Like the Episcopalian church, the Lutheran church is splitting over the decision to permit noncelibate gay clergy.
A lesbian pastor says, “At my church there is a sense of great celebration, of people being very happy that our work to make the ELCA a more inclusive place has come to fruition.”
A biblically orthodox pastor says, “The issue is departure from the word of God.”
It’s one thing to treat people with civility, mercy and grace. It’s quite another to simply vote something out of the “sin” category. The bible does not give us that authority. Although this split is going to be very painful, I really do view it as a positive development – weeding the biblically unorthodox out of the ranks of nominal believers. People are going to have to compare their personal views with what the bible says, and where there is a difference, acknowledge that and choose one or the other.
Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues”