Last November I flew to Korea. It was my first trip to that part of the world and I was eager to discover what this land was like. I have taught many Korean students through the years and was intrigued to learn something of their homeland. I was in Korea a week and so now […]

Democracy is one of those magical words in North American culture. It evokes strong feelings of confidence and pride. It is associated with patriotism and freedom and the rights of the individuaL It speaks of some of the best and noblest dimensions of our society. But Christians know that magical words must always be somewhat […]

In January 1994 John Suk began his tenure as editor of The Banner (the weekly periodical of the Christian Reformed Church) with an apparent commitment to a positive spirit. The format of The Banner was reworked to make it look more contemporary. The new graphics were intriguing. The new Banner also focused on the churches […]

On March 3 and 4 in Pasadena, CA, there was a debate between leading Protestant and Catholic theologians on the topic: What Still Divides Us; A Protestant and Roman Catholic Debate. In this issue and the next, we present the opening speech of the conference given by our own contributing editor, Dr. W. Robert Godfrey, […]

In June we presented Dr. Godfrey’s address on the sufficiency of Scripture alone, given at a debate between leading Protestant and Catholic theologians on the topic: What Still Divides Us: A Protestant and Roman Catholic Debate. This month Dr. Godfrey discusses the Roman Catholic distortions of this doctrine and his conclusions on the matter. CHARACTERlSTIC […]

Moby Dick by Herman Melville is probably the greatest novel ever written by an American. On the surface it is a great story of men battling the sea in the pursuit of a particular whale. Beneath the surface it is the story of human relationships and obsessions and of the enigma of our existence. It […]

Psalm 150: “Praise the Lord, Praise God in his sanctuary. Praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power. Praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him for the sounding of the trumpet. Praise him with the harp and lyre. Praise him with tambourine and dancing. Praise him with the strings […]

(This article is taken from an address given at the “Growing Reformational Churches” conference held December 7–9, 1995 at First Christian Reformed Church in Chino, CA and jointly sponsored by that church and Westminster Theological Seminary in California.) Americans are forward-looking. Their interests are in the future and in progress. They tend to agree with […]

Since the Inter-Classical Conference met in South Holland, Illinois last November, I have read a number of reactions to it. Just this week I have seen three more reactions of a decidedly negative type. I have not been surprised, but I have been disappointed. I feel like calling, “Help!” Too often our critics do not […]

Every couple of weeks, I write a mediation for the college kids from our church. Many of them are in Christian colleges, but many others are in State universities or graduate schools. I write the meditation in e-mail format since almost all college kids today are “on line.” They forward the meditations to literally hundreds […]