Vol 69 Issue 20

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Evangelism Activities The Evangelism Society of the Southeast PRC in Grand Rapids, MI sponsored a conference on Eschatology on August 4, 11, 18 and 25. Each one of these sessions was led by a different minister, starting with Prof. H. Hanko, and followed by Prof. D. Engelsma, Rev. D. Kuiper, and Rev. W. Bruinsma. The Evangelism Committee of the Immanuel PRC of Lacombe, Alberta, Canada sponsored a lecture given by Prof. R. Decker on the topic, “The Foolishness of Preaching.” This lecture was held in mid June...

The sabbath evening of July 18, 1993 marked a historic occasion for Trinity Protestant Reformed Church in Houston. It was such an occasion, for the whole confederation of our churches as well, and at least a rare event in the church world at large. Pastor Jaikishin Mahtani, a minister of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Singapore, was formally installed as minister of our Houston congregation, virtually an unparalleled action, but one made possible in the grace of God through the sister-church relationship which our denominations share. The Singapore church began in the 1970s as a group of largely Chinese, unmarried...

Prof. Hanko is professor of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction Few Reformers have been as much maligned as Theodore Beza, Calvin’s successor in Geneva. The slanders against him came in his own lifetime from his Roman Catholic opponents who evidently feared the power of his pen. But, though of a ‘different kind, these slanders have been found in the writings of modem-day “Calvinists” who charge Beza with corrupting Calvin’s pure doctrine and giving Calvin’s teachings new twists which Calvin would have repudiated. Specifically, Beza is charged with altering in significant ways Calvin’s teachings on...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. At the outset we wish to assert as strongly as possible that lack of assurance in the experience of the believer is abnormal. Doubt concerning one’s salvation is not the norm of the believer’s life. And certainly the lack of assurance of salvation is not a sign of a deep spirituality. There are those in the Reformed tradition who teach that doubt or the lack of the assurance of salvation is an indication of spirituality, so that the more one doubts, the more deeply spiritual that person is....

Mr. Sugg is an elder in Trinity Protestant Reformed Church in Houston, Texas. Whenever the word “suicide” in its literal sense appears, it causes disquieting dread, a dread of death, of death deliberate and appalling. Suicide is always a human tragedy. It is often the cause of yet other human sufferings. It is sometimes simply unexplainable. It is occasionally seen as sin. But it is only rarely seen as a sin that can be wholly contained within the heart of a believer. This is an important focus of this paper. Thus a basic premise of these remarks is that sin...

Mr. Lanting, a member of South Holland Protestant Reformed Church, is a practicing attorney. “…we have not found and defendants have not presented any case that finds the existence of a Fourteenth Amendment fundamental right of parents to direct their children’s secular education free of reasonable regulation. We conclude that parents do not have such a constitutional right requiring a strict scrutiny standard. On the contrary, the state may reasonably regulate education, including the imposition of teacher certification and curricula requirements on home-school programs, in order to advance the legitimate interest of compulsory education.”  People v. Bennett, Michigan Supreme Court...

.Rev. Gritters is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Byron Center, Michigan. In our renewed campaign against drama, television, and movies, we began by sharpening the battle lines, showing precisely what the issues are. We pointed out that the battle is not against the television as an instrument, for it can be put to good use if extreme care is exercised. The battle is against the context of most television and movies, as hostile towards the Christian faith and life. The attack was leveled against television, movies, and drama from the viewpoint of the ruinous effects they have on...

Prof. Decker is professor of Practical Theology in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. A Day in the U.S.A. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, the following happens every day in the United States: * 7,742 teenagers become sexually active  * 623 teenagers get syphilis or gonorrhea  * 2,795 teen girls get pregnant * 372 teens miscarry  * 1,106 teens have abortions  * 1,295 teens give birth  * 2,556 children are born out of wedlock  * 135,000 children bring a gun to school * 10 children are killed by guns  * 6 teenagers commit suicide  * 211 children are arrested for drug...

Self-Esteem in the Lord Enclosed is a short poem I recently wrote in response to the many ideas I have encountered concerning “self-esteem.” It seems to me that this subject, which has become so explicit, is so much an implicitly inherent quality of every child of God, that it would be very interesting to have a large number of your readers submit written expressions of their personal experiences of “self-esteem” in the Lord. As I wrote my poem, it seemed that there were endless scriptural passages that flashed across my mind in this connection, and that God’s promises to His...

This does not refer to the United States. The United States never was a holy nation. Some think so. Calling on the citizens to return this country to its roots, they insist that the United States was originally a Christian nation. They are mistaken. Originally there were Christian influences on the nation, but it was never a Christian nation. Many of the most prominent and powerful founding fathers were infidels. Thomas Paine was a wild-eyed rebel against all authority, mainly Gods. Thomas Jefferson, chief author of the Declaration of Independence, denied the Godhead of Jesus Christ and reduced the Bible...