One of the most significant issues decided at the recent meeting of the synod of the Christian Reformed Church concerned its evaluation of the World Council of Churches as a possible avenue of witness and work for a confessional Reformed church. Earlier the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Gereformeerde Kerken) had judged there were “no […]
Of all the many issues requiring the attention of the synod of the Christian Reformed Church next month, none will be followed with more intense interest than the report on “doctrinal matters” concerning the nature of God’s love and the design of Christ’s atonement. Not only has this been before for the church officially for […]
Herman Ridderbos: PAULUS; ONTWERP VAN ZIJN THEOLOGIE, 653 p. Kampen: J. H. Kok, price f.39.50. Not too frequently does the Reformed community experience the thrill of receiving from one of its spiritual mentors a book which holds within its pages the promise of a large degree of permanent worth. Too many of our books arc […]
At our house afternoon mail-call is always awaited eagerly. We never quite know what to expect. Sometimes the box contains much that is useless and uninteresting. At other times there are letters from family or friends, important periodicals, and even materials for this magazine. Today the contents of the mailbox were especially significant. Today the […]
One of the leading figures at the great Synod of Dordt (1618-19) was Francis Comarus. Many of his contributions to the defense of the Reformed faith have long since been ignored, largely because histOrians have not wearied of insisting that he was “an angry and querulous old man.” As such he has frequently become a stereotype […]
For today’s Christians nothing is more foolish and sinful than to wish wistfully that it were yesterday. Those were the good old times; the times in which it was supposedly quite easy to be a Christian, because the world wasn’t quite as bad and could be held farther away from the church than now. Not […]
Change is the order of our day. In his introduction to some modem theologians William C. Fletcher aptly describes our situation. “Society seems to be running wild. Changes are taking place so rapidly that from one year to the next there seems to be almost no continuity. All is change, all is headlong, pell-mell rush, […]
Last week a Calvin seminary student was teaching a catechetical class in a Grand Rapids church on the authority and accuracy of the Holy Scriptures. During the explanation one of the catechumens, a lad about nine years of age, raised his hand and upon given permission to speak announced that the Bible contained errors. Surprised, […]
Some months ago, not long after his eightieth birthday, the Lord took to himself one of his dear children. The death of Professor R. B. Kuiper on April 22 of this year has been noted earlier in this magazine. Now, however, we who were close to him in Reformed Fellowship Inc. and learned to love and […]
“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” This query of Israel’s sacred singer is one which keeps ringing through the souls of Christian believers in our day. It is not a question prompted by pessimism; rather is it a challenging call to look to the God of the covenant who loves righteousness and […]