14 October 2009

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Pastor Edwin Elliott, Publisher of the Christian Observer and Presbyterians Week, Dies 11 October 2009
[2] Redstate Blog Asks Why a Supporter of NAMBLA has been Appointed Safe Schools Czar?
[3] 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Award to U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama Seen as Affirmation of Socialism and Denial of God’s Law
[4] U.S. Presidential Advisor Says Sharia Law is Misunderstood
[5] Pepperdine University Holds “Finding Common Ground” Conference on 2 November 2009
[6] Irish Republican Army Bomber and the Daughter of Man Killed by Bomb Speak before British House of Commons in “Forgiveness Event”
[7] ABC News Compares and Contrasts Evolutionary and Creationist Views of ‘Ardi’ Fossil
[8] Ligonier Academy Offers Lower-Cost Certificate Program
[9] Covenant Theological Seminary Announces Three New Degree Programs
[10] Association for Church Renewal Autumn Meeting 26-27 October 2009 in Arlington, Virginia


[1] Pastor Edwin Elliott, Publisher of the Christian Observer and Presbyterians Week, Dies 11 October 2009

Pastor Edwin Elliott, 62, Publisher and Editor of and the man who revived the Christian Observer; and the Founder, Publisher, and long-time Editor of Presbyterians Week, died 11 October 2009 as the result of a heart attack suffered two days before.

Pastor Elliott was for many years the pastor of Reformed Presbyterian Church (Hanover Presbytery and Calvin Synod) in Manassas, Virginia. Pastor Elliott held the Bachelor of Arts degree in History from William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, the M.Div. degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, and the D.Lit. degree from Whitfield Theological Seminary. Mr. Elliott taught junior high school history in Manassas, Virginia before entering seminary, and served as pastor to Oak Ridge Presbyterian and First Presbyterian Church Water Valley in Mississippi.

Pastor Elliott is survived by his wife Ann, three daughters, Laura, Rebecca, and Elizabeth; mother Ellen Lee B. Elliott; brother Francis Elliott, sister-in-law Grace Elliott, and nephews Benjamin, Adam, James, and Lee Elliott.

Visitation was held at Reformed Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, 13 October 2009, and was followed by a Masonic service at 7:00 p.m. and an Orange Lodge prayer at 7:30 p.m. A funeral service will be held Wednesday, 14 October 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at Reformed Presbyterian Church, 9400 Fairview Av, Manassas, Virginia 20110.

+ Christian Observer, 9400 Fairview Avenue, Manassas, Virginia 20110, 703-335-2844, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

+ Hanover Presbytery, Reformed Presbyterian Church, hanoverpresbyter@yahoo.com

+ Calvin Synod, C/O Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop, 7319 Tapper Avenue, Hammond, Indiana 46324, 219-931-4321, kkludwig@aol.com


[2] Redstate Blog Asks Why a Supporter of NAMBLA has been Appointed Safe Schools Czar?

In an 8 October 2009 Redstate Blog article titled “Common Decency Suggests We Should Not Have to Deal With This, But We Must Now Confront A White House Supportive of NAMBLA”, blogger Erick Erikson profiles U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama’s Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings, pointing out that Jennings wrote the forward to a book called “Queering Elementary Education,” is a supporter of men who openly and vocally support pedophilia, is an opponent of the Boy Scouts of America, and is a zealous advocate of NAMBLA, the North American Man Boy Love Association.

Erikson describes how the mainstream media has distorted and obfuscated the truth about Jennings, and wonders aloud why U.S. President Obama “would put in charge of “safe schools,” a man who encourages predatory relationships between young boys and grown men,” and then Erikson asks rhetorically “Has [Obama] no shame?”

+ RedState, 1 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Suite 600, Washington DC 20001, contact@redstate.com


[3] 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Award to U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama Seen as Affirmation of Socialism and Denial of God’s Law

Richard A. Viguerie of ConservativeHQ.com commented on 9 October 2009 concerning the award by the Norwegian Parliament of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama by stating:

“The announcement from the Nobel Peace Prize Committee says as much about the Norwegian voters and their parliament as it does President Obama. All involved should be embarrassed and ashamed for using this Prize to advance a radical, leftist agenda. It’s clear that the Marxist leaders in Europe know what most Americans don’t know--that the American president is a kindred spirit who they recognize as one of their own. Freedom-loving people should no longer respect or take seriously the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, as they have become an arm of the worldwide Marxist cause, evidenced by their previous selections of Yassar Arafat and Le Duc Tho and now Barack Obama. The award has been cheapened beyond repair and the Nobel Committee has insulted all who labor and sacrifice for true peace and freedom under God’s laws.”

+ ConservativeHQ.com, 9625 Surveyor Court, Suite 400, Manassas, Virginia 20110, editor@c-hq.com


[4] U.S. Presidential Advisor Says Sharia Law is Misunderstood

Dalia Mogahed is the first veiled Muslim woman to serve in the U.S. White House. Mogahead described her role as a member of the President's Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships as being, "to convey... to the President and other public officials what it is Muslims want."

Mogahed describes the Western perspective on Sharia Law to be “oversimplified,” and says that the majority of women around the world associate Sharia Law with "gender justice." On a recent television discussion originating in London, England, Mogahed and another Muslim woman guest made repeated attacks on secular "man-made law" and the West's "lethal cocktail of liberty and capitalism." The duo continued by demanding that Sharia Law be "the source of legislation" and said that women should not be "permitted to hold a position of leadership in government."

Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, commented: "There is a reason Sharia has got a bad name and it is how it has been exercised. Regrettably in the U.S. there have been acts of injustice perpetrated against women that are driven by the Sharia-type mindset that women are objects not human beings.” Referencing the example of Muzzammil Hassan, a Buffalo, New York, man who ran a cable channel aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes and was charged earlier this year with beheading his wife after she filed for divorce, Wright said: "Americans understand by example, it's not as if we are an ignorant mass of people. Just as we don't broad brush all Muslims, so should Dalia not downplay the serious nature of Sharia Law."

+ Assyrian International News Agency

+ Concerned Women for America, 1015 Fifteenth Street Northwest, Suite 1100, Washington DC 20005, 202-488-7000, Fax: 202-488-0806


[5] Pepperdine University Holds “Finding Common Ground” Conference on 2 November 2009

Pepperdine University’s Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies is holding a “Finding Common Ground” Conference on 2 November 2009, which features leading voices from the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities discussing common issues that “the children of Abraham” must address.

+ Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California 90263, 310-506-4000, admission-seaver@pepperdine.edu


[6] Irish Republican Army Bomber and the Daughter of Man Killed by Bomb Speak before British House of Commons in “Forgiveness Event”

Patrick Magee, The Irish Republican Army bomber who killed five people when he bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England, on 12 October 1984, in an unsuccessful attempt to kill then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet; and Jo Berry, daughter of Conservative MP (Member of Parliament) Sir Anthony Berry who was killed in the blast; on 13 October 2009, spoke before the British House of Commons in what was billed as a “forgiveness event.”

Jo Berry has dealt with her conflicted thoughts about the bombing by continually working in Ireland with victims and former combatants from all of the factions. Berry met bomber Patrick McGee, released from multiple life sentences in 1999 by the Good Friday Agreement, for the first time in 2000.

On The Forgiveness Project’s website, McGee is quoted as saying: “Some day I may be able to forgive myself. Although I still stand by my actions, I will always carry the burden that I harmed other human beings. But I’m not seeking forgiveness. If Jo could just understand why someone like me could get involved in the armed struggle then something has been achieved. The point is that Jo set out with that intent in mind – she wanted to know why….”

+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com

+ The Forgiveness Project, 3rd Floor, 38 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W ORE, England, 207-821-0035, info@theforgivenessproject.com


[7] ABC News Compares and Contrasts Evolutionary and Creationist Views of ‘Ardi’ Fossil

An ABC News article dated 7 October 2009 by reporter Russell Goldman titled “Creationists Say Science and Bible Disprove 'Ardi' Fossil Is Evidence of Evolution: Discovery of 4.4 Million-Year-Old Fossil Does Not Shake Creationists' Faith,” provides an objective contrast of the differing views of evolutionary scientists and creationist scientists about the recent discovery in Ethiopia of the ‘Ardi” fossil.

Goldman describes evolutionary scientists who are hailing the Ardi discovery as “being celebrated as the oldest found relative of modern human beings…named Ardipithecus ramidus, or "Ardi" for short, who made Ethiopia her home nearly 5 million years ago.”

Goldman then describes the vastly differing view of creationist scientists described as, “many…with advanced degrees in science, [which] are unimpressed by Ardi, who they believe is just another ape -- an ape of indeterminate age, they add, and an ape who cannot be an ancestor of modern man for a range of reasons, including one of singular importance: God created man in one day, and evolution is a fallacy.”

Goldman quotes acclaimed anatomist and scientist David Menton as saying: “What creationists believe about human origins we get from the Bible. The creation of the world takes place on page one of the Bible. If you throw out the first page of the Bible you might as well throw out the whole thing. If you can't live with the first page then pitch out the remaining thousand pages.”

+ ABC News, 7 West 66th Street, New York, New York 10023, Contact Page


[8] Ligonier Academy Offers Lower-Cost Certificate Program

Ligonier Academy of Biblical and Theological Studies is offering distance-learning, introductory-level, non-degree, biblical and theological studies courses for a tuition cost of US$99 per course for U.S. and Canadian address, or US$79 per course for other addresses.

The five courses available are:

-- Biblical Studies,
-- Theology
-- Philosophy
-- Apologetics
-- Church History (available soon)

For further information, please access the Ligonier website, or call 800-435-4343.

+ Ligonier Ministries, 400 Technology Park, Lake Mary, Florida 32746, 407-333-4244, Fax: 407-333-4233


[9] Covenant Theological Seminary Announces Three New Degree Programs

Covenant Theological Seminary recently announced a number of new degree programs to be launched this fall. They include three master of arts programs: an M.A. in religion and cultures, an M.A. in worship and music, and a slightly revised version of the already existing M.A. in educational ministries.

+ Covenant Theological Seminary, 12330 Conway Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63141, 314-434-4044, Fax: 314-434-4819, president@covenantseminary.edu

+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org


[10] Association for Church Renewal Autumn Meeting 26-27 October 2009 in Arlington, Virginia

The autumn meeting of the Association For Church Renewal in Arlington, Virginia near Washington DC.

For details, questions, or to confirm you are coming, please send an email message to Renewall.acr@gmail.com.

+ Association For Church Renewal, Post Office Box 102, 182 High Street, Candia, New Hampshire 03034, 603-867-7711, Renewall.acr@gmail.com