ARTICLE TOOLS

Print this article Bookmark this article

The Anglican Communion is the second Protestant denomination to consider a breakup this year. In May, at the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, conservative leaders considered an "amicable" split after continued division over sexual issues cause some conservative leaders to prefer going separate ways.

In 1999, Christianity Today said the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, was one church with two faiths. But by the end of 2005, it may be two churches with two faiths, and it's possible such a split could be a shot heard 'round the mainline as Methodists and Presbyterian conservatives battle to halt their denominations acceptance of cultural standards of sexuality.

Reformers in the mainline denominations are attempting to restore historic, orthodox Christianity to institutions that are seeking to push cultural agendas. In Anglican, Methodist, and Presbyterian denominations, the "presenting" issue is homosexuality, but the problems run deeper than one issue of doctrine to the basis of the faith itself.

In "One Church, Two Faiths," Art Moore writes, "For those who oppose the ordination of practicing homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions, the essence of Anglicanism itself, and not solely its teaching about sexuality, is under siege.

"A reform movement, Concerned Clergy and Laity of the Episcopal Church, puts it this way: 'Today, there are two religions in the Episcopal Church. One remains faithful to the biblical truth and received teachings of the Church, while the other rejects them.'"

Following last year's consecration of Gene Robinson, a noncelibate homosexual, as bishop of New Hampshire, conservatives in the American Anglican Council began laying the foundations of an alternative Anglican church in the United States.

Conservatives seem to be on the losing end of the denominational battle. Only five years ago Robinson "narrowly lost being elected as bishop in Rochester, New York." After Robinson's consecration last year, Episcopal parishes began seeking alternative oversight from bishops outside the United States, often from Africa.

Many African bishops, chided for crossing territorial divisions, have said North American liberals have created a new church. It is the orthodox churches, they say, that have remained Anglican.

The United Methodist Church's General Conference debated nearly the same issue. This time it was the appointment of lesbian pastor Karen Dammann. After a trial, a Methodist court decided that Dammann had not violated the Book of Discipline, which calls homosexual activity incompatible with Scripture.

"We feel the gulf is too wide, the differences are irreconcilable—and we cannot bridge these," said Bill Hinson, president of the Confessing Movement, a renewal group. For liberal groups, "keeping pace with the culture is very important. They say the church is behind the culture."

"We don't give a fig about keeping up with culture," Hinson said. "Our concern is being faithful to the biblical message. So, we don't even speak the same language."

Though the denomination has been fighting over homosexuality, the two sides have only grown further apart. Hinson and others decided to back away from a split, but the issue is still causing friction.

In the Presbyterian Church USA the issue is once again homosexuality. In 2001, presbyters voted on Amendment A, which would have removed the "existing constitutional clause banning from church office noncelibate gays and sexually promiscuous individuals."

Since then, the denomination has continued in a "pre-schismatic" state with gays fighting for inclusion, while conservatives try to maintain orthodoxy. The disagreement has continued for years. In Cincinnati, Stephen Van Kuiken has been on and off trial for performing a same-sex marriage.

When conservative churches decide to break away from their denominations, it often leads to intense property disputes. "Alan Wisdom, vice president of the [Institute on Religion and Democracy], says it is hard to estimate how many mainline congregations want out because those that make their intentions known leave themselves open under canon law and civil law to have the property seized."

Fighting for the faith and a denomination's doctrine is important, and conservatives in increasingly liberal denominations ought to "fight" before flight. Christianity Today executive editor J. I. Packer has fought for alternative oversight for his church, in the Anglican Church in Canada's New Westminster diocese, where the bishop is supporting same-sex marriage rites.

But eventually, the pain caused by decades of strife and the entrenchment of positions can do more harm than good. In a recent CT editorial, the magazine suggested "a proactive separation, involving leadership of both the Left and Right, would keep anger to a minimum, minimize ugly property disputes, and in a perverse way, demonstrate to the world that Christians can act civilly toward each other even in the midst of profound disagreements.

"Since the 1970s, we've seen a slow but steady pressure to change each church's traditional sexual ethics—especially in the area of homosexuality. It was charitable and wise at first to 'study the issue,' as each denomination did. And did again. And again.

"After 40 years of study and dialogue, then, we find in large sections of mainline churches a sub-Christian religion with alternate doctrines of biblical authority, the church, and even salvation."

Real unity, as these denominations so desperately need, is more than handshakes, conferences, and shared hierarchy. "We too quickly forget that Jesus' prayer for unity in John 17 is accompanied by this prayer, 'Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.' Genuine church unity, according to Jesus, is grounded in truth."