Vol 80 Issue 03

Rev. Koole is pastor of Grandville Protestant Reformed Church in Grandville, Michigan. Take Pastors to Court over “Vilification” Religious vilification. At least that is the charge. As Patrick Goodenough, a Bureau Chief for the Pacific Rim news network, reports: Two Christian pastors in Australia will appear in court next month to face complaints brought by Muslims who accuse them of vilifying Islam. Their appearance in a legal tribunal in the state of Victoria is the culmination of an 18-month dispute between a Christian group that organized a seminar on Islam and three Muslims who attended it.  The three claimed a...

Rev. Kortering is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. (Preceding article in series: August 2003, p. 452.) Some of our readers may not be comfortable with designating a special worship service in the established churches as a gospel service. This designation is intended to distinguish such a service from the regular worship services that take place twice every Lord’s Day. But, one might ask, if every worship service ought to include gospel preaching, and if the gospel is the good news of salvation that the pastor is commanded to bring every time he mounts the pulpit, why would...

Mr. Kalsbeek is a teacher in Covenant Christian High School and a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church, Walker, Michigan. (Preceding article in series: May 15, 2003, p. 367.) Eastern influence on Hollywood Not only is the East having a significant influence on education and politics, its ideas are also endorsed by many on the cutting edge of Western culture: Hollywood. About this, Don Feder writes: From spirits and reincarnation to telekinesis and the occult, the movie industry is in the grip of a new Age mania. Consider the re-released Star Wars trilogy … there’s the Force, “an energy field...

Calling of the Christian Workingman The previous editorial in this series (Oct. 1, 2003) gave the biblical testimony calling the Christian workingman to submit to the authority of the employer as the authority of Christ. In light of this testimony, the Christian workingman—every Christian workingman—must refuse membership in the union, or, if presently a member, must get out. He must do this willingly. He must do this in obedience to the Word. He must do this out of respect for the authority of God. He must do this as an act of discipleship after Jesus Christ. He must do this...

September 10, 2003 Byron Center Protestant Reformed Church Classis East met in regular session on Wednesday, September 10, at the Byron Center PRC. Each congregation was represented by two delegates. Also in attendance were the synodical deputies from Classis West and two representatives from the Wingham, Ontario OCRC. Rev. Rodney Kleyn served his initial stint as chair of this classis. The main item of business on the agenda was the examination of Pastor-Elect William Langerak, who had accepted the call to Southeast PRC. Pastor-Elect Langerak preached a specimen sermon and then endured several hours of oral examination. Classis approved his...

Rev. Kleyn is pastor of Trinity Protestant Reformed Church in Hudsonville, Michigan. Sunday, September 21, 2003 was an exciting and joyful day for the saints on the field in Pittsburgh. It was also an important day for our churches in the work of missions. On this Sunday, ten members of the core group in Pittsburgh made confession of faith. This is a significant development in the work of our churches on the Pittsburgh field, another step towards the organization of a Protestant Reformed congregation in this city. Because the Domestic Mission Committee (DMC) understood how important this occasion was, they...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. It was, by virtually any standard, a remarkable evening. There was the remarkable debate between Dr. Richard Mouw and Prof. David Engelsma on the subject of common grace. Dr. Mouw himself had generated some renewed interest in the subject when he lectured on the subject at Calvin College. Later the lectures were placed in book form and titled: He Shines in All That’s Fair. Likely the book would not have attracted much attention—except that Prof. David Engelsma examined the book and answered its arguments in a series of editorials...

Miss Lubbers is a member of First Protestant Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan and administrator of Eastside Christian School. (Preceding article in series: June 2003, p. 398.) With this article we bring to a conclusion the discussion of the narrative approach in Reformed Christian education. The defense and development of an understanding of the narrative approach is the burden of the book The Christian Story and the Christian School, Christian Schools International, 1993, by Dr. John Bolt. In this book Dr. Bolt contends that the problems in Christian schools arising from contemporary education and our culture could be addressed...

Prof. Engelsma is professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. The previous article on John Calvin’s doctrine of the Christian life showed that, in addition to the law as the rule of the Christian life, Calvin found in the New Testament an important pattern of the life of every true Christian (Standard Bearer, Oct. 15, 2003). With specific reference to Romans 12:1, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,” Calvin defined this New Testament pattern as the believer’s belonging to God. The entire life of the Christian is formed by his conviction that he...

Rev. Slopsema is pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. II Corinthians 7:10 There was a great deal of trouble in the church of Corinth. There was division among the members, immorality the likes of which was not even found in the pagan community, abuse of the Lord’s Supper, as well as false doctrine touching the resurrection. The apostle Paul had dealt with these problems very firmly in his first epistle to the Corinthians, giving necessary and...