Adrian writes: "But if one believes that the Holy Spirit guides the church
in truth, then doctrines are more than just the personal conclusions of any
one person in time. They have been discussed, debated, and finally accepted
or rejected at the various councils and synods, under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit."
I, for one, do not believe that "the Holy Spirit NECESSARILY guides the
church in truth."
Were that so, we ould not have the history of the Augustana Conference in
the mid 19th century, in which the southern part of the Presb church broke
away from the main body because they could show from Scripture that not only
was slavery "OK," but even that it was "God-ordained." There are other
examples. In the PCUSA today a majority of us believe that, guided by the
Holy Spirit, it is "God-ordained" that persons in a same-sex relationship
are -- at the very least -- 2nd class citizens, and certainly not qualified
for ordination. At the same time, a minority of us, also beieving that we
are led by the Holy Spirit, see this much as almost all of us now see
slavery and "Jim Crow" issues.
Good grief -- why are there so many denominations? Are all wrong but one?
Which one?
Burgy
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Apr 25 2002 - 18:33:24 EDT