21 April 2010
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
[2] U.S. Army War College Monograph Posits that Christians Threaten U.S. Foreign Policy
[6] Manhattan PCUSA Church Official Arrested for Painting Graffiti on Church Scaffolding
[7] Briarwood Presbyterian Church of Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada, Seeks Djembe Drummer
[8] Presbyterians in Yuanlin, Taiwan, Provide Alternative to Ancestor Worship
[9] Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Leaders Urge Abolition of the Death Penalty
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Citing national prayer observances throughout U.S. history beginning with first U.S. President George Washington, Christian Defense Coalition Director and Reformed Presbyterian pastor the Rev. Pat Mahoney and Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital President Rob Schenck called upon U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama to expedite the appeal of the “outrageous” decision of U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb declaring the National Day of Prayer to be unconstitutional.
Misters Mahoney and Schenck held a 19 April 2010 news conference in front of the White House in Washington DC to discuss their call to the president and the steps they are putting in place for a national campaign.
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+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
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+ Christian Defense Coalition, Post Office Box 77168, Washington DC 20013, 202-547-1735, ChristianDefense@gmail.com
+ Faith and Action in the Nation’s Capital, 109 Second Avenue Northeast, Washington DC 20002, 202-546-8329, Fax: 202-546-6864, Info@FaithAndAction.org
+ National Day of Prayer Task Force, Post Office Box 15616, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80935, 719-531-3379, Fax: 719-548-4520, correspondence@nationaldayofprayer.org
+ United States District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, 120 North Henry Street, Room 320, Madison, Wisconsin 53701, 608-264-5156, Fax: 608-264-5925, wiwd_ecfhelp@wiwd.uscourts.gov
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[2] U.S. Army War College Monograph Posits that Christians Threaten U.S. Foreign Policy
A 14 April 2010 article by Chuck Baldwin titled “Army Report Says Christians Threaten US Foreign Policy” reports on a monograph written by U.S. Army Major Brian L. Stuckert while a degree student at The School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College, in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, which Baldwin believes was used in the preparation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s report, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment” and a similar report from the Missouri Information Analysis Center and the Missouri Highway Patrol.
Baldwin cites several sections of the monograph where Christians are characterized as threats to the U.S. Government including:
— Christian millennial belief “…creates potential vulnerabilities that adversaries may exploit,” and “…can be problematic for any military leader or planner attempting to achieve U.S. Government policy objectives through strategy, operations and programs.
— Christians who believe in the Second Coming create circumstances or conditions that might be “problematic” for America’s military leaders, create “potential vulnerabilities” that America’s enemies may “exploit,” and may even interfere with “U.S. Government policy objectives.
— “The impact of American millennial religious ideas on U.S. Government policy will add to strategic hubris, compel increasingly reckless international action, and continue to over-commit the military in ways the Nation cannot afford.
— “…millennial thought and its policy implications may create strategic transparency that affords adversaries an advantage in decision-making,… an understanding of American millennial thinking may provide adversaries with the means to manipulate American policy and subsequent action,… the enemy may exploit American millennialism to increase the fragility of and even disrupt coalitions,… adversaries may exploit American millennialism to demoralize or terrorize joint forces and the American people,… [and by] recognizing these potential vulnerabilities, military leaders and planners may take action now to mitigate the effects.”
Major Stuckert’s monograph specifically cites holiness and Pentecostal churches, the Assemblies of God, non-denominational churches, and Independent and Southern Baptists.
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+ NewsWithViews.com, Post Office Box 370, Merlin, Oregon 97532,
541-955-0117, news10@newswithviews.com
+ U.S. Army, 1400 Defense Pentagon, Washington DC 20301, 703-697-0050
Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, reported in a 14 April 2010 blog article that Dr. Matthew Kachinas of Sarasota, Florida, recently lost his medical license because during a 2006 abortion to selectively kill a male fraternal twin with Down syndrome and other congenital abnormalities, Kachinas mistakenly killed the healthy female fraternal twin.
Dr. Mohler reminds the reader that eighty-to-ninety percent of Down syndrome pregnancies are ended by abortion, calling these killings a “…scandal of the first degree, and this nation is growing more complacent and complicit in this scandal by the day.”
Dr. Mohler concludes:
“This news story out of Florida is a warning to the entire nation. What is the real scandal here — that this doctor was ready to kill a baby with Down syndrome, or merely that he aborted “the wrong baby?”
“The answer to that question will tell us all we need to know about the conscience of the age.”
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+ AlbertMohler.com, Contact Page
+ The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2825 Lexington Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40280, 800-626-5525, Contact Page
A video of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) Orlando, Florida, Old Testament professor Bruce K. Waltke was recently posted on The BioLogos Foundation website showing the professor defending theistic evolution, saying:
“If the data is overwhelmingly in favor of evolution, to deny that reality will make us a cult … some odd group that is not really interacting with the world. And rightly so, because we are not using our gifts and trusting God’s Providence that brought us to this point of our awareness.”
After the video generated an uproar among the RTS administration, Waltke subsequently asked The BioLogos Foundation to remove the video from its website, and Waltke submitted his resignation, which was accepted by the seminary.
Justin Taylor, Editorial Director at Crossway Books, reported 9 April 2010 on his Between Two Worlds blog that Waltke has been hired to teach the upcoming winter and spring terms at Knox Theological Seminary.
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+ Inside Higher Ed, 1320 18th Street Northwest, 5th Floor, Washington DC 20036, 202-659-9208, Fax: 202-659-9381, editor@insidehighered.com
+ The Gospel Coalition, 2065 Half Day Road, Deerfield, Illinois 60015, contact@thegospelcoalition.org
+ The BioLogos Foundation, 6549 Mission Gorge Road, Box 251, San Diego, California 92120, 619-849-2205, info@biologos.org
+ Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando, 1231 Reformation Drive, Oviedo, Florida 32765, 407-366-9493, Fax: 407-366-9425
+ Knox Theological Seminary, 5554 North Federal Highway Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33308, 954-771-0376, Fax: 954-351-3343, Administration@KnoxSeminary.edu
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[5] PCA Standing Judicial Commission Issues Final Ruling against Pacific Northwest Presbytery’s Conclusions about the Theological Views of Teaching Elder Peter Leithart
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) Standing Judicial Commission (SJC) on 11 March 2010 issued its final decision in the complaint against the PCA’s Pacific Northwest Presbytery (PNW) for its earlier majority decision that Teaching Elder Peter Leithart’s theological views were not out of accord with the PCA system of doctrine.
The SJC found that “…the views of TE Leithart touching fundamentals of the system of doctrine (for example on baptism, the bi-covenantal nature of Scripture, and imputation) set out in the Record (in PNW’s own Reports) suggest a strong presumption of guilt that these views represent offenses that could properly be the subject of a judicial process. ([Book of Church Order] BCO 31-2, 29-1 &2)”
The SJC decision says “the PNW may counsel TE Leithart that [Leithart’s Federal Vision-type theological views] constitute error that is injurious to peace and purity of the church and offer him pastoral advice on how he might recant and make reparations for those views, or if he is unwilling or unable in conscience to do so, that he is free to take timely steps to affiliate with some other branch that is consistent with his views;” or else the PNW at its fall meeting is to take action against Leithart under the provisions of BCO 31-2.
On a Presbyterian and Reformed-oriented Internet email discussion group, a PCA ruling elder responded to the SJC decision by asking: “Would someone, please, explain to me where in Scripture they get the idea that “transfer his ministerial credentials” is part of church discipline?….If Leithart fails to recant, he should be removed from office and excommunicated. He should not be allowed to change membership to escape the judgment of the court.”
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+ Presbyterian Church in America, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 105, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, 678-825-1000, Fax: 678-825-1001, ac@pcanet.org
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[6] Manhattan PCUSA Church Official Arrested for Painting Graffiti on Church Scaffolding
A 20 April 2010 DNAInfo article by Serena Solomon titled “West Park Presbyterian Church Official Arrested for Graffiti Blasting Gale Brewer” reports that West Park Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)) official Diego “Hugo” Meneses was arrested 17 April 2010 while painting graffiti onto scaffolding outside the church protesting the church’s recent designation as a landmark.
Over the objections of the church, City Councilwoman Gale Brewer led the effort to have the Landmarks Preservation Commission declare in January 2010 the church a protected building. The congregation currently meets in another location due to water damage in the church, and the congregation hoped to raise funds by selling the church property for apartment development rather than continue to make expensive repairs to the 125 year-old church building.
No charges were preferred against Mr. Meneses.
The church’s landmark status was to be reviewed by the City Council at a 20 April 2010 evening meeting.
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+ DNAInfo, 1414 Avenue of the Americas, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10019, 646-435-9100, info@dnainfo.com
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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[7] Briarwood Presbyterian Church of Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada, Seeks Djembe Drummer
Briarwood Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church in Canada) of Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada, is seeking a djembe drummer for Sunday afternoon services that feature music and song as well as scripture readings, commentary, and prayer.
Interested percussionists are asked to call Briarwood pastor the Rev. Greg Davidson at 514-695-1879, or in the evening call Grant Vissers at 514-693-0794.
+ The Gazette, 1010 Ste-Catherine Street West, Suite 200, Montreal, Quebec H3B 5L1, Canada, 514-987-2222, rbrassard@thegazette.canwest.com
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+ The Presbyterian Church in Canada, 50 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario M3C 1J7, 416-441-1111, Fax: 416-441-2825, skendall@presbyterian.ca
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[8] Presbyterians in Yuanlin, Taiwan, Provide Alternative to Ancestor Worship
An article by Chen Wei-chien and Lydia Ma in the 5-11 April 2010 issue of Taiwan Church News titled “Yuanlin Affirms Local Church’s Alternative to Ancestor Worship” tells of a ceremony held 4 April 2010, the eve of Tomb Sweeping Day, where a Christian ceremony to honor ancestors was held in Yuanlin, Taiwan, for the purpose helping villagers understand Christianity and grasp how Christians remember and honor their forebears. Yuanlin’s population is only one percent Christian. The service was presided over by the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan’s Changhua Presbytery Moderator Liu Te-shing, and the Rev. Liao Kun-tian gave a sermon entitled “Remembering our Forbearers on Tomb Sweeping Day”.
Moderator Liu hopes the partnership between the Yuanlin government and local churches on Tomb Sweeping Day that made the ceremony possible can become a tradition in Yuanlin so that regardless of who becomes township mayor, there will always be a Christian ceremony on that day. Liu also prays that these services will change villagers’ perceptions on ancestor worship and Christianity and will open the way for evangelism once ancestor worship is no longer a stumbling block.
At the end of the memorial service, everyone was invited take part in the flower offering ceremony. People were instructed to write on a small card the names of their parents or relatives that they were honoring on this occasion and affix the card on a bouquet before bringing the bouquet to the front of the podium.
Feedback letters from villagers said that they really liked the ceremony and felt comforted by it. They were also touched by how the ceremony had accorded dignity and honor to ancestors without creating any environmental pollution.
The Taiwan Church News editor noted that Taiwanese people usually mark Tomb Sweeping Day by worshiping their ancestors, and that rituals for that day usually involve offering food and burning a lot of joss paper, the smoke from the burning joss paper having become a serious environmental concern.
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+ Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, 334 Youth Road, Tainan City, 70144 Taiwan, 886-6-235-6277, Fax: 886-6-237-8882, enews@pctpress.org
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[9] Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Leaders Urge Abolition of the Death Penalty
An article by Chen Wei-chien and Lydia Ma in the 5-11 April 2010 issue of Taiwan Church News titled “Christian Leaders Sign Petition to Abolish Death Penalty” reports that Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) General Secretary Andrew Chang and PCT General Assembly Moderator Leonard Lin have drafted a statement calling for a moratorium on and the abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan.
At a recent forum on the death penalty sponsored by the Taiwan Church News and other media outlets, PCT seminary professors Chen Nan-jou and Cheng Yang-en said that Christians should repent for not caring enough about abolishing the death penalty and added that almost all Christian churches and organizations worldwide have been lobbying governments to do away with the death penalty.
Currently, eighty percent of the Taiwanese support the death penalty.
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+ Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, 334 Youth Road, Tainan City, 70144 Taiwan, 886-6-235-6277, Fax: 886-6-237-8882, enews@pctpress.org
The Evangelical Reformed Church of Poland issued the following statement [translated into English] concerning the tragic airplane crash of 10 April 2010 that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and ninety-six other Polish government officials and dignitaries:
“The tragedy that occurred today near Smolensk, [Russia,] shocked us all.
“The Evangelical Reformed Church bids farewell today to the President of Poland, Professor Dr. Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria Kaczynska, and those who accompanied them on their last flight.
“Our thoughts are with the mourning families, friends, and acquaintances of those who perished.
“In this dramatic moment in Polish history we raise our prayers to the Lord of human lives, to comfort those who suffer the loss of those closest to them, and to give strength to our nation with dignity to survive this difficult period, regardless of the differences separating us.
“Remember that “the Lord God will destroy death forever and wipe away tears from all faces.” (Isaiah 25:8a)”
Dr. Witold Brodzinski Fr. Bishop Mark Izdebski Zdenek Matys
Consistory President Church Bishop Synod President
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+ Evangelical Reformed Church of Poland, Solidarno?ci 76 a, Warszawa Mazowieckie, Polska 00-145, 48-22-831-45-22, Fax: 48-22-831-08-27, Contact Page
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