30 June 2010
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
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[1] Joni Eareckson Tada Undergoes Successful Cancer Surgery
[2] Efforts Continue between Erskine and the ARP General Synod to Settle Court Case
[4] Church of Scotland One of Many Voices against Assisted Suicide Bill before Scottish Parliament
[7] Presbyterian Lay Committee Publishes PCUSA 2010 General Assembly Voting Guide
[8] Presbyterian Lay Committee Publishes PCUSA 2010 General Assembly Voting Guide
[11] The Elders Handbook: A Practical Guide for Church Leaders Available Online
[12] The Sacrament of Responsibility Available Online
[13] New Books for 2010 from Inheritance Publications
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[1] Joni Eareckson Tada Undergoes Successful Cancer Surgery
Joni Eareckson Tada, founder of Joni and Friends International Disability Center in Agoura Hills, California, on 21 June 2010 underwent successful surgery for stage two breast cancer, which had affected some of her lymph nodes. Mrs. Tada will undergo chemotherapy as followup treatment to the surgery.
Dr. Geoffrey Drew, Mrs. Tada’s family doctor, said that the cancer is “…a highly survivable cancer and we anticipate a positive prognosis…”
The thoughts and prayers of the Christian Observer go out to Mrs. Tada, her husband Ken Tada, and to their ministry colleagues and countless friends all over the world.
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+ A. Larry Ross Communications, 4300 Marsh Ridge Road, Suite 114, Carrollton, Texas 75010, melany@alarryross.com
+ Joni and Friends International Disability Center, Post Office Box 3333, Agoura Hills, California 91376, 818-707-5664, 818-707-2391, Contact Page
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[2] Efforts Continue between Erskine and the ARP General Synod to Settle Court Case
A 26 June 2010 article by Ron Barnett in The Greenville News titled “Erskine, Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church Strike Deal on Lawsuit” reports that negotiations between lawyers for the trustees and alumni association, and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) General Synod (GS) are continuing with the goal of dropping all court actions and returning the college and its relationship to the ARPGS to the status quo prior to the special called meeting of the ARPGS in March 2010.
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+ The Greenville News, 305 South Main Street, Greenville, South Carolina 29602, 864-298-4100, Contact Page
+ Erskine College, 2 Washington Street, Due West, South Carolina 29639, 864-379-2131, 864-379-2167, norman@erskine.edu
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
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A 25 June 2010 article by Ray Reed in The News and Advance titled “LU Won’t Renew Caner’s Contract as Dean of Seminary” reports that Liberty University will not renew the contract of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary President Ergun Caner as dean of the seminary. Caner though, has signed a contract to be a member of the seminary’s faculty for the 2010-2011 school year. Caner’s loss of the seminary administrative position is due to the findings of a four-member investigatory committee of the Liberty University Board of Trustees that “Dr. Caner has made factual statements that are self-contradictory,” regarding his background as a Muslim convert to Christianity.
A 26 June 2010 article by Mirelle on the Talk Islam: A Crescent Waxing Islam blog cited The News and Advance article, and commented:
“I think “self-contradictory” is Evangelical-speak for “being caught lying over and over and over again about where he was born, why he came to this country and that he never was a member of some outfit called ‘Islamic Youth Jihad,’ among other things.”
““Self-contradictory” also means that he gets to keep his job as professor at LU. The lesson the rest of us take away from this is that lying can be profitable, even when you’re caught making egregious whoppers on multiple occasions over many years.”
In the “Resistance is futile, you will be Googled” department, an interesting juxtaposition of a Liberty University Google advertisement was present in the header and elsewhere in the body of the subject Talk Islam article:
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+ The News and Advance, 101 Wyndale Drive, Lynchburg, Virginia 24501, 434-385-5440, tjamerson@newsadvance.com
+ Talk Islam, salaam@talkislam.info
+ Liberty University, 1971 University Boulevard, Lynchburg, Virginia 24502, 434-582-2000, jrmoore@liberty.edu
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[4] Church of Scotland One of Many Voices against Assisted Suicide Bill before Scottish Parliament
A 23 June 2010 article on The Christian Institute website titled “Fresh Blow to Scottish Assisted Suicide Bill” reports that eighty-six percent of the 601 individuals and organizations consulted about the Assisted Suicide Bill before the Scottish Parliament are opposed to its intent to legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill and permanently physically incapacitated people.
One of the consulted groups was the Church of Scotland, which cautioned that the bill if passed would allow assisted suicide for sixteen-year-olds, and that sixteen-year-olds that are too young to drink alcohol and drive vehicles are not emotionally mature enough to make decisions to kill themselves.
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+ The Christian Institute, Wilberforce House, 4 Park Road, Gosforth Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne E12 8DG, England, 44-0-1-81-664, Fax: 44-0-1-81-4272, info@christian.org.uk
+ The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP, Scotland, 0131-348-5000, sp.info@scottish.parliament.uk
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
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A 29 June 2010 article by Nathan Burchfiel of the Culture and Media Institute (CMI) titled “Media Ignore Planned Parenthood’s $1.3 Billion Federal Funding Discrepancy” cites an American Life League study of Planned Parenthood (PP)’s 2002-2008 annual reports showing that PP received US$2 billion in federal grants and contracts during the seven year period. A 16June 2010 Government Accountability Report shows that PP spent only US$657.1 million of the federal funds in the same time period.
Burchfiel points out that none of the three major U.S. television networks, nor any of the major U.S. newspapers have reported anything about the undocumented US$1.343 billion, or sixty-seven percent of the federal funds received by PP between 2002 and 2008.
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+ Culture and Media Institute, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 703-683-9733, Fax: 703-683-9736,
contact.cmi@mediaresearch.org
+ American Life League, Post Office Box 1350, Stafford, Virginia 22555, 540-659-4171, Fax: 540-659-2586, info@all.org
+ Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 434 West 33rd Street, New York, New York 10001, 212-541-7800, Fax: 212-245-1845
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A 22 June 2010 news release by Jerry Van Marter of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) titled “Speaker Calls for Truth and Reconciliation Commission” reports that Native American leader and member of the Lakota/Sioux tribe Richard Twiss on 22 June 2010 at the Uniting General Council of the WCRC called for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation-like commission to “seek ways to make restitution to tribal people” for the churches’ complicity in “co-opting the Bible as a tool of colonialism and imperialism” in North America over the last 400 years.
Twiss said such a commission — comprised of indigenous people from North America and the global South — is necessary to overcome “cowboy theology,” which he said has perpetuated “a distinct evangelical bias against Native and indigenous culture and ways.”
Twiss praised the emerging missiological model called “missio Dei” (“mission of God”), that “points to the radical communal nature of God” rather than focusing on the institutional nature of the church. “God’s very nature is missionary. It is not primarily about the propagation or transmission of intellectual convictions, doctrines, moral commands,” he said, “but rather about the inclusion of all creation in God’s overflowing, superabundant life of communion.”
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+ World Communion of Reformed Churches, info@reformedchurches.org
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[7] Volunteers Making Rainbow Prayer Shawls for LGBT-Supporting General Assembly Attendees
Volunteers from around the United States are knitting rainbow prayer shawls that will be worn at the 3-10 July 2010 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by supporters of inclusion for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) church members.
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+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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[8] Presbyterian Lay Committee Publishes PCUSA 2010 General Assembly Voting Guide
In advance of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)’s 3-10 July 2010 219th General Assembly , the Presbyterian Lay Committee has published an Issues Report and Voting Guide, which includes the following recommendations:
— Approve item 12-01, 11, which affirms the traditional definition of marriage
— Reject item 12-02, 03, 04, 07, 10, which redefines marriage from “one man and one woman” to “two persons” or “couple”
— Approve item 6-18, which ensures that the “fidelity/chastity” standard is upheld
— Reject item 04-06, which would appoint a COGA commission with full authority of the General Assembly to re-organize presbyteries and synods
— Reject item 16-12, which would add the Belhar Confession to the Book of Confessions
— Reject item 14-08 – Middle East Study Committee report and recommendations
— Reject 08-06 – Investigating Task Force recommendations regarding the PCUSA relationship to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church
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+ Presbyterian Lay Committee, Post Office Box 2210, Lenoir, North Carolina 28645, 828-758-8716, Fax: 828-758-0920, laymanletters@layman.org
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+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 17197 North Laurel Park Drive Suite 567, Livonia, Michigan 48152, 734-742-2020, Fax: 734-742-2033, webmaster@epc.org
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The Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) issued a statement on 24 June 2010 expressing concern over the recent developments in Afghanistan, calling for the death of converts from Islam to other religions. The anti-Christian reaction followed the airing of a controversial television documentary on 27 May 2010, on ‘Afghan Christian Converts’ by a local television station in Afghanistan, wherein they revealed the identities of a some supposed Afghan Christian converts.
The WEA RLC additionally expressed concern about the statements made by Afghanistan officials including the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan H.E. Hamid Karzai. It is reported that the Karzai has instructed government officials and the Afghan intelligence agency to take immediate and serious action to prevent further conversions from Islam.
The WEA RLC calls on the worldwide church to pray for Afghanistan that there will be respect for the freedom of religion and that the government of Afghanistan will take a all necessary action to safeguard the lives and the rights of all Afghans and expatriates working in Afghanistan.
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+ World Evangelical Alliance, 74 Trinity Place, Suite 1400, New York, New York 10006, 212-233-3046, sylvia@worldevangelicals.org
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A 27 June 2010 interview by Dan Wooding of ASSIST News Service of Ron Brackin, co-author of the best-seller Son of Hamas, reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is trying to deport Mosab Hassan Yousef, eldest son of Hamas founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, convert to Christianity, and for ten years an agent of the Israeli equivalent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
DHS senior attorney Kerri Calcador branded Yousef as a dangerous terrorist by citing a story in Yousef’s book Son of Hamas where Yousef drove five suspects in a 2001 suicide bombing to a safe house. Calcador conveniently leaves out the fact that Yousef was working on an undercover mission for Israel at the time, and Yousef’s chauffeuring duties were part of that mission.
Brakin commented: “Out of 251 pages in which a slew of edgy undercover missions are described in detail, all DHS could come up with as evidence of terrorist activities is that he gave five guys a ride home from prison. And the attorney didn’t even notice that the ride and lots more all took place while he was serving Israeli intelligence and fighting terrorism. Using this kind of logic, I guess James Bond, Ethan Hunt, and Jason Bourne are terrorists too.”
Brakin said that at a recent Capitol Hill dinner to honor Mosab and several others, former Central Intelligence Agency director James Woolsey said of Mosab’s possible deportation: “My view is that the decision to deny him political refugee status was incredibly idiotic. It’s hard to think of a worse immigration decision in history. It’s fundamentally nuts.”
On a recent radio broadcast, WAVA-FM afternoon drive-time talk show host Don Kroah speculated that the administration of U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama wants Mosab to be deported because of the best-selling author’s continuous publication of the realities of Islam, which contradict official White House positions.
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+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
+ WAVA-FM, 1901 North Moore Street, Suite 200, Arlington, Virginia, 703-807-2266, comment@wava.com
+ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC 20528, 202-282-8000, Contact Form
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[11] The Elders Handbook: A Practical Guide for Church Leaders Available Online
The 1979 Christian’s Library Press publication The Elders Handbook: A Practical Guide for Church Leaders by Gerard Berghoef and Lester De Koster is available on-line through Scribd Inc.
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+ Magyar Református Egyház, Contact Page
+ Scribd Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, California 94107, 415-896-9890, press@scribd.com
+ Christian’s Library Press, 161 Ottawa Northwest Suite 301, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, 616-454-3080, Fax: 616-454.9454, Contact Page
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[12] The Sacrament of Responsibility Available Online
The 1861 Bell and Doldy publication of The Sacrament of Responsibility by M. F. Sadler, a discussion on Infant Baptism according to the Book of Common Prayer, is available online through the Internet Archive.
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+ Magyar Református Egyház, Contact Page
+ Internet Archive, 116 Sheridan Avenue, The Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94129, 415-561-6767
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[13] New Books for 2010 from Inheritance Publications
Inheritance Publications has several new books for 2010 including:
— Prince and Heretic — by Marjorie Bowen — A Novel on William the Silent Vol. 1
— William by the Grace of God — by Marjorie Bowen — A Novel on William the Silent Vol. 2
— The Glorious Gospel of Grace: Sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism — by Rev. G. Wieske
— Proceedings of the International Council of Reformed Churches, 2009 – New Zealand: The Vitality of the Reformed Faith
— Dort Study Bible — Volume V — 2 Chronicles – Job
— The Elder — by Cornelis Van Dam — Revisiting the Belgic Confession — Today’s Ministry Rooted in All of Scripture
— The Overflowing Riches of My God — by Clarence Bouwman — Revisiting the Belgic Confession
Shipping is free to Canada & the USA on orders over $60.00.
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+ Inheritance Publications, Box 154, Neerlandia, Alberta T0G 1R0, Canada, 780-674-3949, Fax: 775-890-9118
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