Gay Marriage and the Church in the Pacific Northwest

Are churches (especially churches in the Pacific Northwest) that draw a line in the sand by taking a stand against homosexuality shortsighted?

In his book Jesus the Savior, Presbyterian theologian William Placher contends that "here is precisely not the place to 'draw the line'" (102). Placher first observes that Jesus says nothing about homosexuality, and that the Bible mentions "sexual intercourse between people of the same sex...only about half a dozen times, and never at any length" (96). Placher then considers Paul's undeniably negative comments about at least some "homosexual activity," wrestling inconclusively with the question of whether Paul condemns all such activity or only exploitative relationships and acts (98-100). Looking for clarity in the story of Jesus, Placher finds that "the pattern of Jesus' ministry"--what Jesus repeatedly and consistently did--affirms the generous treatment of "the outsiders, the disreputable, and the fearful" (102).

Jesus the Savior was published in 2001--more than a decade ago. In 2014, there is an additional reason to question the wisdom of drawing a line in the sand by taking a stand against homosexuality. Today, it appears increasingly likely that these churches will find themselves on the wrong side of history in the near future. As Bob Dylan puts it, "The times they are a-changin'."

• A 2013 Barna poll found that 53% of Americans now favor "changing laws to enable more freedom for the LGBTQ community"--an increase from 42% in 2003. Increased friendliness toward gays and lesbians was seen in each of four subgroups--including "practicing Protestants" and "practicing Catholics." Will this trend continue into the future? The poll found that 65% of Americans under forty favor more gay-friendly laws. (Note that Washington, the most populous state in the Pacific Northwest, is relatively young.)
• A new survey from Public Religion Research Institute verifies Barna's earlier findings. PRRI reports that 53% of Americans now support gay marriage (with only 41% opposed). In the West (a region that encompasses all of the Cascadian states), 58% "favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry." (Gay marriage is legal in the state of Washington and the province of British Columbia, where the majority of Cascadia's population lives.) Again, generational demographics point to the likelihood of increasing support for gay marriage in the coming years: "Today, nearly 7-in-10 (69%) Millennials (ages 18 to 33) favor same-sex marriage, compared to 37% of Americans who are part of the Silent Generation (ages 68 and older)." For Northwesterners, also pertinent is the fact that "unaffiliated Americans (73%), white mainline Protestants (62%), white Catholics (58%), and Hispanic Catholics (56%) all favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry"--62% of Washingtonians and 57% of Oregonians belong to one of these groups.
• Interestingly, Gallup's tracking of attitudes toward interracial marriage shows that 48% of Americans approved of these relationships twenty years ago; in 2013, 87% of Americans approved of them. Will approval of gay marriage grow at a similar rate? If so, then gay marriage will be no more controversial in two decades than interracial marriage is today.

My point is not that churches should base their teaching on cultural changes. My point is that Scripture and culture should be read in conversation with each other; theological integrity demands that we start with the first, and pastoral sensitivity demands that we move to the second. Bible-onlyism is likely to lead to under-contextualized ministry (just as ignoring Scripture is likely to lead to over-contextualized ministry). Context matters. Our changed and changing context is one in which most people now have at least one loved one who is openly gay (see the PRRI poll above); Christians know how much relationships matter--we worship a relational God.

In my presbytery (a regional body of Presbyterian churches that encompasses southwestern Washington and much of Oregon), several churches have drawn a line in the sand by taking a stand against homosexuality--specifically, they have left our denomination for more conservative denominations. In two decades, these churches may think no differently than they do now, continuing their countercultural stand; after all, Jesus was and is countercultural.

Still, as admirable as countercultural attitudes and actions can be, they are not always so; sometimes the culture is ahead of the church, with gender equality one of the best examples. (The Spirit's work is not confined to the church!) It is possible, then, that the aforementioned churches will regret drawing a line in the sand where they have. They may regret making something that Jesus never mentioned a focus of their ministry. They may regret that they did not embrace a more gracious reading of Scripture. They may regret that they under-contextualized their teaching and practice, picking a battle more likely to alienate their neighbors than welcome them.

When I was a student at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary fifteen years ago, I worked in the school's library. One day as I shelved books, I came across a large portrait of the seminary's founder, Presbyterian theologian Robert Lewis Dabney, in a secluded section. It seemed a strange place for this painting, as few people would see it. Later, I learned that Dabney (armed with various Bible verses) had supported slavery. Then I understood.

Book Review: DOING LOCAL THEOLOGY

Clemens Sedmak, Doing Local Theology: A Guide for Artisans of a New Humanity (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006), pp. 182.

Whatever else missional means, this term has something to do with recognizing one's immediate context--whether the Pacific Northwest with its pluralism or the American South with its nominalism--as a mission field. For Westerners, this reality (or, at least, awareness of it) is a relatively new development. There is now a need for Christians to engage Western communities as missionaries. To be missional, then, is to be engaged in local mission (mission + local = missional).

To equip people for this engagement, Clemens Sedmak has produced a useful resource that also happens to be beautifully written. Although Sedmak does not use the term missional, his book Doing Local Theology: A Guide for Artisans of a New Humanity is a work of missional theology. Its focus on learning how to practice theology in ways that are contextualized for and comprehensible to particular people in particular contexts makes it a valuable companion for Jesus followers in the West.

The book is structured simply, with fifty theses serving as descriptive headings for short sections that could be read as devotions. (The fifty theses are helpfully listed at the back of the book.) For example, the third thesis reads: "Doing theology is a way of following Jesus. Theology seeks friendship with Jesus and communion with God" (6). Sedmak then exegetes this statement briefly.

The book's content is thoroughly "Jesusy" (to borrow Anne Lamott's word), with many of the theses making direct appeals to the example of Jesus. Sedmak directs his readers to do theology in the way that Jesus did theology. In this sense, his book is about discipleship--about following Jesus. It is Jesus, the Word who became flesh in a particular cultural context, whom Sedmak points to as justification for cultural engagement and contextualization. Different cultures have different ingredients, and local theology makes use of these local ingredients in order to live the gospel faithfully and effectively. What Sedmak calls "little theologies" (theses thirty-eight through forty-eight) are especially local, as they are limited theologies that "are...made for a particular situation, taking particular circumstances into account" (38).

"Little theologies are needed in times of confusion, and confusion arises in times of change such as our own" (120). Sedmak writes clear theology in a time of confusion. His book is simple yet substantial, written for anyone who is serious about practicing Christian faith for and with their neighbors.

The Gospel and Palm Trees in the Pacific Northwest

A Palm Tree in Vancouver, WA

Palm trees are an unusual sight in the Pacific Northwest. They are normally found in places with tropical climates--wet places, yes, yet places where it rarely gets cold (certainly not cold enough to snow). Undeterred, a neighbor has planted two palm trees in his front yard--and tall trees, at that. All things considered, the trees seem to be faring well--a fact that I find surprising and remarkable.

The gospel--the good news of and about Jesus--is like a palm tree. The Jesus story and palm trees are alike in at least two ways. First, neither are native to Cascadia; they are out of place, transplanted from parts of the world that are very different from the Pacific Northwest. Second, both are adaptable; they can adapt (in the case of the palm tree) or be adapted (in the case of the gospel) to a wide variety of contexts.

The gospel not only can be adapted for the Pacific Northwest; the gospel must be adapted for the Pacific Northwest. It cries out to be translated or contextualized for a context that is not first-century, not Jewish, and not Mediterranean. Without contextualization, the gospel will be incomprehensible to many Cascadians.

What is contextualization? In his book Constructing Local Theologies, Robert Schreiter offers, "Terms like 'localization,' 'contextualization,' 'indigenization,' and 'inculturation'...point to the need for and responsibility of Christians to make their response to the gospel as concrete and lively as possible" (1). In Reaching a New Generation, Alan Roxburgh explains that contextualization "recognizes the changing, pluralistic character of life today. It emphasizes the need to understand the particularity of specific contexts so that the gospel might be addressed into the situation" (68). Clemens Sedmak's Doing Local Theology is about localizing theology for particular contexts; Sedmak observes that Jesus did theology in this way: "Jesus was rooted in a local culture, expressing himself in the local language, using local experiences and local images in his parables" (23).

An understanding of contextualization leads to another question: What will a local theology in and for the Pacific Northwest look like?

Paul on Contextualizing the Gospel

"For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings" (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, NRSV).

"Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, for 'the earth and its fullness are the Lord's.'" If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.... So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved" (1 Corinthians 10:24-27, 31-33, NRSV).