“Stacking library shelves” (with pro-Islam books) – Marvin Olasky, WORLD

WORLD | Stacking library shelves | Marvin Olasky | June 1, 2013.

This would be incredible if it were not true. Marvin Olasky at World magazine has this revealing and revolting report (dated May 17, 2013) about how one of our federally-sponsored agencies is pushing a pro-Islam agenda at public libraries in this country. Yes, libraries are all about open information and public access – but not propoganda from our government! Imagine the reaction if one of these books were the Bible and Christianity was being “pushed” on people! Or Calvin’s Institutes and Calvinism was being “promoted”! More and more the anti-Christian agenda of our own government is being revealed.

Read the full story at the World link above; here is the beginning of it:

Libraries in America, like schools, have a long tradition of local control. In 2009 Minnesota librarian Barbara Fisher told Library Journalreaders how she chose books: “I know my community, and I know what their interests are.” Wisconsin librarian Abigail Goben wrote about choosing books based on reviews, patron requests, and librarian blogs: “We’re a chatty bunch and love recommending things to each other.”

The National Endowment for the Humanities has a different process. Earlier this year NEH, as part of a “Muslim Journeys” project, shipped to 953 local libraries and humanities groups 25 books chosen by five “national project scholars” known for their positive appraisals of Islam. We’ll go book-by-book through some of the choices, but four critics of Islam who reviewed for WORLD the 25-book collection all said it was one-sided.

Alvin Schmidt, author of The Great Divide, said the selection “conveys the message that Islam is a peaceful religion,” which is “the biggest, unmitigated lie in circulation today.” Andrew Bostom, author of Sharia versus Freedom, said the books “whitewash” Islam and “amount to ‘dawa’—Islamic proselytization.” Jihad Watch director Robert Spencer said, “This is an egregiously propagandistic selection of books, designed not to give readers a balanced view of jihad, but solely a positive one.”

Library of Michigan – The 2013 Michigan Notable Books

Library of Michigan – The 2013 Michigan Notable Books.

Every year the Library of Michigan gathers information on the latest authors and books that focus on the history, people and life of our great state. They have now put together and published the list for 2013, and once again it is an interesting collection on a wide variety of subjects – from poetry, to birds, to a great baseball story, to a children’s book about a bear with a story to tell! With summer rapidly approaching, you should be able to find something off this list to read and enjoy

Here is the introduction the LOM gives to the list, along with a link to the specific titles.

The Library of Michigan has announced the list of the 2013 Michigan Notable Books - 20 books highlighting Michigan people, places and events.

The list highlights exceptional “Michigan books” published in 2012 that bring attention to Michigan authors and topics. Books that showcase the range of experiences of Michigan’s citizens and life in the Great Lakes by well-established and first-time authors can be found on the list.

“This year’s selections again exemplify the extraordinary resources, people, talent, and history we have here in Michigan,” said State Superintendent of Public Education Mike Flanagan. “Our Notable Books for 2013 are important for everyone to learn about Michigan’s enduring success and promising future.”

Books featuring topics as varied as a physically-challenged kid from Flint who went on to win an Olympic Gold Medal and pitch a no-hitter for the New York Yankees; the 1968 Detroit Tigers, survival of the Kirtland warbler, a biography of Michigan’s first governor, northwest Michigan’s Fishtown, the revival of Detroit, saving the Theodore Roethke’s house, Michigan’s historic train stations, a memoir of a Detroit soul singer, a study of Michigan’s amphibians and reptiles, depression era Flint and an illustrated history of Detroit’s historic places of worship are all part of this year’s list.

Geneva College Lawsuit Against Obamacare Reinstated

Court Reinstates Christian College’s Obamacare Lawsuit | CNS News.

I have in the past noted several of these cases involving Christian organizations/businesses fighting the immoral impositions of Obamacare on contraception (Hobby Lobby, Crossway, e.g.,). On Thursday, May 9, 2013,  this case involving Geneva College was noted by CNS News and others (World magazine also carried the story). Geneva College (Beaver Falls, PA – 35 mi. northwest of Pittsburgh) is tied to the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (in the conservative family of Reformed churches in this country) and our churches have had students attend this college in the past. We need not only to watch these cases carefully but also to pray for faithfulness to God and His Word on the part of those Christians engaged in these significant legal battles.

Here is a portion of the story. Read all of it at the link above, as well as at the World Magazine link provided above.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Wednesday reinstated Geneva College’s lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s contraception mandate.

The Christian college, which “prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society,” objects to the administration’s requirement that it include coverage for abortion-producing products and contraceptives as well as sterilization procedures.

Geneva’s original lawsuit, filed in February, was dismissed a few weeks later “for lack of ripeness,” based partly on the Obama administration’s announcement that it was offering accommodation to religious entities such as Geneva that do not fit Obamacare’s definition of a “religious employer.” 

But in its motion to reconsider, Geneva College called the “accommodation” a “smoke and mirrors” approach that would still require the college to provide and pay for a plan that allows employees access to the objectionable services.

Resolution of the Reformed Presbyterian Church-US Concerning Same Sex Marriage

Resolution of the Reformed Presbyterian Church-US Concerning Same Sex Marriage.

This news item was part of the weekly “Aquila Report” summary I receive each week ( I have referenced this before and encouraged you to subscribe. It is a good source for news on Reformed and Presbyterian churches, colleges, etc.). This resolution recently adopted by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America is faithful to Scripture and powerful in its witness to the truth of God on sexuality and marriage.

I will give you the “AR” introduction (below) and urge you to read this entire resolution at the link above. And now, I also ask you, Is it time for our churches through its Synod also to address this matter to our government? Do we not even have the duty before God to do so? We have made statements before on Sabbath observance and union membership. Why not on this pressing issue of our day?

I am simply thinking out loud. Why would we not?! I know the arguments we have mustered in the past about doing this kind of thing (It’s not ecclesiastical business; it’s a matter of private citizenship, not public church pronouncement, etc.), but are these really true and justifiable? Is not the church the conscience of the nation? Does she not speak publicly from her pulpit every week (And now, through the Internet more openly and farther and wider than ever before!)? Why then not publicly to our government by way of letter?

I also understand the question of where to draw the line, if one starts to do this. Shall we then also draft letters on abortion, other marriage issues, as well other social evils? These are not easy questions to answer, and I do not pretend to have the answers. I do believe, however, that we have “privatized” our united, ecclesiastical and public faith too much.

In any case, here is the Aquila Report introduction to the resolution:

The Reformed Presbyterian Church in the U.S., at it meeting on April 19, 2013, adopted a statement concerning Homosexuality and Same Sex marriage. They intentionally included positions from the Presbyterian Church in America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church with the hope that they would once again join in making a prophetic statement to those in civil authority that the fear and judgment of God may at least move enough legislators and judges not to approve of or support legalizing “same sex marriage.” Their desire is that the whole Christian, and especially the Reformed church, should protest this matter.

And here is the first part of the resolution. Read the rest here:

The Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States being of more recent origin than the Presbyterian Church in America does at this date adopt the position of the Presbyterian Church in America on Homosexuality adopted at the 5th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, 1977, 5-49, 4, p. 67 and 8, p. 68:

Whereas, God has plainly spoken of homosexuality in his Word, denouncing both the,  act and the desire as sin, condemning this perversion as unnatural, a degrading,  passion, an indecent act, an error, an abomination and hence worthy of death  (Lev. 18:22, Rom. 1:26-32); and

Whereas, we recognize, that God’s righteous judgment is upon those who approve of  such detestable acts, as well as those who practice them; and

Moreover, whereas God has clearly stated that the condoning of homosexuals along  with murderers, immoral men, kidnappers, liars, perjurers and all other  unrighteousness is contrary to sound teaching (1 Timothy 1:11, 2 Peter 3:14-18);

Therefore, be it resolved that the General Assembly encourage Christians to recognize  their responsibility to petition the powers that be that such men and women who  practice, approve, or condone any of these activities not be invested with the authority to teach in schools or be in a position where they can influence our  nation, which professes “In God we trust.”

The World Wide Web Became Free 20 Years Ago Today!

The World Wide Web Became Free 20 Years Ago Today | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network.

Not much time to post today, but can’t pass up this notice from Scientific American. Happy birthday WWW! Think of how far this technology has developed in those 20 years! Astounding! The WWW is an integral part of our lives now, including libraries. Ponder for a moment all the free information – and now free ebooks, emags, etc! – available to us via the Web! Obviously it has been a powerful tool for good in our lives; but it has also been a powerful tool for evil. May God give us wisdom to discern the difference and to use it wisely, for our good and for His glory.

Read the rest of this news item at the link above, along with some interesting links that tell the rest of the story.

You and I can access billions of Web pages, post blogs, write code for our own killer apps—in short, do anything we want on the Web—all for free! And we’ve enjoyed free reign because 20 years ago, today, Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and his employer, the CERN physics lab in Geneva, published a statement that made the nascent “World Wide Web” technology available to every person, company and institution with no royalty or restriction.

Berners-Lee proposed the Web in 1989 and had a working version in Dec 1990. But by 1993 certain user groups were positioning themselves to try to monopolize the Web as a commercial product. Chief among them was the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois, which had developed a browser called Mosaic that would later become Netscape. So Berners-Lee and CERN decided to release the code for the Web, believing that software development by hundreds of Web enthusiasts at the time, and millions of people in the future, would always stay one step ahead of any company that tried to control the Web or force people to pay to use it. The decision came at a very tense time that could have ruined the Web’s primary goal as a ubiquitous, open communications platform.

Pentagon Blocks Access to Southern Baptist Website

Pentagon Blocks Access to Southern Baptist Website.

This disturbing news report was just released today by Fox News (April 27, 2013) – and follows on the heels of an even more disturbing report involving our military a few weeks ago (See this story: http://theaquilareport.com/an-extreme-position-on-extremism/ ).

Here is the latest to be reported about religious discrimination and censor (I.e., against Christians) in our military:

The U.S. Military has blocked access to the Southern Baptist Convention’s website on an unknown number of military bases because it contains “hostile content” — just weeks after an Army briefing labeled Evangelical Christians and Roman Catholics as examples of religious extremism, Fox News has learned.

The Southern Baptist Convention is the nation’s largest Protestant denomination known for its support of the pro-life movement and its strong belief in traditional marriage.

Southern Baptist chaplains reported that SBC.net had been blocked at military installations around the nation. An Air Force officer told Fox News that when he tried to log on to the website he received a message that his Internet usage was being logged and monitored for trying to access a blocked site.

The censorship was made public after an Army officer tried to log onto the denomination’s website and instead — received a warning message.

 

I don’t think we fully realize how quickly our constitutionally-protected freedoms  (I don’t like the much-abused term “rights”, since everything we have is a gift and a privilege, not a “right”.-cjt) are being taken away from us and how anti-Christian our current administration and society are becoming. We need to pray for our government leaders (As 1 Tim.2:1-6 instructs us, along with how and why) and for the church of Christ, that she would be faithful and uncompromising in the face of increasing persecution. Are we?

 

April 23, 2013 – World Book Night!

World Book Night US | Beyond Her Book.

I truly like the idea behind this celebration of books and reading, though I could wish better books would be handed out (more classics and some good children’s books). But, this project is still worth noting, and perhaps it could lead to other similar ideas and actions in your locale. What are YOU (and I!) doing to promote reading? What could we do? Maybe it’s not too late to gather up some books we have sitting around and pass them out to people in our neighborhoods. And if we truly wanted to do our neighbor good, how about passing out Bibles and some good Reformed literature? Just a thought.

In any case, here is some information on tonight’s “World Book Night” from a blog at Library Journal. Even if you don’t participate, you can still read a good book tonight. And read one to your child or grandchild

No, this isn’t a night that everyone in the world reads a book.  “World Book Night is an annual celebration dedicated to spreading the love of reading, person to person.  Each year on April 23, tens of thousands of people in the U.S. go out into their communities and give a total of half a million free World Book Night paperbacks to light and non-readers.”  April 23rd was chosen because “(it) is the UNESCO International Day of the Book, as well as Shakespeare’s birthday! It was also chosen in honor of Miguel de Cervantes, who died on April 23, 1616 (the same day as Shakespeare).”

…Anyone can sign up to help pass out books (it’s closed for this year, but you can sign up for a newsletter for next year).  You receive 20 not for resale paperbacks of one of the books to give out.  The books are handed out to those who don’t regularly read and/or people who don’t normally have access to printed books, for reasons of means or access. Check the website to see what’s going on in your area.

Which books have you read?  Any you want to read?  Which would you pass out?

Bottom Line:  “Books are fun—and they can be life-changing.” ~ World Book Night

Philadelphia abortion clinic horror – K.Powers

Philadelphia abortion clinic horror: Column.

The MSM (main stream media) has largely and significantly (though not surpisingly) been silent on this story of the trial of Philadephia murderer-abortionist Kermit Gosnell. But Kirsten Powers, a Fox News political analyst, writing in USA Today (April 11, 2013), calls her fellow journalists to task and expresses outrage over this silence and over the murderous actions of this doctor of death. Here is a portion of what she wrote:

Infant beheadings. Severed baby feet in jars. A child screaming after it was delivered alive during an abortion procedure. Haven’t heard about these sickening accusations?

It’s not your fault. Since the murder trial of Pennsylvania abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell began March 18, there has been precious little coverage of the case that should be on every news show and front page. The revolting revelations of Gosnell’s former staff, who have been testifying to what they witnessed and did during late-term abortions, should shock anyone with a heart.

NBC-10 Philadelphia reported that, Stephen Massof, a former Gosnell worker, “described how he snipped the spinal cords of babies, calling it, ‘literally a beheading. It is separating the brain from the body.” One former worker, Adrienne Moton, testified that Gosnell taught her his “snipping” technique to use on infants born alive.

The actions of this doctor are revolting to the mind, heart and stomach. I cannot begin to imagine how this man could do such things to tiny infants and function in other areas of life. I cannot imagine the horrors of working in such an environment of killing.

And yet Dr.Gosnell’s actions are the logical working out of the principles to which those in the abortion industry and those who support it are committed. If unborn babies are not real persons in their estimation, then what difference does it make if you kill them before or after they are born? In fact, what difference does it make if you kill a person in his/her 40′s or 80′s by euthanasia (so-called “mercy killing) or if you take his/her life at birth?

It doesn’t, because principles always work through. This is what we are seeing in our day. Horrifying? Indeed! Logical? Yes, given the rejection of God’s principles for life and loving Him and the neighbor. And maybe that’s why the MSM ignores this story. Because it isn’t really gruesome news to them anyway. It’s all quite normal.

New Issue of PR Theological Journal

The latest issue of the Protestant Reformed Theological Journal is off the press and being sent out this week! And volume 46 number 2 (April 2013) is also packed with stimulating and edifying articles and book reviews. Prof.Ronald Cammenga introduces the reader to the contents of this issue with his customary “Editor’s Notes”, the first part of which I quote here:

This issue of the Protestant Reformed Theological Journal begins by paying tribute to a key figure in the reform movement within the Reformed church in the Netherlands in 1834, the movement known as the Afscheiding. That key figure is Simon van Velzen (1809-1896), who was early on a pastor in the Afscheiding churches and in 1854 became one of the four original faculty members of the Theological School of the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk in Nederland established in Kampen. Mr. Joshua Engelsma, a third-year student in the Protestant Reformed Seminary, introduces us to Simon van Velzen in his article entitled “‘Father’ van Velzen.” In his overview of van Velzen’s life, Mr. Engelsma takes us from his early years and education, to the time when he cast his lot in with the Afscheiding, through the years he spent in the pastorate, which were also the formative years of the fledgling denomination, to the forty years he spent in the service of his denomination teaching in its seminary. His is a fascinating history of a theologian to whom the Protestant Reformed Churches, and all Reformed churches who have their roots in the Afscheiding, owe a great debt.

Complementing van Velzen’s biography is Mr. Marvin Kamps’ translation of van Velzen’s inaugural speech, which was given on the occasion of his appointment as Rector of the Theological School in Kampen. The subject of his speech is significant: “The Value of Symbolic Documents.” The contention of Prof. van Velzen was that the Reformed confessions must serve as the standard for the life and instruction of the Reformed seminary. The creeds must be authoritative in the life of Reformed churches, also in the Reformed seminaries. In addition, that instruction must endear the confessions to future Reformed ministers, so that they take the creeds with them into their pastorates in the congregations. Van Velzen’s call to the seminary and the church of his day to honor the authority of the confessions is as applicable to the church of our day as it was to the church of his day. Our day is a day in which, at least in many places, the creeds are dismissed altogether. In other places the creeds have become a wax nose; officebearers subscribe to them tongue-in-check. The church needs to be convinced that the creeds are her safety—the walls of defense that encircle her, keeping out the world and false doctrine.

In addition to these items, there are published in this issue the two inaugural sermons Herman Hoeksema preached after being installed as the new pastor of Eastern Ave. Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, MI in February of 1920 (his second charge). As Prof.R.Cammenga writes in his “Notes”:

The sermons are stirring! They encapsulate Hoeksema’s entire ministry. And they serve as a powerful reminder to the Reformed minister today concerning the nature of his calling. You will want to read both sermons.

Also of significance in this issue is more critical analysis of the teaching of Norman Shepherd and the Federal Vision heresy as emeritus professor Dvid J. Engelsma reviews a new “festschrift” for Shepherd. A number of other interesting books are reviewed as well. A listing of these as well as the cover and contents may be found in this pdf: PRTJ-April-2013-Cover

One of the great benefits of the PRT Journal is that it is sent out free to those who request it. If you would like to receive this issue, or would like to be placed on our mailing to receive the Journal from now on, please call the Seminary at 616-531-1490 or write us at 4949 Ivanrest Ave. SW, Wyoming MI 49418. For those of you who would like a digital copy, I place it here in pdf form: PRTJ-April-2013-v46#2 We are also working on putting the Journal into other digital forms, so stay tuned for that. All the back issues of the PRTJ may be accessed at the Seminary’s website.

Puritan Bay Psalm Book (1640) for Sale! Could fetch $30M

Hymnal that dates to 1640 could fetch $30M – Yahoo! News.

Here’s a fascinating news item from yesterday (posted April 12, 2013) about a significant piece of American Puritan history and Psalm-singing in this country. Wish I could place a bid on this Psalter! Well, I suppose I could, but I would have little chance of having it accepted Read about this sale below and find out a bit more about this first American Psalter by doing an Internet search.

NEW YORK (AP) — A tiny hymnal from 1640 believed to be the first book ever printed in what is now the United States is going up for auction, and it could sell for as much as $30 million.

Only 11 copies of the Bay Psalm Book survive in varying degrees of completeness. Members of Boston’s Old South Church have authorized the sale of one of its two copies at Sotheby’s Nov. 26.

“It’s a spectacular book, arguably one of the most important books in this nation’s history,” said the Rev. Nancy Taylor, senior minister and CEO of the church, which was established in 1669. Samuel Adams was a member and Benjamin Franklin was baptized there.

At one time, the church owned five copies of the 6-by-5-inch hymnal. One is now at the Library of Congress, another at Yale University and a third at Brown University.

…The book was published in Cambridge, Mass., by the Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It came just 20 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth.

The hymnal was supposed to be a faithful translation into English of the original Hebrew psalms — puritans believed selected paraphrases would compromise their salvation. The 1,700 copies were printed on a press shipped over from London.

A yellowed title page, adorned with decorative flourishes, reads: “The Whole Booke of Psalmes, Faithfully Translated into English Metre.” At the bottom, it says: “Imprinted 1640.”

Historians believe an almanac may have come off the press before the Bay Psalm Book. But Mark Dimunation, chief of rare books and special collections at the Library of Congress, says the almanac was more of a pamphlet or a broadsheet rather than a book. No copy of the almanac exists today. He notes that in the Americas, in general, books were printed in what is now Mexico as early as 1539.

The Bay Psalm Book is “an iconic piece. It’s the beginning of literate America,” said Dimunation. “American poetry, American spirituality and the printed page all kind of combine and find themselves located in a single volume.”