Never may the theological and the pastoral be separated.
I know, never say never. But the above stated rule is an exception. Why? Theology is inherently pastoral, and the pastoral is by definition theological.
The recent upheaval within the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) about “gay Anglicans” stems from ignoring this rule. It was sadly unnecessary, for recent history is strewn with ecclesial examples of exactly the same thing. Invariably, the path to a liberal sexual ethic begins with the argument: “We know the theology. But let’s be pastoral about this.”
The “but” is the problem. It’s just not the case that theology is hard-nosed theory, while concrete circumstances demand gentle pastoral implementation. On such a view, the pastoral tail invariably ends up wagging the theological dog, and the theology gets adjusted to the pastoral setting. The outcome, in terms of sexual morality, is invariably the same.
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