Father Jake has written a long and careful analysis of some recent writings by Charles Hefling:

“I’ve been reading Other Voices, Other Worlds: The Global Church Speaks Out on Homosexuality, edited by Terry Brown, Bishop of Malaita. There’s a few essays that I want to discuss, beginning with one entitled How Shall We Know?’ by Charles Hefling, professor of systematic theology at Boston College and editor-in-chief of the Anglican Theological Review.

Hefling suggests that current arguments for reconfiguring the norms regarding same sex relationships revolve around the theme of justice. It is in the name of justice that we insist that there should be no second class citizens in the kingdom of God. It is in the name of justice that we argue that if baptism gives us full membership in the Church, and qualifies us to receive the Eucharist, it should follow that all the baptized are also qualified for the blessings of ordination and marriage. Excluding a person because they are gay is unjust.

Hefling suggests that the justice argument alone is not necessarily wrong, but is insufficient. Although justice is one of the cardinal virtues, it is not one of the theological virtues (not the primary concern of the Gospel). The argument for justice by itself is not enough to refute the objection that Christians are held to a higher standard than that imposed by civil laws; it does not counter the objection to sin.”

The analysis goes on to look into the various ways we might reframe the question. (I’ve written a piece along similar lines… I’ve got to see if it’s ever going to be published or not.)

Read the rest of Fr. Jake’s article here: Hefling: "How Shall We Know?"

(Via Father Jake Stops the World.)