Doctrine and Polity Committee Releases Latest on Contemporary Topic
Members of the Church of God Doctrine and Polity (D&P) Committee have released the latest from their research on contemporary cultural topics. The paper, entitled, “Paul’s Teaching on Same-Sex Relations in Romans 1 and 1Corinthians 6” was written by Dr. Terry Cross, Dean at Lee University’s School of Religion and a member of the D&P Committee.
The paper is the 20th released by the committee. Past topics have addressed a number of contemporary and controversial issues and defenses of long-held stances by the Church of God denomination, such as the biblical mandate against same-sex marriage. Other topics address “gray area” issues and dilemmas of moral concern. Topics that have been covered include cremation, total abstinence from beer, wine, and liquors, speaking in tongues, spiritual gifts, suicide, a commentary on observance of the Sabbath, and addressing the question of “Why Church?” Other topics have included women in church leadership, a commentary on Spirit-filled worship, and church unity and diversity.
The papers are located on the Church of God website (www.churchofgod.org.) under the ABOUT tab on the home page. Each polity paper is presented in English and Spanish.
The Doctrine and Polity Committee was founded in the early 1990s and exists to routinely examine the belief statements, doctrines, and polity in place within the structure of the Church of God denomination. Due to the sensitivity and critical importance of many of the topics, each submission undergoes a thorough vetting by both the D&P Committee and the Church of God Executive Committee and oftentimes goes through several drafts before release. The group considers amendments reflective of modern culture and offers recommendations for modifications employing extensive biblical research. Members of the D&P committee also respond to inquiries of theological and doctrinal nature that regularly come in to the International Offices.
Serving alongside Cross are Dr. Jerald Daffe, a professor in the School of Religion at Lee University. Others include, Lee Roy Martin, a professor at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary (PTS), PTS professors Dr. French Arrington and Dr. Miriam E. Figueroa, and dean at PTS Dr. David Han. Assistant General Overseer Dr. J. David Stephens serves as executive liaison.
To read the document “Same Sex Relations,” in its entirety, including footnotes and endnotes, and to read previous papers, click here, or visit churchofgod.org and click on the ABOUT tab.
