Presbyterians Week Headlines
[2] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Ordains Nineteen New Ministers
[5] Same-Sex Benefits Expanded for U.S. Federal Employees
[6] Ruth Institute 2009 “It Takes a Family to Raise a Village” Conference Videos Available On-Line
[9] Free Church of Scotland Missionary David Ford Blogs from Bible Seminary of Colombia
[10] The Historic Struggle between Presbyterianism and Erastianism
[11] June 2010 Reformation Voice Available for Download
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A 29 May 2010 Afghan Voice Agency article titled “US Toll Reaches 1,000 Deaths in Afghanistan War” reports that the 1000th U.S. serviceman of the Afghanistan War was killed by a roadside bomb on 29 May 2010.
A 2 June 2010 ASSIST News Service article by Dan Wooding titled “Afghan Parliamentarian Calls for Execution of Christians: Taliban Ideals Alive and Well in the Parliament” reports after a video was broadcast by the Afghan television network Noorin TV of Christian men being baptized and praying in Farsi, deputy secretary of the Afghan lower house in parliament Abdul Sattar Khawasi said: “Those Afghans that appeared in this video film should be executed in public. The house should order the attorney general and the NDS (intelligence agency) to arrest these Afghans and execute them.”
A 4 June 2010 Assyrian International News Agency article titled “Child Brides Escape Marriage, But Not Lashes” reports that two teenage girls, age thirteen and fourteen, forced to marry men much older than themselves, donned boy’s clothing and escaped from their husbands. The girls traveled for two days until they were detained by police and returned to their home village in the Ghor Province, where the girls were publicly and savagely flogged for running away from their husbands.
Videos of the beatings were smuggled out to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, which released them 29 May 2010 after unsuccessfully lobbying for Afghan government action.
The New York Times has posted one of the videos on its website.
+ Afghan Voice Agency, Kabul, Afghanistan, 0093700275828, hosseinimazari@yahoo.com
[2] Presbyterian Church of Ghana Ordains Nineteen New Ministers
A 3 June 2010 article by Agona Swedru on GhanaWeb titled “Agona Swedru Presbyterian Church Ordains Nineteen New Ministers” reports that nineteen new ministers were recently ordained into the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) at the Presbyterian Church at Agona Swedru.
In a sermon, the Rt. Rev. Dr Yaw Frimpong-Manso, moderator of the PCG general assembly, said: “You have the task of bringing all members of your congregation into fellowship and helping to educate them to lead sound moral lives" and told the new ministers that the Church must nurture the youth into a vibrant constituent to begin to play their roles alongside the adults. Frimpong-Manso said that the greatest challenge of ministers of God is to save the lives of the youth and vulnerable in society, by campaigning against vices such as alcoholism, pre-marital sex, pornography, bad movies, portrayal of crimes and armed robbery in films, and Internet fraud. Frimpong-Manso charged the ministers to "take time daily to read the scriptures devotionally for your own benefit with no thought of preaching or teaching in mind."
+ GhanaWeb, Poederooienstraat 66, 1106 CK Amsterdam, Netherlands, 31-207700126, Fax: 1-815-6429100, akoto@ghanaweb.com
+ Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Post Office Box GP 1800, Accra, Ghana, 233-21-662511, Fax: 233-21-665594, pcghg@yahoo.com
A 5 June 2010 ThisDayOnline article titled “God Ordained Jonathan’s Presidency, Says Church” reports that a communiqué issued at the end of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria’s General Assembly Executive Committee meeting says that the ascendancy of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan from the position of deputy governor four years ago to the exalted post of President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces is a manifestation of the scripture that says that “the race is neither for the swift nor the battle for the strong,” (Eccl: 9: 11).
The communiqué urges President Jonathan to allow himself to be used of God to transform Nigeria, and to face, as a matter of priority, the challenges of peace and development in the Niger Delta, curbing the high incidence of violence in Nigeria, development of a regular and affordable power supply, electoral reforms, and fighting corruption.
+ ThisDayOnline, 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria, 234-8022924721-2, Fax: 234-1-4600276, info@thisdayonline.com
+ Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, 26 Ehere Road, Post Office Box 2635, Aba, Abia, Nigeria, 082-234-780
A 6 June 2010 Times of India article “Mizo Church Warning to Homosexuals” reports that at a meeting held the first week of June 2010, the Mizoram Synod of the Presbyterian Church of India said that homosexuality is against the tenets of Christianity, and has threatened to excommunicate and suspend its homosexual members if they are found living together.
+ Times Internet Ltd., 5th Floor, Times Tower, Trade Gardens, Kamala Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai, India, dinesh.das@timesgroup.com
+ Mizoram Presbyterian Church Synod, Synod Office, Aizawl, Mizoram 796 001, India, 9-0389-2326372, Fax: 91-0389-2322132, synod@sancharnet.in
[5] Same-Sex Benefits Expanded for U.S. Federal Employees
A 3 June 2010 CitizenLink press release by Kim Trobee titled “Administration Expands Federal Same-Sex Benefits” reports that on 3 June 2010, U.S. President Barrack Hussein Obama announced the extension of more benefits to the same-sex partners of U.S. federal employees.
A presidentially-ordered year-long examination into other benefits that could be given to same-sex partners showed some agencies could offer credit union memberships, adoption counseling, gym memberships, reimbursements for health insurance premiums, dental and vision insurance, and modification of some types of business travel policies.
The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prohibits the U.S. president from giving full benefits to same-sex couples. Bill Duncan, director of the Marriage Law Foundation, said: "The administration's trying to signal that they want to do something to start to chip away at the Defense of Marriage Act.”
+ Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995, 800-232-6459
+ The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20500, 202-456-1414, Fax: 202-456-2461, Contact Page
+ Marriage Law Foundation, 1014 East 590 South, Orem, Utah 84097, 801-367-4570
[6] Ruth Institute 2009 “It Takes a Family to Raise a Village” Conference Videos Available On-Line
Videos of the presentations made at the Ruth Institute’s “It Takes a Family to Raise a Village” conference held 6-9 August 2009 at the University of San Diego in San Diego, California, are available via the Internet, including Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Professor Robert Gagnon’s presentation “Paul and Homosexual Practice,” which makes a case for why it is known that Paul's indictment of homosexual practice in Romans 1:24-27 was absolute, inclusive of committed homosexual unions and orientation.
Additional presentations available include:
-- Opening Remarks and Closing Keynote Address - by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse
-- “The Law and Marriage and Child Custody” Law by Mr. Bill Duncan
-- “Physiology of Casual Sex I and II” by Dr. Gary Rose
-- “Marriage and Kids” by Dr. Brad Wilcox
+ Ruth Institute. 663 South Rancho Santa Fe Road, Suite 222, San Marcos, California 92078, 760-295-9278, jgruber.ruthinstitute@gmail.com
+ Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 North Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206, 412-362-5610, Fax: 412-363-3260
The 24-30 May 2010 edition of Taiwan Church News, in an article by Lin Yi-ying and Lydia Ma titled “PCT leads thousands in prayer at ECFA sit-in on May 20,” reported that Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) General Secretary Andrew Chang led more than 1,000 participants in prayer for a petition campaign for a national referendum on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with Communist China favored by Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou.
Chang criticized President Ma’s disappointing performance, disregard for Taiwanese people, and China-leaning policies. He especially used the ECFA as an illustration of the Ma administration’s shortcomings and failings.
Chang said that the real problem with the ECFA wasn’t so much whether Taiwan should sign the agreement, but rather, the unsettling fact that the Ma administration has persistently hidden details and negative consequences of signing ECFA from Taiwanese people.
According to Chang, PCT has always maintained that Taiwan is an independent country and must be protected from corrupt and greedy politicians. Calling a referendum on ECFA is a means to strengthen and exercise democracy and rally people to protect it. The PCT General Assembly Executive Committee voted several months ago to support the PCT as a sponsor of the ECFA referendum.
Chang urged President Ma to relent and accept the result of a possible referendum, noting that a referendum is the most basic form of democracy and that President Ma ought to hear and respect the wishes of the people.
+ Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, 334 Youth Road, Tainan City, 70144 Taiwan, 886-6-235-6277, Fax: 886-6-237-8882, enews@pctpress.org
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary has scheduled the 2010 Summer Institute for 2-6 August 2010 on the subject of “Issues in Medical Ethics for the 21st Century: Application of Biblical Principles to Medical Ethics with Emphasis on Apologetics and Counseling.”
The Summer Institute presenter is Dr. Lawrence D. "Del" Bailey, staff physician with the Sullivan Digestive Center in Kingsport, Tennessee, specializing in gastroenterology and internal medicine. Dr. Bailey is a ruling elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Kingsport and was the coordinator of the recently-completed Biblical Worldview Student Conference at Milligan College near Johnson City, Tennessee.
Tuition through 3 July 2010 for the Summer Institute is US$225, US$200 for the 2nd and any additional members of the same church. A US$25 late fee will be applied to each registration after 3 July. Registration is available at:
http://www.gpts.edu/pastors/src/registration.php
+ Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 200 East Main Street, Post Office Box 690, Taylors, South Carolina, 29687, 864-322-2717, Fax: 864-322-2719, info@gpts.edu
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[9] Free Church of Scotland Missionary David Ford Blogs from Bible Seminary of Colombia
Free Church of Scotland (FCS) missionary David Ford, who teaches New Testament and Church History at the Bible Seminary of Colombia (BSC) in Medellín, Colombia, has written a 2 June 2010 article on the FCS website titled “Executioner’s Steps,” where he expresses concern about the future of the BSC due to current due bills of UK£40,000 with only UK£2,000 in the bank.
Ford writes that the thirty staff members of BSC are currently without salaries, that all financial reserves have evaporated, and says, “the Seminary’s just not sustainable in its present form. Generous donations this month will simply waylay the executioner.”
Ford additionally writes that some of the normal seminary business goes on as usual, and that God is God and so seemingly impossible problems can be solved “in unthought-of ways.”
Ford concludes that the entirety of the problems “leaves me shaken, nervous, and in a fog. Jesus’ “of little faith” disciples perhaps felt the same.”
The editor asks each Presbyterians Week reader to consider bringing Professor Ford and the BSC before the Throne of Grace.
+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk
+ Bible Seminary of Colombia, Calle 76 No. 87 – 14, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, 57-4-264-03-03, 57-4-4-22-07 80, Contact Page
[10] The Historic Struggle between Presbyterianism and Erastianism
Assistant Professor of History at Patrick Henry College, ordained minister in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP), and assistant in the teaching ministry of Good News Presbyterian Church in Frederick, Maryland, the Rev. Dr. William VanDoodewaard, on 25 May 2010 published on the Gospel Coalition website an article titled “The Church: Her Authority in Christ,” which begins by asking why officers being ordained in denominations such as the ARP, in addition to church doctrinal agreements, accept “the government, discipline, and worship of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as agreeable to and founded on the Word of God” and promise “to submit in the spirit of love to the authority of the Presbytery in subordination to the General Synod, and to promote the unity, peace, purity and prosperity of the Church.”
Dr. VanDoodewaard then addresses one of the reasons for such vows, which is the historic struggle between Presbyterianism and Erastianism - Erastianism being defined as undue subservience of the church to the state – then presents the history of this struggle during the 16th to 18th centuries. The writings of Andrew Melville, George Gillespie, and Ebenezer Erskine on several aspects of Erastrianism are examined, Erskine concluding that the issue of patronage in the selection of ministers amounted to “…invasions and encroachments made upon the authority of Christ…”
Dr. VanDoodewaard then discusses the Erastian influences upon the Erskine College and Theological Seminary supporters in their actions, including a lawsuit, following the March 2010 called meeting of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian General Synod.
Dr. VanDoodewaard concludes the essay, stating, “…the heart of the matter for the life of the church is not whether institutions are retained, or properties kept: it is far more crucial that informed vows of both confessional subscription and church governance be upheld in a spirit of determined, compassionate love for the body of Christ’s church. For when the vows of pastors, elders, and members fail to be meaningful, and accountable, the church herself fails to be the church, the living gospel, of her Savior and King, Jesus Christ.”
+ The Gospel Coalition, 2065 Half Day Road, Deerfield, Illinois 60015, contact@thegospelcoalition.org
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, Post Office Box 668, Due West, South Carolina, 800-770-6936
[11] June 2010 Reformation Voice Available for Download
The June 2010 Reformation Voice is available for download at the Heidelberg Reformation Association website.
+ Heidelberg Reformation Association, Rev. Howard Sloan, Secretary, 5543 Business 220, Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522
Following the 9 December 2009 proposed decision of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) Standing Judicial Committee (SJC) in the case concerning the PCA Pacific Northwest Presbytery (PNP) and the theological views of teaching elder Peter Leithart, Robert Rayburn of the PNP filed a supplemental brief concerning the proceedings and conclusions of the SJC in adjudicating case 2009-6 Complaint of Jim Bordwine vs. Pacific Northwest Presbytery.
Blogger Jeff Meyers of the Biblical Horizons Blog has posted Robert Rayburn’s supplemental brief, and urges that it be read, stating: “He nails it. He nails the SJC. But will he be heard? Will anyone in the PCA care? Those are the big questions.”
+ Biblical Horizons Blog, jbjordan@biblicalhorizons.com
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
