It was about a year ago that I was asked to write a report on the RES meeting in Nimes, France. At that Synod, I had served as a non–voting delegate of the Christian Reformed Church. I had deferred the writing of the report until I had in my hands a copy of the RES Acts. This did not materialize until very recently. Hence, the long delay in the preparation of the report.

At the outset, I would like to say that this is not a comprehensive report of the 1980 meeting of theReformed Ecumenical Synod. What I am sharing with you are some impressions of this assembly of Reformed churches as well as some quotations from the Acts of the RES which deal with certain issues which concern many of us.

Thirty three delegations from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America and Australasia came to Nimes in southern France for two weeks of meetings. The Prayer Service for Synod was held at the church of the Independent Evangelical Reformed congregation in Nimes on the 14th of July. This is Bastille Day in France. After the worship service, most of the delegates watched the fireworks in a nearby park marking the French Revolution of 1789 and the birth of the French Republic!

A Multi-National Fellowship

Synodical business began in earnest the following day. I was moved by the various nationalities which were represented at Synod. I was overjoyed to meet brothers in the Lord from the young churches of the Third World. We stayed at the state university in Nimes where all the meetings took place. Our meals were provided for us in the dining hall of the university. In order to reach it, we had to take a ten minute walk. This gave us the opportunity to meet some of the local residents who lived in “high rises.” Many of them came originally from North Africa and one could read on their faces the hardships which accompany immigrant living in new and difficult surroundings.

   

As with all synodical meetings, the RES 1980 had been in preparation for a few years. This ecumenical gathering takes place once every four years. The delegates had an ample opportunity to study the Agenda and the various documents which would be considered at the meeting in Nimes.

One of the first reports to come to the attention of RES was the report of the Mission Committee: The Reformed Ecumenical Synod adopted several recommendations dealing with the mission of the church in the world today. One of these important recommendations states:

“That the RES Study Committee on Missions be constituted so as to embrace representations of both word and deed ministries in view of the desperate needs of millions of people in our world.”

July 18 was set aside as Broadcast Day. This highlighted the recognition of the special role of broadcasting in the mission of the church in the second half of the 20th century. It was very encouraging to hear reports from various parts of the world telling us of the use of broadcasting in telling the multitudes of the claims of our sovereign God and the Good News of redemption and grace.

During the times of fellowship, it was heartwarming to discuss with various delegates what the Lord was performing through their ministries at home and in other parts of the world. This left a lasting impression on me. Churches of the Reformed heritage were living all over the world. In other words, they are ecumenical. The Reformed Faith does not simply belong to the white man. It is for the whole world!

True Versus False Ecumenicity

The subject of dual membership in the Reformed Ecumenical Synod and the World Council of Churches occupied a good deal of time and occasioned some heated debates. As early as the second meeting of the RES (1949), this Synod expressed serious objections “against uniting with this (WCC) organization” and advised member churches “not to join it in the present stage.”

Even though the 1968 meeting of the RES reaffirmed the incompatibility of dual membership in the RES and the WCC, the GKN (Reformed Churches in the Netherlands) chose to join the World Council of Churches the following year. This has caused much dissension within the body of the RES churches. At the outset of the 1980 meetings, we were informed that the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Northern Ireland was withdrawing from the RES mainly on account of this unresolved problem. Other churches within the RES and which belong to the Presbyterian family of churches were extremely reluctant to allow this matter to continue unresolved until the 1984 meeting of the RES. Their delegates spoke with great feeling about the incongruity of simultaneous membership in these two ecumenical organizations. RES of 1980 reaffirmed “the advice given by every meeting of the RES from 1953 onwards to member churches not to join the WCC.” Furthermore, it adopted the following recommendation:

“That the Synod (a) instruct the IC (Interim Committee) to appoint a Study Committee on the RES and Ecclesiastical Relationships, to make a comprehensive study, from Scripture and our confessions, of the Reformed concept of the church and its implications for current and future ecumenical relationships; and (b) that this committee be instructed to include in its study the question of the membership of RES Churches in the WCC.”

The Dutch Homosexuality Scandal

Another problem which agitated the 1980 meeting of the RES was the GKN’s attitude on the problem of “Homophilical (Homosexual) Members.”

The Synod of the GKN was studying the matter for some time. In 1979 that Synod was not unanimous in its interpretation of the Scriptural data relating to the subject. So, the hermeneutical questions were referred to the Committee on Church and Theology. But that same Synod did not wait for the report of this committee but went ahead and acted in a pastoral way against what it considered discrimination and on behalf of the “homophilic” (homosexual) persons within the local congregations. The churches of the GKN were asked to “accept the ‘homophilical’ neighbor, to organize dialogue between ‘homophilical and heterophilical’ members of the congregations and to further the communion of the saints inter alia by means of participation in the Lord’s Supper and by service in ecclesiastical office.”

Naturally, this subject was debated in a very heated way since several delegates from various parts of the world were shocked and dismayed by the attitude of the Synod of the GKN (1979) to the problem of homosexuals and homosexuality. Some questioned the use of words “homophilic” and “homophilical” and maintained that this nomenclature was used only in the Netherlands. A medical doctor objected to the use of these words on the basis that they have not been accepted as part of the medical parlance in the world at large. The GKN delegates “explained that the word “homophilical” was intended to mean the whole person and not only sexual attitude, as over against the English word “homosexual” which can refer to sexual attitude alone.”

In order to give an objective view of the decisions of the 1980 RES meeting, I quote the following from pages 109 to 111 of the Acts of the Reformed Ecumenical Synod, Nimes 1980:

1. The RES recognizes the intention of the GKN in their pastoral concern in drawing attention to suffering, despair and experience of rejection to which “homophilic” (homosexual) persons in many cases are being subjected. 2. In accordance with the traditional Reformed understanding of Scripture the RES states that all homosexual practice is sin (Lev. 20:13, Rom. 1:26, 27, I Cor. 6:9, I Tim. 1:10). 3. The RES further states that any advice or counsel that weakens the resistance to sin does not help but actually harms both the struggling person himself and others who might be affected through him (Matt. 18:6).

Returning to the Committee recommendations, Synod decided:

4. The RES requests the GKN to give clarification of their initial pastoral word . . . and its ethical implications, in order to make clear that their view on homosexual practice is in accordance with Scripture. 5. The RES expresses its grave concern about the ambiguous nature of the 1979 decision of the GKN in the matter of “homophility” (homosexuality). 6. The RES instructs the Interim Committee to convey these decisions as fraternal advice to the GKN and to request them on behalf of the RES fellowship to give the assurance that no known practicing homosexuals shall be allowed to partake of the Lord’s Supper or hold ecclesiastical office. 7. The Interim Committee is instructed to report to the churches on this matter at the earliest possible time. 8. On request of the delegates of the GKN and to be of further assistance to the GKN, Synod instructs the Interim Committee to appoint a study committee with the following mandate:

a. to study the biblical data and hermeneutical questions related to the problems of “homophility” (homosexuality);

b. to include in their study the decisions of member churches on this matter;

c. to ask the member churches for their advice, views and experience in dealing with “homophilical” (homosexual) persons;

d. to report to the member churches as soon as possible and to the 1984 RES.

Study of Human Rights

I certainly do not wish to give the impression that the two weeks of RES in Nimes were primarily spent discussing the dual membership problem and homosexuality. There were some very important subjects which were assigned for future study and some studies already accomplished, commended to the member churches. For example, the burning issue of the plight of minorities and human rights was assigned to an international committee “to undertake a Biblical/historical/contextual study on human rights.”

The mandate of the Committee to study human rights was adopted as presented by the Advisory Committee. It is as follows:

1. The Study Committee shall study the biblical view of man, particularly his place and task in the world.

2. Set forth a comprehensive Christian perspective in which to view man in his multidimensional life-relationships, such as family, church, state, industry and education.

3. In accord with this Christian perspective, deal with such basic issues as:

a. freedom rights – freedom from oppression in its various forms,

b. participation rights – in the decision-making processes in various spheres of life,

c. benefit rights – to food, work, medical care, education, etc.

4. Make a critical evaluation from a Scriptural perspective of the United Nations documents on human rights, viz., the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights (1966 and 1967). 5. Summarize in simple language the main points of the Report, so that it can be understood by ordinary church members. Such a summary could also be used as the basis for a message on human rights from the RES to the member churches.

In this study the committee shall consider such ecclesiastical documents as may be available to it, and shall invite member churches to contribute material for consideration and/or inclusion.

There was a good and rewarding discussion of the booklet, “The Church and its Social Calling” which had been previously sent to all the delegates. Anyone who is interested in studying this subject may order a copy from the RES Secretariat, 1677 Gentian Drive, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49508.

The Road Ahead

I make my closing remarks in a strictly personal way and from t he standpoint of a Christian whose roots are from the Third World and who finds in the Reformed Tradition the best way for the proclamation of Jesus Christ as the unique Savior and only Lord. I felt very joyful and profoundly grateful to see, during the meetings of Synod, how truly ecumenical the Reformed Faith is. I had a tremendous time fellowshipping with brothers from all over the world during those two weeks in Nimes, and especially with those from Africa. Certainly God has blessed the mission work of the Christian Reformed Church and other Reformed churches in Africa, as I observed the mature and solid witness of the African delegations to RES.

On the other hand I felt sad and extremely concerned about certain attitudes and tendencies which were quite obvious in the discussions of problems relating to the WCC and homosexuality. Often I found myself wondering why was it necessary to resort to more study committees regarding these issues which appear (at least to some of us) rather simple and clear-cut! Is it manifesting the wrong type of naivety to ask such questions? How could churches which claim to be attached to the Confessions of the Reformation era be at the same time members of the amorphous World Council of Churches? When I became a United States citizen, I had to renounce my allegiance to my country of birth. The judge representing the Federal Government explained to us new Americans that we could not hold two citizenships. Is this type of logic inapplicable to ecclesiastical matters?

And has the Christian tradition, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant, been wrong all these 1900 years vis-a-vis irregular sexual behavior and preference? I am sure that this type of approach will be regarded as too simplistic. Still I cannot shake off the feeling, even the conviction that quite often we do not seem to be inclined to take seriously the accumulated wisdom of the Christian heritage. We have been almost hypnotized by modern ideologies which seek to parade under the guise of new theological and Biblical insights!

These remarks do not imply that there is nothing left for us Christians living in the closing years of this century to study and reflect on. But where doctrines and ethical subjects have been adequately treated in the past and where the simple testimony of the Bible is obvious, why do we still have to look for some new light which will break through the work of a study committee? Why not spend our intellectual and scholarly energies in fields that cry for our attention? For example, why have we, Reformed people and churches, left the setting forth of the place of modern Israel in the total Biblical perspective to be expounded so horrendously by the radicals of the Dispensational school of hermeneutics? Are we spending enough time and energy on Biblically meeting the challenge of Marxism and radical Islam in the Third World?

It is my prayer that the next RES meeting which is to be held in the USA in the summer of 1984 will be decisive in settling many of the problems which have been with this body for so many years. Reformed ecumenicity should not be the hobby of the few. It is the best way in which we can, in the present stage of history, practice what we confess in the words of the Nicene Creed: I BELIEVE A HOLY CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH. Let us all uphold the Reformed Ecumenical Synod, its General Secretary and its officers and study committees in our prayers so that its witness and work may continue to be to the Glory of our God and the coming of His great and glorious Kingdom.

Bassam M. Madany is the Back-to-God Hour‘s Minister of Arabic Broadcasting. He lives at South Holland, Illinois.