christian Reformed Church in America have finally taken a strong stand against the sexual revolution.
The 2022 CRC synod, by a 123-53 majority, condemned “adultery, premarital sex, extramarital sex, polyamory, pornography and homosexual sex” but added to its decades of teaching of the small but influential denomination on these moral issues. “confession of faith”.
The report added: “The Church must warn its members that those who do not repent of these sins—as well as idolatry, greed, and other similar sins—will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Dissenters should “repent of such sins for the sake of their souls.”
Dissent continued, especially among congregations with strategic ties to Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the 2024 CRC synod, it was clear that the denomination would lose several dozen congregations out of 1,000 in North America.
The Grand Rapids Eastern Avenue Congregation announced: “While all members of the church must always be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, it would be disingenuous for us as a church to deny, minimize or conceal the fundamental and irreconcilable difference of opinion among a significant number of members in good standing in our church and the decision of the CRC to make a particular interpretation a matter of confession.” Therefore, “the only way we can remain an honest Christian Reformed congregation… is through protest.”
Head-on clashes are inevitable when members of a religious institution assert – in word and deed – conflicting positions on ancient doctrines, said the Rev. Michael Clary of Christ the King Church in Cincinnati. Although he is a popular commentator on Reformed theology on social media, he leads a Southern Baptist congregation.
There will be division – due to the basic beliefs of both sides. Progressives truly believe that doctrines must evolve so as not to cause pain to modern believers. Orthodox thinkers from various traditions truly believe that they cannot edit what the New Testament describes as “the faith once delivered to the saints.”
Church divorce is not the worst outcome, Clary argued in the viral X thread.
“Remember this sentence: the left “pulls” and the right “holds”.(…) Progressivism is like a conveyor belt that pulls people to the left. “Conservatism is like a rope that anchors people in the past,” he wrote. “This tension cannot be maintained indefinitely in a group of close relationships such as a church.”
Among progressive “mainline” denominations, the United Methodist Church was the last to change its teachings, and its establishment won a decades-long fight against the global conservative coalition.
Clary emphasized that divisions are most painful in smaller, local “churches where everyone knows each other and differences are harder to hide. … In larger churches, tensions can last longer because they are large enough for people from both factions to find them.” fellowship with others who think like them.”
If tensions are overshadowed by a “criticize both sides” policy from the pulpit, “it will put an endearing plaster on a mortal wound. In both cases, the tension finally breaks. (…) The wood is cut, dried and ready to be burned. All you need is a hot cultural moment to liven up the match. Maybe the presidential election,” Clary said.
In this context, Clary formulated his Thesis
Of course, there are some Democrats – in Louisiana, for example – whose beliefs do not conflict with traditional Christian positions on abortion, gender, marriage and other sensitive issues, Clary said in a telephone interview. There are also Republicans whose positions increasingly align with those of Vice President Kamala Harris and establishment Democrats.
“I wanted to be as specific as possible about the language pastors would hear when arguing in their pews,” he said.
The Republicans’ case is also complicated by the fact that former President Donald Trump is a “seriously compromised candidate,” he said.
Clara’s conclusion: Pastors who openly defend conservative Christian moral teachings will be accused of entering politics. Importantly, his church is located a few blocks from the University of Cincinnati.
“The political implications of Christianity cannot be avoided these days,” he said. “The arguments we all have are how to defend these doctrines in the America that exists today, period.”
Terry Mattingly is a journalist and teacher who focuses on religion and continues to study both writing and religion.