Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Reformed Journalist Calls for the Conservative Presbyterian and Reformed Community to Understand the Realities of “Radical Two Kingdoms” and “Escondido Two Kingdoms” Theologies
[2] Atheist Richard Dawkins Demonstrates “Astounding Arrogance” in Refusal to Debate Free Church of Scotland Minister
[3] Presbyterian Church of Australia Says Opposing Gay Marriage Is Not Discrimination
[4] Headlines from the Christian Institute
[5] Headlines from LifeSiteNews.com
[6] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[7] The Religion of Peace
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[1] Reformed Journalist Calls for the Conservative Presbyterian and Reformed Community to Understand the Realities of “Radical Two Kingdoms” and “Escondido Two Kingdoms” Theologies
Darrell Todd Maurina writes:
I am seriously concerned about inroads of "Two Kingdoms" theology in conservative Reformed circles.
People in Reformed and Presbyterian circles who pay attention to politics need to be aware of this "Two Kingdoms" theology coming out of Westminster Theological Seminary in California and what damage it is doing in our churches. Things have gotten so bad that some professed conservative Calvinists are even trying to say that a Christian case can be made for the legalization of gay marriages. One example is Misty Irons' recent speech on her support of homosexual civil marriage at the 2012 Gay Christian Network conference.
Here is Misty Irons' speech to the Gay Christian Network 2012 conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oFZsF1LxmU
I am prepared to believe there is a difference between the "Radical Two Kingdoms" people and the "Escondido 2K" people, but if so, the Escondido 2K people need to clearly disown Misty Irons and other R2K people who, like them, argue that when we're engaged in political activity, we should use general revelation and natural law rather than Scripture to make our point. I fail to see that appealing to some vague and undefined "natural law" will work as a source of authority in politics or anywhere else, given our Reformed doctrine of total depravity and its implications for so-called "common sense." Common sense simply is not that common.
I have crossposted to the Christian Observer URCNA and OPC forums, and the Puritan Board at these links.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/presbyterians-opc/message/44925
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/co-urc/message/25367
http://www.puritanboard.com/f54/old-reformed-views-escondido-2k-views-politics-75448/
There's also a discussion on the religion board of a secular conservative forum here:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2916768/posts
For those who want to read more, here are some additional links to discussion of the Escondido Two Kingdoms theology:
"Green Baggins, 2K, Westminster-West, gay marriage, and Calvinist politics"
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2862357/posts
"Ongoing review of Van Drunen's 'Natural Law and the Two Kingdoms' in the Puritan Board Theological Forum; Dr. Nelson Kloosterman of Mid-America Reformed Seminary has begun what promises to be a lengthy review of this book."
http://www.puritanboard.com/f54/ongoing-review-van-drunens-natural-law-two-kingdoms-63558/
This is a serious matter. We need to deal with it in our own conservative Reformed circles, or it will bite us, and bite us badly.
Darrell Todd Maurina's coverage of the Dutch Reformed world, including the conservative secession from the Christian Reformed Church, appeared regularly in Christian Observer in the 1990s. He is presently a member of Gospel of Grace ARP Church in Springfield, Missouri.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
[2] Atheist Richard Dawkins Demonstrates “Astounding Arrogance” in Refusal to Debate Free Church of Scotland Minister
A 14 August 2012 The Herald article by David Ross titled “Free Church Anger over Dawkins Snub” reports that atheist professor Richard Dawkins has turned down an invitation to debate a Free Church of Scotland (FCS) minister at the November 2012 Hebridean Book Festival ‘Fanclan’, where Dawkins is expected to promote his book The God Delusion, because the debate would not look good on Dawkins’ CV.
FCS minister the Rev. David Robertson said that Dawkins demonstrated “astounding arrogance” and concluded “His soundbite atheism does not stand up to scrutiny….He seems to think he is so great that anyone who challenges him is only trying to be famous.”
+ The Herald, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Scotland G2 3QB, 0141- 302-7000, Fax: 0141-302-7117, On-lineEditor@theherald.co.uk
+ 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
[3] Presbyterian Church of Australia Says Opposing Gay Marriage Is Not Discrimination
A 14 August 2012 The Christian Post article by Stoyan Zaimov titled “Opposing Gay Marriage Is Not Discrimination, Australian Church Leader Insists” reports that Presbyterian Church of Australia leader the Rev. David Jones says that Christians wanting to preserve the traditional definition of marriage are not being discriminatory, saying:
“We continually are told that the legalization of same-sex marriage would end perceived discrimination against same-sex couples who are currently not able to marry under federal government law. But at least from the church perspective, opposition to such legalization has nothing to do with discrimination. Plain and simply, Christians oppose same-sex marriage because the Bible, the word of the God who created male and female and also created marriage, clearly and distinctly says that marriage is between one man and one woman – which means not between two men or two women.”
+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com
+ Presbyterian Church of Australia, Post Office Box 2196, Strawberry Hills, New South Wales 2012, Australia, 02-9690-9333, Fax: 02-9310-2148, general@pcnsw.org.au
[4] Headlines from the Christian Institute
-- Only 143 of 6.4 Million Abortions in England and Wales between 1968 and 2011 Were To Save the Life of the Mother
-- Male Oxford Students Free To Wear Skirts to Exams
+ 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
[5] Headlines from LifeSiteNews.com
-- Red Cross Sets Up Blood Drive outside Abortion Clinic
-- Dozens of Pro-Family Leaders Denounce U.S. Embassy’s Participation in Czech ‘Gay Pride’ Parade
-- Pastor Prosecuted For Helping Girl Escape Court-Imposed Lesbian ‘Mother’
-- Thirteen-Year-Old Says ‘Gay Porn’ Led To Repeated Rape of Four-Year-Old
-- Polish Pro-Lifers Arrested For Displaying Graphic Abortion Posters
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[6] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- NBC Uses Olympics to Promote Sitcom on Same-Sex Couple Seeking Surrogate-Hatched Child
-- Olympics Spectator with Parkinson's Wants 'Exoneration' after Arrest for Not Smiling during Bicycle Race
-- Former CIA Deputy Director and Retired U.S. Army Lt. General William Boykin Says Martial Law Expected and "Warranted"
-- U.S. Army Colonel Ignites Firestorm with Article On Crushing a 'Tea Party Insurgency'
-- TSA Harassment Sends Rape Victim to Emergency Room
-- TSA Agents Caught Smuggling Cocaine and Heroin at Atlanta Airport
-- Oregon Man Sentenced to Thirty Days for Catching Rain Water on Own Property Enters Jail
-- Dallas, Texas, Police Officer Moved to Graveyard Shift after Buying Chick-Fil-A Sandwich on 1 August 2012
-- Australian Motel Owner Can't Ban Prostitute from Using Room
-- Chicago Won't Show Public Records in Abortion Death
-- First Amendment Threatened by Obama’s Enemies List
-- Uzbekistan Tightens Grip on Christians
-- American Red Cross Caught in Abortion Crossfire after Holding Blood Drive at Abortion Clinic
-- Homosexual Male Couples Face Pressure to Fill Cradles
-- The Overcriminalization of America: Are We All Criminals Now?
-- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Armored Vehicle Photographed on Its Way through Kentucky
-- Citrus County Florida Police Strip Search Mom, “Forcibly” Pull Tampon Out of Her for Maybe Rolling Through Stop Sign
-- Federal Agents Kill Dog, Handcuff Kids in Wrong-House Raid in Minnesota
-- U.S. Internal Revenue Service Official Warns Pastors to Keep Silent during Elections
-- Davidson College Bans Chick-Fil-A from Campus Events
-- Washington Times Editorial: The Civil War of 2016: U.S. Military Officers Are Told To Plan to Fight Americans
-- U.S. Department of Homeland Security to Purchase another 750 Million Rounds of .40-Caliber Hollow-Point Bullets
-- U.S. Department of Homeland Security Purchases Massive Explosive Nitrates – Scrubs History
-- Seventy-One-Year-Old Taken to the Ground for Questioning Presumptive U.S. Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan – YouTube Video
-- U.S. Army Tactical Manuals Describe How to Control Domestic Insurrection
-- What Same-Sex "Marriage" Has Done To Massachusetts: It's Far Worse Than Most People Realize
-- Meet the U.S. Military’s First Openly-Homosexual General
-- Oregon Children Can Now Be Sterilized for Free without Parental Consent
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, England, 0-20-3353-2000, reader@guardian.co.uk
+ ETF Daily News, c/o WBC Media, Llc., PO Box 1444, Manchester, New Hampshire 03105, davidb@etfdailynews.com
+ Examiner.com, 555 17th Street, Suite 700, Denver, Colorado 80202, contactus@examiner.com
+ Breitbart.com, 149 South Barrington Avenue #401, Los Angeles, California 90049
+ American Vision, Post Office Box 220, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 770-222-7266, Fax: 770-222-7269, mail@AmericanVision.org
+ Political Outcast
+ CBS-Dallas/Fort Worth, 5233 Bridge Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76103, 214-525-7000, Contact Page
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, Fax: 616-942-7328, Contact Page
+ Life Issues Institute, 1821 West Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45239, 513-729-3600, info@lifeissues.org
+ New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, 212- 556-1234, executive-editor@nytimes.com
+ LewRockwell.com, Post Office Box 1189, Auburn, Alabama 36831, lew@lewrockwell.com
+ Daily Paul, Post Office Box 1306, Arlington, Massachusetts 02474, 339-707-0268, manystrom@gmail.com
+ Broward/Palm Beach New Times, 16 Northeast 4th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33301, 954-233-1600, Fax: 954-233-1521, Contact Page
+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com
+ Alliance Defending Freedom, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025
+ The Leadership Institute, 1101 North Highland Street, Arlington, Virginia 22201, 703-247-2000, Contact Page
+ The Washington Times, 3600 New York Avenue Northeast, Washington DC 20002, 202-636-3205
+ PrisonPlanet.com, Post Office Box 19549, Austin, Texas 78760, 512-291-5750, writers@infowars.com
+ The Liberty Crier
+ YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, San Bruno, California 94066, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@youtube.com
+ Infowars.com, Post Office Box 19549, Austin, Texas 78760, 512-291-5750, writers@infowars.com
+ Mass Resistance, Post Office Box 1612, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, 781-890-6001, Contact Page
+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com
[7] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Religious Communities Rally to Support Missouri Muslims after Mosque Arson
-- Eleven Pakistani Christian Nurses ‘Deliberately Poisoned’ with Mercury ‘Because of their Faith’
-- Iran Backs Syria as Civil War Continues
-- Muslim Brotherhood Spokesman: America Will Be Brought to Its Knees
-- Mali Muslims Beat Journalist after Sharia Plan Thwarted
-- Jihadist "Rebels" in Syria Hang Child after Killing Family Members
-- Syrian Conflict a Proxy War to Reshape the Middle East
-- Obama Administration Paves the Way for Sharia Law
-- World's Leading Islamic University Al-Azhar Cleric Hashem Islam Ali Islam: Suicide Bombings Are a Religious Duty
-- The Obama Administration's War on Persecuted Christians
-- US Foreign Policy Destroying Middle East Christianity
-- Nigerian Leader Rejects Boko Haram Leader’s Call on Him to Resign
-- Iraq Prepares to Release Terrorist Accused of Killing U.S. Soldiers
-- Afghan Policeman Turns Gun on U.S. Marines following Joint Pre-Dawn Ramadan Meal - Kills Three
-- Islamists in North Mali Amputate Man’s Hand
-- Violent Muslim Riots in India
-- U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama Misrepresents "Jefferson's Quran" At White House Iftar Dinner
-- Muslim Brotherhood Minister in Morocco Says “Sometimes the Marriage of a Raped Girl to Her Rapist Does Not Really Harm Her"
-- Children in Somalia Kidnapped and Chained By Al-Qaeda to Be Taught How to Become Suicide Bombers
+ Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, 70 East Lake Street, Suite 205, Chicago, Illinois, 60601, 312-629-2990, Fax: 312-629-2991, info@parliamentofreligions.org
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, Fax: 616-942-7328, Contact Page
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ Assyrian International News Agency
+ TV-Novosti, Building. 1, 4, Zubovsky Boulevard, Moscow, Russia 119021, 202-681-7049, Fax: 202-942-7441, RT-US@rttv.ru
+ Antiwar.com, backtalk@antiwar.com
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ Comcast Corporation, One Comcast Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, 800-266-2278, Contact Form
+ New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, 212- 556-1234, executive-editor@nytimes.com
