Vol 54 Issue 12

Rev. Meindert Joostens, pastor of our Faith Church in Jenison, Michigan has accepted a call from First Church in Grand Rapids to serve as their pastor. 

OUR REASONABLE FAITH, by Herman Bavinck (translated by Henry Zylstra); Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; 568 pages, $6.95 (paperback). (Reviewed by Prof. H. C. Hoeksema) 

(Editor’s Note: This article was submitted for possible placement in the Standard Bearer by Mr. Bernie Postma, member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hull, Iowa. Because of the importance of the subject of the Dooyeweerdian Philosophy and the related AACS, or “Toronto,” Movement, we are placing it in two installments. As is always the case, placement does not imply endorsement by the Standard Bearer or its editor.)

Recently I received a “Hunger Fighter” in the mail. As I suppose most other pastors do, I receive a great deal of “junk mail,” unsolicited advertisements for many organizations and causes. Virtually all of these materials go into “File 13” without so much as a second glance. But once in a while there comes a publicity stunt that is just about impossible to ignore; it receives more than cursory attention, and perhaps provides food for more in-depth thought. Such was my “Hunger Fighter.” 

Isaiah 7:15-17

What authority over your life do you acknowledge? What is it that determines what you believe about God, about the world, and about yourself? What regulates your behavior? What standard do you have for your behavior in marriage? What guide do you follow in the rearing of your children; or, if you are a child, what guide do you follow in your relationships with your parents? 

Dear Timothy, In our last letter we were discussing the origin of the special offices in the New Testament Church as these offices arose organically out of the life of the Church. 

That’s quite a list whereby the Apostle Paul describes the character of our physical bodies: corruption, dishonor, weakness, and natural, see I Cor. 15:42-44.  It’s very accurate. 

7. Why the church in an earlier time had no need of its own regulations, but has this need now. 

Recently a colleague gave me a little brochure put out by an organization called Citizens For More Sensible Financing Of Education, with headquarters in Lansing, the state capital of Michigan. I have written for more information concerning both the organization and the proposal which it is promoting. But from the information in this brochure it appears that the proposal set forth in this brochure is nothing more than an attempt to revive parochiaid, or government financial support of private schools. However, this time the proposal is in disguise, the disguise of a tax-reform proposal.