African and American Presbyterians Sharply Differ on Belief and Practice

on August 21, 2013

Presbyterians in Africa have made some public statements that highlight significant differences of belief and practice between the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its global partners on basic issues of the Christian life, human sexuality and abortion.

As a denomination, the PC (USA) has become increasingly open to and affirming of homosexual practice. The most recent manifestation of this came in the removal of the prohibition of practicing homosexuals from holding church office as teacher or ruling elder and deacons.

The 220th General Assembly (2012) avoided the seemingly inevitable step in this progression by voting to postpone considering overtures to redefine marriage as between two persons rather than a man and a woman. Looking ahead to 2014, there is reason to believe that progressives in the church will apply significant pressure to provide for “pastoral discretion” in this area. This is essentially the privatization of the church’s doctrine and practice so that clergy and parishioners may follow their own convictions regardless of traditional belief and practice.

In stark contrast to this impulse, the East Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria has praised the National Assembly of Nigeria for enacting a law that prohibits the performance of same-sex marriage ceremonies in any church or mosque in Nigeria.  In its statement the Synod affirmed the act as being consistent with Nigeria’s religious, cultural, and traditional ethos.

In passing the law, the Nigerian legislature resisted significant international pressure to acknowledge the right of gays and lesbians to marry. The law has also come under criticism for its prescribed punishments. Same sex couples who marry may face up to fourteen years in prison. Any person found guilty of assisting the couple—including clergy—may be imprisoned for up to ten years. It remains unclear whether the legislation will be signed by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Should the act be signed into law, it will almost assuredly face legal challenges.

In supporting the act, the Synod appealed to the Christian belief that homosexual practice is not a neutral matter. Rather, the Synod echoes the views of St. Paul who wrote to the Corinthian church warning it that those whose life is indistinguishable from the world (“the unrighteous”) will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9). His list of practices falling into this class includes, “men who practice homosexuality.” To practice homosexuality, just as to practice heterosexual sexual immorality, is to place oneself into a category of persons about whom Paul questions the authenticity of their belief. If this is true—and the church maintains that it is—it is the pastoral duty of the church’s ministers to oppose something so detrimental to spiritual health.

The Synod also harshly criticized the growing evils of forced child prostitution, and human organ trafficking. It called on church members to “compliment the efforts of the government” by providing any information or assistance to government agents to identify and aid victims of human trafficking. Here, thankfully, there is a point of strong agreement although the issue of human trafficking often plays second string to other political issues in the PC (USA).

When it comes to abortion, the PC (USA) is also at variance with its African mission partners. The PC (USA) has what is best (and most generously) defined as a nuanced view of abortion. Nuance is a good thing when discussing important matters. Nuance can also bleed into obfuscation at times. The PC(USA) seems to live in the grey area between nuance and obfuscation when it comes to abortion.

The most definitive statement came from the General Assembly in 1970 when it declared, “the artificial or induced termination of a pregnancy is a matter of careful ethical decision of the patient … and therefore should not be restricted by law ….” The impulse is, once more, for the church to default to the decision of the individual rather than take a definitive position on the issue.

In 1992 the General Assembly declared:

“There is [both] agreement and disagreement on the basic issue of abortion. The committee [on problem pregnancies and abortion] agreed that there are no biblical texts that speak expressly to the topic of abortion, but that taken in their totality the Holy Scriptures are filled with messages that advocate respect for the woman and child before and after birth. Therefore the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) encourages an atmosphere of open debate and mutual respect for a variety of opinions concerning the issues related to problem pregnancies and abortion.”

This is something of an obfuscation since there are no Scriptural references that deal with a large number of issues that the PC(USA) takes a principled stand on—things like reducing defense spending, immigration reform, etc. The modern secular nation-state is not anticipated in the texts typically used to argue for comprehensive immigration reform, almost all of which come from the Hebrew Bible, yet the church speaks with interpretive certainty as to their import for 21st century America.

Despite claiming there is agreement on “The strong Christian presumption is that since all life is precious to God, we are to preserve and protect it. Abortion ought to be an option of last resort …” the actions of the church evince an ambivalence to this matter.

No such ambivalence is present in the two million-member Nkhoma Synod of the Central Church African Presbyterian (CCAP), which has issued a statement strongly condemning rumored plans by the government of Malawi to reverse its ban on abortion. The current law outlaws abortion except in the case of threat to the life of the mother. It remains unclear whether specific legislative proposals to alter the law actually exist, however. Responding to the statement, Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu claimed that the government is considering no such legislative act.

The Synod’s statement categorizes all acts of abortion under the prohibition against murder found in the Ten Commandments: “To deliberately destroy an innocent human being at any point after conception is, in God’s eyes wrong, evil cruel, sinful and satanic….[and] prohibited by the teaching of the Bible : ‘ you shall not murder.’”

These examples reveal a significant chasm that exists between the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its global mission partners, especially in Africa. In light of the continuing changes to doctrine and practice in the PC(USA), it is difficult to see how meaningful mission partnership can continue between churches whose view of the obedient Christian life vary so significantly.

  1. Comment by Just A Forgiven Sinner on August 22, 2013 at 2:00 am

    Abortion = Willful Murder of the Innocent
    Homosexuality = Sexuality Immorality

    The African Presbyterians clearly read the Bible. The American Presbyterians clearly do not – or they just have a problem with God’s Word.

    Lead on Africa…lead on.

  2. Comment by Jason G on August 22, 2013 at 7:39 am

    Gotta remember, large numbers of American Presbyterians are NOT PCUSA, and hold to historical confessional and pre higher critical view of the Bible. So large numbers of Americans are certainly more friendly to more Biblical centric African groups. The PC USA is dead.

  3. Comment by John Petty on August 22, 2013 at 10:55 am

    Does anyone have a Biblical reference to either abortion or homosexuality?

  4. Comment by Adrian Croft on August 23, 2013 at 9:17 am

    Is that a sincere question? I can’t imagine a pastor, even a liberal, not knowing that 3 NT condemnations of homosexuality: Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10. I won’t even mention the OT references, because the usual comeback from the left is “Well, there’s lots of laws in Leviticus, but Christians don’t abide by those.” No getting around the fact that the NT condemns homosexuality. As for the churches that refuse to accept that, how about Romans 12:2: “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

  5. Comment by George H on August 22, 2013 at 10:48 pm

    I think “Thou shall not kill” covers the abortion issue.

  6. Comment by Toby Prine on August 26, 2013 at 9:15 am

    There are also members and leaders of PCUSA that are faithful to orthodox, (right thinking) evangelical (5 solas) bibilcal Christianity. Their beliefs can be summoned up in the traditional confessions of Prebyterianism (Westminster, Heidelberg, Scots, etc). They are a small remnant and struggle against a tsumani of liberal theology within the denomination. They refuse to give up the ship and are fighting the Good fight. Please pray for them.

  7. Comment by Toby Prine on August 26, 2013 at 9:56 am

    Forgive my writing. Proofreading was “never my bag, baby.” 🙂

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