13 July 2011
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
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[1] Presbyterian Hospital in Australia Bans Abortion
[3] UCC Synod 28 Speaker Says God’s Promises Are Revealed in the Torah, the Bible, and in the Qur’an
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[1] Presbyterian Hospital in Australia Bans Abortion
A 6 July 2011 article in The Chronicle titled “St. Andrew’s Bans Abortion” reports that at the 29 June 2011 meeting of the newly constituted board of St. Andrews Toowoomba Hospital (SATH) in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, a new policy was voted upon affirmatively that virtually bans abortions at the hospital. The only possible exception is “…where two specialist gynaecologists, in consultation with the medical director, deem that termination of a pregnancy is necessary to prevent life-threatening injury to the mother, and that the threat of injury is so imminent as to require intervention prior to the age of foetal viability….”
SATH is a ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland (PCQ). Two weeks ago, the PCQ dismissed the SATH board chairman and eight other governors for fear that the board was attempting to overturn PCQ influence on running SATH.
Subsequent to the 29 June 2011 SATH board meeting, a public letter from four Toowoomba obstetricians was published stating that women seeking abortions at SATH “…will be subjected to a significant increase in pain and stress by forcing them to seek treatment outside the Toowoomba private hospital system….We deeply regret the withdrawal of this essential service, however, we regard this as a minor issue when compared with the outrageous power abuse exercised by the [PCQ] when they dismissed the board of governors and replaced them with a carefully chosen group which they trust will obey their demands to sign a letter of compliance with church dogma.”
[Correction: Article “[5] Presbyterian Church of Australia Restricts Abortions at St. Andrews Hospital in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, to Only Mothers Facing Imminent Death” in the 29 June 2011 Presbyterians Week should have referenced the Presbyterian Church of Queensland instead of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.]
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+ The Chronicle, 618 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, Queensland, 4350, Australia, 61-7-4690-9300, news@thechronicle.com.au
+ Presbyterian Church of Queensland, 35 Amelia Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 4006, 07-3251-4100, Fax: 07-3852-1564, Contact Page
+ St. Andrews Toowoomba Hospital, c/o the Rev. Andrew M. Clarke, Chairman, Board of Governors, 280 North Street, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia 4350, 0412-993-902, minister@rest.org.au
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In conjunction with “Synod 28” of the United Church of Christ (UCC) held 1-5 July 2011in Tampa, Florida, the Biblical Witness Fellowship (BWF) published a summary of apostasies prevalent in the UCC that were on display during the synod meeting.
Synod 28’s “SAND” theme was explained by the UCC as “find[ing] itself in oasis and desert. Blessed with diversity of thought, vibrant life, and shifting sands, we [of the UCC] journey through challenging times seeking possibility, engaged in thoughtful and difficult conversations.”
BWF commented that “…as the UCC continues to sink slowly[,] we could only be mindful of the words of our Lord Jesus, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand. The rain came down and the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:26,27.”
BWF leader David Runnion-Bareford said, “This is indeed a powerful confession by the Synod of the UCC that, having rebelled against the word of God, is on sinking sand – with our members, churches, historic witness, and identity in Christ washing away before our eyes.”
On Synod 28’s passing an amendment to eliminate God the Father from Article 5, lines 9-10 of its constitution, Runnion-Bareford stated: “Rejecting God as Father in an age of fatherlessness is unthinkable. God acted toward us in amazing grace when He offered to be our Father through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ who offers us life in his name. This is not something we as humans made up in some other time. Rejecting our Father is act of arrogant rebellion in the name of cultural conformity that only further alienates members, churches, but more importantly God himself. We call the delegates to reject the change for God’s sake.”
On Synod 28’s passing a resolution titled “Supporting International Human Rights Related to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,” which seeks to promote the lesbien, gay, bisexual, transexual (LGBT) agenda in foreign cultures where such behavior is “legally, politically, socially, or even religiously” condemned, BWF stated that the “resolution will further jeopardize Christian witness particularly in Africa and Asia where Islamics use information as propaganda to compromise and persecute Christians on the grounds that they are advocates for sexual perversion. This resolution was submitted by the “Wider Church Ministries” of the UCC.”
On Synod 28’s passing a resolution titled “To Counter Actions of Hostility Against Islam and the Muslim Community” where during the resolution’s introduction, theologian Hans Kung was quoted as saying: “There will never be peace among the nations of the world until there is peace among the religions of the world,”
BWF said “The conflict between Kung’s syncretism and the reality that “at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow” is obvious. This resolution does not specifically say that Christianity is one way among many but it offers that impression and could be interpreted that way.”
On Synod 28’s passing a resolution titled: “The Right of LGBT Persons to Adopt and Raise Children,” BWF said that the resolution’s point was obvious.
And upon, by a four-to-one margin, Synod 28’s passing a resolution titled “A Resolution for Mindful and Faithful Eating,” which evaluates ways in which one’s dietary choices can have profound implications on the environment and on human well-being and animal welfare, and encourages Christians to explore and discuss how food choices can accord Christian values and beliefs, BWF responded: “Really?? Seriously?”
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+ Biblical Witness Fellowship, c/o Clifford & Associates, 4150 Belden Village Street Northwest, Suite 601, Canton, Ohio 44718, areformer@aol.com
+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org
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[3] UCC Synod 28 Speaker Says God’s Promises Are Revealed in the Torah, the Bible, and in the Qur’an
A 2 July 2011 article by Eric Anderson in Worldwide Faith News titled “UCC – Sammak: God’s promises revealed in Torah, Bible, Qur’an” reports that Mohammed Sammak, Secretary General of Lebanon’s Christian-Muslim Committee for Dialogue, spoke at the United Church of Christ’s Synod 28 on 2 July 201, where he sought to correct what he characterized as misunderstandings about Islam among Christians. Sammak said that the Qur’an mentions the Bible twelve times, that the verses call upon the people of the Bible, Christians, to follow what God revealed to them in the Bible i.e., to be better Christians.
Sammak described a covenant dictated by the Prophet Mohammad after a meeting with a delegation of Christian leaders from Yemen that Mohammed intended to endure “until the end of time” and stated: “I protect and defend Christians and their churches,” and that the covenant made Christians full citizens entitled to full protection of their neighbors and rulers of the state, and included a formal tax exemption for churches and support for Christians charged with crimes as they resolved the accusations.
[Editor’s Note: Mr. Sammak seems to be unaware of the following Qur’an passages:
Chapter 5: 17 – 19; States Christians are infidels for believing Christ is the Son of God.
Chapter 5: 33; Cut off hands and feet, crucify, and banish those who stand against Islam.
Chapter 5: 51; Muslims forbidden to take Christians and Jews for friends.
Chapter 5: 72-75; Christians are infidels; for believing in Deity of Christ; Passage denies Holy Trinity,
Chapter 8: 12-15; Decapitate infidels; i.e., those who stand against Mohammad.
Chapter 9: 5, 6; Slay Idolaters
Chapter 33: 26, 27; Passage justifies the beheading of hundreds of Jewish men, enslavement of their wives and children, and the spoiling of their property.
Chapter 33: 61-62; God wants the murder of those who stand against Islam.
Chapter 47: 1-4; Kill those who do not believe in Mohammad
(ref: 15 September 2010 Presbyterians Week article “[7] Inconvenient Truths and Useful Idiocy”) ]
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+ National Council of Churches, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 880, New York, New York 10115
+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org
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An 8 July 2011 article in the Stornoway Gazette titled “New Congregation To Meet in Stornoway” reports that a new congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland began 10 July 2011 conducting 11:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. services in the Coulnegrein meeting hall on Perceval Road in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland.
The article states: “It is thought that many who will join the congregation have left the Free Church of Scotland due to the decisions made about the use of hymns and instruments in worship.”
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+ Stornoway Gazette, 10 Francis Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS12XE, Scotland, 01851-702-687, newsdesk@stornowaygazette.co.uk
+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland, c/o the Rev. Andrew Quigley, RPCS Clerk, Linden House, Westermavisbank Avenue, Airdrie, ML6 0HD Scotland, 01236-753971, SAndrewQ@aol.com
+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk
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