Letters
February 9, 2005
 

Dear Editor,

Mark Achtemeier has been wrongly accused and is fully justified in defending himself. We have never met. He does not know me from Adam’s house cat. I greatly respect his work and have read and tried to understand much of it, particularly his joint efforts with Andrew Purves. That work has enriched the lives of PCUSA members in adult Sunday School classes and adult Bible Study in our church and throughout the denomination.

While he does not need me or other "in the pews" evangelicals to come to his defense, it must be pointed out that his long public track record in supporting the ordination vows, and his solidly Scripture-based theology are beyond dispute. With respect, the journalist for the Layman really missed on this one. Someone forgot to exercise some due diligence before accepting as fact a student’s misunderstanding or misrepresentation of Dr. Achtemeier’s views. A prompt and genuine apology is in order.

For a quick and clear take on his theology as applied to the current state of the denomination and his view of sexuality, one need look no further than Union in Christ, a Declaration for the Church, which he co-authored. It may be found as a link on the front page of the Presbyterian Coalition’s Web site.

At a time when the voice of evangelicals needs to be clearly articulated within the Task Force, those of us who proudly proclaim that we are evangelical Presbyterians should feel confident in his position and applaud the work Jesus Christ is doing through him. Keep up the good work, Mark.