Anglicans and the Battle for the Bible
In the wash up of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia, there is much being said about marriage, same-sex marriage and ecclesiastical process in the Anglican Church that is simply untrue.
No, the Synod did not pass a motion supporting same-sex marriage. A motion supporting it was defeated.
Yes, the synod voted against affirming that marriage is between one man and one woman for life.
No, the synod did not change our doctrine of marriage. For Anglicans, marriage is still between one man and one woman for life.
Yes, the legal position of the church remains that a church service blessing same-sex marriage is not against the legal rules of the church. The Appellate Tribunal made this ruling. Also not against the rules of the church are services blessing fake grass, donkeys, V8s or tomato juice. Our legal rules are weird.
No, the Appellate tribunal did not consider what the Bible said about marriage, just the rules of the church.
No, the Synod process was not stacked, subverted or distorted by evangelicals. There are just more evangelicals being elected from all over Australia than the progressive factions realised.
No, even if the church’s doctrine of marriage changed, we would not be forced to make any change in Sydney because Anglican rules operate on a federal opt-in system.
Now if you have got this far, and not given up on this article you are doing well! And if you have got this far, you are no doubt thinking, how did it come to this?
The answer is, because Anglicans across Australia have different views of what the Bible is.
Broadly there are two ways of thinking. The first is progressive. Matthew Anstey exemplifies this approach and he writes:
Scripture shows us how the people of God come to make moral and theological judgments, rather than providing the substantive content of those judgments. Hence to be faithful to Scripture […] we seek to make our case for the doctrinal position we are arguing in dialogue with both Scripture and lived human experience. (‘Scripture and Moral Reasoning’ in Marriage, Same-Sex Marriage and the Anglican Church of Australia, p.60)
You can see that the Bible therefore does not carry ultimate authority but shared authority; it gives us one perspective on matters of life and faith and we are called to use its patterns to determine our own. Using this methodology, it is entirely reasonable that the church today could say things contrary to the Bible and claim they are “biblical”.
The second way of thinking is often labelled conservative or evangelical. If asked I would say that the Bible is God’s true Word written and it carries final and ultimate authority in all matters of life and faith based on the ongoing truthfulness and changelessness of the person and character of God who has given it to us. Simply, God spoke and I listen because he does not change and he does not lie.
I hope, even with those simple explanations, you can see how people can come to a variety of different conclusions about life and faith. And I hope you can see that what is really going on in the church is not a big stoush over marriage but a battle for the Bible. How you understand the Bible itself will determine how you understand everything.
This Sunday we come to one of the most important parts of 2 Timothy where Paul explains the Bible. My prayer is that together we can be clear and ready to accept, love and obey God’s Word because it is true and good. I am also praying that we will not try to determine the truthfulness or helpfulness of God’s Word based on its palatability to contemporary society and culture. In the end, we are actually engaged in three battles for the Bible: one in the church, one with the world and often, one in ourselves. God’s Word written has authority over all three; the question is whether we will submit to that authority.
All this reminds me of a wonderful old hymn:
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way
While we do his good will, He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey
Robert Tong and others have written a book, Line in the Sand, discussing some of the theology behind and the implications of recent legal decisions in the Anglican Church in Australia. You can download it on the ACR website.
