Those called to office in the church are to lead a life of obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament. (Book of Order, G-6.0106b)

What the Covenant Network erroneously contends in
"Interpreting Book of Order G-6.0106b":
“CHASTITY”

Fallacy. "Chastity" means the same thing as "celibacy."
The requirement that ordained leaders "live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman ... or chastity in singleness" is open to a range of interpretations.
1. Some have interpreted "chastity" theologically, requiring that a candidate have faith to claim the grace that makes us holy and pure in God's eyes.
2. If G-6.0106b is taken as referring to actual sexual practice, it is important to note that the Confessions require all persons including married persons to be "chaste." The tern "chastity" therefore cannot be assumed to mean the same thing as "celibacy."
3. The Confessions admonish that vows of celibacy constitute "superstitious and sinful snares, in which no Christian may entangle himself." G 6.0106b's requirement of "chastity" for ordination therefore must require something other than "celibacy."
4. There are many different views about what "chastity" might mean. Possibilities include:

• Moderation (avoidance of promiscuity/multiple partners).
• Seriousness (sexual acts that develop mutuality/intimacy, not "recreational" sex).
• Monogamy (sexual acts solely within what aspires to be a lifetime partnership).
• Modesty (care that one's appearance/conduct not tempt or offend others).
• Respect for the marital/partnership commitments of others.

Critique of the Covenant Network’s Interpretation of “Chastity”
by Peggy Hedden

The Covenant Network begins its discussion of chastity with a statement that chastity does not mean the same thing as celibacy, but the Network explores neither the Scriptures nor our confessions to find out exactly what chastity does mean and what “views” (the Covenant Network paper’s word) it may reasonably be construed to exclude.

Use in Scriptures

The word chastity does not itself appear in the King James or later English translations; the adjective chaste, which is derived from the same Greek word hagnos, does appear, however, in 2 Cor. 11:2, Titus 2:5, and 1 Peter 3:2, and is retained in the Revised Standard Version for the latter two verses. In the Corinthians passage, the reference is to a “chaste virgin,” connoting a purity more than physical; in the Titus and Peter references, the chaste behavior is directed to married women. Thus, chaste is something other than just the physical abstention from sexual intercourse that celibacy or continence denotes.

The Greek word hagnos translates as “pure, chaste, free from defilements and impurities.” It is used to connote a moral purity, not a ritual cleanliness. (1) The Oxford English Dictionary, Abridged, defines chastity as the quality or state of being chaste. Chaste has four definitions only: “pure from unlawful (2) sexual intercourse, continent, virtuous; celibate; morally pure, innocent; and decent, free from indecency or offensiveness.” The 1982 Webster’s offers “virtuous” as a synonym for “chaste,” saying that the words “imply moral excellence manifested by forbearance from acts or thoughts that do not accord with virginity or strict marital fidelity.” The definitions reflect the distinction often attempted by adolescents to limit sexual misbehavior to certain physical acts while permitting others that are tacitly acknowledged as not innocent or virtuous. Thus, the common meaning of chastity connotes a level of purity that includes adherence to “lawful” sexual behavior but goes beyond the merely lawful to a higher moral standard of decency.

Webster’s understanding accords with the usage of chastity in both Scripture and the Confessions, applying it to both single and married Christians. God’s law establishes the standards for sexual relations as fidelity between married couples, one male and one female (Gen. 2:18-25), and abstinence from sexual intercourse for individuals who are not married (Lev. 18; Deut. 22:22f; Rom.1:29; 1 Cor. 6:13,18; 1 Thess. 4:3; Jude 1:7). These are summarized in the Seventh Commandment in the Old Testament: “Thou shall not commit adultery.” When Jesus is teaching on that law in Matthew 7:27-32, he reveals and calls his disciples to a higher standard than a technical physical compliance—we are not even to lust in our hearts.

Use in the Confessions
Christ’s standard is the basis for the comprehensive discussion of the Seventh Commandment in two statements in our Book of Confessions. The Heidelberg and Westminster Larger Catechisms set out both the positive attitudes and duties required by God as well as the sins that are forbidden to us. The Book of Confessions is Part I of the Constitution of the PC (USA) and precedes and provides the context for the Book of Order, Part II, in which G-6.0106b appears.

Question 108 of the Heidelberg Catechism (4.108) asks: “What does the seventh commandment teach us?” and provides the answer: “That all unchastity is condemned by God, and that we should therefore detest it from the heart, and live chaste and disciplined lives, whether in holy wedlock or in single life.“ Clearly there are only two states permitted—holy wedlock, which Scripture teaches is between a man and a woman joined together by God, and a single life, without sexual intercourse. To explain that chastity is more than just physical acts, the teaching continues in Question 109: “Does God forbid nothing more than adultery [applied to wedlock] and such gross sins [implying fornication in living singly] in this commandment?” Answer: “Since both our body and soul are a temple of the Holy Spirit, it is his will that we keep both pure and holy. Therefore he forbids all unchaste actions, gestures, words, thoughts, desires and whatever may excite another person to them.” The point of the teaching is that Christians are to be pure and holy in all aspects of our sexuality; we are called to a chastity that extends beyond the explicit lawfulness of physical acts, but clearly begins with such.

The Westminster Larger Catechism deals at greater length with the Seventh Commandment. First the Catechism sets out the affirmative duties comprehended by it in C-7.248:

[C]hastity in body, mind, affections, words, and behavior, and the preservation of it in ourselves and others; watchfulness over the eyes and all the senses; temperance, keeping of chaste company, modesty in apparel, marriage by those that have not the gift of continency, conjugal love and cohabitation; diligent labor in our callings; shunning of all occasions of uncleanness, and resisting temptations thereunto.

Clearly there are only two states contemplated—marriage with sexual intercourse or sexual abstinence, with chaste thoughts and acts required in both states.

The catechism goes on (C-7.249):

The sins forbidden in the Seventh Commandment, besides the neglect of the duties required, are: adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, and all unnatural lusts; all unclean imaginations, thought, purposes, and affections; …prohibiting of lawful, and dispensing with unlawful marriages; …entangling vows of single life, undue delay of marriage;…and all other provocations to, or acts of, uncleanness either in ourselves or others.

No fair reading of these texts can find any permission in them for someone who does not want to participate in marriage between a man and a woman to have any other kind of sexual arrangement, whether that person’s preference is for same or opposite sex adults or children or other “unnatural” preferences. A fair reading of these texts shows that the Covenant Network is wrong in its claim that “chastity in singleness” is open to a range of interpretations. These texts clearly exclude:
• non-marital sexual relations, even if “moderated” to limit it to a single partner;
• “serious sex,” as well as sex just for fun, if the partner is not a spouse;
• sex with a lifetime partner, if that partner is not a spouse permitted by God’s laws;
• non-marital sexual relations, even if “modestly” conducted;
• non-marital sexual relations, even if the offender “respects” the commitment of others to marriage.
The texts do not permit “many different views” about the meaning of chastity for all those ordained by our denomination who have vowed to accept the Scriptures as God’s Word to them and the confessions as an authentic and reliable exposition of what Scripture leads us to believe and do. (G-14.0207b, c, d)

The context of G-6.0106b—the Confessions and Scriptures—provide the meaning of “chastity in singleness” to forbid the ordination of any unmarried person engaging in sexual behavior.

Legislative Meaning
When General Assembly approved “Amendment B” in 1996 and sent it for approval by presbyteries the following year, the Preamble to the amendment clearly stated the General Assembly’s understanding of Scriptural teaching that homosexual behavior is a sin:

Homosexual behavior is listed in the Bible with sins that include adultery, fornication, pride, greed, lust, jealousy, and malice. Although it is not a greater sin than any other, we believe that Scripture, as guided by the confessions, defines such practice as sin.

Chastity was known then to have the fuller sense of both pure acts and pure thoughts described above, both by those who argued for the amendment’s inclusion into our Constitution and by those who argued against it. One cannot now claim with any historical accuracy that the meaning was not known then or is not known now, or that such chastity could possibly accord with the exact practices being proscribed by the amendment. Chastity, in the context of G-6.0106b excludes sexual relationships outside marriage.

Endnotes
1 New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Editor Colin Brown, vol. 3, p. 100-102, Regency Reference Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1986.
2 All bold type is added by author Hedden for emphasis.

Peggy Hedden is an elder and attorney, living in Columbus, OH. She is a member of the boards of the Presbyterian Coalition and the Presbyterian Lay Committee.

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