All Articles For Letters

In the article in the February 15 issue of the Standard Bearer (p. 226), quite a bit of ink and paper was expended in writing about Donald Trump’s specious religious claims. I have been waiting for a sequel exposé of Senator Rafael Edward (“Ted”) Cruz, but so far in vain. The readers and subscribers of the SB, I believe, are astute enough to recognize that Mr. Trump’s Presbyterian claims are not credible. It is no feat to recognize error when it is so wrong. However, Mr. Cruz’s Christian claims are not so easily discerned. He and his father have connections...

In your article on Domestic missions [in the] December 15 issue of the SB you stated that “The unchurched are those who in their generations belonged to the church but have fallen out of the covenant.” Can you please explain exactly how one “falls out of the covenant”? In my years in the PRC this has never been a phrase embraced by the church. It is, in my mind, a direct contradiction of 1953. Words have meaning. Jeff Andringa, Hull Iowa RESPONSE: I appreciate your question. It is important that we give accurate expression to the truth. It is obvious...

In your “All Around Us” column in the Standard Bearer, 15th September issue, you had a report on the Irish vote for “Same Sex Marriage.” As horrible and repulsive [as] we find this decision, the report missed one very vital aspect: Ireland does not have compulsory voting. It had been reported here in Australia that the vote was passed by 60% of the votes, but what was conveniently left out of the report was that only 37% of those eligible voters actually cast a vote. That means a whopping 63% either didn’t see it as relevant or couldn’t care less....

…While I highly respect Rev. Richard Smit and wholeheartedly endorse what he says about “The Role of Reformed Literature on the Mission Field,” he wrote recently (SB, Nov. 15), ”the work of missions is not advanced by [among other things]…medical missions. All these things are the outwardly attractive ways of modern missions, and are simply erroneous.” I cannot agree for several reasons: 1) The Lord’s and His apostles’ ministry was not only preaching the word but also healing the sick, albeit to authenticate their credentials; but those good works complemented and facilitated the preaching and showed they cared for the...

From Mrs. J. W. of E., Minnesota, 1 received the following question: “Does the consistory have the right, according to the Word of God and the Church Order, to refuse divine worship to two members at the occasion of their marriage, because they are attended by a bridesmaid and a best man?” Answer:

Retirement of Ministers I am writing in response to the editorial of Professor Dykstra in the June issue of the Standard Bearer. In this editorial, Professor Dykstra states that, given a goodly number of graduates from the seminary in a couple of years, Lord willing, and very few openings in the churches, “one option is to push ministers in their low to mid-sixties into early retirement? (Vol. 91, No. 17, 390). …The church order makes no provision for early retirement of ministers. They may seek emeritation when they reach a point in their lives when they can no longer do...

In the spirit of “iron sharpening iron,” there is a statement in Prof. Gritters’ October 1, 2015 editorial that I would like you to clarify. Near the end of the editorial you wrote, “We will commit ourselves to living among the people of God who are members of the church”—first of our own congregation; then of our denomination; and “so too the church members who are closest to our denomination in confession and walk” (emphasis added, AJC). It is this last phrase that I would like you to clarify. At present, the PRC, as represented by her Contact Committee with...

Rev. A. Cammenga, Dear Brother, Your interesting article in reply to my “A Tendency To Individualism” I read. I say “interesting” exactly because your article strongly corroborates my main contention. I do not know as yet whether I should go into a rebuttal. Perhaps it is not necessary, since I think that I stated my objections rather clearly. But for my information I would like to have an answer to a few questions.

1.  Thanks for the reference from Calvin’s Institutes. I have no objections to the quotation in as far as it was given, though I know not which translation was used. But it is interesting to note what was left out of the quotation.

November 16, 1948 Editor of the Standard Bearer, Esteemed Brother: I should like to make a few remarks about your recent development of the subject of “Preaching as a Means of Grace”. I think I have told you before that there are some truths of Scripture and also some facts of reality in the life of the Church that I cannot harmonize with your teaching concerning the office and its authority