5 May 2010

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Christian Observer Highlights for May 2010

[2] 40,000 Rally for Worldwide Nuclear Disarmament in Times Square the Day after Propane and Black Powder Car Bomb Fails to Explode

[3] Ninth Commandment Issues from within and without Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University

[4] RCA Church in Oostburg, Wisconsin, to Host Speaker on International Terrorism

[5] PCUSA Presbytery of Geneva Mission Team Assists Widows of Coal Miners in Kopperston, West Virginia

[6] EPC Expresses Gratitude and Concern over PCUSA Task Force Report Finding the Allegations of EPC Solicitation of PCUSA Churches to be Unsubstantiated

[7] Church of Scotland Confesses Sexism toward Women Ministers

[8] The Herald Counsels Church of Scotland to Take Radical Action to Prevent Financial Ruin

[9] South African Reformed Churches Join in Denunciation of “Kill the Boer” Song Prior to and in the Wake of Afrikaner Resistance Movement Leader Eugene Terreblanche’s Murder

[10] New Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Rescinds Order by Previous Virginia Governor Tim Kaine that State Police Chaplains Not Pray in the Name of Jesus

[11] May-June 2010 Trinity Review Published

[12] Bluegrass Concert 8 May 2010 at Firelands Presbyterian Church in Port Clinton, Ohio

[13] Tea Partiers Treated as Enemies of the State

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[1] Christian Observer Highlights for May 2010

New articles in the Christian Observer for May 2010 include:

-- Evolution is a Religion! – by Dr. Grady S. McMurtry, Director of Creation Worldview Ministries – the dogma of naturalism as defined by its evolutionist adherents;

-- Teaching — Monitoring Stupidity? – by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – how government school teachers are more and more becoming monitors of stupidity;

-- Guest Editor’s Message – Dean Turbeville Writes . . . – a message to Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) teaching elder the Rev. Dr. Chuck Wilson from ARP teaching elder the Rev. Dr. Dean Turbeville concerning the ongoing battle between secularism and biblical fidelity being waged between the proponents of worldliness at Erskine College and Theological Seminary and the majority of the ARP General Synod who in March 2010 voted to reestablish biblical authority over Erskine and its Board of Trustees; and,

-- John Stott Releases His Farewell Book: The Radical Disciple – the republication of an ASSIST News Service book review by Brian Nixon of preacher and author John Stott’s self-described final book The Radical Disciple.

Plus, regular features including weekly Sabbath School Lessons and Westminster Shorter Catechism lessons by Christian Observer Assistant Editor Dr. Robert LaMay, and Daily Devotionals by T.M. Moore, dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe.


+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org


[2] 40,000 Rally for Worldwide Nuclear Disarmament in Times Square the Day after Propane and Black Powder Car Bomb Fails to Explode

40,000people gathered 2 May 2010 in Times Square, New York City, New York, to hear National Council of Churches (NCC) General Secretary the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon call nuclear weapons a “crime against humanity,” and call for total worldwide nuclear disarmament.

Just one day prior to the gathering, Times Square was the scene of an attempted bombing by a vehicle packed with propane gas tanks and black powder, which failed to explode upon detonation. The failed car bomb was parked near the offices of Viacom, the owners of the “South Park” cartoon series, the creators of which recently have been threatened by Muslims for insulting Muhammed.

The RevolutionMuslim.com website posted a YouTube film of a 2 May 2010 da’waah, or Muslim preaching event, in Times Square that pictured U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama as a Nazi and threatened death and destruction to Americans if the “global war on terror” is continued. The article title referred to the events of 1 May 2010 as a “preview.”

The NCC nuclear disarmament rally was held on the eve of a historic United Nations review conference of the signatories to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

ABC News reported 3 May 2010 that a person of interest being sought related to the attempted Times Square bombing is a naturalized American citizen from Pakistan that just returned to the United States after five months in his home country.


+ National Council of Churches, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 880, New York, New York 10115

+ RevolutionMuslim.com, 212-203-7606, revolutionmuslim@gmail.com

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


[3] Ninth Commandment Issues from within and without Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University

A 3 May 2010 article by John W. Kennedy in Christianity Today titled “Bloggers Target Seminary President” reports that Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary President Ergun Caner is under fire from several sources for embellishing the details of Caner’s biography and qualifications for being a Christian apologist on Islam. The alleged embellishments include:

-- Claiming to have grown up in Turkey when he actually grew up in Ohio;

-- Claiming to have been raised in a devout Muslim home instead of in a nominally Muslim home;

-- Claiming to have been involved in Islamic jihad; and,

-- Claiming to have debated dozens of Muslims about Islam, when there is no audio or video evidence of said debates.

Dr. James R. White, director of the Phoenix, Arizona-based Alpha & Omega Ministries, a Reformed Baptist Christian apologetics ministry, said of Caner: “The president of a large theological seminary has created a myth concerning his background that is incredibly self-contradictory.”

Liberty’s Board of Directors so far has taken no action against Caner. Dr. Elmer Towns, Liberty co-founder and dean of the School of Religion said that a Board inquiry had found Caner to have done nothing theologically inappropriate, and said: “It's not an ethical issue, it's not a moral issue. We give faculty a certain amount of theological leverage. The arguments of the bloggers would not stand up in court."

Dr. Towns attributes the level of attack against Caner to his well-known anti-Calvinist positions. Dr. White, in a 16 April 2007 blog article titled “Jerry Falwell Identifies Calvinism as Heresy” said that Caner had refused to apologize for saying that Calvinists are worse than Muslims.

Another 3 May 2010 article by Trevin Wax on Crosswalk.com titled “Undercover at Thomas Road: An Interview with Gina Welch” transcribes a question and answer session by Wax of Welch, who is the author of In the Land of Believers: An Outsider's Extraordinary Journey into the Heart of the Evangelical Church, that Wax says “tells the story of how Welch faked a conversion experience, got baptized, and spent two years at Thomas Road Baptist Church….[Welch] even participated in evangelism on a mission trip. During this time, she kept a detailed journal of her experience, which she has now turned into a book that chronicles her journey into evangelical America.”

Liberty University is an associated ministry of Thomas Road Baptist Church.


+ Christianity Today International, 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, 630-260-6200, Fax: 630-260-0114, mwhite@christianitytoday.com

+ Alpha and Omega Ministries, Post Office Box 37106, Phoenix, Arizona 85069, 602-973-4602, Contact Page

+ Crosswalk.com, Salem Communications, 4880 Santa Rosa Road, Camerillo, California, 805-987-0400

+ Liberty University, 1971 University Boulevard, Lynchburg, Virginia 24502, 434-582-2000, jrmoore@liberty.edu

+ Thomas Road Baptist Church, 1 Mountain View Road, Lynchburg, Virginia 24502, 434-239-9281, Contact Page


[4] RCA Church in Oostburg, Wisconsin, to Host Speaker on International Terrorism

The First Reformed Church (Reformed Church in America) of Oostburg, Wisconsin, on 5 May 2010 at 7:00 p.m. is hosting ACT for America President Brigette Gabriel for a free lecture about the latest threats radical Islam poses to the safety and security of the people of the United States.

Ms. Gabriel will speak about:

-- Iran’s relentless march to a nuclear bomb and why this threatens more than Israel;

-- The increasingly militant – and successful – effort by Islamists worldwide to criminalize any criticism of Islam;

-- How the various actions and overtures taken by the Obama administration are putting the United States at greater risk – and why;

-- How Islamic Sharia law is creeping into America;

-- The threats posed by terrorist cells and Islamist compounds in America; and,

-- The strategies and tactics ACT for America is employing to fight back against these threats.

Ms. Gabriel is a leading global Islamic terrorism expert, and is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It.”


+ First Reformed Church, 927 Superior Avenue, Oostburg, Wisconsin, 920-564-2319, Fax: 920-564-6449, frc@frcoostburg.org

+ ACT for America, Post Office Box 12765, Pensacola, Florida 32591, info@actforamerica.org

+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org


[5] PCUSA Presbytery of Geneva Mission Team Assists Widows of Coal Miners in Kopperston, West Virginia

A 3 May 2010 article by Paul Salisbury in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle titled “Presbytery of Geneva Travels to W.Va., Helps Widows of Coal Miners” reports on a mission team from the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s Presbytery of Geneva in the Finger Lakes region of New York State that travelled to Kopperston, West Virginia, 18-24 April 2010 to assist the widows of coal miners with property repairs and improvements to their homes. The team additionally assisted with the repair and cleaning of the Kopperston Church and Christian Education building.


+ Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 55 Exchange Boulevard, Rochester, New York 14614, 585-232-7100, Contact Page

+ Presbytery of Geneva, 2266 State Route 54A, Penn Yan, New York 14527, 315-536-7753, info@presbyteryofgeneva.org

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005


[6] EPC Expresses Gratitude and Concern over PCUSA Task Force Report Finding the Allegations of EPC Solicitation of PCUSA Churches to be Unsubstantiated

A 28 April 2010 press release from the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) expresses gratitude that the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s task force appointed to investigate allegations made by the PCUSA’s Presbytery of Peace River (PPR) that the EPC was soliciting PCUSA congregations to leave the PCUSA and join the EPC, in their report found that the PPR allegations were unsubstantiated.

The EPC press release additionally expressed concern about several other statements in the report including one that said “other leaders from within the EPC were also willing to speak to PCUSA congregations, when a session had invited them in, often showing the PCUSA in a less than flattering light.” The PCUSA task force provided no substantiation for the statement, nor did the task force present this finding to EPC leadership in a joint meeting on 15 January 2010.


+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 17197 North Laurel Park Drive Suite 567, Livonia, Michigan 48152, 734-742-2020, Fax: 734-742-2033, webmaster@epc.org

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005

+ Presbytery of Peace River , 5600 Peace River Road, North Port, Florida 34287, 941-426-8421, Fax: 941-423-9412, inbox@peaceriverpresbytery.org


[7] Church of Scotland Confesses Sexism toward Women Ministers

A 1 May 2010 article by Craig Brown in The Scotsman titled “Kirk Admits it is Still Sexist towards Women Ministers” says that a new Church of Scotland (COS) report states that more than forty years after women first gained the right to be ordained ministers in the COS, that there are still pockets of resistance and discrimination within the Kirk.

Twenty percent of COS ministers are female, as are fifty percent of COS ruling elders.


+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722


[8] The Herald Counsels Church of Scotland to Take Radical Action to Prevent Financial Ruin

A 28 April 2010 editorial in The Herald titled “Kirk Must Take Radical Action to Save Itself from Financial Ruin” counsels the Church of Scotland to take radical action to avoid financial ruin brought about by a UK£89 million loss in investments during the current recession, a curent budget deficit of UK£5.7 million, and prospects of bankruptcy by 2018 unless immediate action is taken.

The Herald endorses Church of Scotland plans to fire up to 100 ministers over the next four years, and encourages the Kirk’s plans to train lay ministers and assign ministers to multiple churches for the smaller congregations and for churches in the poorest areas of the cities.

A 30 April 2010 article by Brian Donnelly in The Herald titled “Kirk May Sell 1,500 Buildings” reports that the Church of Scotland may sell up to half of its 3000 buildings “as the Kirk faces a new future of merged parishes and dwindling funds.”

A 4 May 2010 BBC article titled “Kirk Seeks to Connect with Online Congregations” reports that the Church of Scotland is experimenting with video technology and online worship as potential cost saving methodologies.


+ The Herald, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Scotland G2 3QB, 0141- 302-7000, Fax: 0141-302-7117, On-lineEditor@theherald.co.uk

+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398

+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722


[9] South African Reformed Churches Join in Denunciation of “Kill the Boer” Song Prior to and in the Wake of Afrikaner Resistance Movement Leader Eugene Terreblanche’s Murder

Two days prior to the 10 April 2010 murder of long-time defender of apartheid and Afrikaner Resistance Movement leader Eugene Terreblanche, the Dutch Reformed Church sent a letter to South African media warning that the song “Kill the Boer,” then being made popular by African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema, was having a negative effect on South Africa.

The Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa also issued a statement condemning “Kill the Boer” and addressing related current political issues.

The president of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Tinyiko Maluleke, said Terreblanche‘s murder may increase division and conflict, and destroy reconciliation progress made since 1994. The SACC unqualifyingly condemned Terreblanche‘s murder and any attempts to justify it. The SACC additionally called on political leaders to refrain from instigating language that could incite further violence in the South Africa.


+ Reformed Ecumenical Council, 2050 Breton Road Southeast, Suite 102, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546, 616-949-2910, rvh@recweb.org

+ Dutch Reformed Church, Posbus 13528, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria, South Africa, 27-0-12-342-0092, Fax: 27-0-12-342-0380, algemenesinode@ngkerk.org.za

+ Afrikaner Resistance Movement, Post Office Box 274, Ventersdorp 2710, South Africa, 082-897-1018, awb@awb.co.za

+ African National Congress, 54 Sauer Street, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa, 011-376-1000, Fax: 011-376-1100, Contact Page

+ Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, c/o Professor S.T. Kgatla, 015-296-0005, Fax: 015-296-0005, kgatla@mweb.co.za

+ South African Council of Churches, Post Office Box 62098, Marshalltown 2107, South Africa, 27-11-241 7800, Fax: 27-11-492-1448, tilton@sacc.org.za


[10] New Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell Rescinds Order by Previous Virginia Governor Tim Kaine that State Police Chaplains Not Pray in the Name of Jesus

Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmidtt of The Pray in Jesus Name Project announced 28 April 2010 that new Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell rescinded the order of former Virginia Governer and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Tim Kaine forbidding Virginia State Police chaplains to pray in the name of Jesus, forcing the chaplains to deny Christ or resign from their ministry positions.


+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Pray In Jesus Name Ministries, Post Office Box 77077, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80970, 719-360-5132, chaplaingate@yahoo.com


[11] May-June 2010 Trinity Review Published

The May-June 2010 Trinity Review has been published, containing an article “The Roman Catholic Agenda Embedded in the Manhattan Declaration,” which is written by Richard Bennett, a former Roman Catholic priest, who is the President and Founder of Berean Beacon Ministries. Mr. Bennett convincingly demonstrates how the “Evangelical” signers of the Manhattan Declaration have been duped by the Roman Catholic Church-State’s social doctrine.

The May-June 2010 Trinity Review additionally features an update about current happenings in the Presbyterian Church in America.


+ The Trinity Foundation, Post Office Box 68, Unicoi, Tennessee 37692, 423-743-0199, Fax: 423-743-2005, tjtrinityfound@aol.com

+ Berean Beacon Ministries, Post Office Box 192, Del Valle, Texas 78617, bereanbeaconmail@yahoo.com

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

+ The Vatican, Città del Vaticano, Rome, Italy, 39-6-69-88-35-11, Fax: 39-6-69-88-54-47, Contact Page


[12] Bluegrass Concert 8 May 2010 at Firelands Presbyterian Church in Port Clinton, Ohio

The Bearea College Bluegrass Ensemble will be in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday 8 May 2010 at Firelands Presbyterian Church in Port Clinton, Ohio. General admission tickets are US$15.00 at the door and are free to students.

A YouTube video of the Bearea College Bluegrass Ensemble performing “The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore” is available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FqKRXPKTO4


+ Firelands Presbyterian Church, 2626 East Harbor Road, Port Clinton, Ohio 43452, 419-734-6211, secretary@firelandschurch.org

+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005


[13] Tea Partiers Treated as Enemies of the State

A 29 April 2010 article by Mark Alexander in The Patriot Post titled “Army Preps for Tea Party 'Terrorists'” reports that a recent military exercise scenario at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, where groups identified as violent threats to the army base included Tea Party demonstraters and health care protesters, who have bomb making materials, who have members with prior records for explosive and weapons violations, and “are armed, have combative training and some are former Military Snipers. Some may have explosives training / experience," and "a rally at their compound / training area is scheduled."

Senior command staff at Ft. Knox contacted Alexander the same day to say that the Tea Party and health care protester references had not been approved at the command level, and were removed. The command staff additionally said that those responsible for the Tea Party and health care references will “receive appropriate counsel."

A 28 April 2010 article by Doug Powers on Michelle Malkin’s website titled “Riot Police Called in to Protect Obama from Out of Control Tea Party” reports that when U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama arrived in Quincy, Illinois, to deliver a speech condemning greedy Wall Street corporations, riot police were called in to force a group of Tea Partiers from K & N Patriots to another location after they began singing “God Bless America” and “The Star Spangled Banner.” The official explanation was that the protesters refused to move when asked to do so, but Jim Hoft from First Things, says in a 29 April 2010 article titled “Obama Sniper Teams Ordered to Rooftops To Quash Radical Tea Party Protest (Video)” that the call to move the protesters came from U.S. President Obama’s entourage inside the community center.


+ Patriot Post, PO Box 507, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401, Contact Page

+ U.S. Army, 1400 Defense Pentagon, Washington DC 20301, 703-697-0050

+ Michelle Malkin, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 West Century Boulevard, Suite 700, Los Angeles, California 90045, writemalkin@gmail.com

+ K & N Patriots, 1939 Wentzville Parkway #141, Wentzville, Missouri 63385, chuck@macnab.com

+ First Things, 35 East 21st Street, 6th floor, New York, New York 10010, 212-627-1985, ft@firstthings.com