8 July 2009
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
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[1] Happy 500th Birthday John Calvin
[2] Calvin500 Opens 5 July 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland
[3] Reformation Art Twenty-Five Percent Off Sale through 11 July 2009
[4] Commercially Commemorating Calvin’s 500th
[5] Article “Decline of John Calvin” Published 25 June 2009 in The Australian
[6] PRTS Presents Four-Minute Film “First Reformed Church on the Amazon”
[7] Evangelical Presbyterian Church 29th General Assembly Meets 24-27 June 2009 in Brighton, Michigan
[8] EPC 29th General Assembly Denies PCUSA Recruiting Allegations and Asks PCUSA for Face-to-Face Talks
[9] Free Church of Scotland’s May 2009 The Monthly Record Editorial Asks “Recession or Renewal?”
[10] British Baptist Leader Says Evangelicals Use Despotic Methods to Attack Rivals
[11] Pentagon Denies Flyover of Patriotic ‘God and Country Rally’ in Nampa, Idaho Because of its Christian Content
[12] Pro-life Groups Ask for Comprehensive Investigation of Late-term Abortionist LeRoy Carhart and Carhart’s Bellevue, Nebraska Abortion Clinic
[13] “Virginia is for Huguenots” Blog Offers “Primer on the Establishment Principle”
[14] Report on Spring 2009 Central Ohio Reformation Institute Available Online
[15] Ligonier Ministries Inaugural Ministry Leadership Conference “Pillars of the Christian Faith” to be Held in Orlando, Florida 20-22 October 2009
[16] Southfield (Michigan) Reformed Presbyterian Church Celebrates 175th Anniversary on 1 August 2009
[17] Free EBook Download Doomsday DeJa Vu: How Prophecy “Experts” Have Led People to Question the Authority of the Bible Available from American Vision
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[1] Happy 500th Birthday John Calvin
10 July 2009 marks the 500th birthday of theologian and pastor John Calvin, who from his home in Geneva, Switzerland, was one of the primary influencers of the Protestant Reformation. Calvin’s Institutes, biblical commentaries, and other writings remain, a half-millennium later, in the top echelon of published works defining Reformed theology including the doctrines of God’s grace and sovereignty.
+ Christian Observer, 9400 Fairview Avenue, Manassas, Virginia 20110, 703-335-2844, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
+ World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 150 route de Ferney, Post Office Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, 41-22-791-6240, Fax: 41-22-791-6505, warc@warc.ch
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[2] Calvin500 Opens 5 July 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland
Calvin500, the international celebration of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth on 10 July 1509, opened 5 July 2009 at St. Pierre Cathedral in the old town of Geneva, Switzerland. Beginning with a welcome by Mr. Guillaume Taylor from the St. Pierre Parish Council, approximately 500 worshipers attended the opening convocations, which featured morning worship from Calvin’s time and a sermon on Philippians 3:8-12 by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson of the First Presbyterian Church (Associate Reformed Presbyterian) in Columbia, South Carolina.
The evening services featured Ugandan Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi, much psalm singing, and a sermon by Dr. Bryan Chapell, President of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.
Calvin500 Executive Director the Rev. David Hall, pastor of Midway Presbyterian Church in Powder Springs, Georgia remarked: “Calvin is one of the most important thinkers in history….His ministry and writings left an indelible impression on the modern world, and especially Western culture. It would be hard to find a figure from history more worthy of remembering, if lasting impact for good is the standard.”
Throughout the week of 5 July 2009, scholars and ministers will present lectures and sermons to celebrate the contributions of the Genevan reformer. The public is invited.
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Associate Reformed Presbyterian Center, 1 Cleveland Street Suite 110, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601, 864-232-8297, Fax: 864-271-3729
+ 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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[3] Reformation Art Twenty-Five Percent Off Sale through 11 July 2009
In honor of the 500th birthday of John Calvin, Reformation Art has introduced several new Calvin prints, and through 11 July 2009 is offering a twenty-five percent discount off their prints, posters, and t-shirts—everything on the website except for the Ron Adair prints. Use the coupon code calvin500 to receive the twenty-five percent discount.
+ Reformation Art, Post Office Box 20886, Amarillo, Texas 79114, 806-584-1726, prints@reformationart.com
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[4] Commercially Commemorating Calvin’s 500th
The 500th birthday of John Calvin has not escaped the notice of creative entrepreneurs worldwide.
EBay invites you to “Celebrate the Reformed Heritage with a Sporty Frame!” and “Celebrate God’s grace to his Church” by purchasing a US$12 license plate frame for your car that reads “JOHN CALVIN 500th” on the top, and “n. 1509 – Post Tenebras Lux” on the bottom.
Swiss chocolatier Blaise Poyet invites the Reformed gourmand to “mark 500 years of Calvin in a taste of ‘paradise’ ” by purchasing ‘Calvin09 Chocolate,’ for EUR€18.40 per box “which blends a Grand Cru wild chocolate from Bolivia with original spices, [and] presents the Reformer Jean Calvin by means of flavours and aromas.”
Cave de Genève offers several Calvin09 wines including Cour de la Réforme (Court of the Reformation), a Sauvignon Gris de Genève that sells for CHF16.50 per 75cl bottle.
Many other Calvin’s 500th birthday commemorative items are available at Calvin[’]s Shopping Mall on the Calvin09 website.
+ World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 150 route de Ferney, Post Office Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland, 41-22-791-6240, Fax: 41-22-791-6505, warc@warc.ch
+ Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, Sulgenauweg 26, Bern 23, Switzerland, 41-31-370-25-25, Fax: 41-31-370-25-80, info@calvin09.org
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[5] Article “Decline of John Calvin” Published 25 June 2009 in The Australian
In a 25 June 2009 article titled “Decline of John Calvin,” published in The Australian, Moore College (Sydney, Australia) teacher of church history and theology Michael Jenson discusses the widespread, inaccurate caricatures of John Calvin and Calvin’s theology, of which Jenson says, “…we are happier with the cardboard cut-out version of history mainly written by Calvin‘s detractors than with what history actually records.”
Dr. Jenson outlines several of the inaccuracies about Calvin’s theology including that Calvinism “allegedly shares its fatalism with Islam. It is a church of prigs and wowsers [excessively puritanical persons], of Talibanesque idol-smashers and woman-haters, of middle managers and bean counters. It is a faith that broods on the depravity of humankind rather than celebrating its glorious capacity to build, to create and to redeem.”
In contrast to these common but inaccurate representations, Dr. Jenson describes the real Calvin as, “a scholar steeped in the humanist intellectual culture of his day….He was a man of texts, of the original sources read in the original languages. He was expert in classical literature as well as in the Bible. Not only did he learn Greek but also Hebrew and he consulted Jewish scholars about their interpretations of ancient writings. He was no obscurantist, no anti-intellectual.”
Dr. Jenson urges the reader to evaluate Calvin in the context of Geneva, Switzerland in 1509—not in a contemporary context, and reminds us that, “is not accidental that his [Calvin’s] followers have been some of the greatest promoters of republicanism and democracy in the modern era.”
+ The Australian, 2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, New South Wales 2010, Australia, 02-9288-3000, Fax: 02-9288-2250, letters@theaustralian.com.au
+ Worldwide Anglican Communion, St Andrew’s House, 16 Tavistock Crescent, London W11 1AP, England, 44-0-20-7313-3900, Fax: 44-0-20-7313-3999, aco@anglicancommunion.org
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[6] PRTS Presents Four-Minute Film “First Reformed Church on the Amazon”
Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (PRTS) has published a four-minute film on the PRTS website, which is an interview with Dr. David Murray about the Dutch Reformed missions to South America in the seventeenth century prior to the missionaries being expelled when Roman Catholic Portugal took control of what is now Brazil.
Of special interest is the narrative about the Reformed indigenous tribes fleeing inland to avoid the “convert or be killed” orders of the Roman Catholics, and later being visited by Roman Catholic representatives who found the indigenous peoples catechizing their children with the Heidelberg Catechism and other “heretical” doctrines of Calvinism.
+ Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, 2965 Leonard Street Northeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525, 616-977-0599, Fax: 616-285-3246, info@puritanseminary.org
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[7] Evangelical Presbyterian Church 29th General Assembly Meets 24-27 June 2009 in Brighton, Michigan
The 29th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) met 24-27 June 2009 at Cornerstone EPC in Brighton, Michigan.
A meeting was held 23 June 2009 of the New Wineskins/EPC Transitional Presbytery (NW/EPC TP) for worship, business and small group breakouts to discuss missional strategies. The NW/EPC TP received the “Becoming One” report of the NW/EPC TP Commission and Coordinating Council.
On 25 June 2009, an EPC Permanent Judicial Commission ruling that the Mid-America affinity presbytery proposal could not be enacted by an act of the assembly was sustained. The PJC then recommended and the assembly enacted that an interim committee be formed to explore ways to include those pastors and churches with conflicting positions on women teaching elders in the presbyteries of the EPC, then report back to the EPC’s 30th General Assembly in 2010.
Recordings of the assembly workshop and sermons from worship services are available to order from National Conference Recording Service.
+ 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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[8] EPC 29th General Assembly Denies PCUSA Recruiting Allegations and Asks PCUSA for Face-to-Face Talks
The 29th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), meeting 24-27 June 2009, denied Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) allegations of the EPC actively recruiting PCUSA congregations into the EPC, and the EPC Fraternal Relations Committee (FRC) recommended that the permanent EPC FRC continue to communicate with the PCUSA according to Biblical principles and encourage face-to-face talks.
In the midst of the PCUSA’s largest membership losses in twenty-five years, the PCUSA is investigating unsubstantiated accusations that the EPC is “pursuing a strategy to persuade [PCUSA] congregations to disaffiliate…and be dismissed to the [EPC].” Earlier in 2009, the PCUSA announced the membership of an investigative task force that plans to meet with representatives of nine PCUSA presbyteries that have had congregations leave for the EPC.
+ Presbyterian Lay Committee, Post Office Box 2210, Lenoir, North Carolina 28645, 828-758-8716, Fax: 828-758-0920, laymanletters@layman.org
+ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 17197 North Laurel Park Drive Suite 567, Livonia, Michigan 48152, 734-742-2020, Fax: 734-742-2033, webmaster@epc.org
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
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[9] Free Church of Scotland’s May 2009 The Monthly Record Editorial Asks “Recession or Renewal?”
The May 2009 issue of the Free Church of Scotland (FCS)’s magazine The Monthly Record contains an editorial referencing the 10 March 2009 Christian Science Monitor article The Coming Evangelical Collapse. The FCS article posits that for Great Britain, the evangelical collapse has already arrived since Great Britain is currently, “a post-Christian, secular society, antagonistic to anyone who dares to take their faith seriously,” and that Great Britain is “in a spiritual recession, and there is no sign that it is getting any better.”
“We are concerned about political/social/moral issues but have enormous difficulty in articulating the Gospel. We have failed to teach our young people and have lost them in their droves.”
“Our teaching of Christian doctrine and theology has been so dumbed down as to be almost non-existent. For those of us who still love the good old[-]fashioned doctrine of the Gospel – we have either ossified it and turned it into a museum relic (only fit to be discussed by academics), or tried to relativise it to the culture so that it is scarcely Christian anymore.”
“We have created a Christian sub-culture where Christianity is an add-on to our already maxed-out lives. We have no time, money or real desire for God. We have been choked by the deceitfulness of wealth and the worries and cares of this life.”
“The ‘Independents’ within England seem to have many of the same problems that we do – continual infighting, evangelical shibboleths, legalism, hyper-separatism and the desire to be a big fish in a small pond. Presbyterianism is as small and irrelevant in the English scene as the smaller conservative Presbyterian groups in Scotland.”
“In Scotland the Church of Scotland has been blindsided by a minister who wishes to flaunt his breaching of both his marriage and his ordination vows. Whatever else happens over this particular case, it is highly unlikely that there will be a split from the Church of Scotland “
“Some Church of Scotland ministers are, in desperation, reaching across to the US to ask a Presbyterian denomination there to come and plant churches here. But is that really what Scotland needs – yet another denomination; only this time one that is an [annex] of an American one? And what message does it send when we ask the Americans to come and do what we ourselves seem unwilling or unable to do?”
The editorial concludes, “The Free Church needs to forget about itself, look beyond its own borders and aim to be that ‘winsomely reformed church’. We should no longer be content to be the Celtic, or even the Scottish, fringe. Why don’t we return to the vision of our Westminster forebears and look for a united British Presbyterian church?….In an era of mass confusion, legalism and liberalism, now is the time for the strength of Presbyterian organisation, doctrinal clarity and fervent proclamation and living of the whole gospel to the whole community by whole people”
“Or do we really want to stick with our parochialism and limited vision and live in a fantasy world where we attend conferences and write papers which only tell ourselves how great and significant we really think we are, have been or should be? What about actually being?! Repentance and Renewal must begin with us.”
+ 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
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 4YN, 0131-225-5722
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[10] British Baptist Leader Says Evangelicals Use Despotic Methods to Attack Rivals
Calling evangelicals to foster unity, the Rev. David Coffey, OBE, President of the Baptist World Alliance, in a new book titled All One in Christ Jesus, writes that “Evangelicals are losing the ground that we gained in the 1970s and 1980s, when we honoured and accepted one another with greater grace across the denominational and organisational divisions….The spiritual needs of the world command a greater unity. Our disunity weakens the potential for thoughtful and effective evangelism in the [United Kingdom].”
“There are those who claim to speak for all of us but whose graceless spirit and hectoring tone are a stain on the family name. There are broken relationships between leaders and organisations which remain unreconciled, to which we have all turned a blind eye…– we are not united in God’s mission.”
Coffey additionally describes tactics used by disagreeing evangelicals as being similar to those used by despotic regimes; in disinformation through the media outlets, in denigration of leaders which seeks to discredit their character, and in the process of discrimination which deliberately marginalizes those in disagreement.
+ Religious Intelligence Ltd., 14 Great College Street, Westminster London SW1P 3RX, England, Info@religiousintelligence.com
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[11] Pentagon Denies Flyover of Patriotic ‘God and Country Rally’ in Nampa, Idaho Because of its Christian Content
For each of the past forty-two years, the “God and Country Rally” in Nampa, Idaho has focused on honoring and paying tribute to those veterans who have served the U.S. in the past and those who are currently on active duty. 2009 is the first year in the history of the event that a flyover request for the rally has been denied by the Pentagon—because of the “Christian” nature of the event.
The Christian Defense Coalition (CDC) says this is a “slap in the face” to all those who have proudly served or are currently on active duty in the armed services. The CDC is concerned that this new policy may indicate an open hostility toward public expressions of faith by the Barrack Hussein Obama Administration.
Reformed Presbyterian minister and director of the CDC the Rev. Pat Mahoney commented: “For the Obama Administration to deny a flyover for the first time, is a slap in the face to all those who proudly serve our country especially when we are at war….Will the new policy of President Obama be that a person has to surrender their faith tradition to honor and pay tribute to our courageous men and women who serve in the military? With respect to the economic concerns that the Pentagon mentioned,…if we can pay hundreds thousands of dollars for President Obama to go on a date with his wife to see a Broadway show and have an expensive dinner in New York City, we can certainly find a way to honor our brave men and women who serve in the armed services with a simple flyover.”
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Christian Defense Coalition, 540-538-4741
A coalition of four pro-life groups have sent a letter to Nebraska Attorney General Jon Buning asking him to open a “comprehensive” investigation into late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart and his Bellevue, Nebraska, abortion clinic due to the questionable legality of certain aspects of Carhart’s abortion business, concerns about the condition of Carhart’s run-down abortion clinic that was damaged by an accidental fire earlier this year, and the fact that Carhart has indicated that he wants to begin doing risky third trimester abortions at his Bellevue, Nebraska clinic.
Signatories were Troy Newman of Operation Rescue, Reformed Presbyterian minister the Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, Larry Donlan of Rescue the Heartland, and Ann Bowen of Nebraskans United for Life.
The 6 July 2009 letter states “There is concern that this decision will create an unacceptable safety risk to women….The safety of the public is our paramount concern, thus we are requesting the most comprehensive investigation of Carhart and his Nebraska abortion business as soon as possible from the Attorney General’s office, and that your investigation not be limited solely to the concerns listed in this letter….”
The letter included information about botched abortions involving Carhart requiring emergency transport to the hospital along with photos of the ambulances involved in those incidents, photos of dilapidated conditions at his abortion clinic, a complaint filed in Kansas about Carhart’s part in the third-trimester abortion death of Christin Gilbert, and several news stories that raise questions about the safety and legality of Carhart’s abortion operation.
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Operation Rescue, Post Office Box 782888, Wichita, Kansas 67278-2888, 800-705-1175, Fax: 916-244-2636, info@operationrescue.org
+ Christian Defense Coalition, 540-538-4741
+ Nebraskans United for Life, 143 South 38th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, 402-399-0299, Fax: 402-399-0501, info@nebraskansforlife.org
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[13] “Virginia is for Huguenots” Blog Offers “Primer on the Establishment Principle”
R. Andrew Myers has written an article on Myers’ Virginia is for Huguenots blog titled, “Primer on the Establishment Principle,” where several questions about church-state relations are asked and answered including:
– The Establishment Principle. What is it?
– What are the other major theories of church-state relations within Christendom?
– Isn’t the Establishment Principle itself Erastian?
– What is the Scriptural basis for [the Establishment Principle]?
– What is the (Presbyterian) Confessional basis for [the Establishment Principle]?
Additionally, a discourse on the 1788 American Revision to the Westminster Standards is included along with a discussion of how the Establishment Principle applies to a country that specifically excludes religious establishment.
+ Virginia is for Huguenots Blog, Warrenton, Virginia
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[14] Report on Spring 2009 Central Ohio Reformation Institute Available Online
A report on the Spring 2009 Central Ohio Reformation Institute is available online at:
http://www.advocateenterprise.org/journaladvoc.pdf
And, the report contains information on ordering CDs of the presentations.
+ Central Ohio Reformation Institute, c/o DCB Communications, Post Office Box 1387, Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050, 740-358-3057, dcbrand@dcbcom.org
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[15] Ligonier Ministries Inaugural Ministry Leadership Conference “Pillars of the Christian Faith” to be Held in Orlando, Florida 20-22 October 2009
Ligonier Ministries is holding the first annual Ministry Leadership Conference “Pillars of the Christian Faith” in Orlando, Florida 20-22 October 2009 in an effort to help meet the need for educated church leaders.
Conference speakers include Ligon Duncan, Sinclair Ferguson, Stephen J. Lawson, and R.C. Sproul.
An “early bird” registration rate is available through 20 August 2009.
+ Ligonier Ministries, 400 Technology Park, Lake Mary, Florida 32746, 407-333-4244, Fax: 407-333-4233
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[16] Southfield (Michigan) Reformed Presbyterian Church Celebrates 175th Anniversary on 1 August 2009
Southfield Reformed Presbyterian Church (SRPC) (Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America) of Southfield, Michigan celebrates SRPC’s 175th anniversary on 1 August 2009 with a picnic starting at 4:30 p.m.
RSVPs for the celebration are required by 11 July 2009 to anniversary@reformed.com or by phone at 248-680-1959.
+ Southfield Reformed Presbyterian Church, 26550 Evergreen Road,
Southfield, Michigan 48076, 248-356-3932, anniversary@reformed.com
+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861
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[17] Free EBook Download Doomsday DeJa Vu: How Prophecy “Experts” Have Led People to Question the Authority of the Bible Available from American Vision
American Vision has made available for free download the eBook Doomsday DeJa Vu: How Prophecy “Experts” Have Led People to Question the Authority of the Bible by Gary DeMar.
+ American Vision, Post Office Box 220, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127, 770-222-7266, Fax: 770-222-7269, mail@AmericanVision.org
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