United Methodist High Court dismisses petitions urging denomination to drop stance labeling homosexuality as sin

The United Methodist Church's highest court has turned down two petitions urging the denomination to declare that its official stance against homosexuality is unconstitutional.

In two memorandums issued last Friday, the United Methodist Judicial Council refused to consider the petitions submitted by the California-Pacific Annual Conference and the Denmark Annual Conference.

According to The Christian Post, the issue in question involves the UMC Book of Discipline's declaration that homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching."

In the two memorandums, the Judicial Council noted that it lacks the authority to rule on the constitutionality of the language in the Book of Discipline.

"The Judicial Council has no jurisdiction to answer questions from an annual conference that do not relate to annual conference or the work therein," read Memo 1347.

"There is no showing in the record supplied that the request for a declaratory decision was germane to annual conference or the work therein, or that the request related to some action taken or to be taken by the Annual Conference," it added.

Earlier this year, the Denmark Conference approved a motion calling on the Council to make a ruling on the constitutionality of the UMC's position on homosexuality during a meeting in Copenhagen on May 13. The California-Pacific Conference approved a similar measure at its official meeting on June 17.

According to The United Methodist News Service, the motion submitted by the Denmark Conference argues that "Christian teaching" is synonymous with "Christian doctrine" and that the church constitution prohibits the General Conference, the church's law-making body, from amending church doctrine.

Since 1972, the denomination's Social Principles has declared that the practice of homosexuality is "incompatible with Christian teaching." In 1984, The Book of Discipline was amended to include the same phrase in a passage that prohibits "self–avowed practicing homosexuals" from serving as clergy.

The motions submitted by the Denmark Conference and the California-Pacific Conference were the latest failed attempts by the theologically liberal United Methodists to change the mainline denomination's stance against homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

John Lomperis of the theologically conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy suggested that the conferences' motions were part of an overall change in strategy against the "incompatible" language.

In a recent entry on his organization's website, he noted that those seeking approval for homosexual unions have shifted their arguments "from more honestly attacking high views of biblical authority to arguing largely on the basis of emotions and subjective personal testimonials."