Doctrine, extra-marital sex and the authority of Scripture – A response to David Runcorn

Jun 2, 2023 by

by Martin Davie:

On 20 May the website Thinking Anglicans re-published three articles by the Anglican theologian David Runcorn, ‘What is a doctrine and is marriage one?,’ ‘Trying to talk pastoral sense about ‘sex before marriage’  and ‘What is ‘The Authority of Scripture’?[1] In this article I shall look at what he says in these three articles and explain why I think his arguments are misleading.

What is a doctrine and is marriage one?

In his first article Runcorn writes that in the current debates about marriage and sexuality in the Church of England:

‘…. ‘the doctrine of marriage’ is often asserted as something clearly defined and fixed. Those supporting the extending of marriage to same-sex couples are told they are dismantling a core biblical, church doctrine.’

He then goes on to question this claim for two reasons.

First, following the work of Mike Higton, he distinguishes between ‘general’ and ‘specific’ forms of doctrine. In his words:

‘When used generally, the ‘doctrine of’, say, creation, refers to the broad cluster of themes that have accumulated around that particular aspect of faith and belief. This view of doctrine is spacious. No one is tied to the finer details of the how and why. When used specifically, the ‘Doctrines of the Church’, for example, refer to more defined expressions of core belief essential to salvation, such as found in the creeds and historic church councils.’

Having made this distinction Runcorn then argues that marriage should be viewed as a form of general doctrine and that it is a mistake to suggest otherwise. As he puts it:

‘So, is the doctrine of marriage general or specific? It is found in none of the creeds or formularies deemed essential to salvation. Rather, it is under a broad doctrinal umbrella that the varied and evolving expressions of marriage in scripture and church history are found clustered.

So when the CEEC added a statement about marriage being between a man and a women to its core doctrinal basis of faith it was changing a general doctrine into a specific one. This novel development had the effect of immediately excluding numbers of fellow evangelicals who disagreed with making this a basis of faith, questioned this reading of scripture texts and/or held a more including understanding of marriage. But this belief has also now been elevated by some, becoming the measure of doctrinal and biblical orthodoxy. At the very least this is a stretch.’

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