In addition to historical argument, we also surfaced an etymological one. The modern meaning of four key words: church, deacon, presbyter, and bishop has changed significantly since the early centuries. To even begin to be in union it is necessary, we believe, to agree on the earlier meaning of these words. To try to build fidelity to Christ Jesus now on the back of meanings that these words did not have in the days of the apostles or their earliest successors is doomed.

The Rightness of God's Judgment of Mankind

In Romans chapter 1, Paul lays out a case for the rightness of God's judgment on the peoples of the earth. He says that we have idolatrous hearts and are prone to worship the creature instead of the Creator. How do we do this?

• we place our hope and/or trust in man and his idols, trying to find our identity and/or purpose in them

"Blessed are all thy saints, O God and King, who have travelled over the tempestuous sea of this life and have made the harbor of peace and felicity. Watch over us who are still on dangerous voyage. Frail is our vessel, and the ocean is wide; but as in thy mercy thou hast set our course, so pilot the vessel of our life towards the everlasting shore of peace, and bring us at last to the quiet haven of our heart's desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord." St. Augustine

So far, so good, but that's "on the one hand." As they continue, they focus on only one of these purposes, sexual intimacy: "sexual intercourse, as an expression of faithful intimacy, properly belongs within marriage exclusively," according to a 1999 teaching document. In the light of this teaching on sexual intimacy, other sexual relationships "fall short" of God's purposes for human beings (§9).