I feel sure that you have already heard some of the rumblings of change which inevitably were to come from the United Methodist Church’s General Conference. The media has made a lot of hay out of their removal of our belief that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian Scripture, and the removal of prohibitions against LGBTQ clergy and non-scriptural matrimony in the local church. I am saddened that the UMC left traditional believing Methodists no choice but to leave their sinking ship. But more to the point, how did religious beliefs diverge so much?
The root of our disagreements of faith sprouted in the 15th century, and its key feature is the breakdown of the structure of authority, order, and meaning. The reformers challenged the authority of Catholic Church and insisted on sola scriptura, or scripture as the sole authority in matters of belief and practice. But with the concurrent availability of scripture to common people, soon everyone had their own interpretation of scripture. Reform movements quickly splintered into different groups based upon differing interpretations of scripture.
That divergence in interpretation has now blossomed into over 217 identifiable denominations in the United States, not to mention thousands of individual non-denominational churches. An appeal to the authority of scripture for many has ended up being an appeal to idiosyncratic and ever-changing interpretations of scripture. For these reformers and their successors who founded the United States, political authority arose from the people themselves acting together, not from some scriptural pattern. Suddenly every person was his/her own ruler, and acting together they overthrew kings and princes, formed political parties, and created a nation in search of moral authority.
What philosophers sought in freeing the human mind from the chains of tradition, they anchored by establishing doubt in any and all knowledge. Then science arose to claim its own authority based solely upon what observation can prove. Human self-understanding was now free to question all authority, including the Holy Scriptures. Truth became an orphan that was claimed by everyone.
We now live in an era in which our personal feelings and desires are considered and consulted to form our own truth. Nevertheless, the truth must rest upon some solid foundation, or it is liable to crumble beneath the weight of our nonsense.
Religious scholars have impressed upon their students a distrust of scripture that doesn’t agree with their world-view. It was inevitable that they would seek a default definition for truth founded in the word love, for who can argue against love? And in fact, love is central in Christian belief. The Church is a hospital for sinners, and we are all sickened by sin. We are to love the sinner, but not the sin.
However, confusion has entered the debate over love being the guiding authority for living, because of the misapplied notion that we should just love everyone (which we should), and that we should affirm one another’s chosen lifestyles (which we should not). Therefore, the siren calls of diversity and inclusion at any cost have been steam-rolled over common sense. According to our Constitution this is a civil right to be pursued. According to the Bible this is detestable and to be avoided. That same notion about love whitewashes over the deadly effects of sin and rebellion, and scoffs at the idea that God will judge our thoughts and deeds. Therefore, today’s debate has devolved into a contest about who loves most. The truth is that God loves us more than we love one another. And into a world deficient in true love, He sent Jesus—a light of truth in the darkness of our selfishness, and a sacrifice that calls us back to holy living.
Friends, my foundation remains the Holy Scriptures, and in the God who came as Jesus as my foundational truth. In fact, Jesus told those who followed him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” His Way is the Truth, and only He gives Life to those who listen to His voice. We live in an age where many have lost their way, and to them the Bible has become just one voice among many that purports to know the way. I can’t claim some superior knowledge that gives me all knowledge, but I can point to Jesus who can lead us to all truth. I stand with those who insist on sola scriptura, and that the Bible still identifies truth from lie, life from death, and a path back to God through our Savior. May we value the gift given us by the hands who wrote by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit!
Bro. Jim
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