Three years after conducting a wedding ceremony for a lesbian couple, the Rev. Janet Edwards was acquitted Thursday on charges of violating Scripture and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s constitution.
The Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) of the Pittsburgh Presbytery ruled unanimously 9-0 to clear the minister on the grounds that she could not have performed the ceremony since the church and state define marriage as between a man and a woman.
"It can't be an offense to the constitution to attempt to do the impossible," stated the decision, read by the Rev. Stewart Pollock, chairman of the regional church court, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon, associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and who has been critical of the PC(USA)'s liberal direction, said the decision represents "one of the most absurd decisions ever rendered by an ecclesiastical court."
"This decision is the equivalent of saying that it can’t be an offense to the PC(USA) Constitution, or to Scripture, to attempt to marry a man to a woman other than his current wife, or to his mother, or to a prepubescent child, or even to a horse, because the Church does not recognize as a valid marriage cases of bigamy, polygamy, adultery, incest, pedophilia, or bestiality," Gagnon stated.
Some argue that the court did not offer a satisfying decision, especially as the PC(USA) continues debates over homosexuality, and that it was more of a "non-decision."
Edwards and the couple she wed in 2005 – Brenda Cole and Nancy McConn – were pleased but the minister also acknowledged that the decision "does not settle disagreement among my colleagues."
But the Rev. James C. Yearsley, who was among several Presbyterian ministers that filed a second complaint against Edwards after the first was dismissed in November 2006 on a technicality, said he wasn't surprised by the court decision.
"This is the direction of our denomination, and it is accelerating. But it's the wrong decision for the wrong reasons. It's a further attempt to accommodate culture at the expense of scriptural authority and belief," he commented, as reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Also, before the ruling, Yearsley, who said he would not push for an appeal, stated that an acquittal would signal collapse of church discipline.
During the Oct. 1-2 trial, biblical scholars and theologians on the defense testified that Edwards' acceptance of same-sex "marriage" was within the Presbyterian tradition of interpreting Scripture in its cultural context, according to the local Post-Gazette.
A 2000 decision by the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, the denomination's highest court, held that clergy could conduct services blessing same-sex couples but could not present them as marriages and that the services should not resemble weddings.
Although the charges against Edwards contended she "knowingly and willfully" performed a ceremony that was "contrary" to the PC(USA) constitution, Pollock of the regional PJC said the prosecution offered no evidence that Edwards violated Scripture when it listed eight biblical passages defied.
Presbyterians have debated the issue of homosexuality for decades. In June, the highest governing body of the PC(USA), the General Assembly, approved a proposal that allows lesbian and gay ministers to be ordained – which still has to be approved by a majority of local presbyteries – while choosing to keep its current definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.
To many in the denomination, including Gagnon of Pittsburgh Seminary, homosexual behavior is a sin.
Gagnon believes the latest church court decision "constitutes nothing less than an illegal nullification of the Constitution and Scripture."
"Such unreasonable decisions threaten to do irreparable damage to the credibility of the PC(USA)," he said.
The ruling on Edwards follows a similar decision made by the denomination's highest court earlier this year when the Rev. Jane Spahr, a lesbian, was found not guilty of violating denominational law when she officiated at the weddings of two lesbian couples. The high court ruled that the ceremonies Spahr performed in 2005 and 2004 were not marriages.
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Didnt Jesus teach us to love on aother, and not to judge? this wedding was between 2 of gods children. We shall not judge them for who they are, for they were created in his image; pure and perfect. Thank you PC(USA) for allowing ANYONE who wants to proclaim your love and teachings to do so in the church. You can judge this wedding and the PCUSA, when you are god. I am proud of PCUSA, for its a church that shows love, that accepts ALL of gods children; not just who we think they should be.
ID, although I agree with what your saying according to PCUSA nothing took place, these were just make believe, and they call us crazy because we believe God simply spoke and creation took place.
To Blue1018
Check out Acts 15. It's Biblical to have the larger body decide if a practice is within the context of Christianity or not. The Bible is a very radical book because the truth is radical and unacceptable to many. Of course, in this case, the Bible was ignored in the decision, but the larger body addressing as a church the practice of one or of a smaller segment of the body is certainly within the parameters of the way the Bible directs the church to act.
What do you expect from the Politically Correct USA?
"Pollock of the regional PJC said the prosecution offered no evidence that Edwards violated Scripture when it listed eight biblical passages defied"
Huh? Wha? This is probably yet another perfect example of some people twisting scripture to fit the preconceived ideas. Martin Luther must be rolling in his grave.
"...was within the Presbyterian tradition of interpreting Scripture in its cultural context"
So, if some culture in Outer-Afghumbia thinks its OK to sacrifice the first born male child to God then the PC(USA) must accept it? After all, sacrificing children (aka murder) has to be interpreted within the cultural context.
Sheesh. The PC(USA) has become nothing more than a sad joke.
It is indeed a sad day when I have more respect for non-Christian's like Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Muslims than I do for the PC(USA).
Headline should read: Court Clears Liberal Presbyterian Minister Who Led Lesbian Couple Further Into Sin
It's the PCUSA...hello!!! If it's new and liberal they'll try it....
i find the whole concept of a judicial system within a church utterly flawed and ridiculous...
The PCUSA continues on the path to irrelevance.
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (NIV, 2 Timothy 4:3-4)
Nice bit of tap dancing. I'm sure we will be seeing more of this show soon...
So these ceremonies are nothing but a figment of someone's imagination, these ministers and couples were just playing make believe?
It may not be an offence to the pjc of pittsburgh, But it is an offence to God.