Resurrection of the Dead
Resurrection of the Flesh (c. 1500) by Luca Signorelli – based on 1 Corinthians 15: 52: "the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Chapel of San Brizio, Duomo, Orvieto. (Public Domain Photo via Wikimedia Commons).
I don’t believe that my father, mother and sister are asleep and waiting for a trumpet to sound.
I believe they already are in their heavenly home.
My belief in the immortality of the soul as opposed to the resurrection of the body is a denial of the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.
This is a far more serious violation of the faith than the belief that physical relations between people of the same gender are not sinful.
There is nothing in the creeds about same-gender relationships. There is, however, a clear affirmation of the resurrection of the body.
And while many are distressed by the fact that a United Methodist bishop is married to a person of the same gender, there is nothing in scripture or creed that forbids such a loving relationship.
It’s surprising to learn that no one says anything about bishops who assure those who mourn that the souls of their loved ones are now with Jesus. They may even suggest that husbands and wives and parents and children are now united in Heaven. Those statements are clear violations of church doctrine.
If you want a good reason to split a 50-year-old denomination it should be over something that is related to one of the fundamentals of the faith and not to something that was never considered by the church fathers and mothers.
I believe my father, mother and sister are troubled by seeing the denomination they loved splitting over an insignificant issue.
I also believe they will join Jesus in warmly welcoming people on both sides of the debate.
Longtime United Methodist communicator the Rev. Rich Peck is a retired clergy member of the New York Annual Conference.