by Rev. David Vroege
Statement Against Heterosexual Marriages Only
What follows is a very brief overview of what Rev. Vroege presents in his video. Please view his video to get the full presentation.
Statement
The Human Sexuality Report’s statements that the Bible’s teaching on same-sex marriage is clear are wrong.
The HSR’s use of clear is problematic. It isn’t clear. Some things the HSR says are clear are not.
Why would there be questions if it was so clear?
Clear is unpastoral. It is not helpful to say to someone who does not agree with you that what you believe is clearly taught in Scripture.
Use of clear hurts people in the CRC.
The word clear is not true and it’s unkind.
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Response
This video raises some good questions to consider. Wrestling with a very controversial topic such as same-sex marriage is not something we do very often, perhaps some have never done it before. Therefore, it will be helpful to consider such matters as what does it mean to say a teaching is clear? What is the best pastoral approach to take?
This video is a response to the HSR. A critique of it. What is Rev. Vroege suggesting should be done or would make the report better? Would removing all the instances of “clear” from the report make it better? Would he recommend saying the Bible’s teaching on same-sex marriage is not clear, because people disagree on what it teaches? He objects to the report, it would help others to understand his position and his thoughts more if he would present his recommendation for what should be done.
When one considers the fact that pastors must be pastoral in their ministry, it might be helpful to raise some other questions related to this. Surgeons cause patients pain. Should surgeons be considerate, loving (pastoral in a sense) in dealing with their patients and therefore never cause them pain? All things considered, if we have cancer, or need open heart surgery wouldn’t it be better for us as patients to experience the pain that comes with such surgery?
Is something unclear (“not true”) because people disagree on it? If that is our measure, then wouldn’t it also follow that there is nothing clear about the Bible? People the world over disagree concerning what the Bible teaches. Wouldn’t that necessarily mean the Bible is not clear? If there is nothing clear about the Bible, we cannot be sure of our salvation, can we know then if salvation is even possible to begin with? On the contrary, the Bible is clear. It is clear due to the fact that it is the Special Revelation given by God. It is clear based on its own merits, it is not unclear because people disagree about it.