Founded over 200 years ago, the American Bible Society (ABS) exists to share the Bible “with everyone in the world.” Considering that the ABS is an organization dedicated to spreading the Bible to “everyone in the world,” it should be safe to assume that those working for it to actually believe and follow the teachings of the Bible. Sadly, yet predictably, after the American Bible Society released a statement requiring employees to obey the Bible, some employees have quit in protest.
Called the Affirmation of Biblical Community, the statement expresses that “this is the motivation for our Affirmation of Biblical Community– uniting us in a common commitment to the Scriptures, in faithful service to the whole Church.”
After the American Bible Society issued the statement and required employees to adhere to it, Religion News Service reports:
Employees are resigning in protest of the new policy, which will effectively prohibit sexually active LGBT people and couples in cohabitating relationships from working for the American Bible Society. But the organization stands by it as a measure intended to bring “unity and clarity.”
Scrolling through the Affirmation of Biblical Community reveals a standard statement of orthodox Christian beliefs. The first section asks employees to affirm that they believe in and will pursue the God of the Bible. While that seems like a “well, duh” kind of statement, the truth is that many people squint their eyes so tight when they read the Bible that they are able to create a god in whatever image they want. By allowing themselves the liberty of redefining terms however they see fit, the majority of self-respecting, non-Christian SJWs would be able to affirm the first statement without too much thought.
However, according to RNS, it’s the second section that the offended SJW employees found a bridge too far.
The second section is titled “I Will Seek to Pursue My Identity In Christ As Described in the Bible.” For the employees who quit rather than obey the Bible, the most offensive paragraph of that section requires that employees:
Will seek to refrain from sexual activity outside of the marriage covenant prescribed and exemplified in the Bible: “a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one,” symbolizing the relationship between Christ and his Church (Matthew 19:5, Ephesians 5:31).
Beginning in January 2019, the Affirmation of Biblical Community will be binding on employees of the American Bible Society. This has caused nine employees to quit so far, and several others have told RNS that they are waiting to quit until they find another job.
According to RNS, “Some suspect a man hired as a help desk manager last year was the impetus for the change. He had introduced his husband to employees shortly after being hired at the society’s Philadelphia headquarters.”
While not surprising, it’s still sad that a basic, orthodox expression of Biblical ethics causes professing Christians to quit their job at an organization called the American Bible Society.
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