All Articles For VanBaren, Gise

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. “The Science of Addiction” The cover story in Timemagazine of July 16, 2007 had the above title. The article pointed out the serious problems of addiction in society. It was not written from any sort of spiritual perspective. The article did, however, point out various scientific discoveries about addictions that shed light on difficulties children of God also face in their pilgrimages. Not only that, but these scientific discoveries raise various questions for the Christian. There is the possibility of cures discovered—pills or surgeries that may help to overcome such...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. “Christian Gays” Assert Themselves Considerable attention has been given in press accounts to a “Christian gay-rights” group called “Soulforce,” which has been visiting Christian college campuses across the country. Recently they have appeared in the Grand Rapids, MI area and visited the campuses of Cornerstone University and Calvin College. As reported in the Grand Rapids Press, April 28, 2007, Cornerstone University refused them permission to appear on campus. When they nevertheless came on campus, two were arrested by the police. Some also came to the scheduled chapel service, which...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Winning One for the Lord? Sunday, February 4, 2007 was “Super Bowl Sunday.” It is considered by many to be the greatest, most important sporting event of the year in the United States. Millions watch. Some, doubtlessly, stayed home from services in church to see the great game on TV. One can easily guess that some Christians managed to get the expensive tickets to see the game in person. Many churches too would make use of the game as another “evangelical tool”—in an attempt to “become all things to...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. “The Absence of Morality”  What is moral? What is immoral? Who makes the determination? If one makes the determination, or some group decides, does it necessarily apply to all people? Or only to the people of a specific nation? Each individual seems to have some idea of what it is for himself. The fact is that society today resembles all too much that in the days of the Judges of Israel of old. Judges 21:25 states, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was...

Rev. Van Baren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. “Young, Restless, Reformed”  In Christianity Today, September 2006, an interesting article was printed with the above title. It appears, according to the article, that there is growing interest among young people and in some seminaries, both with students and professors, in the Reformed doctrines. These are seeking something more substantial than the fluff offered so often today to please the young. The article claims a growing conviction of many that the Reformed doctrine is concerned centrally with the glory of God and not entertainment for man. The writer...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. June is the time of year in which many of the denominations meet in Assembly or Synod. With understandable interest, one reads reports of decisions taken which will affect the denominations involved. It is not only with interest, but also with a great degree of dismay and disappointment, that one reads some of the decisions taken. Surely one can find many of the decisions made to be proper. Yet we are most concerned about those decisions that point to rapid apostasy within the churches and denominations. It is, however,...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches.   “Yes, Jackie, God Is ‘Sexist'” Frequently e-mails are sent questioning certain doctrinal positions stated in pamphlets that appear on the prca.org web site. Some object to certain statements in the pamphlets. Others ridicule some doctrinal positions that are taught. (Though others do express agreement.) One short note of interest was the following: Subject: Article on roles in marriage Hey, I was wondering do you believe that a wife should really submit to her husband? Does the bible actually say that God wanted women to have a lesser role than men? Or...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Some (Unscientific??) Musings An interesting article from the Associated Press appeared in the Grand Rapids Press, March 17, 2006, as proof of the “Big Bang” theory of the origin of the universe. The article was titled: “Now that’s ‘inflation'” and subtitled: “Evidence shows universe expanded in a trillionth of a second.” The article made astounding claims: By the faint cosmic glow of the oldest known light, physicists say they have found evidence that the universe grew to astounding proportions in less than the blink of an eye.  In that trillionth...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches.   The Pressure for Conformity  There is increasing evidence across the world that Christians are being forced to conform to what the world considers acceptable action towards others—or face the consequences. What is considered to be acceptable is not determined on the basis of Scripture, but rather on the prevailing “morality” of the day. In some places it has become a “hate crime” to condemn homosexuality and to label it as sin. It is considered criminal in some nations to condemn other religions. Woe be to those who draw...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches.   WARC and REC  There have been many strange (perhaps a better word would be “sad”) developments in the church world generally and more specifically within the Reformed church world the past few years. We are most concerned about those developments within the Reformed church circles—and especially in the Reformed churches in the Netherlands and in America. These are the churches most closely related to our own denomination, since we have our roots in them. The drive toward unity of churches is growing ever stronger. The scriptural basis for...