tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post116033719153522426..comments2023-12-28T18:17:11.191-05:00Comments on Gruntled Center: No Scruples in SacramentoGruntledhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14377809238377382438noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-1160439873666663012006-10-09T20:24:00.000-04:002006-10-09T20:24:00.000-04:00I think if the stated rules are followed, gay ordi...I think if the stated rules are followed, gay ordination is one of the few things that there can not be local option about. We shall see, though, as the judicial cases roll in.Gruntledhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14377809238377382438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-1160436178703884572006-10-09T19:22:00.000-04:002006-10-09T19:22:00.000-04:00I find this debate about ordination standards in t...I find this debate about ordination standards in the PCUSA fascinating primarily because I am in the ordination process at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. PCUSA's structure is both a blessing and a curse on many level. I just hope that the combination of the PUP report and the "local option" emerging in regards to homosexual orientation does not tear us apart as in other denominations. Just have to pray for grace and unity.<BR/>Scott Spence<BR/>Centre College Class of 2002<BR/>Love the blog by the way. Always nice to hear more viewpoints- we get very "clergy-centered" at seminary sometimes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-1160344251137466252006-10-08T17:50:00.000-04:002006-10-08T17:50:00.000-04:00There are three important safeguards built into ou...There are three important safeguards built into our system. First, the actual words of the constitution itself. There is some room for interpretation of what they mean, and more room for deciding what is essential. But the constitution is a fairly specific and substantial standard -- it does not allow "anything goes." Second, most Presbyterian officers interpret the standards in a traditional way. Third, most presbyteries are large enough that idiosyncratic interpretations on one side and the other cancel out, leaving a loyalist, pretty traditional center majority.Gruntledhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14377809238377382438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16201378.post-1160340175767912602006-10-08T16:42:00.000-04:002006-10-08T16:42:00.000-04:00That's where the failure to define "essential tene...That's where the failure to define "essential tenets" becomes important, isn't it? I don't think that most conservative Presbyterians are fundamentalists when it comes to the confessions. So everyone has their own interpretation of what is "essential."Jody Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08031378214797420014noreply@blogger.com