“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] A Meeting for Concerned Presbyterian Church in America
(PCA) Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders
[2] The Ezekiel Declaration – Watchmen, It’s Time To Speak
Additional Articles of
Interest
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[1] A Meeting for Concerned Presbyterian Church in America
(PCA) Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders
For all PCA TEs & REs:
By Jon Payne
The Meeting for Concerned PCA
Ruling Elders and Teaching Elders is planned for September 25, 2021, from 9:00
a.m.—3:00 p.m., at Second Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Greenville, South
Carolina.
The 48th PCA General Assembly
was a very encouraging one, especially for those committed to an
unapologetically Reformed, Confessional, and Presbyterian vision for our almost
half-century-old denomination. Many who have been troubled by the growing
progressive trends within our churches, presbyteries, and agencies left St.
Louis with renewed hope for the future of the PCA. The voting margins were
surprisingly large. Therefore, it’s with renewed hope, mixed with ongoing
concern about the influence of progressive Christianity, that the Gospel
Reformation Network will host a meeting for concerned PCA teaching and ruling
elders in late September. The one-day gathering in Greenville will take place
at the historic Second Presbyterian Church. It’s a meeting that you’ll not want
to miss, if you are able to attend.
Find more information here:
https://gospelreformation.net/a-meeting-for-concerned-presbyterians/
+ Gospel
Reformation Network, 105 River Street,
Greenville, South Carolina
29601, info@gospelreformation.net
[2] The Ezekiel Declaration – Watchmen, It’s Time To Speak
To the Honourable Scott
Morrison,
As Christian leaders, you
should be aware that in accordance with scripture we regularly pray for “and
all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life,
godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:2).
We do write, however, to you
regarding a matter of significant concern.
Namely, the proposed introduction of ‘vaccine passports’ into Australian
society. For many Christian leaders and
Christians, this is an untenable proposal that would inflict terrible
consequences on our nation.
We should initially note that
we are not the first generation that has been confronted with the question of
‘vaccine passports.’ Writing in 1880,
aware of the challenges that a smallpox epidemic brought to society, the
Christian theologian Abraham Kuyper wrote,
“Vaccination certificates
will therefore have to go… The form of tyranny hidden in these vaccination
certificates is just as real a threat to the nation’s spiritual resources as a
smallpox epidemic itself.”
Kuyper, A. 2015. Our Program:
A Christian Political Manifesto. (p. 249). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press; Acton
Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.
Between 1901 and 1905,
Abraham Kuyper would hold the office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. He evidently understood that a ‘vaccine
passport’ would represent a measure that was equal to if not worse than an
epidemic itself through the oppressive control over people’s lives. As Christian ministers, we would also agree
with Kuyper’s analysis on such a measure, and for several reasons.
First, the government risks
creating an unethical two-tiered society.
While some individuals will receive the vaccination with thanks, others
may have good and informed reasons for declining. One such reason is highlighted in the
statement of the health minister Greg Hunt:
“The world is engaged in the
largest clinical trial, the largest global vaccination trial ever, and we will
have enormous amounts of data.”
Australian Department of
Health
Free citizens should have the
right of consent, especially when the vaccine rollout has been labelled as a
‘clinical trial.’ Imposing a ‘vaccine
passport’ when the nation is already divided on the matter risks the creation
of medical apartheid. The result being
that those who decline the vaccine are ostracised and alienated from aspects of
public life. History has never reflected
well for those who would promote segregation.
As there has been no discussion that the precautionary measures will be
retracted once the pandemic has concluded, there is a real concern that many of
these measures will remain permanent. A
‘vaccine passport’ would therefore represent the dangerous precipice of a
therapeutic totalitarianism that does not promote liberty and human flourishing,
but would rather only dehumanise and control its citizens all under the cloak
of personal health and safety.
Second, a good portion of the population are already
burdened to the point of despair.
Granted, we understand why our leaders felt compelled to lockdown in
March 2020. The threat was unknown and our ability to withstand it,
untested. However, it is now 2021, and
the adverse effects of perpetual lockdowns are now being revealed. We
understand needing to respond, but we are concerned with heavy-handed
approaches that exceed people’s capacity to live a normal life. We are
compelled to speak out on behalf of struggling people, the needy, the
destitute, those being harmed by such strong measures (Proverbs 31:8-9).
The adverse effects of lockdowns
are especially highlighted in the rise of people considering suicide. The ‘Journal of Psychiatric Research’
published a paper in July of 2021 based on research done on Melbourne’s
extended 2020 lockdown, some of their findings are as follows,
“In September-2020, among
1157 Victorians, one-third reported anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms,
one-fifth reported suicidal ideation, and one-tenth reported having seriously
considered suicide in the prior thirty days. Young adults, unpaid caregivers,
people with disabilities, and people with diagnosed psychiatric or sleep
conditions showed increased prevalence of adverse mental health symptoms.
Prevalence estimates of symptoms of burnout, anxiety, and depressive disorder
were unchanged between April-2020 and September-2020. Persistently common
experiences of adverse mental health symptoms despite low SARS-CoV-2 prevalence
during prolonged lockdown highlight the urgent need for mental health support
services.”
Czeisler MÉ, Wiley JF, Facer-Childs ER, Robbins
R, Weaver MD, Barger LK, Czeisler CA, Howard ME, Rajaratnam SMW. 2021. “Mental
health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during a prolonged
COVID-19-related lockdown in a region with low SARS-CoV-2 prevalence.” Journal
of Psychiatric Research 140 (August): 533-544.
One in ten people considering
suicide is a tragedy. As these lockdowns continue, it is evident that people
are getting more desperate, with many people considering suicide as their means
of escape. People are inherently social creatures, meant for human interaction
and contact, not long-term isolation. But these policies are causing many
people to feel lonely, and increasingly isolated.
In Japan, according to
Japanese research, during their second lockdown “suicide rates increased by forty-nine
percent among children and adolescents, and thirty-seven percent among women.”
The reason this information from Japan is relevant is because it shows that
their second lockdown was far worse than their first on people’s mental health.
We have been in cascading lockdowns for about eighteen months now, this will be
taking a toll.
This psychological effect is
not theoretical. Another recent ABC news
report documented the effects of lockdowns on alcohol consumption.
“One in five Australians
increased alcohol use during the lockdowns, “We know the statistics. We know
that ninety-three per cent of hospital admissions at the weekend are
alcohol-related. We know domestic violence is hugely related to alcohol
consumption. We know it’s bad, and people are realising that.”
ABC News
By changing the goalposts from
the original objective of ‘two weeks to flatten the curve’ to now requiring a
proposed ‘vaccine passport’ in order to live a normal life, the government is
putting immeasurable pressures on ordinary people. If the ABC is correct and twenty
percent of Australians are drinking more during lockdowns, What will be the
societal cost of adding a ‘vaccine passport’ which will potentially alienate
already desperate Australians and turn them into second class citizens.
Jesus tells Christians to
count the cost, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first
sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke
14:28). Jesus is here using a secular principle to make a spiritual point, and
whether you are making a spiritual or secular decision you must count the cost.
There are many people in our communities, not just in our churches, who are
facing the costs of these policies and growing increasingly concerned about
them.
Much more can be said on this
point, the effects on missed cancer diagnoses and other illnesses by people
staying home from the doctors, the effects on children’s missed and
inconsistent education, youth graduating into a closed economy finding it
difficult to find work. Poverty is the leading cause of poor life outcomes, and
these lockdowns are pushing people financially to the brink. The addition of a
‘vaccine passport’ into Australian society may be the nail in the coffin to
many people who are already at the point of desperation.
Third, conscience should
never be coerced. The conscience is one
of the innermost expressions that animates an individual, and that allows them
to worship God as well as obey a legitimate governing authority. The conscience is the immediate contact of
God’s presence in a person’s soul, and so an individual forced to act in a way
that is objectionable to their conscience will never be at peace, either before
God or before the state. A government
that endeavours to force or coerce an individual who is striving to honour God,
will find that they only encounter resistance.
Regarding the need for a free conscience, Kuyper writes,
“Conscience is therefore the
shield of the human person, the root of all civil liberties, the source of a
nation’s happiness.”
Kuyper, A. 2015. Our Program:
A Christian Political Manifesto. (p. 73). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press; Acton
Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.
A government should never
coerce conscience, but rather respect the important function that it carries in
aiding a person to worship God freely and live obediently before the state. As
we have noted, Jesus commands Christians to count the cost, and many believers
do not feel that we have all the information necessary to make a decision on
this vaccine at this point in time. We respect that many people have made this
calculation and decided it is best for them to get the vaccine that is their
right, and we do not seek to abrogate it. But those who are not ready, or
hesitant, are so for very valid reasons. Their conscience binds them to wait,
and their Saviour advised them to not make decisions before they have counted
the cost. This is a principle of wisdom, that everyone applies to many aspects
of their lives. We would therefore ask that the Government not coerce the
conscience of many Australians through the use of a ‘vaccine passport.’
Fourth, making vaccination
the basis of participating in normal life would make no logical sense in terms
of protecting others. A “CDC study shows seventy-four percent of people
infected in Massachusetts Covid outbreak were fully vaccinated,” especially
noting that four of those who were vaccinated were admitted to hospital. As we
have said, we respect people’s right and choice to be vaccinated. But this type
of data, published by America’s leading body of disease experts, causes people
to wonder about the effectiveness of the vaccine along with concern about
coercive measures by which to have it administered. As it is evident that vaccines do not prevent
infection, to restrict a person’s access to society based on a medical choice
is questionable.
Fifth, we as Christian
leaders find it untenable that we would be expected to refuse entry into our
churches to a subgroup of society based on their medical choice. Only our precious Saviour, Jesus Christ, has
the authority to regulate the terms of corporate worship. These terms tell us that we are to make no
distinction between those who call out in faith, neither on race nor medical
choice. We are also under obligation to
proclaim the gospel to all men. Our
strongest conviction is that this gospel message is the greatest news ever to
be pronounced, and includes nothing less than God’s free gift of saving grace,
and the offer of eternal life to all who would respond in repentance and faith.
To refuse people access to this message would betray our Saviour and everything
he calls us to uphold. We can not imagine a situation in which we would refuse
someone whom Christ has welcomed (Romans 14:1-4).
May you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ,
Timothy Grant | Senior Pastor
Mount Isa Baptist Church
Matthew Littlefield | Senior
Pastor
New Beith Baptist Church
Warren McKenzie | Senior
Pastor
Biota Baptist Church
As of 8 September 2021, signed
by 2,793 Church Leaders, and 21,205 Members & Attendees
Additional Articles of
Interest
- Taliban Holding Six Airplanes Filled with Americans
and Allies Hostage
- The Ramping Up of Medical Terror and Totalitarian
‘Covid’ Measures
- Global Supply Lines Collapsing as Factories Face
Shortages in Labor, Materials
- Refusing COVID Vaccines Is Costing People Their Jobs,
Kids, Life-Saving Medical Treatments
- COVID Shots Are Killing and Crippling Teens in Record
Numbers – Young Children Are Next
- The Collapse of the US Military Continues
- The CDC/FDA Con and Crime that Drove Millions of Lives
and Economies into Ruin: the PCR Test
- Afghanistan Collapse Reveals Beltway Media’s Loyalty
to Permanent War State
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