— In Fairness to Abelard and Deference to Anselm (Part I): “Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” – Romans 3:3 Geneva Bible – by David Brand – Part Seven of a multipart article 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;

— Rendering unto Caesar What Is Caesar’s: The Christian and the USA’s 2012 Elections – by Christian Observer Managing Editor Bob Williams – a scriptural study answering the question: How then is the confessional, biblical Christian to exercise his temporal right to vote based upon what “is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture”?;

— Ambiguous Words from Prosecutor As He Cheers Chattanooga Mosque – by Nooganomics.com blogger David Tulis – concerning remarks made by U.S. prosecutor Bill Killian at the opening ceremony for a mosque in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and why Christians concerned about the constitutional right of free speech should be very concerned about what Killian told the crowd of Muslims;

— Education and Discrimination? – by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro – how the misuse by the public schools and the culture of the word “discrimination” as meaning only superficial judgement, bias, bigotry, or prejudice has been used to condemn actions coming out of the positive meaning of “discrimination”, i.e. discernment, judgment, and refinement;

Plus, regular features including weekly Sabbath School Lessons by Christian Observer Assistant Editor Dr. Robert LaMay, 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 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

[2] CRCNA Metis Ministry Leader to Receive Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Bert Adema, director of the Indian Metis Christian Fellowship (IMCF), has received an invitation to attend a ceremony in Regina, Saskatchewan, on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at which he is to be awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal.

The IMCF is a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church in North America–Canada (CRCNA).

The award, says Adema, is a recognition of the prayers and collaboration of CRCNA members whose support over the years has made the ministry of IMCF possible.

The commemorative medal was created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne as Queen of Canada.

The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal is a tangible way for Canada to honour the queen as well as serves to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians, says a press release.

During the year of celebrations, 60 000 Canadians in many walks of life will be recognized for their contributions to Canada.

To be eligible for this honour, a person must have met certain criteria, including that they have “made a significant contribution to a particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or an achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.”

The IMCF fits this requirement.

Established in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1978, the ministry has worked to develop a worshipping /working community through serving the spiritual and social needs of aboriginal people in Regina.

+ Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560, 616-241-1691, Fax: 616-224-0803 crcna@crcna.org

[3] Churches in Hungary Express Regrets and Solidarity with the Armenian People

Bishop Péter Gáncs, Presiding Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Hungary and Bishop Gusztáv Bölcskei Ministerial President of the Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary, sent a letter to His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, expressing their regrets and solidarity with the Armenian people to His Holiness for the recent actions by the government of Azerbaijan.

The letter reads:

“On behalf of the Protestant communities in Hungary, please accept our sincere sympathy on the unacceptable amnesty given to the Azeri criminal who was extradited from Hungary to his homeland Azerbaijan.

While we cannot question that the Hungarian authorities acted in accordance with the applicable international law, we regret that the extradition resulted in the intolerable amnesty granted to the convict by the President of Azerbaijan.

We believe that it is God only who rightly judges all of us and that it is before Him that we all have to stand one day. However, authority and responsibility to serve and protect the society as a whole has been granted to the state, thus, to let criminals to enjoy freedom is against the order of God.

We fully understand the anger of Armenian people over this reprehensible act of amnesty, and express our solidarity on behalf of our people. We pray that justice will be done and peace and understanding will abide between our nations.”

+ Public Radio of Armenia, Yerevan 25, Alex Manoocian 5, Armenia, 37410-551143, Fax: 37410-554600, aa@arradio.am

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

[4] National Council of Churches USA Joins Ecumenical Leaders to Protest Pardon of Officer Convicted of Killing an Armenian Officer

The National Council of Churches president and a former NCC president have joined international ecumenical leaders to protest Hungary’s release of an Azerbaijani army officer convicted in 2006 of killing an Armenian officer.

Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, a former National Council of Churches president and a member of the World Council of Churches Central Committee, said Hungary “has fallen victim to the continued anti-Armenian policies and actions of Azerbaijan.”

The release of an officer convicted of killing an Armenian on Hungarian soil “does nothing to further our quest for peace and stability for all people in the region,” said Aykazian, legate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church in America.

According to press reports, Armenia severed diplomatic ties with Hungary after Azerbaijani Lt. Ramil Safarov, serving a life sentence for the murder of an Armenian officer, was released and returned to Azerbaijan, where he was pardoned and freed.

Safarov confessed to murdering Armenian Lt. Gurgen Markarian in 2004 when the two were in Hungary on a NATO assignment.

National Council of Churches President Kathryn M. Lohre, also a member of the WCC Central Committee, said the amnesty “threatens to undermine justice and peace in the region through the cessation of diplomatic ties, and the strain on human relationships. We commit ourselves to pray for and stand in solidarity with all those who strive for human rights, peace, and understanding.”

The Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, in a letter to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary, said the release of Safarov “appears as an action that was not properly considered on the part of the Hungarian government. Safarov’s release by the Azerbaijan government, despite his life sentence, runs counter to normative practices of justice.”

Tveit condemned “actions that severely undermine justice and reconciliation for the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the region, who have a right to live side by side with dignity, respect for human rights and in freedom.”

In a letter to His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians, Hungarian church leaders expressed their dismay over their government’s action.

Bishop Péter Gáncs, Presiding Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Hungary, and Bishop Gusztáv Bölcskei,

Ministerial President of the Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary, wrote: “On behalf of the Protestant communities in Hungary, please accept our sincere sympathy on the unacceptable amnesty given to the Azeri criminal who was extradited from Hungary to his homeland Azerbaijan. While we cannot question that the Hungarian authorities acted in accordance with the applicable international law, we regret that the extradition resulted in the intolerable amnesty granted to the convict by the President of Azerbaijan.”

+ National Council of Churches, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 880, New York, New York 10115

[5] Republicans Pray to Satan at the GOP Convention as Romney and His Surrogates Lie to Make Mainstream the Mormon Cult

In a 31 August 2012 press release, Internet evangelist Bill Keller, founder of LivePrayer.com, said that he was horrified as he watched a Mormon cult member lead mostly biblical Christians at the Republican Convention on 30 August 2012 in a prayer to Satan, since Mormons do not pray to the God of the Bible, but to a mythical “god” they believe who was once a man!

Keller stated, “The founder of the Mormon cult, Joseph Smith was a documented convicted con artist, polygamist, pedophile, racist, and murderer, and in his greatest scam claimed to be visited by an ‘angel’ who led him to gold tablets in the Catskill [Mountains of New York State]. Mormons like Romney believe the Bible is a flawed and an incomplete book, superseded by Smith’s writings, the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrines and Covenants.”

Keller goes on, “Mitt Romney, Glenn Beck, and all Mormons LIE that they are Christians, when their beliefs are in 100% contradiction to biblical Christianity. They love to tout their charity and good works as Romney and his surrogates did at the GOP convention to influence people, but good works and charity do NOT make you a Christian, only faith in the Jesus of the Bible makes you a Christian!”

He continues, “Those in the Mormon cult use the words ‘god’ and ‘jesus,’ yet the ‘god’ and ‘jesus’ of the Mormon cult are NOT the God and Jesus of the Bible! Mormons believe their ‘god’ used to be a human who rose to god-like status, just like Romney, Beck, and all Mormons believe they will too after their death. The ‘jesus’ of the Mormon cult is the natural offspring of their ‘god’ Elohim who had sex with Mary, meaning their jesus is a created being and NOT a deity as the Bible teaches, and is also the brother of Lucifer!”

Keller concludes, “Glenn Beck has done all he has over the past two years to prepare the way for the Mormon fulfillment of the ‘White Horse Prophecy’ of Smith that says the nation will be in complete chaos and a Mormon will be elected President and set aside the US Constitution and enact a Mormon theocracy. What Romney will never tell you about is that as a fifth generation high priest and Temple Mormon, he wears 24/7/365 the ‘temple garments’ (magical underwear) of the priesthood with the markings of Satan!”

Keller is disgusted that the media is so theologically ignorant of what Mormons believe, that the very thing that has guided Romney since he was at [Brigham Young University in Orem, Utah] and called by his classmates ‘the chosen one,’ are never challenged. He said in a recent interview that the better percentage of two full generations have never even been in church, and coupled with the aggressive recruiting of the Mormon cult, if Romney is elected President his cult will become mainstream and well over 1 million souls in this country alone will end up buying into the false gospel of the Mormon cult and their souls spending forever in hell.

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Liveprayer.com, 6660 46th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, Florida 33709, Contact Page

+ Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 50 East North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150, 801-240-2640, Contact Page

[6] Political Action Committee Chairman Calls on Mitt Romney to Dump Karl Rove

[Editor’s Note: U.S. Rep. Todd Akin is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), is a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, and is an inactive ruling elder at Twin Oaks PCA in Ballwin, Missouri.]

Karl Rove’s “joke” about murdering Congressman Todd Akin was so distasteful as to shame the entire Republican Party, says William J. Murray, Chairman of Government Is Not God – PAC.

According to trusted media sources during a closed meeting Karl Rove stated, “We should sink Todd Akin. If he’s found mysteriously murdered, don’t look for my whereabouts!” Rove spent millions of dollars supporting Akin’s opponent in the Missouri primary and is now trying to discredit Akin over a misstatement he made shortly after winning.

Murray said, “Congressman Akin made a misstatement on the subject of rape and conception for which he apologized. Apparently Karl Rove believes the apology is not enough and that Akin should pay with his life. Jokes about murder are not jokes when it comes to politicians where the risks of assassination are real.”

“If Karl Rove does not immediately apologize to Congressman Akin then Presidential candidate Mitt Romney should publicly demand that he apologize. If Karl Rove refuses to apologize to Congressman Akin then Governor Romney should publically disassociate himself from the consultant and his super-PAC,” said Murray.

+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com

+ Government Is Not God, Post Office Box 77237, Washington DC 20013, 202-554-2358, Fax: 202-543-8447, Contact Page

[7] September 2012 Reformation Voice Available for Download

The September 2012 Reformation Voice is available for download at the Heidelberg Reformation Association website.

+ Heidelberg Reformation Association, Rev. Howard Sloan, Secretary, 5543 Business 220, Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522

[8] News from the Trinity Foundation

Tom Juodaitis of The Trinity Foundation writes:

The Trinity Foundation has posted the latest Trinity Review titled, “The Roman Catholic Socialist Agenda,” written by Richard Bennett of Berean Beacon Ministries.

The Review Archives are also being converted into two additional formats for e-book: MOBI (Kindle compatible) and epub (compatible with most other e-readers). The first forty-plus Reviews have been converted and can be downloaded free of charge for your e-reader. The formats now available for our Reviews are html, PDF, MOBI, and epub. Soon all our Reviews will be converted into all four formats.

Finally, all our e-books have been reduced in price to [US]$5 downloads.

Please visit our website to read the latest Review, download an archived Review in a new format, or purchase an e-book at the new lower price.

+ The Trinity Foundation, Post Office Box 68, Unicoi, Tennessee 37692, 423-743-0199, Fax: 423-743-2005, tjtrinityfound@aol.com

[9] Articles from LifesiteNews.com

Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:

— Three-Person ‘Stable Union’ Registered In Brazil

— Romney: ‘I’m In Favor Of Legal Abortion for Health and Life of Mother,’ Rape, Incest

— Physician Conscience Rights Still Officially Protected in Canada, but Increasingly Threatened

— Vietnamese Woman Has Buried 4,000 Aborted, Abandoned Babies Found in the Trash

— Mennonites: We Are Willing to Die Rather Than Betray Girl to Court-Appointed Lesbian ‘Mother’

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

[10] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining

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

— UC Berkeley healthcare plan provides up to $75,000 for sex-change operations, documents reveal

— Deaf Preschooler Pushed to Change His Name Because American Sign Language Spelling of Name Includes Gun-Shaped Signs

— Iraq Vet Lands in Jail on Terrorist Charges after Jogging with Toy Rifle

— U.S. Department of Justice Targeted Sacramento, California, Public Library for Lending E-Books ‘Inaccessible’ to the Blind

— ‘Pray For Obama – Psalm 109:8’ Sign Draws Secret Service Attention

— U.S. Justice Department Sued for Hiding Secret National Security Administration Surveillance Program

— ‘Extortion’: Why Did the U.S. Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Blueberry Farmers?

— Police State Creep: U.S. Department of Homeland Security to Run Local Sobriety Checkpoints in Tennessee

— California Extends Abortion by Non-Physicians

— Judge Rules Massachusetts Must Pay for Convicted Murderer’s Sex Change

+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com

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

+ Nicene Council, Box 411, Draper, Virginia 24324, 866-735-9582, admin@nicenecouncil.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

+ Front Porch Politics, Contact Page

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

+ Life Legal Defense Foundation, Post Office Box 2105, Napa, California 94558, 707-224-6675, Fax: 707-224-6676, info@lldf.org

+ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30346, 404-526-5151, mjoseph@ajc.com

[11] The Religion of Peace

Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:

— Florida Muslim Pleads Guilty To Terror Plot to Kill High Ranking U.S. Military Brass

— Islamists to Open Democratic National Convention with Prayer for Sharia to Replace U.S. Constitution

— Democrats Refuse to Cancel Jumah Jihad at the Democratic National Convention

— Man Crucified by Muslim Group for Allegedly Directing U.S. Drones in Yemen

— Rabbi and Six-Year-Old Daughter Attacked in Berlin, Germany

— Muslim Cleric in Norway Convicted of Death Threats

— “Active” Terror Plots Linked To Iran, Hizballah in Los Angeles Area

— Iranian Lawmakers Seek to Lower Age of Marriage for Girls from Thirteen to Nine

— Islamists Demand Placing Coptic Church Funds under Egyptian State Control

— Christian Family Beheaded, Christians Attacked At Funeral in Syria

— Jihad in Russia: Beslan’s Child Massacre, a Horrible Eight-Year Anniversary — Raping for Allah

— India: Four More Muslims Arrested in Plot to Target “Enemies of Islam”

— Grocery Jihad: Jihadists Murder Eleven with Car Bomb in Pakistan Market

— Obama’s Ties to the Muslim Brotherhood

— Pakistan ‘Quran Plot’ Imam Remanded in Custody for Planting Evidence in Blasphemy Case of Rimsha Masih

— Muslim Car Bomber Attacks U.S. Consulate Vehicle in Pakistan

— Christian Teen Sentenced to Two Years Imprisonment in Tanzania

— Muslim Rioters Attack Five Churches, Kill Two in Kenya

— Obama’s One Billion Dollar Bailout to Save the Muslim Brotherhood

— Egyptian Cleric Abd Al-Rahman Mansour Gives Guidelines for Wife Beating in Islam

— Sharia in Action: Maldives’ Court Sentences Sixteen-Year-Old Girl – Statutory Rape Victim – to 100 Lashes

— U.S. Justice Department Still ‘Assessing’ Whether Throwing Pig Legs at Mosque Site is a Federal Hate Crime

+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com

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

+ World Jewish Congress, 501 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, 212-755- 5770, info@worldjewishcongress.org

+ Assyrian International News Agency

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

+ World Evangelical Alliance, 74 Trinity Place, Suite 1400, New York, New York 10006, 212-233-3046, Fax: 646-957-9218, Contact Form

+ International Christian Concern, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest #941, Washington DC 20006, 800-422-5441, Fax: 301-989-1709, superadmin@persecution.org

+ CNSNews.com, 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 877-267-6397, newsdesk@cnsnews.com

[12] Correction

Article “[3] Patrick Edouard, Former Pastor of Covenant Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa, Found Guilty of Four Counts of Sexual Exploitation by a Counselor or Therapist and One Count of a Pattern or Scheme of Sexual Exploitation by a Counselor or Therapist” in the 29 August 2012 Presbyterians Week said that Covenant Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa is an independent Reformed congregation, when in fact it is a congregation of the United Reformed Churches in North America.

+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 20110, christianobserver@christianobserver.org

+ United Reformed Churches in North America, c/o the Rev. Bradd Nymeyer, 227 1st Avenue Southeast, Sioux Center, Iowa 51250, 712-722-1965, statedclerk@urcna.org

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed for this Article !

5 September 2012

Christian Observer Publishing