Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Some Pastoral Thoughts about the Connecticut School Shooting
[2] The Interfaith Memorial Service from Hell
[3] Mass Cruelty Mystifies, but Words of Comfort Transcend Blood, Spit, Hair
[4] Same-Sex Marriage and the Scriptures
[5] The Fight to Preserve Marriage in English Law
[6] Headlines from Christian Concern
[7] Headlines from The Christian Institute
[8] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[9] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[10] The Religion of Peace
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[1] Some Pastoral Thoughts about the Connecticut School Shooting
Andrew Webb is the pastor of Providence Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
"Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more."" (Matthew 2:16-18)
Yesterday evening my son Victor asked me “Why did my teacher burst into tears today?” The reason of course was that the nation’s hearts had been broken by the news that twenty kindergarten children had been murdered in their classroom that morning. I had occasion to speak with a principal and she was also in shock, not knowing how to respond. It just didn’t seem possible that something like this could happen in the very place where parents send their children to be nurtured and instructed. And of course it wasn’t just teachers who were dismayed. I suppose like countless other parents in America I began thinking “what if it had been my child’s school or my child?” Every sensible parent expects mishaps at school, perhaps even something as serious as a broken wrist after a fall off the playground equipment, but twenty children, all around five years old, together with teachers, counselors, and the principal murdered? It’s unthinkable. How could we bear it? How will those parents who received that unthinkable news bear it?
Inevitably the fact that it occurred just ten days from Christmas added to the pathos. So many Christmas presents already bought and wrapped that won’t be opened by those children. I even heard one commentator asking how could this possibly happen at this time of year when the world was preparing to celebrate the incarnation of the Prince of Peace? It was at that moment that I was reminded that the story of Christ’s incarnation also included the story of another massacre of young children. Matthew tells us in His Gospel account that wise men, Magi, had seen a new star and had known that it was the sign of a great event - the King of the Jews, the long awaited Messiah had been born in Israel and so they had set out to pay Him homage. Naturally, given that He was a king, they had sought him in the palace of the current ruler, a ruthless usurper by the name of Herod. They had been surprised to learn that no child had been born recently, and so they inquired where to find him. Herod, equally concerned to find the location of this child, had gathered together the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the scriptures said the Messiah would be born. “In Bethlehem” they immediately told him, for the prophet Malachi had said over 400 years ago, that the Messiah who would be the true shepherd of His people would be born in the city of his great ancestor David. Thus informed, Herod had sent the Magi off to Bethlehem to find this newborn King, and report back to Him, that he might supposedly “come and worship him also.” (Matthew 2:8)
Herod however, had no intention of worshipping Christ, the news of the birth of the long awaited King and Redeemer of Israel was not good news to him. A man who had slaughtered his own flesh and blood because he suspected they wanted his throne would stop at nothing to remove any threat to his kingship, and the wise men, divinely informed of that fact, disobeyed Herod’s instructions and did not bring back the location of Jesus and his family. When Herod discovered that he had been deceived, he realized his hopes of quickly dispatching the Messiah were over, and he devised a monstrous plan - if he couldn’t find the child he wanted dead he would kill all of the male children in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger. I think we become accustomed to reading this story and don’t really absorb the gravity of what actually happened on the day that Herod’s plan was carried out. Bethlehem, like Newton, Connecticut was a small town, and what probably happened was that one morning around dawn Herod’s soldiers suddenly invaded the homes of around 20 or 30 families and brutally slaughtered their young children as the families watched helplessly.
We rejoice that Joseph was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus before the murders ever took place, and as a result the true horror of Matthew 2:18 is often lost upon us, “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” In one horrible morning an unsuspecting town was suddenly filled from end to end with the sounds of wailing and mourning. Mothers held the lifeless bodies of their toddlers and wept inconsolably. These were their beloved sons, their little treasures, their hopes for the future. Now they are no more. They didn’t even have hope that justice would be done, for it was not a foreign enemy that had done this monstrous deed, but their own ruler, Herod. Who will give them justice? What consolation can anyone bring them?
If we learn anything from this, let us learn that the ultimate cause of the massacre in Newton, the massacre in Bethlehem, and countless other massacres in between was nothing less than the total depravity of the human heart, and let us remember that it was for this reason that Jesus was born. He was not born to provide us with an excuse for celebrating December 25th and giving one another presents, He did not enter into the world to give us traditions, He was not born of a woman, born under the law, to give us wise sayings, or even to do miracles. Jesus was born to “save His people from their sins” and to save creation from the awful effects of the fall. He was born to do away with murder and death, and to make it possible for this sin sick world in which awful things like the murder of little children happens to be cleansed of every stain of sin and replaced with the “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:12) He came that there might be a day when heartbreaking events like these might never happen again, a day when justice will be eternally done to wicked and unrepentant murderers like Herod, and a day when His redeemed people might enter into an eternity in which “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying." (Rev. 21:4a)
We are reminded by awful events like the murders in Newton of our terrible need for that work of redemption from sin and its effects to be completed, and so our hearts long for the return of Christ and a final end to sin and suffering. Today once again I have cried out in my soul saying “Come Lord Jesus!” that there might be a final end to the murder of children and all the things that cause it.
So to that end I would encourage you all to pray. I do not think I really need to tell you what to pray for, but for those who might not know where to begin, here are a few suggestions:
-- Pray for the families that are grieving inconsolably today.
-- Pray for the children, who witnessed things that no child should ever have to see.
-- Pray for the emergency workers who came face to face with the carnage caused by monstrous evil.
-- Pray for the doctors and nurses who struggled to save little ones who didn’t make it.
-- Pray for the Policemen who had to tell parents that the worst thing they could imagine had happened.
-- Pray for the morticians and do not think for a moment that their job will be easy.
-- Pray for those who have reacted to this news with rage, frustration, and hatred.
-- Pray for those who have given up hope.
-- Pray that what Adam Lanza meant for evil would be used by God for good, with men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.
-- Pray that we would stop trusting in princes to provide answers to spiritual problems.
-- Pray above all for the speedy return of Christ and for a final end to the slaughter of little ones.
+ Providence Presbyterian Church, Post Office Box 8158, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311, 910-630-1215, Fax: 419-730-5385, ajwebb@providencepca.com
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[2] The Interfaith Memorial Service from Hell
By Dr. Pat McEwen and the Rev. Flip Benham
Watching the Memorial service for the twenty-six precious lives taken from us was painful to say the least, but it was far more painful to the God who made America great. Newtown cancelled Christmas so it could properly mourn. How foolish, yet typical of governmental strategy to replace God. The "Interfaith" service was an affront to Almighty God. Those claiming to be His priests barely mentioned His Name --Jesus! After all, He is the only God there is!
"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children." Hosea 4:6.
Can there be any doubt in anyone's mind today that America is in deep trouble? Blood is coursing down the corridors of our schools, workplaces, and streets and we look at each other with awkward amazement wondering what in the world has happened to us. We are being drained of every last penny of our wealth. We are losing our kids to gangs, drugs, violence, suicide, murder and every imaginable trivial pursuit. Our schools have become veritable jungles where survival of the fittest is the law of the hallway.
[1] Some Pastoral Thoughts about the Connecticut School Shooting
[2] The Interfaith Memorial Service from Hell
[3] Mass Cruelty Mystifies, but Words of Comfort Transcend Blood, Spit, Hair
[4] Same-Sex Marriage and the Scriptures
[5] The Fight to Preserve Marriage in English Law
[6] Headlines from Christian Concern
[7] Headlines from The Christian Institute
[8] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[9] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[10] The Religion of Peace
---
[1] Some Pastoral Thoughts about the Connecticut School Shooting
Andrew Webb is the pastor of Providence Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
"Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more."" (Matthew 2:16-18)
Yesterday evening my son Victor asked me “Why did my teacher burst into tears today?” The reason of course was that the nation’s hearts had been broken by the news that twenty kindergarten children had been murdered in their classroom that morning. I had occasion to speak with a principal and she was also in shock, not knowing how to respond. It just didn’t seem possible that something like this could happen in the very place where parents send their children to be nurtured and instructed. And of course it wasn’t just teachers who were dismayed. I suppose like countless other parents in America I began thinking “what if it had been my child’s school or my child?” Every sensible parent expects mishaps at school, perhaps even something as serious as a broken wrist after a fall off the playground equipment, but twenty children, all around five years old, together with teachers, counselors, and the principal murdered? It’s unthinkable. How could we bear it? How will those parents who received that unthinkable news bear it?
Inevitably the fact that it occurred just ten days from Christmas added to the pathos. So many Christmas presents already bought and wrapped that won’t be opened by those children. I even heard one commentator asking how could this possibly happen at this time of year when the world was preparing to celebrate the incarnation of the Prince of Peace? It was at that moment that I was reminded that the story of Christ’s incarnation also included the story of another massacre of young children. Matthew tells us in His Gospel account that wise men, Magi, had seen a new star and had known that it was the sign of a great event - the King of the Jews, the long awaited Messiah had been born in Israel and so they had set out to pay Him homage. Naturally, given that He was a king, they had sought him in the palace of the current ruler, a ruthless usurper by the name of Herod. They had been surprised to learn that no child had been born recently, and so they inquired where to find him. Herod, equally concerned to find the location of this child, had gathered together the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the scriptures said the Messiah would be born. “In Bethlehem” they immediately told him, for the prophet Malachi had said over 400 years ago, that the Messiah who would be the true shepherd of His people would be born in the city of his great ancestor David. Thus informed, Herod had sent the Magi off to Bethlehem to find this newborn King, and report back to Him, that he might supposedly “come and worship him also.” (Matthew 2:8)
Herod however, had no intention of worshipping Christ, the news of the birth of the long awaited King and Redeemer of Israel was not good news to him. A man who had slaughtered his own flesh and blood because he suspected they wanted his throne would stop at nothing to remove any threat to his kingship, and the wise men, divinely informed of that fact, disobeyed Herod’s instructions and did not bring back the location of Jesus and his family. When Herod discovered that he had been deceived, he realized his hopes of quickly dispatching the Messiah were over, and he devised a monstrous plan - if he couldn’t find the child he wanted dead he would kill all of the male children in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger. I think we become accustomed to reading this story and don’t really absorb the gravity of what actually happened on the day that Herod’s plan was carried out. Bethlehem, like Newton, Connecticut was a small town, and what probably happened was that one morning around dawn Herod’s soldiers suddenly invaded the homes of around 20 or 30 families and brutally slaughtered their young children as the families watched helplessly.
We rejoice that Joseph was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus before the murders ever took place, and as a result the true horror of Matthew 2:18 is often lost upon us, “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” In one horrible morning an unsuspecting town was suddenly filled from end to end with the sounds of wailing and mourning. Mothers held the lifeless bodies of their toddlers and wept inconsolably. These were their beloved sons, their little treasures, their hopes for the future. Now they are no more. They didn’t even have hope that justice would be done, for it was not a foreign enemy that had done this monstrous deed, but their own ruler, Herod. Who will give them justice? What consolation can anyone bring them?
If we learn anything from this, let us learn that the ultimate cause of the massacre in Newton, the massacre in Bethlehem, and countless other massacres in between was nothing less than the total depravity of the human heart, and let us remember that it was for this reason that Jesus was born. He was not born to provide us with an excuse for celebrating December 25th and giving one another presents, He did not enter into the world to give us traditions, He was not born of a woman, born under the law, to give us wise sayings, or even to do miracles. Jesus was born to “save His people from their sins” and to save creation from the awful effects of the fall. He was born to do away with murder and death, and to make it possible for this sin sick world in which awful things like the murder of little children happens to be cleansed of every stain of sin and replaced with the “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:12) He came that there might be a day when heartbreaking events like these might never happen again, a day when justice will be eternally done to wicked and unrepentant murderers like Herod, and a day when His redeemed people might enter into an eternity in which “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying." (Rev. 21:4a)
We are reminded by awful events like the murders in Newton of our terrible need for that work of redemption from sin and its effects to be completed, and so our hearts long for the return of Christ and a final end to sin and suffering. Today once again I have cried out in my soul saying “Come Lord Jesus!” that there might be a final end to the murder of children and all the things that cause it.
So to that end I would encourage you all to pray. I do not think I really need to tell you what to pray for, but for those who might not know where to begin, here are a few suggestions:
-- Pray for the families that are grieving inconsolably today.
-- Pray for the children, who witnessed things that no child should ever have to see.
-- Pray for the emergency workers who came face to face with the carnage caused by monstrous evil.
-- Pray for the doctors and nurses who struggled to save little ones who didn’t make it.
-- Pray for the Policemen who had to tell parents that the worst thing they could imagine had happened.
-- Pray for the morticians and do not think for a moment that their job will be easy.
-- Pray for those who have reacted to this news with rage, frustration, and hatred.
-- Pray for those who have given up hope.
-- Pray that what Adam Lanza meant for evil would be used by God for good, with men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.
-- Pray that we would stop trusting in princes to provide answers to spiritual problems.
-- Pray above all for the speedy return of Christ and for a final end to the slaughter of little ones.
+ Providence Presbyterian Church, Post Office Box 8158, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311, 910-630-1215, Fax: 419-730-5385, ajwebb@providencepca.com
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[2] The Interfaith Memorial Service from Hell
By Dr. Pat McEwen and the Rev. Flip Benham
Watching the Memorial service for the twenty-six precious lives taken from us was painful to say the least, but it was far more painful to the God who made America great. Newtown cancelled Christmas so it could properly mourn. How foolish, yet typical of governmental strategy to replace God. The "Interfaith" service was an affront to Almighty God. Those claiming to be His priests barely mentioned His Name --Jesus! After all, He is the only God there is!
"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children." Hosea 4:6.
Can there be any doubt in anyone's mind today that America is in deep trouble? Blood is coursing down the corridors of our schools, workplaces, and streets and we look at each other with awkward amazement wondering what in the world has happened to us. We are being drained of every last penny of our wealth. We are losing our kids to gangs, drugs, violence, suicide, murder and every imaginable trivial pursuit. Our schools have become veritable jungles where survival of the fittest is the law of the hallway.
What happened? We violently removed the fear of Almighty God from the hearts of our children. We expelled God from school and banished Him from the schoolyard. He was replaced with metal detectors, condoms, policemen, anti-bullying policies, No-gun zones, and violence of unprecedented order. Our strategy has replaced God's Truth. We are losing our kids because we are ignoring God's Law. Our government cannot fix us!
What would Jesus say if He could have spoken at this interfaith abomination? The better question is, "What did Jesus say?" When Jesus was confronted with the mass murders of His day, along with the natural disasters occurring (Luke 13:1-9), He gave an answer to questions like, "Why did this happen?" "Where was God in all of this?" His answer, "I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will perish." Luke 13:3. His was not a message of false comfort, but a call to repentance. We are being destroyed, we are losing our freedom and our children because we have forsaken the only God there is – Jesus!
He promises to return if we will repent and call upon His Name!
+ Operation Save America, Post Office Box 740066, Dallas, Texas 75374, 704-933-3414, 704-932-3361, orn@bigplanet.com
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
[3] Mass Cruelty Mystifies, but Words of Comfort Transcend Blood, Spit, Hair
“The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died *** and every man.” — Genesis 7:20, 21
“So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth *** and the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.” — Revelation 14:20
“If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?” — Amos 3:6
“But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” — Matthew 10:33, 34
Violent and sensational sins such as a massacre of kindergarten children snuff public carping against religion. At least temporarily. Silent for now are the erudite defenders of post-modern thought.
Squeamish, they wouldn’t personally endorse an elementary school massacre. But their academic work and classroom discussion focus on destroying meaning, the certainty of text and the prospect of any fixed truth; they selflessly proclaim the interests of women, minorities, homosexuals, singles, the jobless and others who are victims of established paradigms such as Euro-centrism, patriarchalism, sexism, Christianity and the like.
While America’s intellectual elites momentarily stand aside on the question of “Why do bad things happen to good people,” they leave room for the uttering of much nonsense about the hour’s work in Newtown, Connecticut, of Adam Lanza, the gunman who killed twenty-seven people and himself Friday.
Filling the airwaves are comments from people who, in their shock, seem unable to offer much in the way of spiritual guidance. Rabbi Shaul Praver tells National Public Radio he doesn’t know why towns such as his experience “a day from hell,” as he describes it. He assures survivors they will see their loved ones in the next life. But he stops there. “I don’t know the answer to that. I never try to present a theological answer to that. *** I never liked theological answers. *** I don’t try to solve it like some kind of math equation, or something like that.” Friends of families who lost children also seem to have little of spiritual comfort and seem disconnected from the God whose name comes briefly across the lips of some. A pediatrician, David Schonfeld, says, neutrally, “I wouldn’t provide false reassurance or dismiss legitimate concerns. *** We don’t help children by telling them they shouldn’t be afraid of things that are frightening.”
Hard Hearts Hammered into Softness
Christianity offers the most satisfying explanation for such evils because it makes universal and exclusive claims about the legal and moral standard by which human conduct is measured. Christianity presupposes a sovereign God and a divine will, and an absolute moral code imposed unilaterally upon mankind by the creator God.
The exclusivist and aggressive nature of the claims of Jesus Christ places His system and worldview against every hostile claim, especially ones that would accept murderers such as Adam Lanza and rationalize his acts and demand protections and favor for his life, had he not killed himself after his rampage.
The consolation of the gospel in such bereaved towns as Newtown is that God is loving and merciful to His children, that every soul should repent of his sins and that evils such as murder are an offense to God first and the victim second. The sort of sorrow of which I speak is expressed by the prodigal son, who twice frames the matter this way, speaking to his dad: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you” (Luke 15: 18 and 21).
The comfort to offer grieving souls in the light of any disaster is that God offers no communion with man unless man first makes peace with Him. A stupid and heedless people, the Israelites had for centuries God’s covenant that separated them from every other people and united his children to Him in exclusive alliance. The treaty was not between equals, but on terms set by God alone. God hates sin, as Matthew Henry points out in his discussion of the third chapter of Amos, but He “hates it most in those that are nearest to him; if they be but as bad as others, they shall be punished worse than others, because it is justly expected that they should be so much better than others.”
No Disaster except at God’s Merciful Hand
The scriptures make clear God judges the nations, but first His own. His love and bride in the original covenant, Israel, goes whoring after false Gods and proves reprobate. After her self-maledictory oath and God’s divorce proceedings, Israel is liquidated by one of the most horrible sieges in history, that by the Romans against Jerusalem in the year A.D. 70 (as foretold in the Apocalypse). The church today has the power of the Holy Spirit upon her, and is the bride of Christ as established in the Great Commission, a new testament. When her eyes fall tenderly upon the Baals of her day, she falls under correction, as do others who in times past were suffered to walk in their own ways.
The rabbi is right to state that kindergarten massacres affirm “the presence of evil in the world.” God’s ways are equal; ours are unequal, as Henry puts it. The evil, if we are to believe scripture’s fuller theory of it, is judgment starting at the House of God. Judgment is a payment on the account of the Lord’s people, and as the scourge strikes them, it bowls over the ungodly as well, for against them the cup of the indignation of the wrath of God is full, too.
When God speaks through Amos about the judgment of Israel, the Lord asks, “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” And God proposes cause and effect. Lions don’t roar unless there is prey. A bird is not trapped unless there is a trap. The snare does not jump unless it’s tripped. If the trumpet blows, that means calamity. Cause. Effect.
The prophet is commanded to “see great tumults” in the midst of Samaria “and the oppressed within her. For they do not know to do right, says the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces” (Amos 3:9, 10). Official corruption, false imprisonment, courts that reject equity. God’s wrath is coming; it proves to be in the form of blood-thirsty Assyrians.
“[T]he evil of trouble, personal or public, is from God,” Henry notes, “and is his doing; whoever are the instruments, God is the principal agent. Out of his mouth both evil and good proceed. This consideration, that, whatever evil is in the city, the Lord has done it, should engage us patiently to bear our share in public calamities and to study to answer God’s intention in them” (italics added).
Human Sympathy, Yes; But How Far Does It Go
The families stricken in Newtown cannot be considered guilty of any special evil or sin. Christ mentions the death of eighteen people in the collapse of a tower in Siloam and asks, “[D]o you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4, 5). His point is that when terror strikes, repentance is in order. For God’s children, sin is chastised and the sinner restored. Without sorrow for sin and regeneration, the reprobate and hypocrites face only their just desserts, punishment and death in this life and the next.
School massacres are a terror upon society, driven by corrupt, huffy souls with an urge to mass destruction. They are a part of God’s providence, and part of God’s life plan for everyone involved, and for everyone watching his TV screen in fascination and horror.
The spiritual contentlessness of mouths suggests many people embracing the survivors of the massacre lack religious faith. Perhaps they don’t know how to bring it to bear, fearing to be presumptuous. Much of what grief counselors and psychologists say on TV is so much psychobabble. The survivors stand at the acme of public interest; all crave to hear them speak. How, I wonder, might they confess that God comforting them?
Christ was taken from His people by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God and was slain by wicked hands (Acts 2:23). Yet He endured these humiliations for our sakes, so that His children might have joy eternal, and comfort.
Sources:
Matthew Henry, The Matthew Henry Commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: 1960) Rev. Leslie F. Church, ed. This edition is a one-volume condensation of one of the best commentators Christendom has produced.
Gene Edward Veith Jr., Postmodern Times [;] A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1994). This study is excellent, as are the other volumes in the Turning Point Christian Worldview Series.
— David Tulis, a deacon at Brainerd Hills Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in America) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is married and the father of four.
+ Nooganomics, ReaderServices@Nooganomics.com
+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
[4] Same-Sex Marriage and the Scriptures
The Public Questions, Religion & Morals Committee of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) have spoken out against proposals by the Scottish and U.K. governments to legalise same-sex marriage. They criticise the Prime Minister for failing to recognise that marriage is a divine institution and governments north and south of the border for wilfully rejecting the timeless moral code which God has given us in the Bible.
They point out that God made the first man and the first woman and brought them together in the first marriage, as a pattern for mankind. They stress that same-sex marriage cannot reflect the union between Christ and His church and that same-sex unions are condemned in Scripture as sinful.
They believe that the move towards same-sex marriage stems from the idea that the homosexual lifestyle is an acceptable one – a notion which has sadly gained credibility in some sections of the church.
They say that same-sex marriage is “a sham and a delusion and an affront to a holy God” and that it is shameful that any government would seek to introduce it.
+ Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), Rev. John MacLeod, Free Church Manse, Portmahomack, Ross-shire, Scotland, principalclerk@fccontinuing.org
[5] The Fight to Preserve Marriage in English Law
This year, the coalition government launched a home office consultation on how to re-define marriage to include homosexual relationships. In response, on 13 June Presbytery made the following submission to the Home Office and Number Ten Downing Street. Presbytery instructed its clerk to inform our sister churches of our submission in order that they might have the opportunity to lend their support to it or consider making their own response. The text is presented here as a record of what has been said to the present government. As things stand at the moment, the government has declared its intention to change the law in 2015.
The Definition of Marriage Submission to her Majesty’s Government
A Statement of the Bible’s teaching on marriage
Marriage is currently defined in English Law as ‘the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others.’ (1) At the present time, a minority is calling for the definition of marriage to be changed in the name of equality to include same sex relationships.
1. Marriage is an institution which God gave as a gift to the human race at the beginning of our history for our physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing and for the procreation of children. (2)
2. The Bible clearly teaches that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others, for life, until separated by death. (3) Marriage is a covenant involving the mutual exchange of solemn promises between a man and a woman before God and society as witnesses. (4) Marriage is a public institution for the benefit of society as a whole and upon which a healthy society is founded. Marriage is the only context in which sexual intimacy and union is right, and the proper sphere for the upbringing of children. (5)
3. The Law of God protects marriage. The Ten Commandments, which are a clear expression of the moral law, contain the commandment: ‘You shall not commit adultery’. This enshrines the principle that the violation of marriage is wrong. (6) The Ten Commandments are necessarily summary statements, but God has added detailed laws identifying ways in which human conduct would violate this commandment, such conduct as fornication, prostitution, and homosexual acts, as well as marital unfaithfulness. Some of these are not only breaches of the moral law but also perversions of nature. (7)
4. The scope of marriage is determined by God alone. Human governments are accountable to God and any government that enacts legislation contradicting the law of God puts itself in direct conflict with God and shows itself to be in revolt against the higher authority of God, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. (8)
5. If the government moves to redefine marriage in English Law, in order to include same sex relations within the scope of marriage, it will be acting in defiance of God’s moral authority. Such a redefinition promotes and condones wickedness; it misleads the people and harms the nation, and above all it dishonors Almighty God.
6. The Bible gives a very clear warning that God will not be mocked. God gave us marriage to be the backbone of a good and caring society. Changes to the definition of marriage will inevitably lead to a breakdown in society, whereas the preservation of marriage will be conductive to the health and wellbeing of our nation.
Notes:
(1) Hyde vs Hyde and Woodmansee (1866) LR 1 P & D 130. The judge, Lord Penzance, sought to give a definition recognized throughout ‘Christendom’. Counterfeit Marriage, (Christian Institute 2002), 10.
(2) Genesis 1-2.
(3) Matthew 19:3-9; Romans 7:2.
(4) Malachi 2:14-16.
(5) Hebrews 13:4.
(6) Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18; Matthew 5:27-32.
(7) Leviticus 18:20-24; 19:29; Galatians 5:19; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Romans 1:26-29.
(8) Exodus 5:2; 14:17; Psalm 2; Psalm 96:10; Isaiah 40:21-24; Daniel 2:21; 4:1-37; 5:22-31; 6:25-27; Romans 13:1-7; Revelation 19:16.
WE THEREFORE URGE AND PETITION H.M. GOVERNMENT TO RETAIN UNALTERED THE DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE.
+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales, epcew@epcew.org.uk
[6] Headlines from Christian Concern
Headlines of the past week from Christian Concern:
-- U.K Government Presses Ahead with Same-Sex Marriage
-- Equal Marriage Is “Fundamentally Flawed” Says New In-Depth Study
-- House of Lords Backs Reform Affecting Free Speech
+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page
+ Anglican Mainstream, 21 High Street, Eynsham, OX29 4HE, England, 44-0-1865-883388, office@anglican-mainstream.net
[7] Headlines from The Christian Institute
Headlines of the past week from The Christian Institute:
-- St. George’s Tron Evicted by the Kirk over Gay Clergy Row
-- U.K. Government Ignores 500,000 People Who Said No to Gay Marriage
-- U.K. Supreme Court Volunteer Ruling Protects Churches
-- Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond Breaks Protection Promises in Gay Marriage Bill
+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8DG, England, 44-0-191-281-5664, Fax: 44-0-191-281-4272, info@christian.org.uk
[8] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
-- Obama Administration Turns Up the Heat on the War on Religious Freedom
-- Detroit Judge on Leave after Allegedly Pressuring Mistress to Have an Abortion
-- Uruguay on Verge of Approving Homosexual and Transsexual ‘Marriage’ Law
-- Quebec Psychologists Could Face Ethics Violation for Homosexual Reparative Therapy
-- Sweden Revokes Parental Rights of Homeschooling Family after Three Year Ordeal
-- Queen James Bible: Publisher Releases ‘Gay-Friendly’ Bible Translation
-- Maine: Notaries Must Perform Same-Sex ‘Marriages’ or Violate Human Rights Law
-- Organizers of French Traditional Marriage March Expect Crowds of up to 350,000
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[9] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- Westboro Baptist Church Celebrates Sandy Hook Massacre Deaths
-- Two Movies, Two Mass Murders
-- U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) “Pre-Crime” Agency to Search “Entire Government Databases” for “Predictive Pattern Matching”
-- General Electric Chairman and Obama Adviser Jeff Immelt Says: “State-Run Communism Works”
-- Buddhist Monks Lead Attack on Church in Sri Lanka
-- Selling American Girls: The Truth about Domestic Minor Sex-Trafficking
-- Teacher in France Asks Students to Compose Their Own Suicide Notes
-- U.S. DHS Funding Program to Eavesdrop on Bus Ride Conversations
-- New Zealand Court Rules Nude Jogging Is Legal
-- Planned Parenthood and Allies: Large Doses of Steroids ‘Extremely Safe’ for Teens
-- U.S. Government Invokes Clean Water Act in Telling New Mexico Landowner Not to Remove Trash from Dry Desert Land Twenty-Five Miles from Rio Grande River
-- University of Virginia Officials Force Students to Remove Dormitory Christmas Display
-- U.S. TSA Hired Former Cop Even After Full Disclosure of Sex Offense
-- U.S. TSA Holds Sobbing, Wheelchair-Bound Twelve-Year-Old Girl for Almost an Hour
-- North Korea's Apparent Launch Success Advances Quest to Bring the U.S. within Ballistic Missile Range
-- U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey)’s Intern, a Sex Offender, Was in U.S. Illegally
-- Democrats Pushing to Fund Abortions on U.S. Military Bases
-- Marxist Harry Belafonte Recommends Obama Imprison Conservatives
-- Police Contribute to Hindu Extremist Violence in India
-- The Persecution of Christians makes its Debut as a Topic of Discussion in the Swedish Parliament
-- Sweden Uses Nazi and Communist Tactics against Homeschooling Families
-- Obama Bypasses Congress to Mandate Black Boxes for All Cars -- Beginning in 2014
-- Transgender College Hoops Player Is First to Play as Both Man and Woman
-- Church Leaders Wounded in Attacks on Sri Lankan Churches
-- Imprisoned South China Church Leader Gong Shengliang Paralyzed by Stroke; Family's Request for Medical Parole Rejected
-- BBC Told To Put More 'Gay' Presenters On Kids TV
-- New U.S. Warrantless Spying Program Admitted
-- Shooting Not First Tragedy for Newtown
-- First Time Ever: University of Iowa Application Adds ‘Transgendered’ To Male/Female Option
-- Man Fires Fifty Shots at Crowded California Shopping Mall
-- U.S. Secretly Free Dangerous Criminals Instead of Deporting Them
-- In Wake of Sandy Hook Massacre, University of Rhode Island Professor Erik Loomis Calls for Assassination of National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre
+ Last Resistance, Contact Page
+ Nomorefakenews.com, 800-743-6179, qjrpress@gmail.com
+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ Forbes.com, 90 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10011, 212-366-8900, readers@forbes.com
+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ American Life League, Post Office Box 1350, Stafford, Virginia 22555, 540-659-4171, Fax: 540-659-2586, info@all.org
+ The Leadership Institute, 1101 North Highland Street, Arlington, Virginia 22201, 703-247-2000, Contact Page
+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ Freedom Outpost, 1116 N Market Street, Paris, Tennessee 38242, 73-644-2220, Contact Page
+ Martin Bucer Seminar, Friedrichstraße 38 53111 Bonn, Deutschland, 49-4794- 962610, info@bucer.de
+ China Aid, Post Office Box 8513, Midland, Texas 79708, 432-689-6985,
Fax: 432-686-8355, info@ChinaAid.org
+ Nicene Council, Box 411, Draper, Virginia 24324, 866-735-9582, admin@nicenecouncil.com
+ Student Free Press Association, Post Office Box 1996, Woodbridge, Virginia 22195, nharden@thecollegefix.com
+ Political Outcast
[10] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Texas Teaching 'Allah is the Almighty God'
-- Iranian Death Squad in U.S. – Planning 2013 Attacks
-- Islamic Charity Seeks to Reverse Progress of Christianity in Indonesia
-- Christian Radio Programming Growing in Muslim World
-- Islam Surging in Britain As Christianity Fades
-- Alabama Muslims Arrested on Terror Charges, Plotted to Wage Jihad in Africa
-- Libyans Say Sharia Will Be Law of the Land
-- Egypt: Nine Anti-Muslim Brotherhood Protesters Shot
-- Muslims from U.K., France, Hungary, Germany, Balkans, Sweden, Chechnya, Chile Joining Jihad in Syria
-- Islamic Fascism: the Nazi Connection
-- Merry Islamic Christmas from the Episcopal Church
-- Iran Passed Nonconventional Weapons to Syria
-- Syrian Rebels 'Exclusively' America-Hating Jihadists
-- U.S. Muslims Back Morsi's Egypt Power Grab
-- Obama Officially Backs Jihadists in Syria, Slaughter of Alawite Village Follows
-- Chicago: Muslim Gets Ten Years in Prison for Jihad Plot
-- San Diego: Muslim Woman Gets Eight Years in Prison for Jihad
-- Devout Christian Murdered By Muslim Ex-Boyfriend after Row over Converting Their Daughter to Islam
-- New U.S. Army Manual Orders Soldiers Not to Criticize Taliban, Pedophilia, "Anything Related to Islam" Or "Advocate for Women's Rights"
-- Cuba’s Raul Castro Plans to Visit Iran
-- In Northern Mali, Islamists’ Attacks against Civilians Grow More Brutal
-- U.S. Dominates List of World’s ‘500 Most Influential Muslims’
-- Ivory Coast: Racial and Religious Hatred Empowered and Unleashed
-- Brutal Killing in Pakistan of Christian Missionary Healer
-- Are American Muslims Terrorizing the Constitution?
-- Moderate Indonesia: Violators of Shariah Law Caned
-- Turkish Archives Show Armenian Genocide Planning By Central Government: Scholar
-- Obama Secretly Sending Thousands of Troops Back to Iraq
-- Shiite Ayatollah Launches Fatwa: Iraqi Christians, Conversion to Islam or Death
-- Kuwait Passes Law to Execute Those Who Slander Islam and the Prophet
-- England Drops Hebrew from Officially Recognized Languages
-- Devout Muslim Group behind Attempted Railway Attack in German Capital
-- New York: Muslim Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Role in Jihad Plot to Blow up Subways
-- Muslim Leader in Nigeria Threatens To Surprise President Obama, Expresses Solidarity with Jihadi Groups, Tells Nigerian Police: Repent or Be Killed
-- Sharia law in Tulsa, Oklahoma: Federal Judge Dismisses Constitutional Claims of Tulsa Police Captain Punished for Objecting to Order Mandating Attendance at Islamic Event
-- Taliban Demand Money Not To Blow Up Church School Who Offered Prayers for Pakistani Schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai
-- Egypt Looking to Remilitarize Sinai
-- Muslim Terrorists Picking Off Targets at Girls Schools
-- Swedish Christian Worker, Shot in Pakistan, Dies in Stockholm
-- Jordanian Muslim leader, First We Take Over Damascus, Then Tel Aviv
-- France: Muslim Bus Drivers Refuse to Use Bus After it Has Been Driven by a Woman
-- Claiming to Be ‘Tea Party' Affiliate, Muslims4Liberty Fights for Islamic Causes
-- Iran Making Anthrax at Secret Plant
-- Growth of Al-Qaida in Syria Increases Chances of Chemical Weapons Attack in Europe
-- Taliban Suspected in Shooting to Death Five Female Polio Vaccine Workers in Karachi Pakistan
+ WND, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, #351, Washington DC 20006, Contact Page
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ Mission Network News, 1159 East Beltline Avenue Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-942-1500, Fax: 616-942-7328, Contact Page
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ Assyrian International News Agency
+ Institute on Religion and Democracy, 1023 15th Street Northwest, Suite 601, Washington DC 20005-2601, 202-682-4131, Fax: 202-682-4136, info@theird.org
+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com
+ The Washington Post, 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington DC 20071, 202-334-6000, Contact Form
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
+ Last Resistance, Contact Page
+ American Vision, 3150-A Florence Road, Suite 2, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 800-628-9460, Fax: 770-222-7269, Comments@AmericanVision.org
+ THEBLAZE.COM LLC, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10036, contact@theblaze.com
+ The Algemeiner Journal, Post Office Box 250746, Brooklyn, New York 11225, 718-771-0400, Fax: 718-771-0308, Contact Page
+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398
