Article 21

“General councils may not be gathered together without the command and will of rulers. And when they are gathered together (since they are an assembly of men, among whom not all are ruled by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God), they may err. Indeed they sometimes have erred, even in things relating to God. Therefore anything commanded by them as necessary to salvation has no power or authority unless it can be shown to be taught by Scripture.”

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The anglican church around the world appears to be in crisis. A diocese in Canada has approved the blessing of same-sex unions; a canon in the Church of England withdrew from becoming a bishop when it was thought his views on gay issues made his position untenable; and the Episcopal Church in America has elected a bishop who is in a homosexual relationship.

At first, all this sounds as if the anglican church is simply being dragged into the 21st century. A gay life-style is accepted now in most parts of society; why not in the church? However, what is at the heart of this crisis is not homosexuality, per se, but the Bible. The scriptures are quite clear that sex should only be enjoyed within heterosexual marriage. Should we take the Bible at face value or has its age rendered it irrelevant?

I believe the Bible should be our plumb line, our compass. A captain, when in a storm, should not discard his map. The Bible is a unique revelation of God’s will for us. It reveals important truth that we would otherwise never discover. The temptation to second-guess the Bible is great, but we would be wise to listen carefully to its message – especially those passages which seem to confront the spirit of our age.

The decisions that have been made in North America, though legal, can still be wrong. As the 39 Articles say about general councils, “when they are gathered together (since they are an assembly of men, among whom not all are ruled by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God), they may err. Indeed they sometimes have erred, even in things relating to God. Therefore anything commanded by them… has no power or authority unless it can be shown to be taught by Scripture.”