Some Virginia Presbyterians Move to Continue an Error Filled Past

Anti-gay Pastor Cameron Smith of New Hope Presbyterian Church in Salem

Throughout so-called mainline Protestant churches - e.g., the Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, etc. - conflict continues over the issue of treating gays as full church members and/or whether non-celibate gays can be ordained.  Then, of course, there is the whole issue of those who want to cling to a literal reading of the Bible (a very selective reading, of course, in practice) even as science has shown that Adam and Eve never existed as historical persons.  Here in Virginia, the anti-modernity, ignorance embracing elements of the Presbyterian Church once again have their panties in a wad because the national body of the denomination - oh, the horror! - Presbyterian pastors the go-ahead to perform same-sex marriages in states where they are allowed. What's telling is that the anti-gay "conservative" elements that are threatening to break away from the national body are following in the footsteps of those in the denomination that resisted the abolition of slavery and that supported segregation.  Seemingly, some have a sick need to look down on others in order to feel better about their own sick lives.  A piece in the Roanoke Times looks at the current infighting.

In hallowed halls across the Roanoke Valley and the country, Presbyterians are in the throes of hushed conflicts — split by the denomination’s evolving stance on homosexuality and a multitude of concerns about the national governing body’s view of Scripture. Leaders of several local churches have pushed to leave the denomination and take their storied church buildings with them.

Faced with a denomination hoping to retain members, and, in some cases, church members who want to remain in the denomination, many are facing a question not often uttered:Who owns the church?

New Hope Presbyterian Church, in Salem, spoke in unison, choosing to sever its denominational ties, make a deal with the national Presbyterian denomination and join a new one.

But in South Roanoke’s historic First Presbyterian Church, there is a group, led by the pastor, that wants to go, and a group that wants to stay. The conflict has been going on for more than a year, and a recent order from the church’s Synod of the Mid-Atlantic said it has “escalated to the point where nobody seems capable of giving to the other any benefit of the doubt,” sounding very much like a dispute over the $5.87 million piece of property that the church would be if it weren’t marked with a cross.

The PCUSA meets every two years in a General Assembly. That body, which is different with each iteration, has shown a proclivity to support progressive causes. The most recent assembly, which just met last month, made news by giving Presbyterian pastors the go-ahead to perform same-sex marriages in states where they are allowed. But it was the 2010 assembly that sparked the wave of congregations attempting to leave the denomination. That assembly eliminated a provision that had barred the ordination of gay or sexually active single pastors.

Local pastors have varied viewpoints on the effects the national body really has on local congregations. Several churches in the region, including Smith’s Salem congregation and First Presbyterian, began considering the idea of leaving PCUSA shortly after that development.

The Presbyterian Church, over the years, has been early to move on matters that created a conflict of the national conscience. It declared slavery immoral. It ordained women. In both cases, a wave of congregations fled in movements similar to today’s. And several congregations found themselves in disputes over the church property, fights so protracted they reached the highest court in the land and posed the question of who should own the church.

As I have said many times, those who claim to be the most godly and pious always need someone to persecute in order to feel superior.  It's behavior that is the antithesis of the Gospel message these hypocrites claim to honor.