The destruction is complete. The remainder of the congregation the LTR grew up in has voted to sell their premises and look for a smaller building that they can afford. One of the central pillars of my LTR’s life is no more.
For those of you new to the story, back in August the governing body of the ELCA (that’s mainline Lutheran here in the states) voted to allow homosexuals in committed relationships to be pastors of the church. The vote was contentious, but as one female bishop pointed out, they already allowed women and divorcees to be pastors in direct conflict with the scripture, so why were delegates balking at one more violation.
The LTR brought up the vote to sell the church and told me how sad that made her. She lamented the fact that the people who left destroyed something that she loved. She stated that she couldn’t understand how the people who left could be so short sighted as to take all their money and split up the congregation.
I asked her, ‘how could they not?’
Stunned she asked me what I meant by that statement. I told her that for those who left it was the last straw. They could overlook allowing women and divorcees to be pastors. Those things they could identify with. They knew of people, and perhaps had events in their own life that they could associate with. While a violation of their belief in sola scriptura, it was still something they could rationalize. But for the a sizable majority, asking them to rationalize something like same sex attraction with the clear prohibitions against it is a non starter. They can’t put themselves in those shoes. They are not able to rationalize that away. At that point they are faced with a decision. Do they accept their church’s, their pastor’s moral authority, or do they admit that their church and their pastor holds no moral authority.
The flush of anger came quickly for the LTR. She asked how anyone could believe that since the bible was written by a bunch of men roughly 2000 years ago.
I pointed out that who wrote the bible and when should have no bearing on the veracity or lack there of if she truly believed in sola scriptura and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Her faith believes that the Bible was divinely inspired and therefore inerrant on the doctrines of the faith regardless of the various inconsistencies in some of the details.
I told her that from my point of view, her church, and their pastors hold absolutely no moral authority. The problem with sola scriptura is that it always devolves into solo scriptura. What’s to say my interpretation of the scriptures isn’t more correct than yours? If I don’t like your interpretation, I’ll search out passages that can be twisted to support my viewpoint over yours. I pointed out that what’s happening in the ELCA today is what’s happened time and again since the first half of the sixteenth century when the protestant revolution began.
At this point she changed tacks and asked me why women shouldn’t be pastors. Leaving aside the biblical argument, I pointed out that female pastors tend to emphasize the love and caring portions of the bible and Jesus’ teachings, but downplay the rigid dictates on how one should live a righteous life. You can’t have one without the other.
We left it there. Agreeing to disagree. She stated that I didn’t know what I was talking about because I haven’t read the bible. Amusing to say the least as I seriously doubt she’s read the whole thing either. I also pointed out that I do have a bible on one of my wish lists but she so far hasn’t deigned to purchase it for me.
As I was heading out the door she did try to get one parting shot at me. She said, “‘See you later, Jehovah Witness.” Knowing that I truly despise the JWs. I laughed at her feeble attempt at a dig.
