Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] PCUSA GA Permanent Judicial Commission on 21 February 2012 Upholds Censure of the Rev. Jane Spahr for Performing Sixteen Homosexual Marriages in California
[2] Biblical Literacy, Same Sex 'Marriage,' and a Virus in our National System
[3] Transgender Storytelling Workshop for Children Five-Years-Old and Up at Church of Scotland Venue
[4] Alberta, Canada Government Forbids Homeschooling Families from Teaching that Homosexual Acts are Sinful
[5] US Judge Allows Muslim to Choke Atheist Over Islam
[6] Hillsdale College Offers Free On-Line Course “Constitution 101:
The Meaning and History of the Constitution”
[7] First Presbyterian Church of Macon, Illinois, Constructs Lenten Labyrinth
[8] 2012 Reformed Congregational Fellowship Pastors' Conference Scheduled for 17-19 April at the Wonderland Conference Center in Sharon, Massachusetts
[9] Free Ebook Available for Download – Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion
[10] British Crematorium to Heat Swimming Pool
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[1] PCUSA GA Permanent Judicial Commission on 21 February 2012 Upholds Censure of the Rev. Jane Spahr for Performing Sixteen Homosexual Marriages in California
The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission on 21 February 2012 upheld the censure of the Rev. Jane Spahr for performing sixteen homosexual marriages in California during the period that homosexual marriages were legal in the state.
Ms. Spahr was originally censured in the PCUSA’s Redwoods Presbytery for performing the sixteen homosexual marriages between the May 2008 California Supreme Court decision legalizing homosexual marriage and the November 2008 affirmative vote on Proposition 8 that reestablished California’s ban on homosexual marriage. The censure was subsequently upheld by the PCUSA Synod of the Pacific.
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
+ Synod of the Pacific, 200 Kentucky Street, Suite B, Petaluma, California 94952, 800-754-0669, Fax: 707-765-4467, rob@synodpacific.org
+ Redwoods Presbytery, 1226A Salvador Avenue, Napa, California 94558, 707-224-5407, Fax: 707-224-4309, pbyrw@pacbell.net
[2] Biblical Literacy, Same Sex 'Marriage,' and a Virus in our National System
Commentary by Dr. Michael A. Milton
Another state legislature approves same-sex “marriage.”
Another chip in the foundation of civilization. Another moment closer to a death sentence for a nation, and not even ObamaCare will be able to stop it. But the trials that we face in this nation, and in the West, are not about healthcare or even a constitutional crisis, but a crisis of ethics and morality.
Legislatures concoct bills to allow for violations of the Law of God because they either do not know the Law of God or they oppose it or they are simply apathetic toward it. Governors sign these laws for the same reason. And the yoke of moral bondage is then placed back on the children and grandchildren of our citizens. But the process of passing bills into law, in this case codifying what the Bible and thousands of years of human civilization clearly abhors, reveals the fatal flaw that our founders saw could happen: uninformed or unconcerned citizens placing people into office who do not meet necessary conditions to serve–the first condition being moral.
The government of the United States was not devised on a whim, as Senator Smith told the leadership at the National Religious Broadcaster’s dinner this year. Madison, Washington, Adams and the others, whatever their differences on religion (there was comparatively little space between them), were firm in their conviction that the representative government of the U.S. could work, but, and this is a large condition, only if the citizenry was committed to electing representatives with religious (and they referred to at least the broader tenets of Judaeo-Christian religion) morals that could exercise wise moral (and they for the larger part meant biblical) decisions in their stead. Thus John Adams would write:
“[W]e have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. . . . Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other” (Source: John Adams, The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, Charles Francis Adams, editor (Boston: Little, Brown, 1854), Vol. IX, p. 401, to Zabdiel Adams on June 21, 1776. See Wallbuilders.com)
Former Senator Gordon H. Smith of Oregon, now CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, declared that the governmental system of the United States was erected in an era when absolute monarchy, and monarchy by divine right ideas, were all the rage in the world. The U.S., alternatively, grounded a system of government in such a biblical representative fashion that King George III once remarked in exasperation that the experiment in self governance was a “Presbyterian parson’s rebellion!” (Source: Douglas F. Kelly, The Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World: The Influence of Calvin on Five Governments form the 16th Through 18th Centuries [Philipsburg, N.J.: P&R Publishing, 1992], p. 131).
But the government of this nation, founded on the idea of representative governance, requires an “activation code” to work. That code is the wise moral choices of a people who know the difference between right and wrong.
That is why the Northwest Ordinance, the first major legislation signed into law by President Washington, was passed by the first Congress. It was passed to provide government funds to establish Christian "schools and the means of education" in the far territories that would support the "religion, morality, and knowledge" of citizens which they considered was "necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind." Their conviction? Only those who know the divine laws of God revealed in His Word, the Bible, can intelligently elect a candidate who will uphold those laws in office. Without that one critical element, the government runs sluggish at best, and at worst, is infected with a virus that destroys sacred and indispensable elements of morality that hold the body of our nation together. This is also what President Washington meant when he charged a nation in his farewell address,
“It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.” (Source: George Washington, Address of George Washington, president of the United States . . . Preparatory to His Declination (Baltimore: George and Henry S. Keatinge), pp. 22-23. In his Farewell Address to the United States in 1796. See Wallbuilders.com).
Rogue legislatures and courts that are defying the laws of God can only be stopped when the people know their Bible. Only a true revival of religion in our nation can stop the insidious regression we are witnessing. And only God can do that. As Christians, we need to pray now more than ever, for the “moral code” that runs this nation to be re activated. For a government for the people, by the people, and of the people begins with one person who quite frankly knows his Bible.
Michael Anthony Milton (Ph.D., University of Wales) serves as the chancellor/CEO elect of Reformed Theological Seminary (one of the largest accredited seminaries in the country), a U.S. Army chaplain (instructing at the Armed Forces Chaplain School) and the James M. Baird Jr. chair of pastoral theology at RTS/Charlotte. He is an author, songwriter, singer, ordained minister, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., and he previously served as the president of RTS/Charlotte. Dr. Milton also hosts a national Bible teaching television program, Faith For Living, reaching 70,000,000 potential households through DirecTV, Legacy TV network, YouTube and iTunes. It is also available as a free app in the Android and iPhone markets. The Faith For Living radio program is broadcast on several stations in the southeast. For 16 years he served in the business world and has also served as a top-secret Navy linguist.
+ Reformed Theological Seminary, 2101 Carmel Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28226, 704-366-5066, Fax: 704-366-9295
[3] Transgender Storytelling Workshop for Children Five-Years-Old and Up at Church of Scotland Venue
A transgender storytelling workshop targeting children as young as five-years-old was held at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Saturday 18 February 2012. The children attending were provided the opportunity to “explore the diverse makeup of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families in a child-friendly way.”
The Scottish Storytelling Centre is a partnership of the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Storytelling Forum.
+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
+ Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SR, Scotland, 44-0-131-556-9579, Fax: 44-0-131-557-5224,
[4] Alberta, Canada Government Forbids Homeschooling Families from Teaching that Homosexual Acts are Sinful
A 23 February 2012 LifeSiteNews.com article by Patrick B. Craine titled “Homeschooling Families Can’t Teach Homosexual Acts Sinful in Class Says Alberta Gvmt” reports that under Alberta, Canada’s new Education Act 2012, the curriculum of homeschooling parents and faith-based schools cannot teach that homosexual acts are sinful.
Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk’s spokesman Donna McColl stated:
"Whatever the nature of schooling – homeschool, private school, Catholic school – we do not tolerate disrespect for differences. You can affirm the family’s ideology in your family life, you just can’t do it as part of your educational study and instruction."
Paul Farris of the Home School Legal Defense Association said that the Alberta Ministry of Education is “clearly signaling that they are in fact planning to violate the private conversations families have in their own homes. A government that seeks that sort of control over our personal lives should be feared and opposed.”
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, Post Office Box 25382, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15220, 866-787-9947, lsn@lifesitenews.com
+ Home School Legal Defense Association, Post Office Box 3000, Purcellville, Virginia 20134, 540-338-5600
[5] US Judge Allows Muslim to Choke Atheist Over Islam
A 25 February 2012 Vision to America article titled “US Judge Allows Muslim to Choke Atheist Over Islam” reports that Pennsylvania District Court Judge Mark Martin, a Muslim, dismissed harassment charges against a Muslim defendant accused of choking an atheist during a Halloween parade for wearing an offensive “Zombie Mohammad” costume.
The judge brought a Quran into court and told the atheist that he was “using the First Amendment [to the U.S. Constitution i.e., Freedom of Speech]” to madden Muslims, and called the atheist a “doofus.” The judge added: “I think our forefathers intended to use the First Amendment so we can speak with our mind, not to [expletive] off other people and cultures – which is what you did.”
+ Christian Worldview Communications LLC, 457 Nathan Dean Boulevard, Suite #105-373, Dallas, Georgia 30132, Contact Page
[6] Hillsdale College Offers Free On-Line Course “Constitution 101:
The Meaning and History of the Constitution”
Hillsdale College is offering for free an online course “Constitution 101:
The Meaning and History of the Constitution,” a ten-week course available on Mondays between 20 February 2012 and 23 April 2012 that can be viewed the day of the class or after, as the classes are prerecorded.
+ Hillsdale College, 33 East College Street, Hillsdale, Michigan 49242, 517-437-7341, Fax: 517-437-3923, Contact Page
[7] First Presbyterian Church of Macon, Illinois, Constructs Lenten Labyrinth
A 24 February 2012 article in The McDonough County Voice titled “Reflect on Labyrinth at First Presbyterian” reports that First Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) of Macomb, Illinois, has constructed a thirty-six-foot classical labyrinth in the church fellowship hall that was opened at the 22 February 2012 Ash Wednesday service and will remain open daily from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. until the day after Easter, Monday 26 April 2012.
The labyrinth walks will be accompanied by a Tibetan singing prayer bowl, a drum, a chant, or silence. Resources are being made available for guided labyrinth walks.
A 6 December 2005 post on The Puritan Board by the Rev. Bruce Buchanan of the Chain-O-Lakes Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Central Lake, Michigan, describes the prayer labyrinth as “an occult path of the dead. Successful navigation of it led one to heaven; the lost wandered it forever in terror, ending up in the center pit from which there was no escape. Arcane knowledge (gnosis) of traversing it or a suitable guide, therefore, was [a] necessary part of pagan religion. In other incarnations, it serves a gnostic purpose of meditation…not the “inner-peace” type, but the “path”…to enlightenment.”
+ The McDonough County Voice, 203 North Randolph, Macomb, Illinois 61455, 309-833-2345, lynne@mcdonoughvoice.com
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
[8] 2012 Reformed Congregational Fellowship Pastors' Conference Scheduled for 17-19 April at the Wonderland Conference Center in Sharon, Massachusetts
The 2012 Reformed Congregational Fellowship Pastors' Conference is scheduled for 17-19 April 2012 at the Wonderland Conference Center in Sharon, Massachusetts. The conference theme is “Of the Assurance
of Grace and Salvation.”
Presentations include:
-- “Spiritual Union and Assurance” - Kirk van der Swaagh, New York, New York
-- “Assurance and Friendship” - David Green, Beverly, Massachusetts
-- “Be Even More Diligent To Make Your Call and Election Sure” - Paul Wanamaker, South Easton, Massachusetts
-- “Assurance of Grace and Salvation at End of Life” - Christopher Bogosh, Yulee, Florida
-- “Dark Nights of the Soul: Waiting Long In Assurance” - Tim Broberg, Pennsylvania
-- “Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners: John Bunyan’s Pilgrimage to Assurance of Salvation” - Bob Hall, Bronx, New York
The conference brochure is available at:
http://christianobserver.org/wp-content/RCF Brochure 2012.pdf
+ Reformed Congregational Fellowship
[9] Free Ebook Available for Download – Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion
A free ebook, Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion is available for download at:
http://calvinismisthegospel.com/2012/02/free-ebook-institutes-of-the-christian-religion/
+ Calvinism is the Gospel
[10] British Crematorium to Heat Swimming Pool
A 23 February 2012 article by Rowena Mason in The Telegraph titled “Minister Praises Plan to Heat Swimming Pool from Fires of Crematorium” reports that a leisure center in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, will soon begin using the excess heat generated by a nearby crematorium to heat the center’s swimming pool.
+ The Telegraph, Victory House, Meeting House Lane, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TT, England, 0800-316-6977, telegraphenquiries@telegraph.co.uk
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
29 February 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
22 February 2012
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Reformed Presbyterian Minister and Five Other Clergy Arrested by “Obama Gestapo” for Praying in Front of White House
[2] Geneva College Sues Obama Administration over “Contraceptive Mandate”
[3] Dordt College President Dr. Carl Zylstra Among Signatories of Notre Dame Law School Letter Responding to Obama “Contraceptive Mandate” “Accommodation”
[4] Major Mainstream Religious Leaders Voice Support for Obamacare “Contraceptive Mandate”
[5] An Editorial on the “Contraceptive Mandate” from Christian News
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[1] Reformed Presbyterian Minister and Five Other Clergy Arrested by “Obama Gestapo” for Praying in Front of White House
A 20 February 2012 Godfather Politics article by Da Tagliare titled “Obama Gestapo Arrests Group for Praying in Front of White House” reports that Reformed Presbyterian minister the Rev. Pat Mahoney and five other clergymen were quickly arrested by U.S. (National) Park Police officers when they began to kneel and pray in front of the White House in protest of the Obamacare “contraceptive mandate” that compels health insurance providers to provide no-cost abortifacient and contraceptive coverage whether or not the religious denomination, employer, or other entity providing health insurance has a moral objection to abortifacients and contraceptives.
The author prefaced the article by writing:
"Occupy Washington protesters have been camping on US [National] Park Service property for the past four months. They littered and trashed the park. They urinated and defecated all over it. They even defaced public property and nearby buildings.
"But few arrests were ever made."
+ Godfather Politics
+ Hanover Presbytery, Reformed Presbyterian Church, hanoverpresbyter@yahoo.com
[2] Geneva College Sues Obama Administration over “Contraceptive Mandate”
Geneva College of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, on 21 February 2012 filed suit against the Obama administration, saying regulations that require employers to offer birth control coverage that includes drugs that abort fertilized embryos [abortifacients] are "directly at odds" with its religious values, including the Bible's Sixth Commandment [Thou Shalt Not Kill].
The college is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund.
+ Geneva College, 3200 College Avenue, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania 15010, 724-846-5100, Fax: 724.847.6696, pr@geneva.edu
+ Alliance Defense Fund, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025
+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861
[3] Dordt College President Dr. Carl Zylstra Among Signatories of Notre Dame Law School Letter Responding to Obama “Contraceptive Mandate” “Accommodation”
Dordt College President Dr. Carl Zylstra has signed a 10 February 2012 letter on Notre Dame Law School letterhead titled “Unacceptable” responding to U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama’s “accommodation” to the Obamacare “contraceptive mandate.”
The letter states, in part:
"This so-called “accommodation” changes nothing of moral substance and fails to remove the assault on religious liberty and the rights of conscience which gave rise to the controversy. It is certainly no compromise. The reason for the original bipartisan uproar was the administration’s insistence that religious employers, be they institutions or individuals, provide insurance that covered services they regard as gravely immoral and unjust. Under the new rule, the government still coerces religious institutions and individuals to purchase insurance policies that include the very same services."
+ The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, 3000 K Street Northwest, Suite 220, Washington DC 20007, 202-955-0095, Fax: 202-955-0090, ehardman@becketfund.org
+ Dordt College, 498 4th Avenue Northeast, Sioux Center, Iowa 51250, 712-722-6000, public-relations@dordt.edu
+ Notre Dame Law School, Post Office Box 780, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, 574-631-6627, Fax: 574-631-3980, ndlaw@nd.edu
+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org
+ The Vatican, Città del Vaticano, Rome, Italy, 39-6-69-88-35-11, Fax: 39-6-69-88-54-47, Contact Page
[4] Major Mainstream Religious Leaders Voice Support for Obamacare “Contraceptive Mandate”
An 8 February 2012 statement supporting the Obamacare “contraceptive mandate” was signed by Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York President the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones and United Church of Christ General Minister and President the Rev. Geoffrey Black, joining other signatories including Muslims for Progressive Values President Ani Zonneveld, Society for Humanistic Judaism Executive Director M. Bonnie Cousens, and Planned Parenthood Clergy Advisory Board Chair the Rev. Jane Emma Newall.
The statement reads:
"We stand with [U.S.] President Obama and [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] Secretary Sebelius in their decision to reaffirm the importance of contraceptive services as essential preventive care for women under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and to assure access under the law to American women, regardless of religious affiliation. We respect individuals’ moral agency to make decisions about their sexuality and reproductive health without governmental interference or legal restrictions. We do not believe that specific religious doctrine belongs in health care reform – as we value our nation’s commitment to church-state separation. We believe that women and men have the right to decide whether or not to apply the principles of their faith to family planning decisions, and to do so they must have access to services. The Administration was correct in requiring institutions that do not have purely sectarian goals to offer comprehensive preventive health care. Our leaders have the responsibility to safeguard individual religious liberty and to help improve the health of women, their children, and families. Hospitals and universities across the religious spectrum have an obligation to assure that individuals’ conscience and decisions are respected and that their students and employees have access to this basic health care service. We invite other religious leaders to speak out with us for universal coverage of contraception."
+ Religion News Service, 1930 18th Street Northwest, Suite B2, Washington DC 20009, 202-463-8777, Fax: 202-463-0033, info@religionnews.com
+ Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, 3041 Broadway at 121st Street, New York, New York 10027, 212-662-7100, online@uts.columbia.edu
+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org
[5] An Editorial on the “Contraceptive Mandate” from Christian News
[Editor’s Note: Christian News is an independent publication within the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod]
Abortion and Birth Control have been much in the news. Until the 1930s the major Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church recognized that the Bible opposes both abortion and birth control.
“Obama threatens religious liberty”, a column by Jeffrey T. Kuhner in the January 26, 2012 Washington Times says:
"Like many leftists, President Obama has deep contempt for Christianity and democracy. This is why his administration has declared war on the Catholic Church and “religious liberty.”"
“The president sandbags the archbishop,” a January 30, 2012 column by Patrick Buchanan says:
“Not only should the bishops file suit in federal court against the president and Sebelius for the violation of Separation of Church and State, they should inform the White House that no bishop will give an invocation at the Democratic Convention.”
“Totalitarian Obama…Tries to Pull the Plug on Medical Morality”, a column by Dexter Duggan in the February 9, 2012 Wanderer begins:
"This is totalitarianism.
"The domineering state orders the Church to buckle under, bow down, and worship death. Heavy penalties await those who dare say no.
"Sounds like orders coming from Communist Moscow or National Socialist Berlin in the 1930s.
"But these orders come from Washington, D. C., in 2012.
"Barack Obama’s self- enchanted thugs lay it on the line.
"Neither Catholics nor others have a choice. They must fund abortion- causing drugs, sterilization, and artificial contraception through the nationalized government medical program.
"Catholics must live in constant mortal sin to be good, obedient Americans.
"This is an election year. Obama truly has lost his mind."
"You might as well be forcing a Southern Baptist minister to run a bordello on church grounds," said a January 24, 2012 editorial by the conservative Investor’s Business Daily. It was headlined, ‘Is Obama trying to replace the Pope?’
A government that already thinks itself all-powerful simply hands down the order, no matter how unconstitutional, weird, or unjustifiable.
+ Christian News, 684 Luther Lane, New Haven, Missouri 63068, 573-237-3110, Contact Page
+ Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 1333 South Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63122, 888-843-5267, infocenter@lcms.org
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
8 February 2012
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] PCA Fellowship Presbytery Issues Statement Affirming Accuracy of Genesis 1 and 2
[2] A New Crime Wave at American Universities: What has China to do with State U?
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[1] PCA Fellowship Presbytery Issues Statement Affirming Accuracy of Genesis 1 and 2
In the light of recent discussions related to theistic evolution, genetics, and the historicity of Adam and Eve, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)’s Fellowship Presbytery (FP) has been concerned about views which compromise the accuracy of the Scriptures, particularly the accounts related to the first eleven chapters of Genesis. A motion was passed at the FP 51st meeting that the FP Membership Committee study the account of the historicity of Adam and Eve, and bring back a recommendation to the FP 52nd meeting. The following is the first part of the requested report.
On the recommendation of the FP Membership Committee, FP adopted at its Winter Meeting the following position statement:
“The members of Fellowship Presbytery affirm that the Scriptures, specifically Genesis 1 and 2, teach that Adam and Eve are historical individuals, that Adam and Eve were specially created by God through His direct intervention and that God formed Adam, the first man, from the dust of the ground. The members of Fellowship Presbytery deny that Genesis 2:7 means that God acted upon a group of humans or hominids to set apart the first couple. Anyone seeking to be ordained within Fellowship Presbytery or to transfer his ordination into Fellowship Presbytery must agree with the above statements.”
+ Fellowship Presbytery, Robert F. Sprinkle, Jr., Stated Clerk, Post Office Box 205, Sharon, South Carolina 29742, 803-927-7640, clerk@fellowshippresbytery.net
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[2] A New Crime Wave at American Universities: What has China to do with State U?
(CHARLOTTE, NC) - Feb. 7, 2012 - A sinister wave of crime is sweeping American university campuses. Even the most prestigious universities like Vanderbilt University in Nashville are not exempt. Indeed, these types of criminal activity have spread like a hideous contagion to state universities, SUNY Buffalo being the most recent site. And the most alarming part of it all? The criminals are those who are running the schools. No, I am not talking about white collar crimes. I am not talking about violence. I am talking about what Dr. Michael M. Jordan of Hillsdale College has called "pedagogical crime" – that is educational crime – which can result in his sobering phrase: "cultural suicide."
Yes, I am talking about the recent and escalating discrimination policies against Christian college campus ministries. If this absolutely sinister and anti-American crack-down on Christians is not stopped then we will commit "cultural suicide," indeed. All other freedoms are grounded in this fundamental freedom to worship God as we understand it, and to assemble freely to do so. All other religions flourish (and the "idea of the university" is allowed to exist) when Christianity's beacon of light shines brightly.
The discrimination against Christian groups is ironically cloaked under the guise of university policies of nondiscrimination. Such "politically correct" policies demand that student Christian groups, even long-standing ministries such as InterVarsity Fellowship and others, must change their constitutions and allow unbelievers to not only join but be able to lead the groups. In other words those who are atheists, agnostics and those who would oppose Christianity with both their beliefs and their lifestyles, must, according to this new religious police force, be fully accommodated. Or? Or the Christian groups must disband as official campus ministries. These recent anti-Christian actions not only violate the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but are textbook cases in "the worst public relation blunders ever!"
After a more than three hour meeting with Vanderbilt's provost, students failed to find any compromise. One report I read cited a Chinese student who recognized the American university's demands to quell free speech and seek to control the faith and practice of conservative evangelicals and devout Catholics. The Communists in his home country have created an entire movement of underground churches by their similar repression of religious freedom. But his insight may be the final divine disposition of this matter. If we have learned anything from two millennia of church history and from 20th century history, we have learned that whenever any government or any organization or any power structure seeks to stop Christianity it actually ends up promoting a vibrant faith in Christ.
Yes, Christian campus groups may have to go underground at universities like Vanderbilt and SUNY Buffalo and other campuses. But the Gospel pattern is that the very thing which seeks to destroy Christianity becomes the instrument that promotes it. It was this way with the cross which was an instrument of shame and became a symbol of victory.
Could it now be that in seeking to quiet the faith and practice of believers on some of our nation's top campuses those individuals responsible are in fact lighting the fires of a revival that will soon begin to sweep across a nation? And maybe even some university officials who are seeking to stop the faithful will become, Paul-like, converted to that which they oppose? We have every reason to be alarmed at this recent attack of religious liberty and freedom of speech in our nation. But as Christians we also have every reason, biblical and historical, to suspect that God is up to something good.
"You meant it for evil," Joseph told his criminal brothers, "but God intended it for good, so that many will be saved." And that is a faith that overcomes and transforms antagonists into saints. Let our voices be heard by those who seek to stop the campus ministries who declare that Jesus is Lord. Let's also let our voices be heard by the One we worship: "Lord, do it again on our college campuses!" Then the lion will lie down with the lamb and the university president will lead in singing "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus" at the Wednesday night campus Bible study group. That would be a lesson we would never forget.
Michael Anthony Milton (Ph.D., University of Wales) serves as the chancellor/CEO elect of Reformed Theological Seminary (one of the largest accredited seminaries in the country), a U.S. Army chaplain (instructing at the Armed Forces Chaplain School) and the James M. Baird Jr. chair of pastoral theology at RTS/Charlotte. He is an author, songwriter, singer, ordained minister, former pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., and he previously served as the president of RTS/Charlotte. Dr. Milton also hosts a national Bible teaching television program, Faith For Living, reaching 70,000,000 potential households through DirecTV, Legacy TV network, YouTube and iTunes. It is also available as a free app in the Android and iPhone markets. The Faith For Living radio program is broadcast on several stations in the southeast. For 16 years he served in the business world and has also served as a top-secret Navy linguist.
+ Reformed Theological Seminary, 2101 Carmel Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28226, 704-366-5066, Fax: 704-366-9295
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
1 February 2012
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Christian Observer Highlights for February 2012
[2] San Diego, California, Biotech Firm Using Kidney Cells from Electively Aborted Babies to Develop New Food Sweeteners PepsiCo, Nestles and Kraft Foods Division Cadbury Adams LLC
[3] Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola Conference Urges Women to Use Condoms to Prevent HIV/AIDS and to Get Blood Tests
[4] Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, Appoints the Rev. Reddit Andrews as Assistant Professor of Practical Theology
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[1] Christian Observer Highlights for February 2012
New articles in the Christian Observer for January 2012 include:
-- Our Nation's Present Moral Situation – An editorial from the Christian Observer of 10 October 1951, when Harry S. Truman was U.S. president, the U.S. Senate had recently released a report on organized crime and its ties to government officials, more than eighty West Point cadets had been expelled for cheating, and the sacred and secular press was calling for moral reform; and,
-- The Cheating in Our Public Schools – by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – The outcome of rampant cheating in schools by students, teachers, and administrators;
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] San Diego, California, Biotech Firm Using Kidney Cells from Electively Aborted Babies to Develop New Food Sweeteners PepsiCo, Nestles and Kraft Foods Division Cadbury Adams LLC
San Diego, California, biotech firm Senomyx is using kidney cells from electively aborted babies in the development of sweet food additives for companies such as PepsiCo, Nestles, and Kraft Foods Division Cadbury Adams LLC. The food companies pay Senomyx to develop the food additives, then continue to pay royalties on the products sold.
Oklahoma Senator Ralph Shortey recently introduced a bill to ban food products developed using aborted fetal material from being sold in Oklahoma. The mainstream media responded with a barrage of articles feigning disbelief and personally attacking Senator Shortey.
Children of God for Life has mounted a worldwide boycott of PepsiCo products after PepsiCo owned up to sponsoring Senomyx research using kidney cells from aborted babies. Thirty U.S.-based pro-life groups have joined in the boycott.
Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of Children of God for Life, commented:
PepsiCo has the ability to request that Senomyx use one of the morally acceptable cell lines available…Unlike Campbell Soup who listened to the public and severed ties with Senomyx, PepsiCo has referred to the research as the “gold standard” for the industry; they have openly misled the public and created a public relations nightmare for themselves!...We stand firmly and proudly behind Senator Shortey who had the courage to step forward and protect the people of his State who have a right to know about these products. Shame on those in the mainstream media who never bothered to check the facts before they began assaulting his good name.
+ Children of God for Life, 4613 Barfield Crescent Road, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37128, 615 898-1070, info@cogforlife.org
+ Senomyx, Inc., 4767 Nexus Centre Drive, San Diego, California 92121, 858-646-8300, Fax: 858-404-0752, info@senomyx.com
+ PepsiCo, Inc., 700 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, New York 10577, 914-253-2000, Contact Page
+ Kraft Foods Inc., Three Lakes Drive, Northfield, Illinois 60093, 847-646-4538, news@kraft.com
+ Nestlé USA Headquarters, 800 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California 91203, 818-549-7131, Fax: 818-549-5884, laurie.macdonald@us.nestle.com
[3] Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola Conference Urges Women to Use Condoms to Prevent HIV/AIDS and to Get Blood Tests
A 29 January 2012 Angola Press Agency article titled “Women Urged to Use Condoms to Prevent HIV Contamination” reports that the Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola recently held a workshop for empowering rural women at the denomination’s Luanda, Angola, headquarters titled “The Social Responsibility of the Church, Fight Against AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases,” where Maria Antonio of Angola’s Health Ministry told the assembled women to use condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to voluntarily submit to blood tests to determine their “serological state.”
+ Angola Press Agency, Contact Page
+ Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola, Rua Rainha Ginga 75; Andar 4, Apartment 1, 2 e 16, Caixa Postal 2594 C, Luanda, Angola, 244-222-39-4586, Fax: 244-222-39-4586, iera_cdg@yahoo.com.br
[4] Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, Appoints the Rev. Reddit Andrews as Assistant Professor of Practical Theology
The Reformed Theological Seminary Board of Trustees announced 30 January 2012 that the Rev. Reddit Andrews, senior pastor of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Elk Grove, California, has been appointed to the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, (RTS Jackson) as assistant professor of practical theology.
Mr. Andrews has a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Trinity International University, and a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. As a student, Andrews founded Coram Deo, a student fellowship that ministered to halfway houses, rescue missions, and prisons throughout South Florida.
Mr. Andrews will begin at RTS Jackson on 1 June 2012, focusing on homiletics, but additionally teaching other courses in the practical theology department.
+ Reformed Theological Seminary - Jackson, 5422 Clinton Boulevard, Jackson, Mississippi 39209, 601-923-1600, Contact Page
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
+ Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2065 Half Day Road, Deerfield, Illinois 60015, 800-345-8337, tedsadm@tiu.edu