FOR WHOM AND TO WHOM DOES A SYNOD SPEAK? That is the important question addressed by Dr. K. Runia in an article in Centraal Weekblad van de Gereformeerde Kerken and reported by Rev. Anthony De Jager in De Wachter of 22 June, 1982. Like many of the denominations in America, the Gereformeerde Kerken in the Netherlands Synods are increasingly making all kinds of declarations on political and social matters. Dr. Runia questions whether the church has authority to make such judgments. The GKN Synod recently adopted the policy that synods should make such political decisions when God’s Word clearly required it and the overwhelming majority of the membership agreed with them. Article 29 of their Church Order also specifies that only ecclesiastical matters shall be dealt with. Runia also recalls that the Church Order says that a synod has authority, not only as speaking for the churches, but for Christ the Lord of the Church. Referring specifically to some decisions of the Synod regarding South Africa, Runia asks two very pertinent and practical questions: In whose name does the Synod give such directives to business and governments? How does Synod know that this is really the will of Christ? To whom is Synod speaking; to the members of the church or to the world? How can the church bind the conscience of its members in political judgments? Is the church competent to judge what is in the best interest of society and business? Runia enlarges on the implications of these questions. Rev. De Jager points out that this article is very pertinent in light of the agenda of the Canadian Council of Chr. Ref. Churches, and that our ecclesiastical assemblies need to bear these questions in mind also.

BILLY GRAHAM IN MOSCOW. This subject has had a lot of attention in both the secular and church press. Strong opinions have been expressed both pro and con regarding his going to a Soviet sponsored meeting on nuclear disarmament. Christianity Today for June 18, 1982, has a very comprehensive editorial on the matter. It discusses Graham’s goals. These were: to present the gospel publicly and privately; to plead the cause of religious freedom privately with Russian officials; to warn of the tragic consequences of nuclear buildup and the arms race; and he hoped eventually to be permitted to hold preaching missions in large cities. Next the article evaluates the cost to Graham; did he compromise the gospel and lose credibility as a leader? Finally it asks, was he right? The editor points out that many of the criticisms of Graham rest on misunderstanding of his statements and goals. One conclusion is that: “evangelicals dare not trust the secular news media’s coverage of religious news.” On pages 20–23 of that issue the full text of Billy Graham’s “The Christian Faith and Peace in a Nuclear Age” is given. That he did not deny the gospel appears from such a statement as, “Can these dimensions of peace ever be restored? The Bible says ‘yes.’ The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ was God’s unique Son, sent into the world to take away our sins by his death on the cross, therefore making it possible for us to be at peace—at peace with God, at peace with ourselves, and at peace with each other.”

CAM TOWNSEND’S MISSION. The cover of the June 18 Christianity Today features a picture of Cam Townsend, founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators, who died April 24, 1982. The lead article is a biographical sketch and evaluation of this great missionary pioneer by Philip Yancey. This article will appear later in Reader’s Digest. It is indeed a remarkable story and a striking illustration of a fact so impressive in the history of missions, that when God’s time to accomplish a great work arrives he raises up an unusual person to do it. Cam Townsend is truly in the tradition of such men as William Carey and Hudson Taylor. The Summer Institute of Linguistics or Wycliffe Translators has a staff of 4,255, the largest nondenominational Christian mission in the world. “At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Bible had been translated into 67 languages. Today, there are portions of it in 1,700 languages, while translation work progresses in another 1,200. Linguists take on a new language every 13 days.”

“WORLD VISION will supply 50,000 Bibles for use in Nicaragua’s national literacy crusade in response to a request from Tomas Borge of the Nicaraguan junta. A similar door for Bibles has opened in the schools of Zimbabwe, Africa, where the New York Bible Society and the World Home Bible League will distribute 30,000 Bibles immediately.”

TUITION TAX CREDITS. Christianity Today for July 16, 1982, has an interesting debate between Dr. James Skillen and Dr. R. G. Puckett on the proposed tax credits for tuition in private schools. Dr. Skillen (formerly of Dordt College) is executive director of the Association for Public Justice, and Dr. Puckett executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The former sees such credits as proposed by the Reagan Administration as a small beginning in doing justice to parents who do not wish to use the public schools for the education of their children. He traces the history of education in the United States from colonial days and points out that it was only since about 1840 that our present system of state supported public schools arose. His thesis is: “we propose that government should no longer view itself as holding the primary responsibility in education, but that it is the parents who should be responsible for the education of children.” Writing for opponents of such tax credits Dr. Puckett lists five objections: Tuition tax credits are unconstitutional; they would harm public schools; they are fiscally unwise; they would create divisiveness and hostility; they invite government interference in the private sector. In his rebuttal Dr. Skillen gives refutation for each of these points. In his rebuttal Dr. Puckett zeroes in on the idea that education is not only the duty of parents, but also of all citizens, and that no such aid can be given to education without involving support for religion in some form, which is the province of the home and church, but not of the state. This debate is an interesting and well stated presentation of the pros and cons on this crucial issue.

THE SAME ISSUE OF CHRISTIANITY TODAY contains many news items about developments in various denominations. I mention only two. The United Methodists opposed to homosexuals holding office brought charges against a Colorado bishop, who had retained and reassigned a minister who had publicly identified himself as a homosexual, and had also welcomed a practicing lesbian into his conference. The Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops had a Committee of Investigation (“a kind of ecclesiastical grand jury”) look into the charges. The Committee dismissed the charges, in effect sanctioning the action of the bishop and sustaining the homosexual minister. A second article reports that the Canadian Presbyterian Church has strengthened the rule on women ordinations. There are now 60 women ministers and 2,000 elders in the church. Daniel McDougal, a graduate of Westminster Seminary, was refused ordination in 1979 because he could not participate in the ordination of women. In 1980 the general assembly decided that men who had such conscientious scruples could be excused from participation in the ordination of women until 1990, but this was laid aside in 1981, and a task force to study the problem appointed. It was decided that ministers can hold their own opinion on the matter, but could not refuse to take part in the ordination of women. “Freedom of belief in this matter is permissible, but not freedom of action.” Many evangelicals in the denomination have reacted to this as a coercion of conformity.

POLITICAL RIGHTS FOR “THE COLOREDS.” This is the subject of an article in Woord en Daad, Calvinistic monthly magazine published in South Africa (February, 1982). “Die Kleurlinge” or Coloreds are the people of mixed white and black parentage whose origin goes back to early colonial days in South Africa. It is conceded that they are not immigrants as are many of the blacks and Asians, and therefore they are rightfully citizens of SA. The author, Prof. Hennie Coetzee, suggests that Christian principles call for giving them full voting rights. But he points out how difficult the implementation of that will be in the present political situation. Pressure both from within and without makes this change inevitable. Reading an article like this makes one aware of the struggles going on in that troubled land where we have many Calvinistic fellow believers.

“THE PEOPLE’S CREED.” In Woord en Daad for October, 1981, in an article about Socialistic Freedom of Religion in Zimbabwe the following creed of the President of Zimbabwe, C. S. Banana, is quoted:

“I believe in a colour blind God Maker of a technicolour people, Who created the universe And provides abundant resources For equitable distribution among all his people. I believe in Jesus Christ, Born of a common woman, Who was ridiculed, disfigured and executed, Who on the third day rose and fought back; He storms the highest councils of men, Where he overturns the iron rule of injustice. From henceforth he shall continue To judge the hatred and arrogance of men. I believe in the Spirit of Reconciliation, The united body of the dispossessed; The communion of the suffering masses, The power that overcomes the dehumanizing forces of men, The resurrection of personhood, justice and equality. And in the final triumph of Brotherhood.”

The article points out that while the new government gives freedom of religion, in practice it is opposed to all who do not go along with some such humanistic creed. “Freedom of religion alone in this framework, or rather, web of Socialism. Those who oppose this, well . . . ‘good news to the poor is a pronouncement of judgment on all oppressive structures, actions, as well as thoughts and intentions, regardless of who the perpetrator might be.’”

DE GEREFORMEERDE KERKEN VAN NEDERLAND – In De Wachter for August 3,1982 Rev. Wiebe Feenstra gives some interesting statistics about the Reformed Churches and some reflections on them. Although a retired minister, he is as active as he was in his regular ministry because of the severe shortage of ministers, especially in the province of Groningen, where there are 35 vacancies. In the denomination as a whole there is a shortage of 217 ministers. This situation is aggravated by the fact that while there are 837 ministers serving congregations, 274 are serving in specialized ministries. Voices are being heard questioning whether there is not an imbalance and whether the lack of adequate pastoral care in the churches is not too large a price to pay for expansion of other ministries, not primarily financially but in terms of neglect of the basic pastoral work. By way of comparison, the 1982 Yearbook of the Christian Reformed Church lists 644 ministers in regular congregations, 320 in other work and 30 unclassified. Of these 74 are home missionaries, many serving small “churches.” Rev. Feenstra goes on to reflect on the continued losses of membership in the GKN during recent years. In the 1970s membership reached a high of 879,838 (1974) after a long period of growth by as much as 10,000 members a year. Last year they lost 5,000 members. While many of these transferred to other denominations, the majority became “unchurched,” which leads the author to reflect that grace is not an automatic inheritance. The church continues to exist only by the sovereign grace of God.

SOCIAL CONCERNS DOMINATE GENERAL SYNOD. The Church Herald of the Reformed Church in America for July 23, 1982, carries an extensive report on the meeting of General Synod held June 7–11 at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. The two items that occasioned most extended debate were abortion and a nuclear freeze. “The first round of debate centered on a recommendation from the Commission on Women to amend the Reformed Church’s position on abortion by rescinding a 1973 policy calling on members ‘to support efforts for constitutional changes to provide legal protection for the unborn.’” The recommendation fell short of the two-thirds needed for rescinding a previous synod’s action and so the sentence remains RCA policy. “The next round of debate concerned an overture from the Classis of Cascades calling upon ‘the appropriate legislative assemblies of the United States and Canada to discontinue the use of public funds in support of the morally indefensible practice of abortion as a form of birth control.’” The Advisory Committee recommended that the overture be denied, but the synod approved the overture. At the conclusion of action on the above matters a motion was made to request the Theological Commission to study “the underlying moral and spiritual issues raised by the practice of abortion.” This motion was adopted. General Synod has expressed concern about the nuclear arms race several times in recent years. In response to several overtures Synod voted to endorse the “Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race,” which calls for a “mutual freeze on testing, production and deployment of nuclear weapons and of missiles and new aircraft designed primarily to deliver nuclear weapons.” Debate centered especially on an amendment offered by the Rev. Dr. Earle Ellis of New Brunswick Seminary calling for a freeze “at balanced levels of forces.” The amendment was defeated and the endorsement of the Call approved by a large margin.

HAS PERMISSIVENESS REACHED ITS LIMIT? Evangelical Newsletter for July 23 reports on an article in U.S. News and World Report which documents changes in America’s attitude toward crime, drugs and other social problems. There are increasing efforts to crack down on alcohol and drugs. Many states are passing tough laws against drunken drivers. Sixteen states have raised the minimum age for legal drinking of alcohol to as high as 21 years of age. Stiffer sentencing and increased law enforcement has led to an 88 percent increase in the number of state and federal prisoners since 1972. Changes are also evident in that a “‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ philosophy is making a comeback in some places” in our educational system. The Los Angeles school system last year decided to restore spanking. Thirty-nine states have adopted minimum competency tests at various levels of the educational process. Even some “experts” who fear for an overcorrection agree that such correction could contribute to the building of a better society.

THE IMPACT OF FEMINISM. Another article in Evangelical Newsletter calls attention to the great influence that the feminist movement has had on textbooks used in public schools. Quoting from an article by Michael Levin in Commentary for June it is pointed out that in the name of “sex fairness” a revolution has been taking place in textbooks and curricula at all levels. He indicates that the rate at which this has happened may in large part be due to the influence of the Federal government which controls financial grants and has passed several statutes. Another factor is the textbook publishing industry said to be “made up of many True Believers, eager to promote anything labeled ‘progressive’ and fearful above all of not being in tune with the times.” This is another illustration of how our public school system is controlled by ideas which are not in accord with Biblical teachings.