I have had a hard time keeping up with posting about the Church of Scotland General Assembly going on this week, so I will post a summary of the closely watched issues now and will come back and catch up with some of my comments and look at lower-profile issues over the next few days.

The agenda item with the most advanced media coverage was today’s Mission and Discipleship Council’s report on Same-sex Relationships.  There was emotional and lively debate, but in the end the Assembly approved the Council’s recommendation that the discussion continue, and that individual churches be encouraged to study the report.  It was interesting to me that the working group that wrote the report was described as “diverse” in viewpoint but in the end, despite differences of opinion, there was a spirit of convergence.  This is similar language to what was used to describe the PC(USA)’s Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity.

The longest report of the Assembly was Tuesday from the Church and Society Council, both in length (44 action items or deliverances) and time.  The report began in the morning session and, with the break for lunch, concluded at 6:10 PM.  In that time the report covered, and the Assembly approved, opposing nuclear weapons, advocating for withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, declaring the death penalty contrary to Christian teaching (but with an addendum for the council to consider it further), encouraging fair trade in food (including support of locally sourced food), speaking out against the evil of human trafficking and alternatives to custody.   There was also a section on energy and climate change where the Assembly challenged church members to make significant lifestyle changes to reduce their use of energy and for the government to set radical targets for energy conservation.  Another hotly debated section of the report dealt with the Middle East.  In particular, deliverance #32 which declared:

32. Endorsing the voice of the local heads of churches in Jerusalem on the subject of Christian Zionism, recognize the theological errors and political difficulties inherent in this interpretation and encourage members of the Church of Scotland to reject it.

This deliverance had extended debate around a counter motion that would have softened the language to concern about Christian Zionism.  This countermotion, like almost all others contrary to the original language of the report, was defeated.  There was also extended debate about “socially acceptable” gambling, including internet gambling.  It was recognized that Church of Scotland social projects do benefit from the money raised from gambling revenues but in the end reaffirmed a decision of the Assembly of 1998 expressing real concern for the national lottery as well as approving the other items about gambling.  Finally, additional items were added to the report from the floor including motions about Darfur and Zimbabwe.