Someone congratulated me for dealing with ELCA instead of the Chicaneries in WELS. They belong to the same tribe. ELCA is just a few months ahead of the Church and Change agenda. Those who get on the Pietism-Enthusiasm-CGM bandwagon are most likely to stop at Atheist Alley for a long stay.
ELCA was born in Pietism, fermented with political activism, and calcified with the quota system. Only radicals can have a say in ELCA today.
Wedge issues work well in dividing and destroying churches. First there is a little tolerance requested humbly, as Augustine noted. Next, the wedge issue asks for an equal say, as a matter of justice. Once established, the wedge issue assumes total dominance as the only possible answer to the situation. Any other position is ridiculed. Any person representing the traditional viewpoint is pilloried.
No matter how absurd and anti-Biblical the wedge issue, it will divide families, friendships, congregations, and synods. Bureaucrats dodge topics that may divide, so the wedge issue always wins.
