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| Home > Random > Presbyterian Nonsense: The first in a continuing series.... |
| Presbyterian Nonsense: The first in a continuing series.... | | Date Created: Jul 09, 2004, 09:40 AM |
First a few helpful definitions for those who aren't Presbyterian:
Amendment B: Officially G-0601.B, which refers to the Section, Article, and Paragraph in the PCUSA constitution that bans Queer folk from full participation in the denomination.
Elder: One type of leader in the PCUSA, in addition to Deacons and Ministers. Unlike most protestant denominations, Elders and Deacons are ordained in the PCUSA. Both my husband and I are ordained elders.
LGBT: The acronym that means Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered. Lately it has become some monstrosity like LGBTQQAI...don't ask. I prefer queer.
MoreLight Presbyterians: A group within the Presbyterian church that works for full inclusion of Queer folk in the denomination. Also fights for truth, justice, and the American way. They are the arch-nemesis of the Presbyterian Lay Committee. Their primary weapon is an arsenal of gorgeous stoles. Oh, they also have the truth of the Gospel on their side.
Paul Rolf Jensen: A lawyer who likes to bring heresy charges against naughty Presbyterians, particularly queer folk. His primary weapon is fear...fear and intimidation, and his red robes.
Presbyterian (aka PCUSA): A reformed protestant Christian denomination of over 2 million members. The theology of the PCUSA is (was?) heavily influenced by John Calvin. There are several Presbyterian denominations in the US, but the one I belong to (and the largest) is the Presbyterian Church USA (or PCUSA).
Presbyterian Lay Committee: A radial, fundamentalist organization dedicated to the sole proposition that queer folk should be boiled in their own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through their hearts. The Lay Committee "publishes" the "Presbyterian Layman." The arch-nemesis of the MoreLight Presbyterians. Their secret weapon is the "heresy charge" -- a scary weapon that, in spite of a loud noise, appears to have no effect at all.
Presbyterian Layman: A radical, fundamentalist, sensationalist rag (think National Enquirer) that is singlehandedly responsible for the nationwide shortage in quotation marks. The "journalists" a the Layman use so many "air quotes" around words they don't "agree with" that it looks like the paper has "crabs."
The Good Old Days: These are the days that the Presbyterian Lay Committee refers to back when heresy trials involved dunking, burning, stretching, and squishing between grist stones
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So Paul Rolf Jensen is at it again. This time he brought charges against outgoing PCUSA Moderator Susan Andrews for participating in the installation of Rev. Scott Winnette.
http://witherspoonsociety.org/2004/jensen.htm
I keep trying to remind myself that Jensen is the victim in all this. He is the victim of misinformation, lies, hatred, and bigotry spread about LGBT folks. I try to remind myself that he is just doing what he thinks is best for the church, even if he is 100% wrong.
He's like a Presbyterian Don Quixote. To my knowledge every set of charges that he's brought has been dismissed, thrown out, ignored, etc. I'm not sure, but I think it was Einstein who said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
However, I guess I could level the same accusation against the PCUSA liberals who keep bringing "Drop Amendment B" overtures to General Assembly, with the same results every year. Read my lips: stop begging to be let into the church. Simply BE the church. Ignore stupid, immoral, unChristian rules set up by people and follow the rules set up by God. What's the worse that could happen? You might have charges brought against you? Only if you're a pastor. Interestingly, Jensen doesn't spend time on the people really leading the charge for LGBT rights, the laity. He only files charges against people who can loose their livelihood. (Another reason why it is difficult not to suspect his motives.)
Perhaps I'm just miffed that he's never brought charges against me. I mean...what do you have to do to get charges filed against you? Come out on the floor of GA? Oh...wait. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Perhaps you need to be a gay elder. Done that. Perhaps you need to be a married gay elder. Done that too. Anything else I can think of is either illegal, immoral, or fattening.
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