Theological schisms are never pretty. The United Methodist Church—America’s third-largest religious body, with over 6.2 million members—is in the thick of its own over its teachings on sexuality. Hundreds of congregations have voted to leave the denomination, which had 13 million members world-wide as of 2020, and thousands more likely will. On Aug. 7, United Methodism’s second- and seventh-largest churches by attendance, both in the Houston area, voted to quit the denomination.
What brought United Methodism to this divide was its decision-making body’s 2019 “Traditional Plan”—a document that affirmed its ban on same-sex marriage and mandated that all clergy be celibate if single and monogamous if married. That sets the church apart from nearly every other mainline Protestant denomination. The traditionalists won thanks to votes from conservative African delegates, whose churches have grown by millions even as the U.S. has declined by nearly the same magnitude.
(Read rest here. Wall Street Journal subscription required.)
Comment by Anthony on August 20, 2022 at 9:48 am
Not subscribed. Not going to subscribe. Cannot “read rest”. Post ALL HERE, please.
Comment by Pastor Mike on August 20, 2022 at 10:47 am
Please don’t require readers to buy a WSJ subscription to access this commentary by Mark Tooley. Please post the entire article here. Thank-you. Echoing the other comments.
Comment by Loren J Golden on August 20, 2022 at 1:18 pm
I would caution you not to expect Mark’s piece recently published on the WSJ to appear on Juicy Ecumenism anytime soon. First, the WSJ paid him to write an article for them, so as to attract new readers/subscribers. Second, part of the stipulation of payment was that the intellectual property rights (i.e., copyright) be ceded to the WSJ, so it would be illegal for the IRD to publish more than just a teaser of the article on the Juicy Ecumenism website. Third, if and when the WSJ releases the content of the article, so that it may be published on Juicy Ecumenism, it will be after something like the statutes of limitation have expired, by which time the content of Mark’s piece will likely have become obsolete.
Comment by Anthony on August 20, 2022 at 3:46 pm
https://peopleneedjesus.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/wsj-tooley-aug-2022-1.jpeg
Comment by George on August 20, 2022 at 4:43 pm
Well, that’s one way to skin a cat.
Comment by binkyxz3 on August 20, 2022 at 6:16 pm
So what is Juicy getting for driving potential subscribers to WSJ ??
Comment by Steve on August 21, 2022 at 7:11 pm
Nothing in it you haven’t already read here.