Greetings All:
I have been reading the responses to Stacey's original post and after scrolling down through several I had to stop and post this thought. I have to wonder if the people who state that they are against the Belhar Confession and then link it w/the issue of homosexuality understand the origins of this document. Are you aware it did come out of the reconciliation experience of South Africa - where apartheid was the church-sanctioned norm for far too long? (Far too long - anything longer than one second).
Are you aware that the bible was used as justification for sanctioning the separation of black & white human beings? And not only sanctioning separation but stating that black human beings were inferior to white human beings? This IS the history of apartheid.
The BC comes out of that experience!
The history of the church in our own country testifies to the fact that there was separation and disagreement on even that sad issue. One only has to look through editions of the Church Herald during that time to see that yes, our own brothers & sisters in Christ disagreed on whether or not apartheid was acceptable or not. So, what seems like a no-brainer in this moment at a previous time was an issue that could be seen as divisive.
(I won't elaborate here on the fact that the arguments against ordained women clergy/elders/deacons echoed the very arguments made for sustaining separation of white and black. And still being disagreed over - via different interpretations of "what the bible says." )
Leaving aside -for a moment - the concern over the GLBT community being fully included in church polity - it could be interpreted that those who are against the passage of the Belhar Confession still believe that people should be separated by color, ethnicity, or any other characteristic which isn't accepted by some members of the Body of Christ. I can't believe this is the case. It is quite hard to fathom but that is how it seems.
I'll hold off on the GLBT discussion for another time. But just to be clear...
I fully support the passage of the Belhar Confession - may it happen speedily in
our day.
Shalom,
Joanna
Just to clarify - when I stated the notion of GLBT human beings being included in church polity - I made that distinction for a reason. The Body of Christ already includes members who are GLBT. The issue of inclusion as I understand it is to officially acknowledge the Gifts of the Spirit that all who claim Christ as their savior and have been baptized w/the Holy Spirit have; thus allowing those brothers & sisters to use those gifts in the way that God has called them to.

We have had the gift of the words of Jesus and of His early followers, and we as Reformed Christians have had our identity-setting confessions of the Reformation. As Eugene Heideman points out in his essay “Why We Need the Belhar Confession” (General Synod Workbook, pp. 198j-198l), these words and confessions were not enough, however, to prevent apartheid policies in civil government. Nor were they enough to prevent apartheid in the serving of Communion around the Lord’s Table in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa.

Carol Bechtel aptly described how a confession “sharpens the point of Scripture and pokes us with it.” I believe that the Belhar Confession can inspire us to be more Christlike as we seek unity with our extended family in Christ, reconciliation with those whom we have wronged, and justice that helps God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Judy Parr