24 November 2010

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Backlash Begins over Free Church of Scotland Decision to Allow Hymns and Musical Instruments in Worship Services, and an Anglican Tradition Begins in Edinburgh

[2] Mackenzie Presbyterian University of São Paulo, Brazil, under Attack from Homosexual Activists and Politicians, Releases Manifesto Upholding Scripture and the Gospel of Salvation

[3] Southern Poverty Law Center in 2011 to List Thirteen Pro-Family Groups as “Hate Groups”

[4] Trustees and Creditors Question Spending Practices at Bankrupt Crystal Cathedral

[5] PCA Presbytery Voting on BCO Chapter Fourteen Amendments is Now Seventeen to Sixteen in Favor with Forty-Six Presbyteries Remaining to Vote

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[1] Backlash Begins over Free Church of Scotland Decision to Allow Hymns and Musical Instruments in Worship Services, and an Anglican Tradition Begins in Edinburgh

A 22 November 2010 STV article titled “Minister Walks Out on Free Church after Hymn Wrangle” reports that the Rev. Kenneth Stewart, pastor of the Dowanvale Free Church of Scotland (FCS) in Partick, Glasgow, Scotland, on 21 November 2010, announced to the congregation that he is taking a one month leave of absence to decide whether or not to leave Dowanvale and the FCS because of the 17 November 2010 decision by a plenary assembly of the FCS in Edinburgh, Scotland, after 105 years of legislation to the contrary, to introduce hymns and musical instruments into FCS worship services.

Pastor Stewart told the Dowanvale congregation “It seems clear to me, that in spite of a lifelong adherence to the [FCS] and a lifelong commitment to it, I can no longer continue in it, at least not in office.” Mr. Stewart additionally said that the assembly vote to introduce hymns and musical instruments into worship services break the vows that FCS ministers make to God upon ordination, and that the 17 November vote contradicts “the law of the church and [was] against the advice of the Assembly Clerks.” Mr. Stewart added: “The church ought not to have required me to do it. Even the church has no right to alter the meaning of my vows without my consent.”

Meanwhile, the Buccleuch & Greyfriars FCS in Edinburgh, Scotland, has scheduled a Lessons and Carols Service for 11 December 2010 at 4:00 p.m.

The first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service was held in King's College Chapel in Cambridge, England, the evening of 24 December 1918 in order “…to bring a more imaginative approach to worship.”


+ STV, Pacific Quay, Glasgow G51 1PQ, Scotland, 0141-300-3000, yourview@stv.tv

+ 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

+ King's College, King's Parade, Cambridge CB2 1ST, England, 44-0-1223-331100, info@kings.cam.ac.uk

+ Church of England, Church House, Great Smith Street, Westminster, SW1P 3AZ, England, 44-0-20-7898-1000


[2] Mackenzie Presbyterian University of São Paulo, Brazil, under Attack from Homosexual Activists and Politicians, Releases Manifesto Upholding Scripture and the Gospel of Salvation

The following press release has been issued by Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo, Brazil:

“In Brazil, a bill (PL 122/2006) has been proposed in order to pass a law with the objective of “combating homophobia.” This bill characterizes as a crime “any intimidating or vexing action, of moral, ethical, philosophical or psychological nature” that involves homosexuality. Based on this project, homosexual activists in Brazil initiated active opposition to Christian psychologists who offer treatment for those who wish to leave homosexuality (as with Rozangela Justino) and to pastors (such as Lutheran the Rev. Ademir Kreutzfeld) who have publicly counseled their flock to avoid the homosexual lifestyle. In 2007, evangelicals and Christians in general believed that if the law should be approved, they would be punished for publicly treating homosexuality as sin, which would be contrary to the freedom of religious expression granted by the Brazilian Constitution, Thus, Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo, a centenary institution of higher learning, with a body of 45,000 students and 1900 professors, whose lifelong associate is the Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPB), published a portion of the position taken by the denomination on this matter on its site. This post was signed by its Chancellor, the Rev. Dr. Augustus Nicodemus Gomes Lopes. Recently, this text and the institution have come to be accused of being homophobic by gay organizations, with ample support of the media. Its position has been distorted and presented as if it is “intentionally promoting the right to be homophobic.” A photo of the Rev. Augustus Nicodemus is being shown on various gay sites on the Internet, accompanied by words of hate and insulting comments directed at him, evangelicals and the Bible.

“Therefore, we, as evangelical Christians in Brazil, seek the prayers and support of fellow believers in other countries. We have also decided to issue the following manifesto, for which we seek widespread circulation:

“Mackenzie University: In Defense of Freedom of Religious Expression

“Mackenzie Presbyterian University (Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie) has recently come under attack for an allegedly “homophobic” text that has been on its site since 2007. We, from several Christian denominations, wish to express our solidarity with this institution. We rise up against the indiscriminate use of the term “homophobia,” that is being applied not only to murderers, assailants and discriminators of homosexual persons, but also to Christian religious leaders who, according to the light of Holy Scripture, consider homosexuality a sin. After all, our freedom of conscience and expression may not be denied us, nor may it be confounded with violence. We believe that mentioning sins in order to call people to voluntary repentance is an integral part of announcing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No declaration of hate may be based on the preaching of the love and of the grace of God.

“As Christians, we have the biblical mandate to offer the Gospel of salvation to all people. Jesus Christ died to save and reconcile human beings with God. We believe, according to the Scriptures, that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We are sinners, every one of us. There is no division between “sinners” and “non-sinners.” The Bible presents us with long lists of sins and informs us that, without God’s forgiveness, human beings are lost and condemned. We know that the following are sins: “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; murders, drunkenness, orgies, and the like” (Galatians 5:19). In their traditional and historical interpretation, the Judeo-Christian Scriptures deal with homosexual conduct as sin, as can be shown by texts like Leviticus 18:22, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Romans 1:18-32, as well as others. If we desire the repentance and the conversion of the lost, we must also name this sin. We do not desire legally-enforced changes in behavior but, rather, conversion of the heart. And conversion of the heart does not occur because of external pressure, but by the gracious and persuasive act of the Holy Spirit of God who, as Jesus Christ taught, convicts of “sin, righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).

“We therefore wish to certify that the eventual approval of so-called anti-homophobia laws will not hinder us from extending this invitation freely to all, an invitation that may also be refused. We are not in favor of any kind of law that forbids homosexual conduct; in the same manner, we are contrary to any law that goes against a principle that is very dear to Brazilian society: freedom of conscience. The Federal Constitution (Article 5) guarantees that “all are equal before the law,” stipulates that “liberty of conscience and of belief are inviolable,” and specifies that “no one may be denied rights by reason of religious belief or due to philosophical or political convictions.” We are also opposed to any external force – intimidation, threats, verbal or physical aggression – that is intended to change a person’s mind-set. We do not accept that the criminalization of opinions be a valid instrument for social transformation because, besides being unconstitutional, this foments an undesirable wave of authoritarianism, undermining the foundations of democracy. In the same way that we do not seek to repress homosexual conduct with coercive measures, we do not want these same means to be used to make us stop preaching what we believe. We want to maintain our freedom to announce repentance and God’s forgiveness publicly. We want to maintain our right to open confessional educational institutions that reflect our Christian worldview. We want to guarantee that our religious community may express itself about all matters that are important to society.

“We, therefore, manifest our full support for the pronouncement by the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, published in 2007:

http://www.ipb.org.br/noticias/noticia_inteligente.php3?id=808

and partially reproduced, also in 2007, on the site of the Mackenzie Presbyterian University, by its chancellor, the Rev. Dr. Augustus Nicodemus Gomes Lopes. If homosexual activists intend to criminalize the posture of the Mackenzie Presbyterian University, they should also prepare to equally face the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, all of the country’s evangelical churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Jewish Congregation of Brazil and, in the last instance, to censure the Judeo-Christian Scriptures themselves. Our law guarantees that individuals, religious groups and institutions have the right to express their confessional position and conscience in subjection to the Word of God. We take this firm stand so that this freedom may not be taken away from us.”


+ Instituto Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Rua da Consolação, 930, Cep 01302-907, Consolação, São Paulo, SP/Brasil, Brasil, 11-2114-8000, centralatendimento@mackenzie.br

+ Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil, São Paulo, SP/Brasil, Brasil, portalipb@ipb.org


[3] Southern Poverty Law Center in 2011 to List Thirteen Pro-Family Groups as “Hate Groups”

In addition to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)’s list of Neo-Nazi, White Nationalist, Ku Klux Klan, Christian Identity, Anti-Immigrant, Black Separatist, and other organizations the SPLC designates as “Hate Groups,” the following organizations that uphold biblical principles of human sexuality will be in the SPLC’s 2011 list of “Hate Groups”:

-- Abiding Truth Ministries

-- American Family Association

-- Americans for Truth About Homosexuality

-- American Vision

-- Chalcedon Foundation

-- Dove World Outreach Center

-- Faithful Word Baptist Church of Tempe, Arizona

-- Family Research Council

-- Family Research Institute

-- Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment

-- Illinois Family Institute

-- MassResistance

-- Traditional Values Coalition

In addition to the SPLC “Hate Groups” listed above, the SPLC includes on its list of “[Eighteen] Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda” the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, Concerned Women for America, Coral Ridge Ministries, Liberty Counsel, and National Organization for Marriage.

The American Family Association was a key advocate leading up to the November 2010 Iowa elections where three Iowa Supreme Court justices who had ruled for legalizing homosexual marriage were given a vote of no confidence by Iowa voters and removed from the Iowa Supreme Court.

The SPLC commended Focus on the Family and its new president Jim Daly, who took over FOF when founder Dr. James Dobson retired, for markedly moderating FOF’s position on homosexuality, illustrated by an April 2010 interview where Daly said: “I will continue to defend traditional marriage, but I’m not going to demean human beings in the process. It’s not about being highly confrontational.”

+ Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104, 334-956-8200, Contact Page


[4] Trustees and Creditors Question Spending Practices at Bankrupt Crystal Cathedral

An 18 November 2010 article by Abby Sewell and Nicole Santa Cruz in the
Los Angeles Times titled “Bankruptcy Official Questions Crystal Cathedral Compensation” reports that the U.S. trustee and bankruptcy creditors for the Crystal Cathedral (CC) (Reformed Church in America (RCA)) bankruptcy proceedings are questioning some of the spending practices at the church that included CC Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Fred Southard in 2009 receiving US$132,019 of a total compensation package of US$144,261 in the form of a federal-tax-free housing allowance and having only US$15 withheld for federal taxes.

Additional questions are being asked about what appear to be positions within the church with duplicate responsibilities, including a full time accountant whose duties overlap those of Mr. Southard, and the position of director of programming with an annual salary of US$69,525 held by Gretchen Penner, the daughter of CC founder the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, and the position of programming manager with an annual salary of US$55,100 held by Grechen Penner’s mother-in-law Neva Penner Klaassen.

Mr. Southard is under additional scrutiny because federal-tax-exempt housing allowances are legal only for ordained, commissioned, or licensed ministers who perform certain duties for the church. The RCA had no record of Mr. Southard being commissioned or ordained a pastor, and Mr. Southard subsequently explained that he was ordained as a minister by the CC independently of the RCA in approximately 2000, which is when Mr. Southard began receiving most of his compensation as a federal-tax-exempt housing allowance. Mr. Southard said that in addition to his duties as CFO, that he occasionally preached and led a weekly Bible study.


+ Los Angeles Times, 202 West 1st Street, Los Angeles, California 90012, 213-237-5000, Fax: 213-237-7679, Contact Page

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


[5] PCA Presbytery Voting on BCO Chapter Fourteen Amendments is Now Seventeen to Sixteen in Favor with Forty-Six Presbyteries Remaining to Vote

As of 20 November 2010, Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) presbytery voting upon the proposed changes to Book of Church Order (BCO) Chapter Fourteen regarding funding of the PCA Administrative Committee is Seventeen to Sixteen in favor of the amendments, with Forty-Six PCA presbyteries remaining to vote. With the assumed completion of all PCA presbytery fall stated meetings for 2010, voting by the forty-six remaining presbyteries will begin sometime in January 2011.

A total PCA presbytery vote of fifty-three in favor will be necessary to pass the amendments, while alternatively a negative vote by twenty-seven PCA presbyteries will defeat the proposed amendments.


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

19 November 2010 - Special Edition

[1] Free Church of Scotland Overturns 105 Years of Exclusive Unaccompanied Psalmody

Contrary to the earlier prediction in the 17 November 2010 Presbyterians Week, the Free Church of Scotland (FCS) General Assembly, in a plenary assembly on 19 November 2010, by a vote of 98 to 84, abandoned a 105-year legislative requirement for exclusive unaccompanied psalmody dating back to a 25 May 1905 act of the FCS General Assembly that recalled four late 19^th century resolutions authorizing and sanctioning the use of uninspired hymns and an 1883 resolution regarding instrumental music.

The following amendment offered the evening of 18 November 2010 by the Rev. Alex J. MacDonald, after debate, was passed 19 November 2010 by a show of hands voting 98-84 in favor:

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“That paragraphs 3 to 8 of the Deliverance be deleted and replaced with the following paragraphs (paragraph 9 in the Deliverance to become paragraph 11):

“3. The General Assembly, recognising that, after consideration of the Biblical and theological questions and widespread consultation throughout the Church on the question of the form of worship presently practised, there are equally conscientious and Biblically grounded but differing views on the subject, ordain and enact in the following terms.

“4. The General Assembly hereby repeal Act V, Class II, 1932; Act I, Class I, 1910; Act VI, Class II, 1910; Act V, Class II, 1905; Act of Assembly, of date 31st May 1883, entitled “VII. Act anent Instrumental Music (No. 4 of Class II)”; and resolutions authorising and sanctioning the use of uninspired hymns, of dates June 3, 1872; May 27, 1881 May 26, 1896; and May 24, 1897.

“5. The General Assembly declare that purity of worship requires that every aspect of worship services, including sung praise, be consistent with the Word of God and with the whole doctrine of the Confession of Faith approved by previous Assemblies of this Church.

“6. The General Assembly ordain that every service of congregational worship shall include the singing of Psalms.

“7. The General Assembly ordain that, with regard to the sung praise of congregations in worship, each Kirk Session shall have freedom, either to restrict the sung praise to the Psalms, or to include paraphrases of Scripture, and hymns and spiritual songs consistent with the doctrine of the Confession of Faith; that each Kirk Session shall have freedom whether to permit musical accompaniment to the sung praise in worship, or not.

“8. The General Assembly advise that, notwithstanding the foregoing, no Kirk Session should agree to a change in sung praise or musical accompaniment against the wishes of the minister of the congregation, and that a visiting minister, presiding at a service in a congregation where the aforementioned freedom to use uninspired materials of praise and musical instruments has been exercised, may exercise that freedom or not as he sees fit.

“9. The General Assembly ordain that in meetings of Church Courts the use of uninspired materials of praise and of instrumental music will be avoided.

“10. The General Assembly appoint a Special Committee (using consultants as required) to investigate the feasibility and desirability of producing a recommended list of paraphrases of Scripture and hymns and spiritual songs consistent with the Word of God and the whole doctrine of the Confession of Faith, and whether the Free Church ought to produce a praise resource supplementary to the Psalter, and to report to the 2011 General Assembly.”

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The following prior acts of the FCS General Assembly are instructive regarding the historical significance of today’s events:

“V. - Act anent Public Worship (No. 5 of Class II.). Edinburgh, 25th May 1905. Sess. 5.

“1. The General Assembly hereby recall resolutions authorising and sanctioning the use of uninspired hymns, of dates June 3, 1872; May 27, 1881 May 26, 1896; and May 24, 1897; and repeal Act of Assembly, of date 31st. May 1883, entitled “VII. Act anent Instrumental Music (No. 4 of Class II. ).

“2. The General Assembly reaffirm the Disruption position of 1843 in respect of doctrine, worship, discipline, and government, and enjoin all their congregations to adhere to purity of worship, as that was understood and practiced at that period, and so secure that the present practice of the Church be in accord with the terms of the Formula of 1846, “purity of worship presently authorised and practised in the Free Church of Scotland.”

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“I. - Act anent Public Worship (No. 1 of Class I.) Edinburgh 31st May 1910. Sess. 11.

“Whereas the maintenance in all respects by this Church of her historic position, as the Church of Scotland Free, ought to be made abundantly clear, and any misunderstanding regarding the same prevented; Whereas evil effects arose from the introduction of uninspired materials of praise at variance with the Scriptural principles and usage regulating her worship, as also of instrumental music, by the late prevailing party in her judicatures; and Whereas, on the secession of that party in October 1900, neither of these innovations remained within her borders, and they are now authoritatively proscribed by Act of Assembly, 1905, entitled, Act anent Public Worship (No. 5 of Class II.); and Whereas, further, the peace and harmony of this Church ought to be safeguarded against disturbance in all time coming from attempts to introduce these and similar innovations, the General Assembly (with the consent of Presbyteries) do, therefore, resolve to embody in this present Act, the Act XV. of Assembly 1707, entitled Act against Innovations in the Worship of God, that thereby the better knowledge and observance of the same may be secured, the terms whereof are these :- “ The General Assembly of this Church, taking into their serious consideration that the purity of religion, and particularly of Divine worship, and uniformity therein, is a signal blessing to the Church of God, and that it hath been the great happiness of this Church, ever since her reformation from Popery, to have enjoyed and maintained the same in a great measure, and that any attempts made for the introduction of innovations in the worship of God therein have been of fatal and dangerous consequence: Likeas, by the 5th Act of the Parliament, anno 1690, and 23rd Act of the Parliament, 1693 years [C. 22 in Claim, Declaration, and Protest, and 38 in the Record Edition of the Acts of Parliament], and the Act lately passed for security of the present Church Establishment, the foresaid purity and uniformity of worship are expressly provided for; and being well informed, by representations sent from several Presbyteries of this Church, that innovations, particularly in the Public Worship of God, are of late set up in some places in public assemblies within their respective bounds, and that endeavours are used to promote the same, by persons of known disaffection to the present establishment, both of Church and State, the introduction whereof was not so much as once attempted, even during the late Prelacy; and considering also that such innovations are dangerous to this Church, and manifestly contrary to our known principle, (which is, that nothing is to be admitted in the worship of God but what is prescribed in the Holy Scriptures), to the constant practice of this Church, and against the good and laudable laws made since the late happy Revolution for establishing and securing the same, in her doctrine, worship, discipline, and government, and that they tend to the fomenting of schism and division, to the disturbance of the peace and quiet both of Church and State: Therefore, the General Assembly being moved with zeal, for the glory of God, and the purity and uniformity of His worship, doth hereby discharge the practice of all such innovations in Divine worship within this Church, and does require and obtest all the ministers of this Church, especially those in whose bounds any such innovations are, or may happen to be, to represent to their people the evil thereof, and seriously to exhort them to beware of them, and to deal with all such as do practice the same, in order to their recovery and reformation; and do instruct and enjoin the Commission of this Assembly to use all proper means, by applying to the Government or otherwise, for suppressing and removing all such innovations, and preventing the evils and dangers that may ensue thereupon to this Church.” And the Assembly declare that they ratify and approve the said Act XV., 1707, thus hereinbefore expressed as setting forth the permanent principles regulating the purity of worship maintained by this Church, and asserting the fatal and dangerous consequence of attempts to innovate upon the said purity of worship, and that the historical references thereof are to be held as illustrative of the godly zeal of their forefathers in maintaining these principles, - not necessarily, however, with full approval of their methods, and the injunctions contained therein are to be implemented in accordance with the declarations contained in Act XII., 1846. Accordingly, the Assembly prohibit the practice of all such innovations in Divine worship within this Church, and require all the ministers of this Church, especially those whose congregations may happen to be in danger of being contaminated thereby, to represent to their people the evil thereof, and seriously to exhort them to beware of them. They enjoin Presbyteries, where innovations are represented as having taken place, in the order and form of Public Worship, confirmed by Acts of Assembly, and presently practiced in this Church, to adopt such course as seems best fitted for restoring uniformity within their bounds, and decree that orders of Presbytery, issued to that effect, are to be obeyed, until reversed or modified by the Superior Courts. Further, they instruct and enjoin the Commission of this Assembly to use all proper means for suppressing and removing all such innovations, should they appear in connection with any of the congregations, and for preventing the evils and dangers that may ensue thereupon to this Church.”

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“VI. - Act anent Reading Act I. Class I., 1910 (No. 5 of Class II.)

“The Assembly enact and ordain that the following portions, brevitatis causa, of the Act be publicly read before the Questions appointed by Act XII., 1846, at ordinations and inductions. Whereas the maintenance in all respects by this Church of her historic position, as the Church of Scotland Free, ought to be made abundantly clear, and any misunderstanding regarding the same prevented; Whereas evil effects arose from the introduction of uninspired materials of praise at variance with the Scriptural principles and usage regulating her worship, as also of instrumental music, by the late prevailing party in her judicatures ; and Whereas, on the secession of that party in October 1900, neither of these innovations remained within her borders, and they are now authoritatively proscribed by Act of Assembly, 1905, entitled, Act anent Public Worship (No. 5 of Class II.); and Whereas, further, the peace and harmony of this Church ought to be safeguarded against disturbance in all time coming from attempts to introduce these and similar innovations, the General Assembly (with the consent of Presbyteries), do, herefore, resolve to embody in this present Act, the Act XV. Of Assembly 1707, entitled Act against Innovations in the Worship of God, that thereby the better knowledge and observance of the same may be secured, the terms whereof are these :- “ The General Assembly of this Church, - taking into their serious consideration that the purity of religion, and particularly of Divine Worship, and uniformity therein, is a signal blessing to the Church of God, and that it hath been the great happiness of this Church, ever since her reformation from Popery, to have enjoyed and maintained the same in a great measure, and that any attempts made for the introduction of innovations in the worship of God therein have been of fatal and dangerous consequence Likeas, by the 5th Act of the Parliament, anno 1690, and 23rd Act of the Parliament, 1693 years [C. 22 in Claim, Declaration, and Protest, and 38 in the Record Edition of the Acts of Parliament], and the Act lately passed for security of the present Church Establishment the foresaid purity and uniformity of worship are expressly provided for; and being well informed, by representations sent from several Presbyteries of this Church, that innovations, particularly in the Public Worship of God, are of late set up in some places in public assemblies within their respective bounds, and that endeavours are used to promote the same, by persons of known disaffection to the present establishment, both of Church and State, the introduction whereof was not so much as once attempted, even during the late Prelacy; and considering also that such innovations are dangerous to this Church, and manifestly contrary to our known principle (which is, that nothing is to be admitted in the worship of God but what is prescribed in the Holy Scriptures), to the constant practice of this Church, and against the good and laudable laws made since the late happy Revolution for establishing and securing the same, in her doctrine, worship, discipline, and government, and that they tend to the fomenting of schism and division, to the disturbance of the peace and quiet both of Church and State . . . .” Accordingly, the Assembly (of the Free Church of Scotland) prohibit the practice of all such innovations in Divine worship within this Church, and require all the ministers of this Church, especially those whose congregations may happen to be in danger of being contaminated thereby, to represent to their people the evil thereof, and seriously to exhort them to beware of them. They enjoin Presbyteries, where innovations are represented as having taken place, in the order and form of Public Worship, confirmed by Acts of Assembly, and presently practiced in this Church, to adopt such course as seems best fitted for restoring uniformity within their bounds, and decree that orders of Presbytery, issued to that effect, are to be obeyed, until reversed or modified by the Superior Courts. Further, they instruct and enjoin the Commission of this Assembly to use all proper means for suppressing and removing all such innovations, should they appear in connection with any of the congregations, and for preventing the evils and dangers that may ensue thereupon to this Church.”

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“V. - Act anent Requirement at Ordinations and Inductions (No. 5 of Class II) Edinburgh, 30th May 1932. Sess. 10. (The date and session should be 31st. May Sess.11)

“The General Assembly enact and ordain that at Ordinations and Inductions the presiding Minister shall, prior to putting the appointed questions to the Ordinand, make the following intimation, namely :- It is my duty to explain to you, and also to the Congregation here present, with reference to that part of the question which will be put to you as to “ Purity of Worship as presently practised in this Church,” that, in 1910, the General Assembly reaffirmed the legislation of the Church as to uniformity in public worship going back to the year 1707; and that, in accordance with that legislation, it is the present practice of the Free Church to avoid the use in public worship of uninspired materials of praise as also of instrumental music. Such present practice determines the purity of worship to the maintenance of which the Ordinand pledges himself.

“The General Assembly repeal Act VI. 1910.”

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+ 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

17 November 2010

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Al Qaeda Cleric Joins U.S. Capitol Hill Weekly Friday Muslim Jummah Prayers

[2] Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Advises Muslim Women Air Travelers on Full Body X-Ray Scans and Enhanced Full Body Pat Downs

[3] Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Fighting Oklahoma Proposition to Ban Application of Foreign Law and Sharia Law in Court Decisions

[4] Sarah Palin Characterized as Hardcore Feminist with No Christian/Biblical View of What God Says is the Role of Mothers/Wives

[5] PCA Presbyteries 15-10 Against Adoption of Administrative Committee Funding Amendments as of 15 November 2010

[6] Evangelical Theological Society 17-19 November 2010 Meeting with the Theme ‘Justification by Faith’ Includes New Perspectives on Paul Advocate the Rt. Rev. N. T. Wright as Plenary Speaker

[7] Palestinian-American Christian Asserts Distorted Eschatology Trumps Ethics in Some Evangelical Christians Regarding Modern Israel

[8] Free Church of Scotland Expected to Retain Exclusive Psalmody

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[1] Al Qaeda Cleric Joins U.S. Capitol Hill Weekly Friday Muslim Jummah Prayers

A 12 November 2010 article on Fox News titled “Conservative Group Calls on Justice Dept. to Investigate Muslim Prayers on Capitol Hill” reports that the American Center for Law and Justice on 12 November 2010 called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the fact that Muslims with terrorist ties have been attending the weekly Muslim Jummah prayers on Capitol Hill that are hosted by the Congressional Muslims Staff Association. The weekly prayer meeting has been held since 1998, and was granted official status in 2006 under the sponsorship of Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota, one of two Muslims currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Muslim cleric and Al Qaeda commander Anwar al-Awlaki of the Dar Al Hijrah, a.k.a. 9/11 mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, has attended the Capitol Hill prayer meetings on several occasions. The Dar Al Hijrah mosque has served as a center for terrorists, from two of the 9/11 terrorists who attacked the Pentagon, up to and including Fort Hood jihad mass-murderer U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hassan, M.D.

Speakers for the Capitol Hill prayer meetings are selected by organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).


+ Fox News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, 888-369-4762, Fax: 212-462-6127, yourquestions@foxnews.com

+ American Center for Law and Justice, Post Office Box 90555, Washington DC 20090, 757-226-2489, Fax: 757-226-2836

+ U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20530, 202-514-2000, askdoj@usdoj.gov

+ U.S. House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515, 202- 224-3121, Contact Page

+ Council on American-Islamic Relations, 453 New Jersey Avenue Southeast,
Washington DC 20003, 202-488-8787, Fax: 202-488-0833, info@cair.com


[2] Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Advises Muslim Women Air Travelers on Full Body X-Ray Scans and Enhanced Full Body Pat Downs

A 12 November 2010 article by Penny Starr on CNSNews.com titled “Muslim Group Advises Women Wearing Hijabs to Allow TSA ‘Enhanced Pat Downs’ Only on Head and Neck Area” reports that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has issued a travel warning to Muslim women air travelers concerning the use of full body x-ray scanners and enhanced full body pat down procedures by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at U.S. airports.

The advisory states that Muslim women undergoing the enhanced full body pat down should ask that it be done in a private area, and advise that Muslim women wearing a hajib should tell the TSA agent that they may be searched only around the head and the neck. The advisory additionally states that hajib-wearers can request to pat down their own scarf, including their own head and neck area, and have the TSA agents perform a chemical swipe of their hands.

A February 2010 fatwa, or religious ruling by the Islamic scholars of the Figh Council of North America declared that full-body scanners violate Islamic law, saying: “It is a violation of clear Islamic teaching that men or women be seen naked by other men and women. Islam highly emphasizes haya [modesty] and considers it part of the faith. The Qu’ran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts.”

CAIR subsequently endorsed the fatwa.


+ Cybercast News Service, 325 South Patrick, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 703-683-9733

+ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC 20528, 202-282-8000, Contact Form

+ Council on American-Islamic Relations, 453 New Jersey Avenue Southeast,
Washington DC 20003, 202-488-8787, Fax: 202-488-0833, info@cair.com

+ Figh Council of North America, Post Office Box 38, Plainfield, Indiana 46168, 317-839-1803, Fax: 317-839-1840, info@fiqhcouncil.org


[3] Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Fighting Oklahoma Proposition to Ban Application of Foreign Law and Sharia Law in Court Decisions

A 14 November 2010 article on the Vision to America website titled “CAIR Fights Oklahoma Anti-Sharia Law, Not Jihadis” reports that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) convinced Chief U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma Vicki Miles-LaGrange to issue a temporary restraining order blocking Oklahoma’s new state constitutional amendment forbidding Oklahoma courts from using foreign law or Muslim Sharia Law to decide court cases. The constitutional amendment was favored by seventy percent of Oklahoma voters in the 2 November 2010 election.

The restraining order will remain in place until at least 22 November 2010, when a court hearing is scheduled.


+ Christian Worldview Communications LLC, 457 Nathan Dean Boulevard, Suite #105-373, Dallas, Georgia 30132, Contact Page

+ Council on American-Islamic Relations, 453 New Jersey Avenue Southeast,
Washington DC 20003, 202-488-8787, Fax: 202-488-0833, info@cair.com


[4] Sarah Palin Characterized as Hardcore Feminist with No Christian/Biblical View of What God Says is the Role of Mothers/Wives

Responding to the 2 November 2010 appearance on Fox News of Sarah Palin, where Mrs. Palin asserted that the issue of whether mothers with small children should or should not work outside the home is a "petty, little, superficial, meaningless thing,” The American View editor John Lofton wrote that Mrs. Palin’s comment, “…reveals, with a vengeance, that [Mrs. Palin] is a hard-core feminist, with no Christian/Biblical view whatsoever of what a wife/mom ought to be. [Mrs. Palin’s] referring to those who believe moms should work in the home to raise their own children as 'Neanderthals' is a slap in the face to millions of moms struggling to do this in obedience to God and His Word."

The 25 November 2009 Presbyterians Week article “[5] ProlifeProfiles.com Exposes Sarah Palin’s “Shocking to the Conscience” Record on Pro-Life Issues,” reported on American Right To Life’s disclosure of further evidence of Palin’s hard-core feminism in regard to Mrs. Palin’s checkered pro-life history including:

– Palin in 2009 appointed a Planned Parenthood board member to the Alaska Supreme Court;

– Palin argues that chemical abortifacients that kill the youngest children should be legal;

– Palin indicates support for public funding to kill some unborn children;

– Palin allows her name to be used in ads promoting grisly government-funded embryonic stem cell “research”; and,

– Palin undermines the God-given right to life by promoting evolution while officially opposing creation.


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

+ The American View, 8028 Ritchie Highway Suite 303, Pasadena, Maryland 21122, 410-766-8592, jlof@aol.com

+ American Right To Life, 1535 Grant Street #303, Denver, Colorado 80203, 303-753-9341, office@AmericanRTL.org


[5] PCA Presbyteries 15-10 Against Adoption of Administrative Committee Funding Amendments as of 15 November 2010

As of 15 November 2010, Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) presbytery voting on the proposed amendments to Book of Church Order Chapter Fourteen, regarding Administrative Committee funding, stands at fifteen to ten against adopting the amendments.

A minimum of twenty-seven of the seventy-nine PCA presbyteries voting against the amendments would be needed in order to defeat the amendments.


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


[6] Evangelical Theological Society 17-19 November 2010 Meeting with the Theme ‘Justification by Faith’ Includes New Perspectives on Paul Advocate the Rt. Rev. N. T. Wright as Plenary Speaker

Steve Matthews posted a 6 November 2010 article on the Lux Lucet blog titled “Justification by Faith (but not by Faith Alone) at ETS,” which reports that the upcoming 17-19 November 2010 meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) with the theme of ‘Justification by Faith’ includes New Perspectives on Paul advocate the Rt. Rev. N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham (Church of England), as one of the plenary speakers.

Mr. Matthews expresses concern that the ETS meeting theme is not ‘Justification by Faith Alone’ “…as you would expect from an evangelical organization…” and continues: “This is a disgrace. The Apostle Paul refused “to yield submission even for an hour” to false brethren who taught a false gospel of faith and works. He hurled anathemas at them. He said of them they, “want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” But the folks at ETS are too gentlemanly for such language. No, instead they invite wolf, false brother and perverter of the gospel N.T. Wright (he’s one of the plenary speakers at the conference) to spread his heresy at the ETS annual conference, and all this without a hint of rebuke. Even the title of the conference “Justification by Faith” is a concession to Wright’s false teaching. The Reformation was all about justification by faith ALONE, but ETS can’t seem to bring itself to say the word. It seems to me that since the Roman Catholics also believe in justification by faith - it’s the “alone” part they choke on – ETS may as well extend a conference invite to Benedict XVI. I’m sure he’d feel right at home.”


+ Lux Lucet Blog, Comment Page

+ Evangelical Theological Society, 2825 Lexington Road, Box 927, Louisville, Kentucky 40280, 502-897-4387, Fax : 502-897-4386, Contact Page

+ Church of England, Church House, Great Smith Street, Westminster, SW1P 3AZ, England, 44-0-20-7898-1000

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


[7] Palestinian-American Christian Asserts Distorted Eschatology Trumps Ethics in Some Evangelical Christians Regarding Modern Israel

A 15 November 2010 article by Ken Camp in The Baptist Standard titled “Palestinian-American Christian Says Eschatology Can Distort Justice” reports on the Global Faith Forum at NorthWood Church (Baptist) in Keller, Texas, where one of the speakers was Henry Mikhail, a Christian Arab born in Jerusalem, Israel, who serves on a peace and justice work group of the Reformed Church in America’s General Synod Council.

Mr. Mikhail told the assembly that eschatology equating modern Israel with the Israel of biblical prophecy has led some evangelical Christians to allow their eschatology to trump ethics regarding the Middle East. Mr. Mikhail said that he is not against Israel, but against “unjust and oppressive Israeli policies.”

Mr. Mikhail continued: “Because of American evangelicals’ embrace of the current state as the Israel of prophecy, they have supported policies that are harsh and oppressive—even against Christians, which is very ironic. Because of support from American evangelicals, Israel has been given a blank check—has been blindly supported and backed, right or wrong. And I believe that’s been unfortunate and unfair.”

Ken Camp added that Henry Mikhail insisted ethnic lineage and nationality do not matter to God, and that the biblical promises of God to Israel belong to those who have entered into a faith relationship with [God].


+ The Baptist Standard, 2343 Lone Star Drive, Dallas, Texas 75212, 214-630-4571, marvknox@baptiststandard.com

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


[8] Free Church of Scotland Expected to Retain Exclusive Psalmody

A 15 November 2010 article in The Daily Record titled “Free Church of Scotland Set to Reject End to Hymns Ban” reports that the Free Church of Scotland (FCS)’s special assembly, meeting the week of 15 November 2010 to debate whether or not to lift the FCS’s 110 year practice of exclusive unaccompanied psalmody in church services, is expected to retain the current practice.

A 10 November 2010 article in the Hebrides News titled “Kirk Sessions Not Singing from the Same Hymn Sheet” reports that the FCS Board of Trustees, after a recent forum where FCS ministers and elders debated whether or not to add hymns and musical accompaniment to worship services, recommended that the FCS keep the current practice of exclusive unaccompanied psalmody.

Proponents of adding hymns and instrumental accompaniment to worship services believe that modernizing worship music would attract new church members, and would attract Church of Scotland (CoS) congregations disaffected by the appointment of a homosexual minister to the pulpit of Queen’s Cross Parish Church (CoS) in Aberdeen, Scotland.


+ The Daily Record, 67 Hope Street, Glasgow, Scotland, 0141-309-3251, reporters@dailyrecord.co.uk

+ Hebrides News, Box 100, Stornoway, Scotland HS1 2YZ, info@hebrides.biz

+ 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

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

10 November 2010

Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] Warning – Rated “PG-13” (at the very least) - Transportation Safety Administration Agents at U.S. Airports Fondling Women’s and Children’s Breasts and Genitals During Searches of Persons Opting Out of “Naked Body Scan” X-rays

[2] Al-Qaeda Announces Christians Everywhere Are Legitimate Targets the Day After Fifty-Eight Killed at End of Siege at Baghdad, Iraq, Assyrian Catholic Church

[3] United Church of Christ Proposal Gives General Minister and President Leadership in Determining UCC Theological Perspectives

[4] PCUSA Committee Writes Off Additional US$315,000 in 2009 Per Capita Assessments as Uncollectable for Total 2009 Per Capita Write-Off of US$915,000

[5] Adultering Church of Scotland Minister’s Two-Year Suspension Halved after Apology for Not Being “Christ-Like”

[6] Book Review of Getting The Reformation Wrong by Dr. James Payton Published on Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview Website

[7] Trinity Foundation Announces 2010 Christian Worldview Essay Winners

[8] Latvian Reformed Website Begins Operation

[9] World’s First Scratch ‘n’ Sniff “Holy Card” Provides Whiff of Cologne Used by 19^th Century Pope Pius IX

[10] Weston, Missouri, Townspeople Block Westboro Baptist Church Members from Disrupting Funeral of Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

---

[1] Warning – Rated “PG-13” (at the very least) - Transportation Safety Administration Agents at U.S. Airports Fondling Women’s and Children’s Breasts and Genitals During Searches of Persons Opting Out of “Naked Body Scan” X-rays

In a 6 November 2010 video on LewRockwell.com titled “Expect Federal Fondling If You ‘Opt Out’ of the Naked Airport Scanners,” Lew Rockwell reports that during a recent visit to the San Jose, California airport, after he had gone through the security station, Mr. Rockwell watched for twenty minutes from a nearby coffee shop as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents put four lanes of women and children in strollers through “naked body scan” x-rays where an effectively-nude picture of the person is taken and recorded, and watched male TSA agents perform “enhanced pat-downs” of women and children opting out of the “Naked Body Scans,” where the TSA agents fondled the breasts and genitals of the women, and of girls as young as three years old.

Mr. Rockwell continued the video by interviewing a woman on his customer service staff who recently travelled through the Denver, Colorado, airport with the woman’s twenty-month-old and eight-year-old daughters. The woman “opted out” of the naked body scan for her and her children, as the mother did not want to expose the three of them to the X-ray radiation. The woman was then subject to a full-body search by “enhanced pat down,” where the male TSA agent felt over the woman’s entire body, including the thorough fondling of her breasts and genitals. The woman refused to let the man fondle her children, so a female TSA agent was called in to examine the two girls.

Mr. Rockwell says the TSA is training a “Gestapo cadre to teach you that it is normal and natural” to endure the invasive molestation at the security gate, and Rockwell says that if the TSA can get people to consider these procedures as normal, then the TSA will be able to convince people to do anything that is asked of them. Rockwell considers the naked body scans and body molestations to be egregious violations of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forbids the U.S. Government from performing unreasonable searches and seizures.

Mr. Rockwell said that the TSA on 29 October 2010 announced that the TSA will begin to use the fronts of their hands to conduct more thorough body searches of all air passengers whether opting in or out of the Naked Body Scans. Rockwell said that the TSA agents he witnessed in San Jose before the 29 October announcement were already using the fronts of their hands for body searches.


+ LewRockwell.com, Post Office Box 1189, Auburn, Alabama 36831, lew@lewrockwell.com

+ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC 20528, 202-282-8000, Contact Form


[2] Al-Qaeda Announces Christians Everywhere Are Legitimate Targets the Day After Fifty-Eight Killed at End of Siege at Baghdad, Iraq, Assyrian Catholic Church

Al-Qaeda front group The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) on 2 November 2010 claimed responsibility for the 31 October 2010 attack and siege of the Our Lady of Salvation Church (Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East) in Baghdad, Iraq, in which fifty-eight persons were killed when security forces ended the siege 1 November 2010, and additionally stated that “all Christian centres, organisations and institutions, leaders and followers” are “legitimate targets.”

ISI is demanding the release of two women in Egypt, the wives of Christian Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt (CCOCE) priests, of whom the ISI claims one converted to Islam and the other wants to convert to Islam, and that both are being held against their will in CCOCE churches.


+ Barnabas Aid, 6731 Curran Street, McLean, Virginia 22101, 703-288-1681, Fax: 703-288-1681, usa@barnabasaid.org

+ Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East

+ Christian Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt


[3] United Church of Christ Proposal Gives General Minister and President Leadership in Determining UCC Theological Perspectives

The Unified Governance Working Group of the United Church of Christ (UCC) on 30 September 2010 published and on 15 October 2010 presented to the UCC Executive Council: “A Proposal for Unified Governance of the National Setting of the United Church of Christ,” which includes the following provision in lines 268 – 271 of the report:

“The General Minister and President [GMP] shall be the principle leader in interpreting the theological perspectives of the United Church of Christ. In consultation with the Collegium, the GMP will develop the foundation of United Church of Christ theological values as guided by the General Synod”

Serious concerns about the proposal are being expressed by several UCC laity and clergy members, concluding that the proposal concentrates too much power into the hands of the GMP and other denominational executives. One UCC member stated: “…the attempt to create some kind of UCC Pope is consistent with the rest of the proposal, which seeks to turn the UCC on its head so that it is run completely from the top down, with authority and power expressly concentrated in a few selected people.”


+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org


[4] PCUSA Committee Writes Off Additional US$315,000 in 2009 Per Capita Assessments as Uncollectable for Total 2009 Per Capita Write-Off of US$915,000

The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) at its 29 October 2010 meeting voted to write off an additional US$315,000 in uncollectable 2009 per capita assessments, in addition to the US$600,000 in per capita assessments for 2009 already written off by the COGA, for a total write off of uncollectable 2009 per capita assessments of US$915,000.

The per capita rate for 2009 was set by the PCUSA 2008 General Assembly (GA) at US$6.15 per church member. The PCUSA 2010 GA set the per capita rate for 2011 at US$6.50 per church member.


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


[5] Adultering Church of Scotland Minister’s Two-Year Suspension Halved after Apology for Not Being “Christ-Like”

A 6 November 2010 article by Kevan Christie in The Daily Record titled “Reverend's Pulpit Ban Halved after Apology for Not Being ‘Christ-Like’” reports that Church of Scotland minister Mike Erskine, suspended from the pulpit for two years in August 2010 for adultery with a widow in the minister’s church, has had the two-year suspension halved after apologizing for not being ‘Christ-Like’.

Erskine, the father of two adult children, left his wife of twenty-three years in March 2010, after beginning an adulterous relationship with the widow in late 2009. The widow’s husband died from a brain tumor in late 2008.


+ The Daily Record, 67 Hope Street, Glasgow, Scotland, 0141-309-3251, reporters@dailyrecord.co.uk

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


[6] Book Review of Getting The Reformation Wrong by Dr. James Payton Published on Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview Website

A review by Christian Observer Associate Editor Chuck Huckaby of the book Getting The Reformation Wrong by Dr. James Payton was published 3 November 2010 on the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview website at the following link:

http://worldviewchurch.org/suggested-books/283-getting-the-reformation-wrong-correcting-some-misunderstandings


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

+ Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, 44180 Riverside Parkway
Lansdowne, Virginia 20176, 877-478-0100, Contact Page


[7] Trinity Foundation Announces 2010 Christian Worldview Essay Winners

On Reformation Day, 31 October 2010, The Trinity Foundation announced the winners of the 2010 Christian Worldview Essay Contest.

The First Prize of US$3000 plus fifteen books went to Meghan Leigh Rader of Suffolk, Virginia, for her essay "A House Never Shaken."

The Second Prize of US$2000 plus ten books goes to Samantha Young of St. Paul, Minnesota, for her essay "The Philosophy of Christianity: Coherency and Comprehensiveness Defended."

The Third Prize of US$1000 plus five books goes to Erik Guichelaar of Walker, Michigan, for his essay "The Superiority of Biblical Presuppositionalism: Demonstrated by Way of an Examination of Four Major Problems in the Philosophy of Religion."

All contest entrants read the book Religion, Reason and Revelation by Dr. Gordon H. Clark, and wrote an essay about the book.

The 2011 Christian Worldview Essay Contest features the same cash prizes as in the 2010 contest, and deals with the topic of the book Introduction to Christian Philosophy (“The Wheaton Lectures”) by Gordon H. Clark. Each person who enters the contest must read this book and write an essay about it. The book is included in Christian Philosophy and in Clark and His Critics (as “The Wheaton Lectures”) and is available for US$15.00 for either book (retail price: US$21.95 for trade paperback) per copy, postpaid to U.S. addresses.

Contest rules and other information are available at:

http://www.trinityfoundation.org/2011EssayContest.php


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


[8] Latvian Reformed Website Begins Operation

A new Latvian Reformed Website called “Luxmundi” has begun operation at www.luxmundi.lv, and exists to translate, promote, distribute, and encourage the writing of reformed literature in the Baltic States.

+ Carl and Becky Chaplin, c/o 112 Long Meadow Road, Brandon, Mississippi 39042, 601-724-5728, radch5@gmail.com



[9] World’s First Scratch ‘n’ Sniff “Holy Card” Provides Whiff of Cologne Used by 19^th Century Pope Pius IX

Cologne marketer The Pope’s Cologne (TPC) announced 9 November 2010 that TPC has created the world’s first scratch ‘n’ sniff “holy card”, which provides a whiff of the cologne used by 19^th century Roman Catholic (RC) Pope Pius IX, which is recreated by Excelsis Fine Fragrances and sold by TPC from the rediscovered private formula of the cologne worn by the 19^th century pontiff.

TPC writes: “The idea of scented holy cards is nothing new. Religious cards flourished after the invention of the printing press in 1450, and it was common for people to add scents to their holy cards as they did to their fine linens, handkerchiefs and note paper. What is new here is the “scratch and sniff” technology, a 20^th century innovation, which delivers an instant and authentic experience of The Pope’s Cologne along with the portrait of the pontiff.”

Pope Pius IX is notable for the First Vatican Council, for defining as RC dogma the [unscriptural] doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and for defining the [unscriptural] RC dogma of Papal Infallibility.


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

+ Excelsis Fine Fragrances, 11 Sandstone Court, San Rafael, California 94903, 888-357-3957, Fax: 415-507-9557, customerservice@thepopescologne.com

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



[10] Weston, Missouri, Townspeople Block Westboro Baptist Church Members from Disrupting Funeral of Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

A 7 November 2010 Fox News article titled “Supporters Block Funeral Protest in Weston” reported that hundreds of residents of Weston, Missouri, and people from as far away as California and Australia came together 6 November 2010 to block access to protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, who had come to disrupt the funeral of U.S. Army Sgt. First Class C.J. Sadell, who died 24 October 2010 from injuries sustained in action in Afghanistan on 5 October 2010.

Half of the townspeople and other supporters lined up at a nearby intersection while the other half created a human shield at the funeral home. The Westboro protesters left quickly after they saw the supporters of the deceased soldier.

Sgt. First Class Sadell, thirty-four, is survived by his wife and two sons.


+ Fox News, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, 888-369-4762, Fax: 212-462-6127, yourquestions@foxnews.com

+ Westboro Baptist Church, 3701 West 12th Street, Topeka, Kansas 66604, 785-273-0325, Contact Page