Vol 63 Issue 16

Ben Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Our congregation in Holland, Michigan has formed the following trio: from Redlands, California—Rev. Ken Koole, from our North West Mission—Rev. Ron Van Overloop, and from South Holland, Illinois—Rev. David Engelsma. At a congregational meeting held April 21 a call was extended to Rev. Engelsma. As some of you undoubtedly know, Mrs. Gertrude Hoeksema, the wife of Prof. H.C. Hoeksema, suffered a broken hip when she fell from a stepladder while housecleaning. This broken hip was repaired surgically by inserting a pin in her hip. She recovered quickly...

John A. Heys is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Man, being an earthly creature, depends upon the creation wherein God placed him after making him out of the dust of the ground. And although Jesus said to Satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God”, man does need bread for his earthly life. He may not try and cannot live by bread alone; but keep bread from him, and he is going to die. It is not strange, then, when there is a shortage of bread...

Jason L. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. We are dealing with the section of the book of Numbers that describes how God chastened His people during their wanderings in the wilderness for the forty years (Numbers 15:1-19:22). Instruction is given for the preparation of the water of purification. A red heifer, without blemish and never having worn a yoke, was to be killed (the blood sprinkled before the tabernacle) and the bodyconsumed in fire (the ashes mixed with water as a purification, Num. 19:1-10). Mention is made as to the use of this water; whoever...

Herman C. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Before we get into the question of genetic engineering, I want to come back briefly to the question of surrogate motherhood, a subject we have been discussing in the past few articles. In the course of our discussion of this subject, we had opportunity to notice a case which was pending in the New Jersey courts in which a mother, Mary Beth Whitehead, agreed to bear a child for William and Elizabeth Stern for $10,000. She was artificially impregnated with sperm from William Stern...

Robert C. Harbach is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Continuing from where we left off in the first installment under the above heading, at John 18:6, we now go on with verse 7. “Then asked He them again, ‘Whom seek ye?'” Putting this His second request to them, Jesus releases His holding them down where they had fallen on the ground and allows them to get to their feet. They had lost their dignity, but not Jesus His. What He is saying to them in effect now is, Does not My identity dawn on you yet as to...

Ronald L. Cammenga is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Loveland, Colorado. “Will you submit to church government, and in case you should become delinquent (which may God graciously forbid) to church discipline?” This third question asked of those who make public confession of faith is closely related to the previous two questions. In the first question we acknowledge the doctrine of the Old and New Testaments as taught in the confessions of the church. By means of Christian discipline, purity of doctrine is preserved in the church. In the second question we resolve by the grace of God...

Gise J. Van Baren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Just before saying goodnight to Alice, we had noticed a very strange thing happening. Alice had not been able to move a muscle for several months, yet now her arms and legs definitely moved! It was an unusual sensation to see one move who was absolutely incapable of moving. One wondered if he had observed correctly—but there was no doubt about it. Alice herself seemed not even to notice—and we said nothing of it to her. Good Morning Alice:  Do you ever feel far from God,...

Gise J. Van Baren is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Religious Liberty At Risk in Michigan It is worthy of note when a nationally recognized political commentator points out dangers to religious liberty—and especially when that is in a state where many of our schools and churches are located. There is very real reason for concern. James Kilpatrick, writing for Universal Press Syndicate, and appearing in the Grand Rapids’ Press of April 16, 1987, speaks of court cases which deal with regulation of church schools. He writes: How far may a state go in its regulation of church...

Nevertheless, Dr. Boer is wrong and inaccurate in his characterization and assessment of the Janssen Case and of its impact upon the Christian Reformed Church and its College and Seminary. In the first place, it is wholly inaccurate to characterize Janssen merely as teaching that “God’s inspiration of the Bible (availed) itself of historical, political, religious and general cultural influences in the composition of the several books.” Though I would not express things thus, a statement like this could possibly be given a good interpretation. And surely, Janssen would not have been deposed very easily if the above had been...

In this editorial we interrupt our critique of Dr. Howard Van Till’s The Fourth Day in order to comment on a related matter. The reader will recall that in one of my editorials on this subject, in which I called attention to the fact that Dr. Van Till is guilty of a higher critical approach to Scripture, I made the statement that the ghost of Dr. Ralph Janssen is stalking the halls of Calvin College. Dr. Janssen, you may recall, was deposed as seminary professor in 1922 because of his higher critical views of Scripture. This was a case which was inextricably...