Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
23 November 2016
“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Christ Is the Ruler of Nations Published Online
[2] Great Britain Denies Visit of Pakistani Christians to Twin Church in Scotland Citing Pakistani’s “Poverty”
[3] Evangelical Church in Germany Abandons Mission to Jews
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[1] Christ Is the Ruler of Nations Published Online
R. Andrew Myers who attends Grace & Truth Reformed Presbyterian Church (Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, has published online “Christ Is the Ruler of Nations,” a book that is a compilation of the broad witness of the church on the Mediatorial Kingship of Christ from the times of Calvin to the present day. The book is available for reading at no cost at the following link:
www.MediatorialKingship.com
+ Christ's Mediatorial Kingship, Contact Page
+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861
[2] Great Britain Denies Visit of Pakistani Christians to Twin Church in Scotland Citing Pakistani’s “Poverty”
A 23 November 2016 Pakistan Christian Post article titled “U.K. Denies Entry in Church Conference Reasoning Poverty of Two Pakistani Christian Delegates” reports that Great Britain has denied entry visas to two Pakistani Christians who had planned to visit their twin church in Scotland as part of a long standing exchange program in the Church of Scotland with churches in the developing world, blaming the Pakistani’s “poverty” for the rejection.
Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association commented:
"We are appalled that peaceful and legitimate Christian leaders and clerics are not being allowed into the country for a meeting with a well-established church that has long experience of handling such matters, particularly when the Home Office recently let in two Pakistani Muslim clerics, Muhammad Naqib ur Rehman and his son Haseeb Ur Rehman, with a long record of inciting hatred against Christians and other objectionable behaviour for an extensive speaking tour of the nation, and meetings with prominent individuals including the Archbishop of Canterbury.
“The Church of Scotland has had an exemplary record for a long time in such matters, with many people coming over on such programs from very poor countries, and not a single one absconding to stay here, apparently. Why specifically Pakistani Christian clerics have been denied entry is a worrying question. Of course, Home Office officials say they were only applying the rules, but in the limited material released, it seems to imply that the clerics produced bank evidence that they met the criteria and that this has been dismissed as somehow fraudulent or inaccurate, imputing dishonesty to these clerics, and, we are informed, naturally has left them shocked and depressed.”
+ Pakistan Christian Post, pakistanchristianpost@yahoo.com
+ British Pakistani Christian Association, 57 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex IG1 1XG, England, 020-8514-0861, info@britishpakistanichristians.co.uk
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
[3] Evangelical Church in Germany Abandons Mission to Jews
A 22 November 2016 The Gospel Herald article by Suzette Gutierrez-Cachila titled “German Protestants Pass Resolution to Stop Converting Jews to Christianity: 'We Leave Up to God'” reports that the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has abandoned their “Mission to the Jews,” and will no longer “…show Israel the path to God and his salvation.”
An EKD resolution states:
“All efforts to convert Jews contradict our commitment to the faithfulness of God and the election of Israel,”
And, says that Christians seeing Jesus as their Savior and the Jews not sharing the same perspective is “a fact we leave up to God.”
+ The Gospel Herald, 1250 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 210, Sunnyvale, California 94085, 650-336-7086, Contact Page
+ Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Church Office, Herrenhäuser Straße 12, D-30419 Hanover, Germany, 49-511-2796-0, Fax: 49-511-2796-707, info@ekd.de
[1] Christ Is the Ruler of Nations Published Online
[2] Great Britain Denies Visit of Pakistani Christians to Twin Church in Scotland Citing Pakistani’s “Poverty”
[3] Evangelical Church in Germany Abandons Mission to Jews
---
[1] Christ Is the Ruler of Nations Published Online
R. Andrew Myers who attends Grace & Truth Reformed Presbyterian Church (Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, has published online “Christ Is the Ruler of Nations,” a book that is a compilation of the broad witness of the church on the Mediatorial Kingship of Christ from the times of Calvin to the present day. The book is available for reading at no cost at the following link:
www.MediatorialKingship.com
+ Christ's Mediatorial Kingship, Contact Page
+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861
[2] Great Britain Denies Visit of Pakistani Christians to Twin Church in Scotland Citing Pakistani’s “Poverty”
A 23 November 2016 Pakistan Christian Post article titled “U.K. Denies Entry in Church Conference Reasoning Poverty of Two Pakistani Christian Delegates” reports that Great Britain has denied entry visas to two Pakistani Christians who had planned to visit their twin church in Scotland as part of a long standing exchange program in the Church of Scotland with churches in the developing world, blaming the Pakistani’s “poverty” for the rejection.
Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association commented:
"We are appalled that peaceful and legitimate Christian leaders and clerics are not being allowed into the country for a meeting with a well-established church that has long experience of handling such matters, particularly when the Home Office recently let in two Pakistani Muslim clerics, Muhammad Naqib ur Rehman and his son Haseeb Ur Rehman, with a long record of inciting hatred against Christians and other objectionable behaviour for an extensive speaking tour of the nation, and meetings with prominent individuals including the Archbishop of Canterbury.
“The Church of Scotland has had an exemplary record for a long time in such matters, with many people coming over on such programs from very poor countries, and not a single one absconding to stay here, apparently. Why specifically Pakistani Christian clerics have been denied entry is a worrying question. Of course, Home Office officials say they were only applying the rules, but in the limited material released, it seems to imply that the clerics produced bank evidence that they met the criteria and that this has been dismissed as somehow fraudulent or inaccurate, imputing dishonesty to these clerics, and, we are informed, naturally has left them shocked and depressed.”
+ Pakistan Christian Post, pakistanchristianpost@yahoo.com
+ British Pakistani Christian Association, 57 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex IG1 1XG, England, 020-8514-0861, info@britishpakistanichristians.co.uk
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
[3] Evangelical Church in Germany Abandons Mission to Jews
A 22 November 2016 The Gospel Herald article by Suzette Gutierrez-Cachila titled “German Protestants Pass Resolution to Stop Converting Jews to Christianity: 'We Leave Up to God'” reports that the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has abandoned their “Mission to the Jews,” and will no longer “…show Israel the path to God and his salvation.”
An EKD resolution states:
“All efforts to convert Jews contradict our commitment to the faithfulness of God and the election of Israel,”
And, says that Christians seeing Jesus as their Savior and the Jews not sharing the same perspective is “a fact we leave up to God.”
+ The Gospel Herald, 1250 Oakmead Parkway, Suite 210, Sunnyvale, California 94085, 650-336-7086, Contact Page
+ Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Church Office, Herrenhäuser Straße 12, D-30419 Hanover, Germany, 49-511-2796-0, Fax: 49-511-2796-707, info@ekd.de
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
16 November 2016
“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week
[1] Death of the Rev. Zeb Carson Williams
Retired Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) minister the Rev. Zeb Carson Williams died 14 November 2016 after suffering a massive stroke several weeks earlier. During his fifty-five years as an ordained minister, Pastor Williams served several churches in the Carolinas and Virginia, and served as editor of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church’s magazine The ARP from 1975 to 1980. His last two pastoral calls brought him to Lexington, Virginia, where he first served Lauderdale ARP Church in downtown Lexington. After retiring from the Lauderdale church, he began supplying the pulpit of the now 226-year-old Ebenezer ARP Church located three miles west of Lexington, and served there several years until health problems forced him to retire “for real” at the end of 2007.
Pastor Zeb Williams was a dear friend of the Christian Observer editor, and as the editor’s pastor at Ebenezer greatly encouraged the editor on the long road to his 2013 ordination. The editor traveled with Zeb on several occasions, once to an ARP Synod meeting near Zeb’s boyhood home in western North Carolina where he took the editor to the cemetery west of Hendersonville where the marble angel memorialized in Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward Angel now resides.
On another occasion, the editor drove Zeb over the Blue Ridge mountains to Lynchburg to the original Thomas Road Baptist Church to see Ergun Caner installed as the president of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, the editor’s seminary alma mater. While there, the editor had the enjoyable opportunity to introduce Zeb to Dr. Elmer Towns, one of the editor’s seminary professor’s and the minister credited with developing the original Sunday School bus ministries of the 1960’s.
Zeb was known for his wonderful yarn-spinning abilities. One of the editor’s favorites was Zeb describing his presbytery examination when he first was called to pastor an ARP church. Zeb described an overly-serious ruling elder who asked him question after question. When Zeb was asked if there was anything in the Bible with which he did not agree, he answered, “yes.” The overly-serious elder looked at him in shock and asked Zeb what it was with which he didn’t agree. Zeb replied that he disagreed with the Apostle Paul calling himself the “Chief of Sinners,” saying that in fact he, Zeb Carson Williams, was the chief of sinners. He then looked straight in the eye of the questioning elder and said, “And you ain’t far behind.” Zeb said that after some nervous laughter a motion to sustain the examination was made and voted upon in the affirmative, and Zeb thus became an ARP minister.
On another occasion, the editor fondly remembers a session meeting at Ebenezer when Zeb was sitting at the head of a rectangular table and began telling the session in detail about his visit to the audiologist where he was told that he had lost hearing in the frequency range of his wife’s voice. The editor then leaned forward, looked Zeb straight in the eye, and said to him, “And the problem is…?”
Zeb was an accomplished musician as an organist, pianist, and vocalist. Zeb could easily sing all four parts in the hymnal, and often switched parts on each verse. One of the editor’s favorite musical memories of Zeb was during one December as his health was fading when the editor invited Zeb to sing tenor in an impromptu quartet and piano rendition of Silent Night.
Zeb several years ago asked the editor’s church-pianist wife to keep a list of the music he wanted played and sang at his funeral. D.V., all his selections will be played and sang at Zeb’s funeral service on Saturday 19 November 2016 at 3:00 p.m. eastern standard time at Ebenezer ARP Church. The editor is sad to lose such a dear friend this side of eternity, but rejoices that Zeb is now out of pain, no longer bedridden, and is in the arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 918 South Pleasantburg Drive, Suite 127, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
[1] Death of the Rev. Zeb Carson Williams
Retired Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) minister the Rev. Zeb Carson Williams died 14 November 2016 after suffering a massive stroke several weeks earlier. During his fifty-five years as an ordained minister, Pastor Williams served several churches in the Carolinas and Virginia, and served as editor of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church’s magazine The ARP from 1975 to 1980. His last two pastoral calls brought him to Lexington, Virginia, where he first served Lauderdale ARP Church in downtown Lexington. After retiring from the Lauderdale church, he began supplying the pulpit of the now 226-year-old Ebenezer ARP Church located three miles west of Lexington, and served there several years until health problems forced him to retire “for real” at the end of 2007.
Pastor Zeb Williams was a dear friend of the Christian Observer editor, and as the editor’s pastor at Ebenezer greatly encouraged the editor on the long road to his 2013 ordination. The editor traveled with Zeb on several occasions, once to an ARP Synod meeting near Zeb’s boyhood home in western North Carolina where he took the editor to the cemetery west of Hendersonville where the marble angel memorialized in Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward Angel now resides.
On another occasion, the editor drove Zeb over the Blue Ridge mountains to Lynchburg to the original Thomas Road Baptist Church to see Ergun Caner installed as the president of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, the editor’s seminary alma mater. While there, the editor had the enjoyable opportunity to introduce Zeb to Dr. Elmer Towns, one of the editor’s seminary professor’s and the minister credited with developing the original Sunday School bus ministries of the 1960’s.
Zeb was known for his wonderful yarn-spinning abilities. One of the editor’s favorites was Zeb describing his presbytery examination when he first was called to pastor an ARP church. Zeb described an overly-serious ruling elder who asked him question after question. When Zeb was asked if there was anything in the Bible with which he did not agree, he answered, “yes.” The overly-serious elder looked at him in shock and asked Zeb what it was with which he didn’t agree. Zeb replied that he disagreed with the Apostle Paul calling himself the “Chief of Sinners,” saying that in fact he, Zeb Carson Williams, was the chief of sinners. He then looked straight in the eye of the questioning elder and said, “And you ain’t far behind.” Zeb said that after some nervous laughter a motion to sustain the examination was made and voted upon in the affirmative, and Zeb thus became an ARP minister.
On another occasion, the editor fondly remembers a session meeting at Ebenezer when Zeb was sitting at the head of a rectangular table and began telling the session in detail about his visit to the audiologist where he was told that he had lost hearing in the frequency range of his wife’s voice. The editor then leaned forward, looked Zeb straight in the eye, and said to him, “And the problem is…?”
Zeb was an accomplished musician as an organist, pianist, and vocalist. Zeb could easily sing all four parts in the hymnal, and often switched parts on each verse. One of the editor’s favorite musical memories of Zeb was during one December as his health was fading when the editor invited Zeb to sing tenor in an impromptu quartet and piano rendition of Silent Night.
Zeb several years ago asked the editor’s church-pianist wife to keep a list of the music he wanted played and sang at his funeral. D.V., all his selections will be played and sang at Zeb’s funeral service on Saturday 19 November 2016 at 3:00 p.m. eastern standard time at Ebenezer ARP Church. The editor is sad to lose such a dear friend this side of eternity, but rejoices that Zeb is now out of pain, no longer bedridden, and is in the arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 918 South Pleasantburg Drive, Suite 127, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
9 November 2016
“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] New Christian Observer Articles for November 2017
[2] The Real Significance of the Ashers Ruling
---
[1] New Christian Observer Articles for November 2017
New Christian Observer articles for November 2016 include:
-- How Should a Christian Vote on 8 November 2016? – by Christian Observer Managing Editor Bob Williams – What the Bible teaches about voting;
-- Hopocan of Ohio and Saul of Tarsus – by Christian Observer Contributing Editor David Brand – A tale of colonial Ohio Indian chief Hopocan in contrast to Saul of Tarsus;
-- Educating to Discern Between the Lesser of Two Evils - by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – Another perspective on what the Bible teaches about exercising one’s franchise;
Plus links to ReVision devotionals on the Fellowship of Ailbe website by Christian Observer Contributing Editor T.M. Moore.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
[2] The Real Significance of the Ashers Ruling
[Editor’s Note: The Christian owners of Ashers Bakery in Belfast, Northern Ireland, when asked to ice a cake with a pro-homosexual message, refused to do so. After a complaint was lodged against the Ashers for their refusal to ice the cake, the bakery was prosecuted and fined for what the court deemed to be discrimination against homosexuals. The Ashers appealed the decision which was ultimately upheld by an appeals court. The following article by Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) minister the Rev. E. Trevor Kirkland addresses the significance of this ruling.]
(Originally published at: http://www.freechurchcontinuing.org/)
How have we arrived at a point in our nation when Christians engaged in commerce are found guilty of having broken the law because they refused to fulfil an order promoting a specific form of sexual activity?
Reason
First, the real reason for the ruling. The Lee-v-Ashers Baking Co judgment runs to a lengthy 106 sections of legal analysis and argumentation, as one expects. However, in section 18 there is a rather curious argument made that few have paid attention to. Regarding the ruling against Ashers, it is stated: “To do otherwise would be to allow a religious belief to dictate what the law is”.
Readers must pause and study that statement carefully. Here surely is the nub of the issue. Religion, at least as far as these judges so define it, cannot be allowed to ‘dictate’.
Ironically, that is precisely what is happening. Substitute ‘religion’ by its equivalent term ‘belief’, and what we see is that one form of belief, namely secularism, must have precedence over another, namely Christianity. Hiding behind the word ‘religion’, judges have given the appearance of fairness. In reality they have announced that the belief of secularism will override the belief of Christians.
Voluntaryism
How has it happened that Christians are now the law-breakers? In 1836, during a debate with Voluntaryists, Henry Cooke, in defending the Establishment principle, stated that should rulers adopt Voluntaryism the consequences would be radical. In general the moral code of Christ would be abolished as an infringement of civil liberty. Cooke warned of the following consequences should this happen:
First, laws respecting the Lord’s Day would be amended.
Second, laws respecting marriage would be changed.
Third, laws respecting commerce would be altered.
Over the past generation Cooke’s warnings have come to pass:
Under John Major, laws regarding the Lord’s Day were changed.
Under David Cameron marriage was redefined.
Now it is unlawful for Christians to trade in the public square following their Christian principles.
We are witnessing the full fruit of atheism.
Choice
Astonishingly, Michael Wardlow, chairman of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, pontificated that Christians will have to choose between beliefs and profits. This is not something new, but why should it be so? Why should Christians be forced to choose between the two? Why should Christians be criminalised for following their beliefs in the commercial world? After all, that is exactly what every atheist does! He follows his beliefs, and all without any criminal office being committed.
As Henry Cooke warned, you may disestablish Christianity, but you do not thereby disestablish belief; you merely substitute another belief. But few Christians in the 20th century paid any heed. James Begg saw the same danger when the Church of Ireland was disestablished. Not that he was defending an Anglican Establishment; rather he was for defending a truly Christian Establishment, because the alternative was either papist or atheist. As it turned out, the atheist has thus far triumphed.
The true significance of the Ashers ruling is more serious than many Christians have grasped. One observant letter writer to the Daily Telegraph noted: “if religion cannot be allowed to dictate the law why do we have halal meet in shops?” We could also ask, what about Hindu funeral pyres, and a host of other practices? In other words, religion does dictate the law. It is why we have the constitution we have. It is why there are daily prayers in parliament. It is why we have the Bible in schools. And on it goes.
Abolition
The judges’ ruling is for the wholesale abolition of Christian belief from society. Ultimately their ruling means that even lawmakers must be free of ‘religious belief’: if not, why should they be excluded?
What we have here is the fruit of the tree of Voluntaryism, where atheistic belief governs the legal profession, demanding that Christians comply or face the consequences.
And that is the real significance of the Ashers ruling for any who care to pay attention.
+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev. John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org
[1] New Christian Observer Articles for November 2017
[2] The Real Significance of the Ashers Ruling
---
[1] New Christian Observer Articles for November 2017
New Christian Observer articles for November 2016 include:
-- How Should a Christian Vote on 8 November 2016? – by Christian Observer Managing Editor Bob Williams – What the Bible teaches about voting;
-- Hopocan of Ohio and Saul of Tarsus – by Christian Observer Contributing Editor David Brand – A tale of colonial Ohio Indian chief Hopocan in contrast to Saul of Tarsus;
-- Educating to Discern Between the Lesser of Two Evils - by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – Another perspective on what the Bible teaches about exercising one’s franchise;
Plus links to ReVision devotionals on the Fellowship of Ailbe website by Christian Observer Contributing Editor T.M. Moore.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
[2] The Real Significance of the Ashers Ruling
[Editor’s Note: The Christian owners of Ashers Bakery in Belfast, Northern Ireland, when asked to ice a cake with a pro-homosexual message, refused to do so. After a complaint was lodged against the Ashers for their refusal to ice the cake, the bakery was prosecuted and fined for what the court deemed to be discrimination against homosexuals. The Ashers appealed the decision which was ultimately upheld by an appeals court. The following article by Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) minister the Rev. E. Trevor Kirkland addresses the significance of this ruling.]
(Originally published at: http://www.freechurchcontinuing.org/)
How have we arrived at a point in our nation when Christians engaged in commerce are found guilty of having broken the law because they refused to fulfil an order promoting a specific form of sexual activity?
Reason
First, the real reason for the ruling. The Lee-v-Ashers Baking Co judgment runs to a lengthy 106 sections of legal analysis and argumentation, as one expects. However, in section 18 there is a rather curious argument made that few have paid attention to. Regarding the ruling against Ashers, it is stated: “To do otherwise would be to allow a religious belief to dictate what the law is”.
Readers must pause and study that statement carefully. Here surely is the nub of the issue. Religion, at least as far as these judges so define it, cannot be allowed to ‘dictate’.
Ironically, that is precisely what is happening. Substitute ‘religion’ by its equivalent term ‘belief’, and what we see is that one form of belief, namely secularism, must have precedence over another, namely Christianity. Hiding behind the word ‘religion’, judges have given the appearance of fairness. In reality they have announced that the belief of secularism will override the belief of Christians.
Voluntaryism
How has it happened that Christians are now the law-breakers? In 1836, during a debate with Voluntaryists, Henry Cooke, in defending the Establishment principle, stated that should rulers adopt Voluntaryism the consequences would be radical. In general the moral code of Christ would be abolished as an infringement of civil liberty. Cooke warned of the following consequences should this happen:
First, laws respecting the Lord’s Day would be amended.
Second, laws respecting marriage would be changed.
Third, laws respecting commerce would be altered.
Over the past generation Cooke’s warnings have come to pass:
Under John Major, laws regarding the Lord’s Day were changed.
Under David Cameron marriage was redefined.
Now it is unlawful for Christians to trade in the public square following their Christian principles.
We are witnessing the full fruit of atheism.
Choice
Astonishingly, Michael Wardlow, chairman of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, pontificated that Christians will have to choose between beliefs and profits. This is not something new, but why should it be so? Why should Christians be forced to choose between the two? Why should Christians be criminalised for following their beliefs in the commercial world? After all, that is exactly what every atheist does! He follows his beliefs, and all without any criminal office being committed.
As Henry Cooke warned, you may disestablish Christianity, but you do not thereby disestablish belief; you merely substitute another belief. But few Christians in the 20th century paid any heed. James Begg saw the same danger when the Church of Ireland was disestablished. Not that he was defending an Anglican Establishment; rather he was for defending a truly Christian Establishment, because the alternative was either papist or atheist. As it turned out, the atheist has thus far triumphed.
The true significance of the Ashers ruling is more serious than many Christians have grasped. One observant letter writer to the Daily Telegraph noted: “if religion cannot be allowed to dictate the law why do we have halal meet in shops?” We could also ask, what about Hindu funeral pyres, and a host of other practices? In other words, religion does dictate the law. It is why we have the constitution we have. It is why there are daily prayers in parliament. It is why we have the Bible in schools. And on it goes.
Abolition
The judges’ ruling is for the wholesale abolition of Christian belief from society. Ultimately their ruling means that even lawmakers must be free of ‘religious belief’: if not, why should they be excluded?
What we have here is the fruit of the tree of Voluntaryism, where atheistic belief governs the legal profession, demanding that Christians comply or face the consequences.
And that is the real significance of the Ashers ruling for any who care to pay attention.
+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev. John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
2 November 2016
“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Christ Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City Utah Makes Available Two Videos
[2] “Hello, Goodbye, Wait, and Hello” – Erskine College and Theological Seminary Gets a New Interim President and a New Board Chairman
---
[ Editor’s Note: Please forgive the editor for the lack of a 27 October 2016 issue of Presbyterians Week. He fell asleep in an easy chair and his computer fell on the floor, crashing the hard disk, then he was out-of-town a few days before being able to repair and rebuild said computer. One would think that someone who has made his living with computers for the better part of thirty-seven years…]
[1] Christ Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City Utah Makes Available Two Videos
Christ OPC of Salt Lake City, Utah has made available two videos:
1) The Truth Will Make You Free: An Earnest Plea to Gay Christians at URL: http://www.gaychristian.video/, and;
2) The Truth Will Make You Free: An Earnest Plea to Latter-Day Saints at URL: http://www.lds.video/.
+ Christ Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 3824 Claudia Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84120, 801-969-7948, jasonopc@aol.com
+ The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 North Easton Road, Building E, Box P, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania 19090, 215-830-0900, Fax: 215-830-0350
[2] “Hello, Goodbye, Wait, and Hello” – Erskine College and Theological Seminary Gets a New Interim President and a New Board Chairman
By Chuck Wilson
Because there were two meetings of the Erskine board in October, [this edition of] ARPTalk (138) has been slow in appearing. The meeting on October 6 was pro forma and segued into the October 21 meeting for the nomination and election an Interim President. Nevertheless, a couple of big things came out of the October 6 meeting.
Hello, Sam James!
First, following the resignations of Ron Vigus from both the board and the chairmanship of the board in August, Sam James was nominated and elected the chairman of the board. An ’07 graduate of Erskine College, James is the owner and president of the James Funeral Home in Huntersville, North Carolina. He is also a member of the Huntersville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
For the first time in more than 40 years, the chairman of the Erskine board is unashamedly an evangelical, a man who is a member of and loves the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and a man who is committed to seeing Erskine College and Seminary aligned with the theological commitments of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
Goodbye, Paul Kooistra!
Second, the October 6 meeting of the board is Paul Kooistra’s last meeting of the board. His tenure as the President of Erskine ended ignominiously. At his first meeting of the board, Kooistra made it clear the board did not meet without his presence — even when the board was in executive session and he was the topic of discussion. He made it clear if the board met without him, he would resign immediately. Well, on October 6, after giving his report (which was a statement of “I have nothing to report!”), the chairman asked him to retire from the board meeting. Graciously, he continues in a caretaker role until November 1; however, I see a van is parked in front of the President’s residence in Due West!
Wait Till February!
Third, the most controversial item on the agenda at the October 6 meeting was the report of the ad hoc committee on the seminary. The ad hoc committee reported its recommendation (a recommendation passed and brought to the board by a whopping majority of two votes to one vote) is to move the seminary to the Columbia campus. There is, however, a “minority report.”
When the ad hoc committee met to do its work, the meeting lasted so long one of the members of the committee had to leave the meeting to attend to other business before the vote was taken. The person who voted in the negative and the person who left to attend to pressing business have joined in a “minority report.”
The idea of closing the Due West campus, dismissing the Due West faculty, and moving Erskine Seminary to Columbia is the brainchild and the last hurrah of Kooistra. The plan presented by the ad hoc committee is Kooistra’s plan.
In the last issues of ARPTalk, I reported Kooistra was saying there is division on the seminary faculty. In spite of documents from the seminary faculty which indicate unanimity in purpose, it is now evident there is division. According to the “minority report,” when Kooistra asked Mark Ross (Columbia campus) if “any of the faculty in Due West” should be retained for service in Columbia, Ross’ reply was “he did not want any of the drama of the Due West faculty.” Indeed, Kooistra worked hard in dividing the seminary faculty to the point Ross is willing to throw his colleagues under the bus. This is simply a loathsome thing. It is a cruel thing to create division among brothers (Proverbs 6:19).
The matter of the ad hoc committee was referred to the February meeting of the board in order for a second look to to take place and for the new President to give his input on the matter.
Hello, Rob Gustafson!
On October 21, the Erskine board met to elect Dr. Robert E. Gustafson, Jr. Interim President of Erskine College & Seminary. Gustafson has an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, where he played football. He has MA degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary/Massachusetts and Columbia University. Gustafson is also an Erskine alum, holding a DMin from the seminary.
Gustafson is a lifelong learner. While a student at RTS/Orlando in 1997, an article about him was posted in the The Reformed Quarterly: “Rob Gustafson: Lifelong Learner.” He says, “I love learning because that’s what life is all about.” With regard to Christian education, he says,
When you separate education from Christianity you end up in a world which has no ultimate meaning. . . The minute you separate them you have something less than what education was meant to be, which is an understanding of the world God has created and an assurance that some order and structure exist. It also brings understanding to the pain and suffering with which we live. Without a Christian perspective, one can quickly become very cynical, skeptical, and disillusioned. . . In many ways, I think this is where we are in our country’s educational system. . . We see it indirectly in the way people treat each other, the way human life is devalued, and how people use their leisure time. All of these trends are products of an educational system which has as its end goal simply to do a good job and make a little money.” (http://rq.rts.edu/fall97/gustafson.html)
Gustafson’s background in education (and education as Christian ministry) is extensive. He has taught at the prestigious Stony Brook School, Long Island, New York; the Westminster School, Atlanta, Georgia; and the Trinity Christian Academy, Dallas, Texas. He has also served as the Headmaster of the Dunham School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; the Jackson Preparatory School, Jackson, Mississippi; and the Stony Brook School, Long Island, New York.
When addressing the Erskine board, Gustafson said he did not have a vision for Erskine. He said he did not need one. Rather, the vision for Erskine was “The Philosophy of Higher Christian Education” which he held in his hands. He also said Erskine’s main problem is a problem of alignment. Erskine is not in alignment with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church which owns Erskine. Furthermore, he also said anyone at Erskine who is not on board with the desires and vision of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church needs to find a new avenue of service.
I have learned the lesson of Ronald Wilson Reagan: “Trust but verify!” However, I can say this: in forty-two years, I have not seen both a Chairman of the board and a President of Erskine who openly speak of commitment to evangelical Christianity, faithfulness to the Philosophy of Higher Christian Education, and alignment with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as the vision for Erskine.
The secular alums view Gustafson’s election with alarm and dread. Their Facebook page begins with these words: “I do not have a great feeling about this.” Indeed, God be praised, this may be the tolling of the death knell for what the liberal alums refer to as “Ol’ Erskine.” I pray so!!
The following is a list of some of the secular alum’s comments:
“He [Gustafson] seems underqualified. . . .” I wonder if this very qualified and educated person has been informed “underqualified” is not a word?
“Just another stupid fundie.” A man who is so “stupid” he is an Erskine alum and holds four degrees — one from the prestigious University of Virginia and one from the prestigious Columbia University. Not bad for a “stupid fundie” who cannot read or write!
“I don’t see how a preacher as president will advance the ball.” Perhaps it is not “the stupid fundie” who is ignorant. For this ignorant person, Dr. Gustafson is not ordained as a minister. For this ignorant person, Erskine was founded by Associate Reformed Presbyterian ministers and led exclusively by Associate Reformed Presbyterian minsters for more than 130 years. In other words, the education which was greatly subsidized for this person at Erskine is predicated on the faithful work and sacrifice of Associate Reformed Presbyterian ministers who were not ignorant and who “advanced the ball.”
“It would appear that Erskine’s downward spiral is doomed to continue.”
Presently, I see the spiral as upward and give praise to God.
Ward Logan is the son of Lee Logan who was Erskine’s man for development for years.
Ward Logan writes: “EC has been deliberately and systematically diminished by the [ARP] synod and a arrogant empowered group of the [BOT]. In addition, it seems that they have reduced the influence and reputation of the [ARP] denomination. Once respected, the denomination has become almost irrelevant. I continue to mourn my alma mater. I continue to worry about the great folks that still work at the college. The denomination has done it to itself. I would imagine that the denominations finances are probably in shambles as well.” Well, Ward Logan needs to pull his head out of the sand. If Erskine was systematically plundered, one of the plunderers was his father, Lee Logan. Some of Lee Logan’s actions were exceedingly unwise and costly for Erskine. Ward Logan mourns the removal of the incompetent and the plunderers. May God deliver Erskine from matriculating students like Ward Logan.
Steve Southwell, an Associate Reformed Presbyterian and a former board member (who rarely spoke a word at board meetings when he was on the board), writes, “As I’ve stated before, Erskine doesn’t have a BOT. Erskine is run by a committee of the church.” Well, during his time at Erskine, Southwell was a baseball player and not noted for his academic prowess. Of course, the Erskine board is set up like a committee or agency of the General Synod for that is what it is. After all these years, is Southwell so dense he is just now discovering the obvious!??
Bill Crenshaw writes, “Erskine, as we knew it, no longer exists.” Bill, finally, we are now in agreement. I pray you are correct!!
As far as these secular alums who despise evangelical Christianity and hate the Associate Reformed Presbytery Church are concerned, I have a recommendation for President Gustafson: FORGET THEM! They are the equivalent of the “mixed multitude” which brought on the judgement of God for Israel. I would tell them to take their money and go to perdition with it!
In conclusion, I weep and rejoice. I weep for so much lost. I weep for all those who have been broken by a faithless Erskine and do not know they are cripples and the Christianity they embrace is a “false gospel.” I weep for the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church which has been too nice and feckless to forcefully and faithfully address the sins and false teaching which have paraded in bold defiance at Erskine the last 40 years.
But today is a new day! Today, I think I can see God doing a new thing at Erskine. Today, I can see a small rain cloud of blessing forming over Due West. Today, I think I have cause to rejoice and dance and sing number 26 in the back of the Bible Songs, “Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4_i-6QPjZ0
+ ARPTalk Blog, 864-882-6337, wilson6114@bellsouth.net
+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, 2 Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 864-379-2131, Fax: 864-379-2167, jguyette@erskine.edu
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 918 South Pleasantburg Drive, Suite 127, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
[1] Christ Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City Utah Makes Available Two Videos
[2] “Hello, Goodbye, Wait, and Hello” – Erskine College and Theological Seminary Gets a New Interim President and a New Board Chairman
---
[ Editor’s Note: Please forgive the editor for the lack of a 27 October 2016 issue of Presbyterians Week. He fell asleep in an easy chair and his computer fell on the floor, crashing the hard disk, then he was out-of-town a few days before being able to repair and rebuild said computer. One would think that someone who has made his living with computers for the better part of thirty-seven years…]
[1] Christ Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City Utah Makes Available Two Videos
Christ OPC of Salt Lake City, Utah has made available two videos:
1) The Truth Will Make You Free: An Earnest Plea to Gay Christians at URL: http://www.gaychristian.video/, and;
2) The Truth Will Make You Free: An Earnest Plea to Latter-Day Saints at URL: http://www.lds.video/.
+ Christ Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 3824 Claudia Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84120, 801-969-7948, jasonopc@aol.com
+ The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 607 North Easton Road, Building E, Box P, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania 19090, 215-830-0900, Fax: 215-830-0350
[2] “Hello, Goodbye, Wait, and Hello” – Erskine College and Theological Seminary Gets a New Interim President and a New Board Chairman
By Chuck Wilson
Because there were two meetings of the Erskine board in October, [this edition of] ARPTalk (138) has been slow in appearing. The meeting on October 6 was pro forma and segued into the October 21 meeting for the nomination and election an Interim President. Nevertheless, a couple of big things came out of the October 6 meeting.
Hello, Sam James!
First, following the resignations of Ron Vigus from both the board and the chairmanship of the board in August, Sam James was nominated and elected the chairman of the board. An ’07 graduate of Erskine College, James is the owner and president of the James Funeral Home in Huntersville, North Carolina. He is also a member of the Huntersville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
For the first time in more than 40 years, the chairman of the Erskine board is unashamedly an evangelical, a man who is a member of and loves the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and a man who is committed to seeing Erskine College and Seminary aligned with the theological commitments of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
Goodbye, Paul Kooistra!
Second, the October 6 meeting of the board is Paul Kooistra’s last meeting of the board. His tenure as the President of Erskine ended ignominiously. At his first meeting of the board, Kooistra made it clear the board did not meet without his presence — even when the board was in executive session and he was the topic of discussion. He made it clear if the board met without him, he would resign immediately. Well, on October 6, after giving his report (which was a statement of “I have nothing to report!”), the chairman asked him to retire from the board meeting. Graciously, he continues in a caretaker role until November 1; however, I see a van is parked in front of the President’s residence in Due West!
Wait Till February!
Third, the most controversial item on the agenda at the October 6 meeting was the report of the ad hoc committee on the seminary. The ad hoc committee reported its recommendation (a recommendation passed and brought to the board by a whopping majority of two votes to one vote) is to move the seminary to the Columbia campus. There is, however, a “minority report.”
When the ad hoc committee met to do its work, the meeting lasted so long one of the members of the committee had to leave the meeting to attend to other business before the vote was taken. The person who voted in the negative and the person who left to attend to pressing business have joined in a “minority report.”
The idea of closing the Due West campus, dismissing the Due West faculty, and moving Erskine Seminary to Columbia is the brainchild and the last hurrah of Kooistra. The plan presented by the ad hoc committee is Kooistra’s plan.
In the last issues of ARPTalk, I reported Kooistra was saying there is division on the seminary faculty. In spite of documents from the seminary faculty which indicate unanimity in purpose, it is now evident there is division. According to the “minority report,” when Kooistra asked Mark Ross (Columbia campus) if “any of the faculty in Due West” should be retained for service in Columbia, Ross’ reply was “he did not want any of the drama of the Due West faculty.” Indeed, Kooistra worked hard in dividing the seminary faculty to the point Ross is willing to throw his colleagues under the bus. This is simply a loathsome thing. It is a cruel thing to create division among brothers (Proverbs 6:19).
The matter of the ad hoc committee was referred to the February meeting of the board in order for a second look to to take place and for the new President to give his input on the matter.
Hello, Rob Gustafson!
On October 21, the Erskine board met to elect Dr. Robert E. Gustafson, Jr. Interim President of Erskine College & Seminary. Gustafson has an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, where he played football. He has MA degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary/Massachusetts and Columbia University. Gustafson is also an Erskine alum, holding a DMin from the seminary.
Gustafson is a lifelong learner. While a student at RTS/Orlando in 1997, an article about him was posted in the The Reformed Quarterly: “Rob Gustafson: Lifelong Learner.” He says, “I love learning because that’s what life is all about.” With regard to Christian education, he says,
When you separate education from Christianity you end up in a world which has no ultimate meaning. . . The minute you separate them you have something less than what education was meant to be, which is an understanding of the world God has created and an assurance that some order and structure exist. It also brings understanding to the pain and suffering with which we live. Without a Christian perspective, one can quickly become very cynical, skeptical, and disillusioned. . . In many ways, I think this is where we are in our country’s educational system. . . We see it indirectly in the way people treat each other, the way human life is devalued, and how people use their leisure time. All of these trends are products of an educational system which has as its end goal simply to do a good job and make a little money.” (http://rq.rts.edu/fall97/gustafson.html)
Gustafson’s background in education (and education as Christian ministry) is extensive. He has taught at the prestigious Stony Brook School, Long Island, New York; the Westminster School, Atlanta, Georgia; and the Trinity Christian Academy, Dallas, Texas. He has also served as the Headmaster of the Dunham School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; the Jackson Preparatory School, Jackson, Mississippi; and the Stony Brook School, Long Island, New York.
When addressing the Erskine board, Gustafson said he did not have a vision for Erskine. He said he did not need one. Rather, the vision for Erskine was “The Philosophy of Higher Christian Education” which he held in his hands. He also said Erskine’s main problem is a problem of alignment. Erskine is not in alignment with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church which owns Erskine. Furthermore, he also said anyone at Erskine who is not on board with the desires and vision of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church needs to find a new avenue of service.
I have learned the lesson of Ronald Wilson Reagan: “Trust but verify!” However, I can say this: in forty-two years, I have not seen both a Chairman of the board and a President of Erskine who openly speak of commitment to evangelical Christianity, faithfulness to the Philosophy of Higher Christian Education, and alignment with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church as the vision for Erskine.
The secular alums view Gustafson’s election with alarm and dread. Their Facebook page begins with these words: “I do not have a great feeling about this.” Indeed, God be praised, this may be the tolling of the death knell for what the liberal alums refer to as “Ol’ Erskine.” I pray so!!
The following is a list of some of the secular alum’s comments:
“He [Gustafson] seems underqualified. . . .” I wonder if this very qualified and educated person has been informed “underqualified” is not a word?
“Just another stupid fundie.” A man who is so “stupid” he is an Erskine alum and holds four degrees — one from the prestigious University of Virginia and one from the prestigious Columbia University. Not bad for a “stupid fundie” who cannot read or write!
“I don’t see how a preacher as president will advance the ball.” Perhaps it is not “the stupid fundie” who is ignorant. For this ignorant person, Dr. Gustafson is not ordained as a minister. For this ignorant person, Erskine was founded by Associate Reformed Presbyterian ministers and led exclusively by Associate Reformed Presbyterian minsters for more than 130 years. In other words, the education which was greatly subsidized for this person at Erskine is predicated on the faithful work and sacrifice of Associate Reformed Presbyterian ministers who were not ignorant and who “advanced the ball.”
“It would appear that Erskine’s downward spiral is doomed to continue.”
Presently, I see the spiral as upward and give praise to God.
Ward Logan is the son of Lee Logan who was Erskine’s man for development for years.
Ward Logan writes: “EC has been deliberately and systematically diminished by the [ARP] synod and a arrogant empowered group of the [BOT]. In addition, it seems that they have reduced the influence and reputation of the [ARP] denomination. Once respected, the denomination has become almost irrelevant. I continue to mourn my alma mater. I continue to worry about the great folks that still work at the college. The denomination has done it to itself. I would imagine that the denominations finances are probably in shambles as well.” Well, Ward Logan needs to pull his head out of the sand. If Erskine was systematically plundered, one of the plunderers was his father, Lee Logan. Some of Lee Logan’s actions were exceedingly unwise and costly for Erskine. Ward Logan mourns the removal of the incompetent and the plunderers. May God deliver Erskine from matriculating students like Ward Logan.
Steve Southwell, an Associate Reformed Presbyterian and a former board member (who rarely spoke a word at board meetings when he was on the board), writes, “As I’ve stated before, Erskine doesn’t have a BOT. Erskine is run by a committee of the church.” Well, during his time at Erskine, Southwell was a baseball player and not noted for his academic prowess. Of course, the Erskine board is set up like a committee or agency of the General Synod for that is what it is. After all these years, is Southwell so dense he is just now discovering the obvious!??
Bill Crenshaw writes, “Erskine, as we knew it, no longer exists.” Bill, finally, we are now in agreement. I pray you are correct!!
As far as these secular alums who despise evangelical Christianity and hate the Associate Reformed Presbytery Church are concerned, I have a recommendation for President Gustafson: FORGET THEM! They are the equivalent of the “mixed multitude” which brought on the judgement of God for Israel. I would tell them to take their money and go to perdition with it!
In conclusion, I weep and rejoice. I weep for so much lost. I weep for all those who have been broken by a faithless Erskine and do not know they are cripples and the Christianity they embrace is a “false gospel.” I weep for the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church which has been too nice and feckless to forcefully and faithfully address the sins and false teaching which have paraded in bold defiance at Erskine the last 40 years.
But today is a new day! Today, I think I can see God doing a new thing at Erskine. Today, I can see a small rain cloud of blessing forming over Due West. Today, I think I have cause to rejoice and dance and sing number 26 in the back of the Bible Songs, “Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4_i-6QPjZ0
+ ARPTalk Blog, 864-882-6337, wilson6114@bellsouth.net
+ Erskine College and Theological Seminary, 2 Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 864-379-2131, Fax: 864-379-2167, jguyette@erskine.edu
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 918 South Pleasantburg Drive, Suite 127, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
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