Lutherans Toss Out Scripture

from The Patriot Post:

The intrusion of politics into religion has theologians on both sides of the aisle debating the future of religion in America and around the world. Last Friday, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to allow homosexuals in same-sex relationships to serve as clergy, causing widespread speculation about whether the denomination will survive. Although congregations will not be forced to hire homosexual clergy, ELCA conservatives are afraid, not only that many members will leave, but of a larger split in the church internationally. European and Scandinavian Lutherans are more liberal than Americans when it comes to homosexuality, while Africans and Asians are more conservative.

The ELCA is not the first church to deviate from Scripture on this subject. The Episcopalian Church recently approved a similar resolution, which has caused tension and strife with the larger Anglican Communion of which it is a part. The United Methodist Church, on the other hand, has become somewhat more conservative on the subject, possibly to reflect its growing membership in the more conservative South and Sunbelt.

Liberals are overjoyed by the Evangelical Lutherans' decision, much as they are when they twist the Constitution to conform to their "progressive" ideals. "The society is in the process of changing its collective mind about the moral status of same-sex relationships," stated Barbara Wheeler, former president of the Autumn Theological Seminary in New York City, "and there's a parallel theological movement."

Religious scholars are claiming that this is part of a larger religious upheaval, one in which politics will play a role. "I think we're coming up on an epic reorganization of religion in the United States," said Mark Jordan, a professor at Harvard Divinity School. "What we're going to see going forward is more and smaller churches, loosely organized and federated around a progressive pole or a conservative pole." What about churches organized around the authority of the Bible? Anyone ever heard of that?