by Jessica Jelsema
Statements Against Heterosexual Marriages Only
Statement
Jessica grew up in Hudsonville, Michigan. She was a member of Hillcrest CRC. She graduated from Unity Christian and Dordt College.
She claims that the pages of the report are an assault on the LGBTQ+ community. She states that the presence of hundreds if not thousands of denominations are proof that the teachings of the Bible are not always clear. She claims the words of the report are divisive. You will always find what you want to find in the Bible. Are we reading it with the love of the Bible or are we motivated by such things as greed?
Her warning is that the CRC can continue to limit who it allows in. If it continues in the present path the pews will empty because people are tired of nonproductive dogma.
Response
In a number of ways Jessica had the advantages of the best that our communities have to offer. Many families have sacrificed greatly in order to provide these benefits. Many of us in our Christian upbringing have experienced these blessings. However, we would be very shortsighted if we would simply let the matter end there. Our Reformed tradition does lean very heavily on doctrine. Does our culture lean so heavily on dogma that perhaps it at times short-circuits the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness (Matt. 23:23)?
As we strive to balance doctrine and Christ-like living, based on Jessica’s comments it seems like it might be beneficial to ask if it is feasible to go to the Bible in search of answers. It is true that Christians the world over disagree on just about every point of doctrine. Is there any reason to search the Scriptures for distinctions, or should we in the name of love just accept everyone with open arms? Is it possible for life to be that simple? If a high school classmate of our teenage daughter invites her to experiment with drugs at a party, don’t we need to be on-guard against such evils?
It is often said that the Bible both endorses slavery and advises against it. Jessica brings up the issue of slavery. In my opinion, slavery as it was practiced in this country for hundreds of years was in reality strictly prohibited by the Bible. A person who would sell themselves into the status of being a bond servant due to dire personal financial reasons was quite different than capturing a person and selling them into slavery. In Exodus 21:16 we read, “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” In the New Testament I Tim. 1:10 lists enslavers in a vice list. The Greek word translated enslavers is defined as those who take someone captive in order to sell them into slavery. With those two biblical statements, how could anyone claim the Bible endorses slavery as it was practiced in the United States? It is perhaps particularly poignant that the words of Amazing Grace were penned by the hand of the former slave trader, John Newton. By OT law he deserved the death sentence for his earlier trading and by NT standards he was guilty of a terrible vice.
Is it not our hope that we can turn to the Bible for beneficial direction concerning how we are to live our lives in this world?