OPINION (PNW) – Ignored by most media outlets amid coverage of the escalating conflict with Iran and the ongoing impeachment saga was a significant development last week within American evangelicalism. On Friday, representatives of the United Methodist Church tentatively agreed on a proposal that would split the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination over “fundamental differences” regarding the “interpretation of Scripture, theology, and practice.”
Years in the making, disagreements between conservatives and liberals in the church reached an impasse last year at a special conference convened to address the church’s position on the morality of homosexuality and the issues of same-sex marriage and the ordination of clergy who identify as gay.
In a document released Friday, both sides conceded that given intractable differences, splitting the denomination seems to be in the best interest of both parties. For the proposal to go into effect it will need to be adopted by the 2020 General Conference in May.
The story is significant for several reasons. First, the United Methodist Church has been the lone holdout within Mainline Protestantism on issues related to sexual morality. Other mainline denominations including the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ECLA, Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church USA, United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) repudiated Christianity’s historic beliefs on sexual morality and embraced homosexuality long ago. READ MORE
