Sir, – The treatment meted out to Rev Christina Bradley of Portadown by the authorities of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is both shameful and ironic. Compelling her to effectively disown the views she expressed following the marriage equality referendum, and to sit and listen while her “retraction” was read to her own congregation, are methods worthy of the Spanish Inquisition at its most rampant.
Where is the church which values conscientious debate, human compassion and Christian charity? – Yours, etc,
ROY STANLEY,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – The Rev Brian Kennaway's letter (September 26th) labelling the Rev David Latimer's view as "confused" astounded me.
Mr Kennaway is right to remind Irish Presbyterians that their church is a democratic church and that the “individual is free to speak and to dissent from any decision of a church court, but shall not thereby free himself from obligation loyally to implement the decision so long as it stands unaltered”.
However, Mr Kennaway then goes on to refer to the resolution passed at the General Assembly of 2014 which stated that marriage was “exclusively between one man and one woman”. He rightly notes that “no one dissented from that resolution”.
In truth, no one dared. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has become so intemperate, so unwilling to listen and so knee-jerk in its response to public opinion, that few if any dare raise concern, urge caution or even just voice an opinion.
Most alarming of all is that those that dare not speak are quite clearly part of a "silenced" majority ("Church welcomes cleric's agreement on same-sex marriage teaching", September 24th).
The Rev Christina Bradley of Portadown dared to speak out and she has paid a quite appalling price for her candour and honesty.
It is high time that Irish Presbyterians took heed of John Calvin’s bravery and began to speak out publicly about the transgressions of their church. – Yours, etc,
AR BELL,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Since my letter of September 26th some contributors have missed the essential point of what was written, and even taken the “scenic route” around the subject.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is a confessional church. That in effect means that the church's ministers and elders who sign the Westminster Confession, as a confession of their faith, are tied both morally and legally to that document.
It is not the “teaching of the General Assembly on marriage” but the teaching of scripture and our understanding of that as reflected in the confession of faith, which states that “Marriage is between one man and one woman.”
The right of dissent applies only to the decisions of the General Assembly, not to the confession of faith.
Just as in any other organisation or club, if a person changes their mind about the ethos or rules of that organisation they are free to leave. If any minister or elder of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland changes their mind on the doctrine of the church as reflected in the Westminster Confession they are also free to leave, and over the years many have done so. – Yours, etc,
Rev BRIAN KENNAWAY,
Retired Minister,
Presbyterian Church
in Ireland,
Belfast.