It seems that those in the elcA who know and believe (those are the key words) what the Bible says regarding sexual relationships have temporarily stalled the disintegration of this now-oldline denomination. The only problem is that the third recommendation of the elcA Studies on Sexuality was defeated by only a 13 vote margin. Does anyone really believe that the pro-homosexual ordination/affirmation/normalization lobby cannot get 13 votes the next time the issue comes up? [Correction: as Carl notes in the comments, this vote needed a two-thirds majority to pass–why? I don’t know–so the homosexual lobby would need 172 votes. More than 13, but certainly not unattainable in a denomination of millions.]
It is not a happy situation, but I find myself as cynical as anyone about the likelihood of stopping or reversing the deterioration of mainline Protestant denominations. However, it is incumbent upon Christians to pray for the Church in all places, however covered with dross it may be at a particular time. Pray that our orthodox brothers and sisters in the elcA may indeed prevail over those who want to distort and tear down the Biblical message and the Word of God. May God Himself preserve the Truth where it may be found, and cause that Truth to ultimately triumph, embattled though it is.
On a side-note, what place does a church body have interfering in such an explicit way with the politics of foreign governments? The relationship between Israel and Palestine has nothing whatever to do with the proclamation of the Gospel; disappointingly, that’s only par for the course with liberal (and “evangelical,” for that matter) Protestants. Terrible.
Balaam's Ass 