Creeping Subscriptionism

The debates over human sexuality which have so preoccupied the church for the last generation or so give proof to the saying a colleague of mine is fond of offering.  When a particularly divisive issue seems to be getting far more emotion and concern than might be expected, she says, "just remember that the issue is rarely the issue."  In other words, what we are fighting about is not necessarily the thing we actually care about.


This is true of the debate on human sexuality in the PC(USA).


I do not mean to say that those who have fought with courage and conviction on both sides of this issue are somehow not actually committed to their theology or their words.  I am certain that they (we) are.  Instead, what I want to suggest is that beneath the surface of the sexuality debate is another theological concern that is only now beginning to come to the surface.  That issue is theological subscriptionism.  Put another way, now that the question of whether or not GLBTQ men and women of faith may answer their call to vocation through the church has been answered in the affirmative, we have another question left unanswered. 


Shall the PC(USA) require adherence in belief (subscription) to any particular set of theological beliefs other than “trust in God’s grace in Jesus Christ and desire to become part of the fellowship and ministry of his Church” (Book of Order, G-1.0302)?


This question has been present throughout our recent debates on human sexuality and this year the General Assembly is faced with a number of overtures which imply or state outright a desire for subscription as a condition of membership and/or leadership in the PC(USA). 


Perhaps the most innocuous appearing of these business items is overture 6-17.  This overture from Grace Presbytery is similar to item 6-13 from Western New York presbytery which attempts to clarify the language on participation in the full membership of the church by eliminating 1) the list of categories of people who shall not be discriminated against and 2) replacing the language of mandate ("guarantee") with that of aspiration ("strive to").  Both of these revisions raise questions about the church's witness to the importance of full inclusion and its recognition that discrimination on many bases is still a reality both inside the church and outside.  These are concerns, but hardly fatal flaws.


The fatal flaw is the addition to this proposed change that Grace offers in item 6-17.  Grace proposes to state specifically that the church shall not discriminate in the fullness of participation and membership in the church on many bases including "theological stance within the historic Christian tradition as expressed in the Book of Confessions."


Whether intentional or unintentional, the Grace overture makes mandatory that anyone seeking membership or being considered for leadership in the PC(USA) subscribe to the Book of Confessions in some manner.  The overture's proposed language will radically narrow the boundaries of conscience which now encompass the fullness of traditional trinitarian Christian theology to the confines of the PC(USA) Book of Confessions.  The boundaries are not even as wide as the fullness of the Reformed tradition, but only this one church within that tradition. 


This represents a titanic shift in our understanding of what it means to be a member of the church and what it means to be called into the fellowship of the PC(USA). 


In recent years, both the General Assembly and the GAPJC (the highest church court) have rejected the idea of subscription.  Recalling the wisdom of the Swearingen Commission, the church has repeatedly held fast to the historic principles of freedom of conscience and rejection of rigid formulae of belief.  To embrace subscriptionism would bind the church to the will of an ever shifting majority rule.  From GA to GA, the definition of what shall and what shall not be orthodox may change wildly based on who is in charge or who has a powerful enough voting block. 


Were I a commissioner to this GA, I would give careful consideration to the alterations that Western New York has proposed.  However, the proposal from Grace should be rejected for its perhaps unintended result of promoting subscriptionism in the PC(USA).