Rev. Dr. David Watson, professor at United Theological Seminary, one of the primary voices of Methodism, has accepted and invitation to speak about scriptural interpretation. My fundamentalist tendencies have led me to be largely sympathetic with an approach that depends only upon the scriptures for authority and legitimacy in the church. David, on the other hand, adheres to an approach that acknowledges a limited but larger body of work, which he calls the 'consensual tradition.'
Albert Outler, the founding theologian of The United Methodist Church, established the doctrine of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, which quickly became a means of subverting the plain meaning of scripture. If we acknowledge other sources of authority outside of the bible, then how do we guard against such tendencies? What is at stake? What are the risks on either side of this continuum of trusting scripture too much or trusting tradition too much?
Consider joining David and me for this live stream conversation. We will receive input from anyone who joins us.
Given the state of the Global Methodist Church, in particular, it seems quite important that believers discern how it is that they will discern God's truth together. If the GMC turns into another "big tent" with folks going about truth differently, then it would seem we could have another recipe for division. If you agree that this is an important conversation, then join us!
I'm publishing this here first to convey my thanks to those of you who have supported my work. Thank you.
Episode 1 takes up marriage, divorce and remarriage. Going into Johannesburg, our Book of Doctrines and Discipline told the world who could marry and never once used the word "divorce." On the last morning of General Conference, in about fifty minutes of floor debate, that changed. I walk Petition 1020 through its whole life: the language we inherited, Jonathan Lee's petition, the committee's 35–1 vote, and Saturday on the floor. That meant Rich Hoffman's amendment, Matt O'Reilly's rewrite, a motion to send the whole thing away for six years, and a final vote of 329–41.
Then we open Matthew 19 and 1 Corinthians 7 and ask what the church said, and what it chose not to say. I land somewhere between grateful and uneasy, and I want to hear where you land. The free discussion guide sets the old and new texts side by side, gives both sides in the delegates' own words, and has ...
I don't know why the live stream didn't work today. Here is what I did:
Update: I know I said I would start back up this week. I could easily start the morning live stream back up, but I have been feeling like I need to do some wrap-up on General Conference. It just took me some time get clear on what I would feel good about doing. And I finally got some really good thoughts together after a lot of percolation. Early next week, I should be publishing some very decent work on explaining some of the more impactful developments in Johannesburg. For right now, I'm aiming at eleven episodes dealing with:
1. Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage: how the church put words about divorce into our Book of Doctrines and Discipline on the final morning
2. Sex and Gender Identity: the rewriting of ¶302.8
3. Protecting the Unborn and the Mother: our new language on abortion
4. The Racial Theology Resolution: Resolution 1466, adopted and then defeated on a revote
5. The Articles of Faith: a new doctrinal standard for the Global Methodist Church
6. Restrictive Rules and the ...
