Its not Dark Yet, But Its Getting There

I am an ardent Bob Dylan fan. I was listening more carefully than usual to the words of one of his most popular songs, “The Times they are a Changing.” He says to the social conservatives of the 1960’s, “Your old world is rapidly changing.” He speaks for rebellious and restless attitude of my generation when he says, “Get out of the way if can’t lend a hand.” That was in 1964. I was in high school and said a hardy “amen” to that cry for racial justice. In 1989 Dylan speaks for those of us who have changed so many social norms that “Every time you turn round, something else just hit the ground” and “Streets are filled with broken hearts, broken words, never meant to be spoken, everything is broken.” The times that were changing was at the height of the civil rights struggle. .  I am older now than I was when Dylan’s 1964 song was playing on the radio.  It turns out racial justice was and is a righteous cause. But is all social change an improvement. I now see a correlation, regarding our latest and newest morality, between changing times and broken hearts.

Various behavioral standards in the Presbyterian Church have evolved. Some, like the prohibition of dancing and attending theatrical presentations, have been utterly reversed. Other, like the temperate use of alcohol, has developed from the temperate use of alcohol, to the utter prohibition of any consumption of alcoholic beverages, back to the moderate and responsible consumption of alcohol.  How we spend our Sundays has changed from strict laws against any unnecessary work to considering Sundays no different from any other day of the week.

Remarriage after divorce has always been treated with a certain pastoral sensitivity in Presbyterian Churches. The practice did and does still call for careful discernment. Yet, remarriage after divorce is permissible now regardless of the reason for the divorce.

The use of tobacco has never been considered a grave moral defect until just recently. For reasons of health as much as moral accountability we have a nearly complete intolerance for the practice. When I attended seminary, there was still smoking in the classroom. Once smoking proved you were open-minded now it proves you are personally reckless and socially irresponsible.

As a part of social righteousness, racial segregation and statements against inter-racial marriages have been completely reversed.

We now dance in church. We encourage liturgical dramas. Some congregations operate their own theatrical societies. The moderate use of alcohol is common among Presbyterians. As for the prohibition of work on Sundays, we attend restaurants after worship which requires the employees to not observe an entire day of rest.

For several centuries women in pastoral ministry was not permitted. Now, not only is it permitted but a minister who fails to support the full participation of women in every form of ministry cannot himself be a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

How will our prohibition of the ordination of unrepentant practicing homosexuality evolve? This issue first presented itself around 1970, forty-one years latter it has been completely reversed. Is this moral question like all the others mentioned? I think everyone, who has given the question more than a casual thought will agree that what is now permissible will one day soon be mandated. For those who promote homosexual rights, the question is one of deepest moral importance. For them, justice is offended until homosexual ministers are as common and casual as women in ministry. In the formation of the Report on Human Sexuality (1993) the early editions contained language that mandated the full and protected status of homosexuals in every function of the Church, everywhere. Local option was the recommended compromise. It is now the law of the Church. In a denomination that defines itself as a union of interlocking presbyteries, any local standards for ordination must be a Church-wide requirement.

We might all agree that the evolution of certain aspects once condemned is a sign of spiritual progress. Will homosexuality be among them? It seems to me that this moral question is different from the others I mention in that there seems such a clear and unambiguous prohibition of it in the Bible and a clear and unambiguous standard of heterosexual marriage and family within God's covenant with His creation. 

I am, however, certain that social progressive will usher in homosexuality as a spiritual and moral good. The times they are truly changing, the “waters around you have grown",, so, if you remain in the PC(USA) “you better start swimming or you’re sink like a stone.”

One final Dylan quote of a personal nature: the first stanza, admittedly taken a bit out of the context of the song, speaks to the condition of my soul regarding my place and ministry in the PC(USA).

Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day
It’s too hot to sleep, time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I’ve still got the scars that the sun didn’t heal
There’s not even room enough to be anywhere
It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.