Presbyterian Guidelines for Biblical Interpretation: Their Origin and Application to Homosexuality

Abstract

In the midst of the debate over ordination of people who are homosexual, Presbyterians worked to understand their different approaches to biblical interpretation. The biblical theology movement, with roots in the theology of Karl Barth, had earlier provided a method of biblical interpretation that enabled the Presbyterian Church to change its stance on divorce and remarriage, and racial equality. Barth did not adhere to his own exegetical method when dealing with women and people who are homosexual, however, and so his writings proved a barrier to change within the church on the issue of homosexuality. Subsequently, the Presbyterian Church commissioned a task force to see if it could come to consensus about the best way to interpret the Bible. Guidelines based on the Reformed Confessions, developed by this task force and officially adopted by the church, now offer the possibility of resolving some of our deepest divisions.