April 24, 2009

CHICAGO – A statement supporting a recommendation put forth by the Task Force for Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Studies on Sexuality is gaining support from more than 100 teaching theologians of the church and other Christian theologians teaching at ELCA institutions.

Professors from ELCA seminaries, colleges and universities, retired bishops, a retired seminary president and ELCA theologians teaching at other institutions are signing on daily.

On Feb. 19 the task force released a report and recommendation for a process to consider changes to ministry policies that could make it possible for Lutherans in committed same-gender relationships to serve as ELCA associates in ministry, deaconesses, diaconal ministers and ordained ministers.

The task force also released that day a proposed social statement for the church – "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust."

The 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly – the highest legislative authority of the church – will consider both documents Aug. 17-23 in Minneapolis.

The Rev. Barbara R. Rossing and the Rev. Ralph W. Klein co-authored the statement, "Appropriate Next Steps for the ELCA." Rossing is professor of New Testament, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), and a member of the council and executive committee of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Klein is a visiting professor at Yale University, New Haven, Conn., and retired professor of Old Testament at LSTC. LSTC is one of eight ELCA seminaries. The LWF is a global communion of churches representing 68.5 million Lutherans.

"We want to underscore that the majority of teaching theologians support the work of the task force," said Rossing in an interview. "I believe God is calling our church to structured flexibility."

"We disagree with those who claim that theologians must oppose the recommendation on biblical, confessional and ecclesiological grounds," Rossing said. "The claim that there is uniformity among member churches of the Lutheran World Federation is simply not true. That rationale should not be used to oppose the recommendation."

The dissenting opinion in the report and comments from others are "not representative of what many scholars who teach at colleges, universities and seminaries believe," Klein said in an interview.

"We believe that the recommendation is what the gospel is calling us to do today. The recommendation enables the ELCA to move forward without causing division in the church. This is very important to us. We respect those who differ, and we know that there are many gay and lesbian people who desire to serve in rostered ministry who will bring great blessings to this church," Klein said.

The task force recommendation is comprised of four steps to be considered consecutively by the ELCA churchwide assembly this summer. In their statement, the theologians responded affirmatively to each step.

The teaching theologians stated that they affirm the authority of the Scriptures, but "the seven biblical texts that are frequently cited on the issue of homosexuality are not directly pertinent to the 21st century discussion because some of them condemn specifically homosexual rape, deal with questions of ‘clean and unclean' that are not normative in the Christian community, do not take into account issues like ‘sexual orientation,' and presuppose that all would agree with a particular interpretation of what ‘nature' teaches."

The task force proposes that both heterosexual and homosexual people are expected to express sexual intimacy within publicly accountable, lifelong and monogamous relationships, the theologians' statement said. "This has long been the expectation for heterosexual couples, and therefore is an appropriate expectation for homosexual couples."

The theologians' statement said that Scandinavian and German Lutherans have already taken similar actions to those being proposed now in the ELCA. The teaching theologians also pledged to "honor and respect" those who for reasons of theology and conscience oppose these changes.

"We recognize that the unity of the church is based on one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, and that within this unity, faithful members may disagree on individual items of faith and life," the statement said.

The theologians' statement is available at http://OT-studies.com/, on the Internet.

The task force's "Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies" and "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" are available at http://www.ELCA.org/faithfuljourney/, on the ELCA Web site.

ELCA News Service