Wednesday, February 19, 2014

19 February 2014





“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]
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.Presbyterians Week Headlines

[1] PCUSA Study on Arab-Israeli Conflict Called “Hateful Document” That “Promotes the Eradication of Israel”

[2] University of Alabama Ferguson Center Director Apologizes to Pro-Life Student Group for Unannounced Early Removal of Display

[3] Kazakhstan: Criminal Conviction, Large ‘Moral Damages’, and Possible New Criminal Case

[4]
News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell

[5]
Articles from LifesiteNews.com

[6] The Thinning Blue Line

[7] 
Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

[8] 
The Religion of Peace

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[1] PCUSA Study on Arab-Israeli Conflict Called “Hateful Document” That “Promotes the Eradication of Israel”


A 7 February 2014 Jewish News Service article by Sean Savage titled “Presbyterian Church’s New Arab-Israel Study Guide Blasted As ‘Hateful Document’” reports that the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s new study on the Arab-Israeli conflict titled “
Zionism Unsettled: A Congregational Study Guide” has been condemned by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) as being a “hateful document” that “promotes the eradication of Israel”.

CAMERA’s Christian Media Analyst Dexter Van Zile commented:

“Every couple of years, in the run-up to the [PCUSA’s] General Assembly, anti-Zionist activists in the denomination put forth a hateful document that assails Israel's legitimacy and antagonizes Jews in the United States. It happened in 2010, it happened in 2012, and it happened again in 2014 with this document.”

Van Zile additionally said:

“The folks who lead this church in Louisville (site of [PCUSA’s] headquarters) are quite willing to allow a small but vocal minority to demonize Israel and use the church's brand-name to do it. They have behaved like this since 2004. Most of the denomination’s laity does not support these extremists, but their voice has not proven to be decisive.”

Rabbi Noam Marans, the American Jewish Committee’s Director of Intergroup and Interreligious Relations, said:

“The study guide is reminiscent of medieval Christian polemics against Judaism, with the authors claiming to know better than the Jewish community how Jews define themselves. This is another example of the ongoing effort to demonize Israel by a cadre of people who want to see the dismantlement of the Jewish state.”


+ Jewish News Service, 214 Lincoln Street, Suite 418, Allston, Massachusetts 02134, news@jns.org

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

+ Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, Post Office Box 35040, Boston, Massachusetts 02135, 617-789-3672, Fax: 617-787-7853, feedback@camera.org

+ American Jewish Committee, 1156 15th Street Northwest,
Washington DC 20005, 202-785-4200, Contact Page


[2] University of Alabama Ferguson Center Director Apologizes to Pro-Life Student Group for Unannounced Early Removal of Display

A 17 February 2014 The Crimson White article by Mark Hammontree titled “Ferguson Center Director Apologizes to Student Group over Display Controversy” reports that the University of Alabama’s director of the Ferguson Center, Carl Bacon, sent an email apology to Bama Students for Life (BSL) following the early removal of the group’s informational display from a Ferguson Center display case, and offered to let the display be shown for the two days remaining on the original agreement.

The university, unannounced, removed the display two days early after receiving complaints from students about the “graphic and offensive” images on the display. BSL subsequently retained legal counsel from the Alliance Defending Freedom, and sent a demand letter to Mr. Bacon requesting an apology and for the display to be restored for the remainder of the permit period at the earliest opportunity. The early removal of the display received coverage from state and national media outlets.

Reformed Presbyterian pastor and Director of the Christian Defense Coalition the Rev. Pat Mahoney was originally scheduled to arrive in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday 19 February 2014 for two days of public events and speeches, but now that the issue has been resolved, Mahoney will still be speaking at BSL’s meeting Wednesday night but will also take part in the return of the poster to the display case, most likely to take place Thursday 20 February 2014.

A BSL leader said of Mahoney’s speaking engagement: “I think he’s going to be asking the University to make sure that this never happens again. He will be celebrating this victory for free speech with us by putting the display case back up with us.”


+ The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, 205-348-6010, Contact Page

+ Bama Students for Life, Contact Page

+ Alliance Defending Freedom, 15100 North 90th Street, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260, 800-835-5233, Fax: 480-444-0025

+ Christian Defense Coalition, Post Office Box 77168, Washington DC 20013, 202-547-1735, ChristianDefense@gmail.com


[3] Kazakhstan: Criminal Conviction, Large ‘Moral Damages’, and Possible New Criminal Case

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN (ANS) -- Retired Presbyterian Pastor Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev was this afternoon (February 17, 2014) given a four-year suspended prison term in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.


Pastor Bakhytzhan Kashkumbayev
(Photo: www.persecution.org)
According to Felix Corley of Forum 18 News Service (www.forum18.org), he was convicted of harming the health of a church member, even though that church member has repeatedly insisted to state authorities that her health was not harmed.

He also has to pay his alleged “victim” large “moral damages” of 2 Million Tenge (about $10,800 US Dollars).

Lyazzat Almenova, the only person whose heath the state claims was harmed told Forum 18 in July 2013 that Kashkumbayev is “totally innocent and has not harmed my health at all”. She had earlier written to Astana Prosecutor's Office to say she is psychiatrically healthy, that a 2012 assessment of her was conducted illegally, and calling for the case to be abandoned.

Prosecutors for reasons they did not explain dropped four other criminal charges levied during the two year investigation. Forum 18 notes that on one of the charges a new criminal case could be launched. The state Agency of Religious Affairs (ARA) has also stated that Grace Presbyterian Church's legal status may be under threat.

“In my experience as a lawyer, this is one of the strangest cases I have seen in terms of legality”, Pastor Kashkumbayev's lawyer Nurlan Beysekeyev told Forum 18 News Service after the verdict was handed down orally.
“It was not just strange, but from the standpoint of the law, all types of violations occurred, when the case was opened, when it was being investigated and during the trial.”

Corley said that Kashkumbayev will appeal against the verdict. Other violations of freedom of religion or belief continue, including ongoing raids on meetings for worship without state permission.

“The retired Pastor's Grace Presbyterian Church has long been a target of state hostility. For example, after an October 2012 police raid on the Church, detained church members noted that police questioning displayed a curious lack of interest in the alleged harm they were supposedly investigating,” said Corley.

The sixty-seven-year-old retired Pastor Kashkumbayev was freed in the court room after eight months' imprisonment, but will live under at present unclear restrictions. He will challenge the conviction.


A Kazakhstan Church
The case against Pastor Kashkumbayev, who led Astana's Grace Church until his retirement in October 2011, originated in 2011 amid claims he had harmed the health of church member Almenova, and the criminal case was formally lodged on February 11, 2012. The defense has strongly contested the legality of the trial.

New Criminal Case?

Felix Corley went on to say that by the time the case reached court on January 22, 2014, prosecutors had added accusations that retired pastor Kashkumbayev had harmed the health of another church member, had committed two counts of “religious extremism” and leading a religious organisation that harms individuals' health.

However, during the trial Prosecutor Olzhas Shalabayev withdrew all but one of the charges with no explanation. The specific accusation of harming another named church member was handed back to prosecutors, the lawyer Beysekeyev told Forum 18. “A new criminal case could be launched against Pastor Kashkumbayev,” he warned.

Atheist writer Aleksandr Kharlamov, who has like Pastor Kashkumbayev also been subjected to arrest, detention and forcible psychiatric examination, welcomed Kashkumbayev's release from prison. “They shouldn't have violated his rights,” he told Forum 18 from Ridder in North Kazakhstan Region on February 17. “I'm glad he's now been released.”

Like Kashkumbayev, Kharlamov spent one month's forced detention in a psychiatric hospital in Almaty in 2013, a doctor telling him that he had been sent to the psychiatric hospital “because you are an inconvenient person for the authorities”.

Kharlamov is still facing criminal charges for articles he wrote in defense of atheism. He is alleged to have broken Criminal Code Article 164 Part 1 by allegedly “inciting religious hatred”.

Other Violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief Continue


“The conviction of Kashkumbayev came as the criminal investigation against New Life Pentecostal Church in Almaty may have been behind the exit ban (since removed) which prevented Pastor Maksim Maksimov and his wife Larisa from leaving Kazakhstan on February 13, 2014," said Corley.
Raids on meetings for worship continue, most recently with a raid on a Baptist Sunday service on February 9, in Aktobe. On this occasion, about 10 police officers and at least one Prosecutor's Office official raided the local congregation of the Council of Churches Baptists. They refuse to apply for state registration in all the formerly Soviet states where they operate. In 2014 alone four Baptists have been jailed for exercising freedom of religion or belief without state permission.

“Officers arrived soon after the service had finished,” one church member told Forum 18 from Aktobe on February 17. “They filmed us for about an hour and a half, took books from our library and from individuals - one copy of each title - and checked the identity documents of six church members. The usual type of thing.”

Corley said that Council of Churches Baptists are frequent victims of police and prosecutor's office raids. Over 150 people from many faiths, including members of the Aktobe church, were fined after such raids in 2013.
“The church was raided because it was meeting without state registration, the Regional Prosecutor's Office said in a February 17 statement on its website,” he continued. “About 70 people, including children, were present at the church. It said forty-three seized books were being sent for “religious expert analysis”. It said cases were being considered against church members under Article 374-1 of the Code of Administrative Offences.”


+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com


[4]
News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell

-- Girl Scouts U.S.A. Threatens LifeNews after Reporting Its Link to Planned Parenthood

-- Quebec College of Physicians Already Pushing to Allow Lethal Injection for Children

-- Belgium Surprised by Criticism of New Law to Allow Doctors to Euthanize Children

-- Euthanasia Campaigner Calls for New Zealand to Follow Belgium’s Lead on Child Euthanasia

-- North Korea’s Kim Jong-un Forces Women to Drown Their Babies, Have Abortions

-- Teenager Will Lose His Virginity in a Live Performance at Art Gallery

-- Iowa U.S Congresswoman Beth Wessel-Kroeschell Says ‘Colic, Sleepless Nights,’ Learning Disabilities May Be Good Reasons to Abort


+
LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com

+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page


[5]
Articles from LifesiteNews.com

Articles from the past week from
LifesiteNews.com:

-- Obama Calls Homosexuality One of Our ‘Fundamental Freedoms’ in Statement Slamming Ugandan Bill

-- Toronto School Trustee Called ‘Homophobic’ For Questioning Nudity At ‘Family Friendly’ Pride Parade

-- Judge’s Ruling That Kentucky Must Recognize Foreign Gay ‘Marriages’ May Open Door to Polygamy


+
LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page


[6] The Thinning Blue Line

--
Video Captures Moments Nevada Highway Patrol and U.S. Bureau of Land Management Officers Open Fire and Kill Man They Couldn’t Subdue

-- Deaf Man Sues Hawthorn, California Police after Being Tasered and Abused while Heading to Bible Study

-- Moore, Oklahoma Police Beat Unarmed Man to Death in Front of Family for Trying to Defuse a Family Fight

-- Los Angeles, California Sheriff’s Deputies Kill an Eighty-Year-Old Man in His Own Bed over Drugs That Weren't There


+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com

+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com

+
The Liberty Crier

+ Independent Journal Review, Contact Page


[7] 
Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:

-- Colombia, South Carolina Policy Requiring a Fee and Permit to Feed Homeless Begins

-- Obama’s U.N. Treaty Requires U.S. to Hand Over American Gun Registrations

-- Obama Lays Groundwork to Confiscate Your 401k and IRA

-- U.S. Feds Want to Track Your DNA like a License Plate

-- Judge Claims Same-Sex Marriage Valid in Virginia


+
Examiner.com, 555 17th Street, Suite 700, Denver, Colorado 80202, contactus@examiner.com

+ Virus Survival

+ Tea Party, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue #190, Suite 428,
Washington DC 20004, 714-796-1776

+
American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org

+ American Life League, Post Office Box 1350, Stafford, Virginia 22555, 540-659-4171, Fax: 540-659-2586, info@all.org


[8] 
The Religion of Peace

Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:

-- Islamist Terror Enclave Discovered in Texas

-- Egypt: Entire Christian Family Savagely Stabbed to Death, Throats Slit in their Home

-- Islamic Militants Hack to Death, Brutally Murder 106 Residents of Christian Farming Village in Nigeria

-- Egypt: Jihad/Martyrdom Suicide Bomber behind Bus Blast; Victims Were Korean Christians Visiting Holy Sites

-- Interfaith Outreach in Nigeria: Chanting “Allahu Akbar,” Muslims Murder over Fifty Christians

-- ‘Syria’s Jihad Death Toll Now Exceeds 140,000′

-- Christians in Iraq Worse Off Now Than under Saddam

-- Jihadists Stone Syrian Girl to Death for Having a Facebook Account

-- Pakistan: 500 Women and Girls Murdered in Islamic Honor Killings Each Year, Many More Go Unreported

-- Central African Republic: Muslim Group Threw Thirteen People into Disused Fuel Tank and Left Them to Die

-- Iran Proposes Joint Naval Exercise with Russia

-- National Security Heavyweights Allege Muslim Brotherhood Ties to U.S. Republican Party


+ Clarion Project, Inc., 255 West 36th Street #800,
New York, New York 10018, 646-308-1230, info@ClarionProject.org

+
Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com

+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com

+ Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch

+ Newsmax, Post Office Box 20989, West Palm Beach, Florida 33416, 561-686-1165, Fax: 561-686-3350

+ The Free Patriot

+
Now the End Begins, Contact Page

+ Breitbart.com, 149 South Barrington Avenue #401, Los Angeles, California 90049


Wednesday, February 12, 2014

12 February 2014



Presbyterians Week Headlines











---


An 11 February 2014 Belfast Telegraph article by Rebecca Black titled “Just a Day after His Election, New Presbyterian Church Moderator Sparks Row by Telling Gay People to Stop Having Sex” reports that the Rev. Dr. Michael Barry, moderator-elect of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, came under fire from the homosexual community for saying just one day after his election that homosexuals should remain celibate.

Barry commented:

"We welcome all people into the Church, but we would have a problem with those who are involved in a gay relationship because we believe the Bible teaches that is against the word of God.

"We would encourage people who are gay to live a celibate life."

Barry described advertised gay conversion courses as a "very difficult situation", and said: "Personally, I am not convinced that that is possible."

Barry continued:

"I think the whole origin of where gayness comes from is still up for debate and I would be a bit concerned at being dogmatic one way or the other.

"Certainly we'd want to help people who are having difficulties with their sexuality to live in such a way that is honouring to God."


+ Belfast Telegraph, 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1EB, Northern Ireland, 028-9026-4000, writeback@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

+ Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Church House, Belfast BT1 6DW, Northern Ireland, 028-9032-2284, Fax: 028-9041-7301, Info@PresbyterianIreland.org



A 7 February 2014 Christian Post article by Morgan Lee reports that the Rev. Hyo Bin Im, English ministry pastor at Contra Costa Korean Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) in San Ramon, California, has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a seventeen-year-old female runaway who lived with him and another runaway female. Im is charged with unlawful sexual intercourse and child concealment.

Im is additionally charged with animal cruelty for allegedly mistreating a dog at his home badly enough that the pet was ultimately euthanized.


+ The Christian Post, National Press Building, 529 14th Street Northwest, Suite 420, Washington DC 20045, 202-347-7734, info@christianpost.com

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



A 9 February 2014 Chicago Tribune article by Michelle Manchir titled “Church Votes to Sell Michigan Camp to Pay $7.9M Debt” reports that the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s Chicago Presbytery has voted to sell Camp Gray in Saugatuck, Michigan, to pay a US$7.9 million debt from a confidential 2007 settlement with several men who claimed they had been sexually abused by a PCUSA minister.


+ Chicago Tribune, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611, 800-874-2863, ctc-editor@tribune.com

+ Chicago Presbytery, 815 West Van Buren Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607, 312-243-8300, Fax: 312-488-3044, Contact Page

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



A 9 February 2014 The Standard article by Tatenda Chitagu titled “RCZ Reverend Sued US$10 000 for Adultery” reports that the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ) minister the Rev. Mernard Zvenyika of the RCZ’s Pamushana Mission in Bikita, Zimbabwe, is being sued for US$10,000 by Chezhira Mukobvu, who alleges Zvenyika has carried on a seven year sexual affair with Mukobvu’s wife that resulted in two aborted pregnancies and a breakdown of his marriage.

Zvenyika filed a counter-claim for the same amount alleging defamation.


+ The Standard, Block 1, Third Floor, 1 Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe, 04-773934/8, Contact Page



An 11 February 2014 The Scotsman article by Alistair Munro titled “Free Church Leaders Attack Child Protection Bill” reports that the current and several former moderators of the Free Church of Scotland oppose a provision of a proposed Child Protection Bill in the Scottish Parliament that appoints a named person, most likely a health visitor or teacher, for every child in Scotland.

The moderators have branded the plans as a “gross intrusion into family life” and “completely undermining of parental responsibilities (sic)”. They claim the bill would create a “snooper’s charter”.

A letter to First Minister Alex Salmond from the moderators says:

“We would be wary of the statutory appointment of a ‘named person’ for every under-18 in Scotland, especially given that this ‘named person’ will have legal authority to ensure our young people are raised in a state-approved manner.

“We do not doubt that the proposal is well-intentioned but we believe it to be fundamentally ill-conceived and liable to cause needless hurt and alarm to conscientious parents when their views conflict with the opinions of the state appointed ‘nanny’.”

Former Moderator the Rev. James MacIver, minister of Knock Free Church on the Isle of Lewis, said:

“We want the very best for all Scotland’s children and are fully supportive of the Scottish Government’s intention to improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children, but this does not warrant such a gross intrusion into every home in the country.

“Surely the Scottish Government would be better investing in more community nurses and social workers to provide help at a grassroots level for those who are really struggling?

“The very concept of ‘corporate parents’ sets alarm bells ringing and is something becoming of a Big Brother state.”

Former Moderator the Rev. Dr. John Ross, who ministers in Drumnadrochit, added:

“The Scottish Government now seems intent on hijacking the legitimate rights and duties of parents to bring up their own children free of state interference.

“If this legislation is not amended, the Scottish Government will make itself the judge of every parent in this land.

“Historically, the Free Church of Scotland has always fought to be independent of state interference in all of its spiritual affairs – this does not stop at the church door on a Sunday, it goes right into the heart of the family home.”

Ross claims that “too much power” would be given to the discretion of professionals, some of whom have never raised a family of their own and many of whom are already stretched to the limit.

Ross added:

“There is also a very real possibility that this legislation could be used as a backdoor means to completely undermine parental values, judgment and discretion for their own children.

“It does not take a rocket scientist to foresee the potential for future conflict between Christian parents and the secular political correctness brigade.

“This is the sort of thing we would expect in a Fascist or Marxist regime, not in 21st century Scotland.

“We urge Mr. Salmond to do everything in his power to get rid of this snooper’s charter and restore some common sense.”


+ The Scotsman, Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS, Scotland, 131-620-8620
+ 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



The J.C Ryle Archive website contains links to twenty-two other sites with over Ryle materials.

The website additionally has information on Ryle’s books, photos of Ryle, and Ryle quotations.

The website can be accessed here:










+ The Heartland Institute, One South Wacker Drive #2740, Chicago, Illinois 60606, 312-377-4000, Fax: 312-377-5000, think@heartland.org


+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com



Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:




+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page








+ YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Avenue, San Bruno, California 94066, 650-253-0000, Fax: 650-253-0001, press@youtube.com


+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page




Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:

















+ Infowars.com, Post Office Box 19549, Austin, Texas 78760, 512-291-5750, writers@infowars.com



+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org

+ Western Center for Journalism, 42104 North Venture Drive, Suite B-122, Anthem, Arizona 85086, 202-370-6366, Contact Page



Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:



























+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com

+ The Washington Post, 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington DC 20071, 202-334-6000, Contact Form



+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page



Thursday, February 6, 2014

5 February 2014



“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 February 2014

[2]
14th Annual Reformed Congregational Fellowship Scheduled 25-27 March 2014 at Salvation Army’s Wonderland Conference Center in Sharon, Massachusetts

[3] Pakistani Blasphemy Death Penalty Leaves the Church of Scotland 'Deeply Concerned'

[4] Reformed Church in Hungary Starts Procedure to Defrock the Rev. Miklos Hegedűs over Statue of Miklos Horthy, Hungarian Regent between WWI and WWII

[5] Church of Scotland’s Lewis Presbytery Disassociates from Kirk due to Submission to Changes to School Religious Observance

[6] Scottish Parliament Votes 105-18 to Approve Homosexual Marriage

---

[Editor’s Note: Due to a power failure caused by an ice storm, this edition of Presbyterians Week is being published a day late.]


[1] New Christian Observer Articles for February 2014

New Christian Observer articles for February 2014 include:

-- God’s Good Faith Promise Fulfilled: “Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” Romans 3:3 Geneva Bible - Part 23 in a continuing series of articles by Christian Observer Contributing Editor David Brand – Part 23 in a continuing series examining the effects upon the church of the change in meaning of the Greek word pistis from faith to faithfulness by the English Revised Version Committee that began meeting in February 1870;

-- The Lord is in Control, So Don’t Worry (and above all, don’t DO anything) - by Al Benson Jr., author of the revisedhistory blog - Why the fallacious concept that if God is in control of all things, which He is, then there are some areas where believers just don’t need to get involved, has weakened evangelical Christianity in the U.S.;

-- Lesser Magistrates Have Authority to Defy Lawless Rulings from Afar - By Christian Observer Contributing Editor David Tulis – why the oaths to uphold federal and state constitutions by lesser magistrates such as sheriffs and county clerks give them the authority to reject unlawful orders from higher government powers;

-- The Fallacy of Racial Discrimination in School Discipline - By  Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – how categorization can be a delusive way for power obsessed people or groups within the educational establishment to impose their will on others;

Plus, regular features including weekly Sabbath School Lessons, 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 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org


[2] 14th Annual Reformed Congregational Fellowship Scheduled 25-27 March 2014 at Salvation Army’s Wonderland Conference Center in Sharon, Massachusetts

The 14th Annual Reformed Congregational Fellowship meeting is scheduled for 25-27 March 2014 at the Salvation Army’s Wonderland Conference Center in Sharon, Massachusetts.

The conference theme is “Are We Preaching the Gospel?”, and includes the following presentations:

-- Tuesday 7 p.m. - What is the Gospel Promise? - Douglas Vickers, Hadley, Massachusetts

-- Wednesday 8:45 a.m. - God’s Progressive Revelation of His Redemptive Purposes - Rick Daniels, North Carolina

-- Wednesday 10:15 a.m. - The Regenerative Power of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of the Old Testament: It’s Content, Efficacy and Parity to the New Testament - Gary George, Southbridge, Massachusetts

-- Wednesday 1:15 p.m. - The Gospel as to the Substance of It: Preaching Christ, the Power and the Wisdom of God - Bob Hall, Bronx, New York

-- Wednesday 2:30 p.m. - Expanded Discussion followed by a Business Meeting

-- Wednesday 7 p.m. - The Significance of the Gospel vs. Discovering God in His Works - Tim Broberg, Cheltonham, Pennsylvania

-- Thursday 9:00 a.m. - How God Uses Subjective Human Experiences in Bringing the Elect to Salvation - Jeff Evans, Perkasie, Pennsylvania

For further conference information including speaker biographies, costs, and directions, please see the conference brochure here:

http://christianobserver.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/RCF-Brochure-2014.pdf


+
Reformed Congregational Fellowship


[3]
Pakistani Blasphemy Death Penalty Leaves the Church of Scotland 'Deeply Concerned'

A 30 January 2014
Christian Today article by Michael Trimmer titled “Pakistani Blasphemy Death Penalty Leaves the Church of Scotland 'Deeply Concerned'” reports that in the wake of a ruling from Pakistan's Federal Shariat Court that the death penalty is the only acceptable punishment for blasphemy, the Church of Scotland is “deeply concerned”.

In response, Kirk moderator the Rt. Rev. Lorna Hood wrote several open letters to several Scottish government officials and the High Commissioner of
Pakistan Wajid Shamsul Hassan pointing out that Pakistani politicians have admitted that "blasphemy laws... are being used to settle personal scores", and that "[t]he misuse of the blasphemy law is disproportionately used against non-Muslim minority faith communities."

The moderator said that the proposed blasphemy law "goes against the traditions and teachings of Islam, and is at odds with the culture of the majority of Pakistanis." She said that if the law is implemented, that “achieving justice could be more difficult" and that "victims from minority faith communities will become even more vulnerable than at present".


+
Christian Today, 200 Great Dover Street, London SE1 4YB, England, 020-7378-5705

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


[4]
Reformed Church in Hungary Starts Procedure to Defrock the Rev. Miklos Hegedűs over Statue of Miklos Horthy, Hungarian Regent between WWI and WWII

A 30 January 2014 Politics.hu article by MTI titled “Reformed Church Starts Procedure to Defrock Hegedűs over Horthy Statue” reports that the legal counsel to the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH) on 30 January 2014 asked that the Rev. Lorant Hegedus be defrocked for unveiling a memorial to Miklos Horthy, the Hungarian regent between WW1 and WW2, accusing the minister of holding a political event in violation of a decision by the RCH’s synod.

Charges against Hegedus were put forward by Gusztav Bolcskei, the head of the Reformed Church in Hungary in November 2013, after a bust of Horthy was unveiled by Hegedus and his wife, radical nationalist Jobbik lawmaker Eniko Hegedus, at the entrance to Hegedus’ church at Szabadsag Square on 3 November 2014.

The commemoration of Horthy, who led the country from 1920 to 1944, was attended by about 400 people, some of whom were wearing WWII military or gendarme uniforms or the uniform of the banned Hungarian Guard.

The World Jewish Congress noted that Horthy had been a close ally of Adolf Hitler, and during his rule over 500,000 Hungarian Jews were deported to Nazi death camps.


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Politics.hu, 36-30-370-3561, editors@politics.hu

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Reformed Church in Hungary, MRE Zsinata1146 Budapest, Abonyi u. 21., Hungary, 30-3361-666, info@reformatus.hu


[5]
Church of Scotland’s Lewis Presbytery Disassociates from Kirk due to Submission to Changes to School Religious Observance

A 31 January 2014
Stornoway Gazette article titled “Lewis Presbytery Disassociate from Church Submission on Religious Observance in Schools” reports that the Church of Scotland’s Lewis Presbytery met 30 January 2014 to discuss the joint submission by the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council with the Humanist Society Scotland to the meeting of the Public Petitions Committee, Scottish Parliament, recommending that all school religious observances be combined into one. Under the proposal, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and all other students would attend a single religious observance together.

In a statement the presbytery stated:

“The importance of Christian principles is acknowledged by the Presbytery which recognises that it adds value to the life and educational experience of pupils: a blessing, which under God’s hand, was experienced by previous generations, and provided them with a distinctive religious and cultural bed-rock upon which to build their lives.

“The Presbytery of Lewis also wishes to dissociate itself completely from the action taken by the Church and Society Council in making this joint submission to the Public Petitions Committee calling for ‘Religious Observance’ in schools to be replaced with a ‘Time for Reflection’, and for school chaplains to have to agree first with the equality and diversity policy of a school, or local educational authority, before being allowed access to a particular school.

“Presbytery also affirms that since the issue has not been discussed by and agreed upon by a General Assembly, the substance of this submission does not constitute the mind of the Church of Scotland as a whole.

“The Church and Society Council wish to see “a greater sense of equality for all beliefs”, and have the view that “no one particular belief system is valued over any other in Scottish Education”. While wishing to cooperate with all who aim to promote society’s well being, Presbytery believes the characteristic, unique Christian truths of God’s word and grace must be adhered to especially, in the public place; and that where these are, society’s ultimate well-being is assured.”


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Stornoway Gazette, 10 Francis Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS12XE, Scotland, 01851-702-687, newsdesk@stornowaygazette.co.uk

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


[6] Scottish Parliament Votes 105-18 to Approve Homosexual Marriage

A 5 February 2014 ABC News article titled “Same-Sex Marriage: Scotland Becomes 17th Country to Approve Laws” reports that the Scottish Parliament on 5 February 2014 voted 105-18 to legalize the so-called “marriage” of homosexual couples. The law goes into effect 29 March 2014, and does not compel religious institutions to hold ceremonies on their premises.


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