The past week was bracketed by two meetings, one on Monday and the other on Friday evening, both of them concerned with the same subject. The subject of interest was last June’s Christian Reformed synod decisions and their expected consequences. A Feminist View The first, held on Monday, Nov. 5, in the Calvin Seminary auditorium, […]
It is amazing how many people in the CRC believe that we can change our stance on the role of women without suffering ill effects elsewhere. Amazing because the arguments advanced for opening the door to women in office are virtually identical to those employed to promote more liberal views on other topics such as, […]
It was, of course, no surprise that the synod of ‘84 turned down the overture of Class is California South which asked that Calvin College be put under society control. But it is. nevertheless, annoying and disgusting to take note of the arguments that synod used for its decision. In no way did Classis California […]
This past summer a large group of Christians gathered around a campfire. During the course of the evening conversation turned to matters of interest within the church. Since most of the campers were members of the Christian Reformed Church a discussion arose about the decision of the Synod of 1984 by which the office of […]
Confusion About Leadership The most recent Christian Reformed study committee to deal with the troublesome questions about women’s eligibility to serve in church offices had to study the Bible’s teaching about the “headship” to which God had called men. Although the questions about this matter had arisen in connection with church offices, the committee also […]
On the 4th of October* a historic meeting took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Four groups came together to discuss the state of the Christian Reformed Church. This was a coalition for reformation in the CRC. It included members of the Abraham Kuyper Christian Citizen Foundation from Canada, members of the Reformed Fellowship, members of […]
Join World Missions and World Relief? The CRC Synod of 1984 moved in the direction of joining World Mission Board (WMB) and the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC). The main motive is to have united word and deed ministry in the mission of the church. Although the synods’ and the synodical committees’ motives are […]
Many readers of the Christian Reformed Churches’ Banner were likely startled to find it’s September 17, 1984, issue largely devoted to the discussion of homosexuality. It appears that the successful effort to override the Biblical prohibitions of women in church office may now be followed by a comparable effort to break down the churches’ traditional […]
I want to preface my remarks about the decisions of Synod 1984 in regard to the women’s issue with two observations: The first observation is that the issue is not liberal versus conservative and the second is not against women and the use of their gifts and talents. The real issue is, What Does the […]
A Premise of Synod Infallibility? A recent church bulletin contained a “Report on Synod 1984 for Classis . . .” Its opening paragraph reads, “There is no doubt that every Synod of the CRC is unique and different. Different issues, the composition of the delegates, the emotional climate in the denomination, and many other […]