PCUSA and Homosexuality

It began way back in 1976. Homosexuality was just beginning its march toward acceptance so the denomination which would eventually come to be known as the Presbyterian Church in America took a clear stand. They said, in part, that we “reaffirm our adherence to the moral law of God . . . that the practice of homosexuality is sin . . .

Their stance was further clarified three years later when they said that homosexuality was “not God’s wish for humanity . . . Even where homosexual orientation has not been consciously sought or chosen, it is neither a gift from God nor a state nor a condition like race; it is a result of our living in a fallen world.”

That was clear, but it certainly wasn’t permanent. By 1980 they had begun to waffle:

They said that the church "... should be open to more light on what goes into shaping one's sexual preferences and reexamine its life and teaching in relation to people who are seeking affirmation and needing acceptance and who are apparently not free to change their orientations."

By 1988 they had commissioned a study to reevaluate their position. Three years later they released a report entitled, Presbyterians and Human Sexuality 1991." in which the majority concluded that the church should consider homosexuals and their relationships exactly as it considers heterosexuals and their relationships. While the report was not adopted, General Assembly documents indicate that no decision was made on either report; neither the majority nor the minority position was accepted. While there has been strong opposition, gradual Presbyterians and Human Sexuality 1991." The majority concluded that the church should consider homosexuals and their relationships exactly as it considers heterosexuals and their relationships. General Assembly documents indicate that no decision was made on either report; neither the majority nor the minority position was accepted. ly various local presbyteries have begun to change their position. For instance, the Charlotte Observer reported this year:

In past years, the Charlotte Presbytery - the fourth largest in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - had backed the prohibition. But after a spirited, civil debate in the chapel at Johnson C. Smith University, the presbytery voted 133-124, with one abstention, to reverse itself.

That means that the seven-county Charlotte Presbytery is now on record as backing a proposed amendment to the denomination's constitution that would open the door to - though not automatically guarantee - ordination of homosexuals.

What’s the point? Simply this: When I allow compromise I will eventually come to value the source of my compromise more than I value God. That idolatry will eventually lead me to open sin in my own life..