Faculty of an ELCA Seminary Support Task Force Documents

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A majority of the 23 faculty at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is in support of two documents released by the Task Force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality. LSTC is one of eight ELCA seminaries.

The task force released Feb. 19 a proposed social statement for the church, "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," and a report and recommendation for a process to consider changes to ministry policies that could make it possible for Lutherans who are in "publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gendered relationships" to serve as ELCA associates in ministry, deaconesses, diaconal ministers and ordained ministers.

The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly -- the highest legislative authority of the 4.7-million member church -- will consider both documents Aug. 17-23 in Minneapolis.

In an April 2 letter LSTC students, predominantly members of the senior class, "invited and implored" the seminary's faculty to respond to the documents, according to Dr. Klaus-Peter Adam, associate professor of Old Testament at LSTC.

In response, Adam and three other faculty members issued a statement May 22 offering support for the approval of the documents. In addition to the four drafters of the statement, 18 faculty members plus one professor emeritus signed the statement. The statement is not an official declaration of LSTC; it is a statement of the faculty.

"The crucial question before the church is not whether the current recommendation on ministry policies challenges long-standing scriptural interpretations and ecclesiastical practices," the statement said.

"It obviously does. Rather, the ultimate question is whether the recommendation on ministry policies proclaims Christ … and his message of grace more faithfully than older interpretations and practices," it said. "We, the faculty of LSTC, are convinced that it does and, therefore, support the approval of the recommendation."

The statement said that Lutherans insist Christ and the gospel are the "hermeneutical key" for interpreting both Scripture and tradition. "The gospel, which always points us to Christ, is, therefore, the interpretative lens in light of which the biblical and theological heritage of the church must be understood, evaluated and affirmed."

"In our time, Christ and his message of grace empower the community of faith to understand specific scriptural passages differently than in the past, to change traditional ecclesiastical policies and practices, and to affirm sisters and brothers who share a common baptismal identity, who confess the same faith in Christ and whose call to ministry is an expression of the Holy Spirit's presence in their lives," the statement said. "In recent times, the church has repented of interpretations of Scripture that justified slavery, silenced women, oppressed people of color, and maligned the Jewish people."

LSTC faculty members said they acknowledge research from biology, neuroscience, anthropology, sociology, psychology, literary studies and other disciplines that engage in gender and sexuality studies.

"As scholars, this faculty is and must be aware of this research which cautions us to be wary of the universality of binary sexual and gender classifications. Among many other things, that is why we must question many of the assumptions that are made in some of the circulated responses to the ELCA (documents), 'Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust' and the 'Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies' -- responses which depend on these problematic classifications of human experience and behavior," the statement said.

"Here at LSTC, we have been blessed by lively and faithful conversations with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and pastors in our midst about matters of sexuality, gender identity, and committed relationships to human partners and God," the statement said. "We see firsthand the hope, the pain, and the joy in these conversations. While we do not always agree with each other, we discover Christ's spirit in this fellowship."

"Deeply committed to our unity in Christ, we once were emboldened to ordain free and former slaves, whites together with people of color, women and men alike, to serve as pastors of the church. We must now broaden that circle to include a yet more full company of God's children who confess the gospel and the lordship of Christ Jesus."

- - - The faculty statement is available at http://www.lstc.edu/faculty_response_may2009.html on LSTC's Web site.

The task force's "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" and "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" are at http://www.ELCA.org/faithfuljourney on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog

165Those who love Your law have great peace,
And nothing causes them to stumble. Ps 119

17”Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
18”For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19”Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20”For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Mt 5

37And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,
38and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.
39Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”
40And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.”
41”A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
42”When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?”
43Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
44Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
45”You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.
46”You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.
47”For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
48Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
49Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”
50And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
44Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
47and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Lk 24

To tell people that in Jesus Christ is all the mercy and grace that they will ever need is only to set before them the promise of the real love that they are seeking in their lives – love in Jesus Christ. We have to follow that with directions for finding that real love.

As the account of the woman anointing Jesus’ feet illustrates, we have to tell them to go to him, to fall on their knees, to pour out (in tears of godly sorrow) their heart’s guilt and shame for looking for love in all the wrong places. We have to tell them to pour out the fragrant sacrifice of gratitude for all the loving things he has done, is doing and will do for us, that we don’t deserve and can never repay. To receive this loving forgiveness that Jesus proclaims is when we are truly freed to respond, “Jesus loves me, this I know!”

To fail to tell them THIS is the failing Jesus is warning us teachers and preachers about in Matthew 5. Indeed, Jesus’ blood will cover all sins that are brought to him, and he alone will restore the peace and joy of real love to our hearts. But, as he told us at the outset of his ministry and at his ascension, we are to go to him and repent. We submit and confess to what he says is really loving God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to what he says is really loving others as he has loved us. And then we believe and can receive his forgiveness, his unfailing love for us. And as we walk and talk with him, he will take us from where we were in our sin to places we could never have imagined.

Our thinking that Jesus Christ is merciful and gracious and forgiving cannot accomplish what he alone accomplished. (That’s just New Age affirmations and positive thinking. We never really believe it because deep in our hearts we know it’s only our ever imperfect selves trying to “talk over” the condemning voice of our sinning selves.) Even the demons knew who Jesus was.

To fail to tell people the beautiful story of Jesus’ releasing us from bondage is to deny them the true peace and everlasting joy we have in his love.

I weep over their utter failure to grasp this, not only for themselves, but for countless others who could find release from desperate living, and find abundance to fill their emptiness.

In the midst of this burden to be keepers and transmitters of the truth, I am so grateful for the opportunity you’ve given us, lightman, to assemble our thoughts and share how we are struggling with this.

.......The statement said that Lutherans insist Christ and the gospel are the “hermeneutical key” for interpreting both Scripture and tradition. “The gospel, which always points us to Christ, is, therefore, the interpretative lens in light of which the biblical and theological heritage of the church must be understood, evaluated and affirmed.”.....

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said in the Gospel (quoting Genesis), regarding marriage, that God made them [human beings] male and female from the beginning!

What “Christ” are these LSTC faculty members referring to? Certainly not Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Theotokos and risen from the dead. We have His clear word, that marriage is between a man and a woman, and sex is made to be expressed in marriage. They must be referring to some gnostic Christ. Kyrie eleison!!!!

Of course, all of this is no surprise, since several LSTC faculty have already signed that “teaching theologians’” document. And many ELCA “teaching theologians” are well known for all sorts of gnostic ways of bypassing the Incarnation, Resurrection, and Word of Christ for cleverly designed myths, which are based on junk “science” and the whims and fancies of elite culture.

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