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Conservative Presbyterians Weighing Next Step after Sex Vote
"Love for the church should compel us to contend against the secular culture's baser demands rather than surrendering to them." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President
WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- A large gathering of Presbyterians concerned about the liberal direction of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is convening this week in Minneapolis. After the 2 million-member denomination's vote to end clergy ordination standards on sexual fidelity, many traditionalists are weighing new accountability structures that would enable them to remain in the PCUSA. Meeting August 25-26, the Fellowship Gathering of Presbyterians expects to draw over 2,000 participants.
IRD Adjunct Fellow Alan F.H. Wisdom will be on-hand in Minneapolis and is available for media interviews. Wisdom is the author of "Is Marriage Worth Defending?" available at www.TheIRD.org.
IRD President Mark Tooley commented: "The PCUSA decision to abandon Christian sexual ethics predictably is fueling accelerated membership decline and schism.
"Some traditionalists are struggling to stay within the PCUSA while creating new forms of accountability to compensate for the denomination's failure. "Every denomination that has embraced sexual liberation over Christian orthodoxy has similarly faced schism and spiraling membership.
"Sexual liberationists in the churches clearly are choosing their faddish brand of social justice over the church's health. Love for the church should instead compel us to contend against the secular culture's baser demands rather than surrendering to them."
The Institute on Religion & Democracy works to reaffirm the church's biblical and historical teachings, strengthen and reform its role in public life, protect religious freedom, and renew democracy at home and abroad.
www.TheIRD.org
Glenn Beck Stands Up for Israel, Yet Claims it Has No Special Prophetic Role
VENTURA, Calif., /Christian Newswire/ -- Support of the nation of Israel by Glenn Beck and Christians throughout America and the world is well deserved. Israel is an independent and secular democratic and civilized nation fighting for its survival, surrounded by Arab nations out to destroy the tiny land. Publisher Gerald Christian Nordskog points out that modern-day Israel does not represent the chosen people of the Old Testament, which was divorced by God in 70 AD through the Great Tribulation Destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple by the Romans. Nevertheless we support this valiant modern-day nation of Israel, which is a friend of democracy and the USA.
Greg Uttinger, author of the book, A Whole New World, The Gospel According to Revelation (Nordskog Publishing, Inc. 2007) presents the following editorial analysis: In Jerusalem, a Mormon conservative rallies evangelical Christians to support the nation of Israel against her Muslim adversaries. Those on the Left and Right have raised shrill voices in protest and criticism. The clash of worldviews is loud and confusing.
For Bible-believing Christians, the political issues involved are complicated by a defective theology at work in the rally and common in American churches. For about 150 years American evangelicals have bought into the idea that Israel is still in some sense the people of God, that the political rebirth of Israel is key to Bible prophecy, and that the bulk of biblical prophecy spins around the city of Jerusalem. But this is not traditional Christianity. Following the New Testament epistles, the Church has traditionally taught that God disinherited Israel upon her rejection of Christ and His gospel and that He created a new covenant people, a new Israel, out of the believing Jewish remnant and the Gentiles who came to faith in the Jewish Messiah. This new Israel is the Church. The Book of Revelation pursues this theme at great length: it shows us a new Israel, a new Bride, and a New Jerusalem.
Now none of this means that we must alter our political commitment to Israel, our preference for Israel over the Islamic nations that surround her, or our personal concern for the Jewish people. The apostle Paul himself confessed "continual sorrow of heart" for his Jewish kinsmen who would not believe in Christ, and he held out hope that they would one day be restored to covenant fellowship with God (Rom. 9:11). But there is nothing in Scripture that compels us to equate Christianity with Judaism or the good of the Church with the political life of modern Israel. Our support of the current Jewish state needs to rest on firmer ground than misapplied prophecy or a serious misunderstanding of the Apocalypse.
For those interested in Mr. Uttinger's easy-to-read book exposing the signs and symbols of the Apostle John's prophetic vision from the Book of Revelation, contact: www.NordskogPublishing.com, or your favorite book store. Mr. Uttinger is available for interviews through Prime Star Publicity 903-654-0938 or Helen.Cook@primestarpublicity.com.
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