August 4, 2007

A deeply pernicious heresy
From an email letter by Joan S. Gray

Hi Friends,

I feel led to address an opinion I have heard from several people in several places in my traveling around the country. The statement is usually made in response to my assertion that everyone who believes in Jesus as their savior is a brother or sister in Christ to every other believer. It goes something like this: “Gay and lesbian people are not my brothers and sisters; they can’t be Christians,” or “Gays and lesbians would not be allowed to join my (Presbyterian) church.” I am deeply grieved when I hear this opinion, and I believe it is not only wrong but deeply pernicious heresy for the following reasons.

First our Book of Order makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ the only requirement for church membership. Refusing people membership in the church for reasons not related to profession of faith in Jesus as savior is forbidden by the constitution of the church. Second, the Authoritative Interpretation of the Constitution delivered in 1978 which is the basis of our understanding of how the church relates to homosexual persons states that homosexuality or homosexual practice is not a bar to church membership. Again, nothing unrelated to profession of faith in Jesus Christ can be used to bar people from church membership.

The most serious and pernicious thrust of this point of view, however, is what I call the “Jesus and” heresy. What does it take to be a Christian? Some say it takes Jesus and good theology. Some say it takes Jesus and good morality. Some say it takes Jesus and a way of life that is free of all unrepented sin. And so on…

I believe that the idea that we need anything but Jesus to be saved and therefore a member in the body of Christ is a form of works righteousness and should be repudiated by all right thinking Christians. Even mild forms of “Jesus and” theology constitute a slippery slope that leads us back into the bondage Paul rails against in Galatians. Yes, being in a saving relationship with our Lord does require us to live a holy life. The fact that we have significant differences about what a holy life entails, however, does not entitle some of us to lock others of us out of the body of Christ.

There is a story from the desert tradition of the 4th and 5th centuries that points to a Godly humility in these matters. It is about an old monk who was called to come join the monastic community in passing judgment on a brother who had sinned. They called him several times without response and finally sent someone to bring him to the meeting. Before going into the place where the meeting was to be held, he took a bag, filled it with sand, and then cut a hole in the bottom. He went into the meeting room and walked around with sand pouring through the hole onto the floor as he walked. “What is this?” his brother monks asked. The old man replied ‘My own sins are running out behind me. How can I judge my brother?” Grace and peace, Joan

Joan S. Gray is the Moderator of the 217th General Assembly (2006)