The “polishing their CVs” quote comes from Calvin historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez.
Here is a taste of Yonat Shimron’s piece at Religion News Service:
The Christian Reformed Church, a small evangelical denomination of U.S. and Canadian churches, voted Wednesday (June 15) at its annual synod to codify its opposition to homosexual sex by elevating it to the status of confession, or declaration of faith.
The 123-53 vote at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, caps a process begun in 2016 when a previous synod voted to form a study committee to bring a report on the “biblical theology” of sexuality.
The vote, following a long day of debate, approves a list of what the denomination calls sexual immorality it won’t tolerate, including “adultery, premarital sex, extra-marital sex, polyamory, pornography and homosexual sex.”
“The church must warn its members that those who refuse to repent of these sins — as well as of idolatry, greed, and other such sins — will not inherit the kingdom of God,” the report says. “It must discipline those who refuse to repent of such sins for the sake of their souls.”
But 190 delegates to the synod spent the preponderance of time debating same-sex relations, with many warning that passage of the so-called Human Sexuality Report and elevating its teachings to the status of confession would alienate LGBTQ people as well as younger generations of CRC members who have a different understanding of sexuality.
“This motion harms LGBTQ people, harms the church’s witness, and naming this as confession will have disastrous consequences for people and institutions,” said one delegate to the synod who voted against the motion.
Synod members were unswayed. Delegates followed with another motion ordering Neland Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids to “immediately rescind its decision to ordain a deacon in a same sex marriage,” punishing one of its more liberal churches that two years ago pushed the boundaries of its traditional teaching.
Wednesday’s synod actions will also have profound consequences for its flagship university, Calvin. In December, one-third of Calvin faculty signed a letter expressing concerns about the Human Sexuality Report, and some are now expected to leave. Faculty at Calvin University must sign a document saying their beliefs align with the historical creeds and confessions of the Christian Reformed Church.
It was not clear what the status of the document might be moving forward.
“Many people are polishing their CVs, starting to look at what else is out there and preparing themselves to leave,” said Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a professor of history at Calvin University and one of its star faculty.
The university is known in the larger Christian higher education world for its supportive and pastoral approach to LGBTQ students. It allows a student group, the Sexuality and Gender Alliance, to function on campus and in the 2020-21 school year the university did not challenge an openly gay student body president.
Read the rest here.
I am reminded of the Hook and Eye Baptists who separated from the larger Mennonite church over the use of buttons on clothing. At least to me this dividing of God’s people over this issue is ludicrous. But I am sure it was very important to those who fought over it so many years ago. There seems to be no greater separator of Christian today than the issue of inclusion of LGBTQ+ in church membership and leadership. The conception that a LGBTQ+ lifestyle could be coequal to the heterosexual norm seems beyond belief and anathema to conservative church people.
The early church first dust-up was over whether or not non-Jews could be apart of the faith community if they did not convert to and practice Judaism. The predominate theory was that they could not. The story told in the book of Acts that changes everything concerns Peter the leader of the Jesus movement. He had a vision of God asking him to kill and eat animals that the scriptures forbade. He resisted. God’s comment to him was, “Never consider unclean what God has made pure.” The next part of the story has Peter giving the Gospel to a gentile family. The result of this was that the Holy Spirit came upon them just as it had on Jewish Jesus followers. The Spirit was more important than the Law and the way things have always been done.
A lot of heterosexual Christians today have seen the Spirit poured out on their LBGTQ+ brothers and sisters like it has been for them. This is reason enough for them to accept what wasn’t acceptable before. They will know we are Christians by our love–not our view on sexual orientation. A hundred years from now will this divisive issue seem like that long ago fight over buttons?
No wonder Michael LeRoy left.
Yes. This is a tough call. I respect the right of an institution to draw the line on LGBTQ wherever it wants to draw it. To me this is a religious liberty issue.