Is the Uniting Church going soft on morals?

The Uniting Church is not going lax on morals. In the same period of the homosexual debate has been occurring, the UCA has been strengthening its moral stance.

It has supported mandatory reporting of child (sexual and other) abuse. This has been in the face of opposition by some who feel ministers should be able to exercise their own judgement. It has increased mandatory reporting to include Sunday School teachers, youth leaders etc.

The Uniting Church has also enacted a strong set of guidelines on sexual abuse and harassment by ministers, a area of sexual morality the church has long tried to sweep under the carpet. Under the new regulations there is a rapid response to complaints. Sexual abuse is not tolerated.

The church is facing a new phenomenon: people claiming to be both Christian and homosexual in orientation, with God's blessing. The church is seeking to find God's will in this and to discern if what these people and others are saying is true.

The church is not confronted by a bunch of known heretics, but often by people who were widely accepted as gifted by God, and respected by the church before they chose to speak about their homosexuality. In other words, there are numbers of people in the church who would still be greatly respected by all, if it were not known they were homosexual. We are being mightily confronted by Jesus' words 'By their fruits you shall know them.' And yet we are confronted by ideas and attitudes we have traditionally condemned.

Rather than 'being soft,' the Uniting Church is secure enough in its faith that God loves us and will not punish us for honestly seeking the truth, (even if it seems opposite to much we took for granted in the past), to take time to look properly.

Doctrines and new ideas do not change quickly. It took decades to outlaw slavery. Women have been ordained for over 100 years, yet still many churches will not allow this. The favour of God is upon those who will wrestle long and hard when issues are difficult.

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    © Jan Thomas