George Harinck on the Barmen Declaration

The Barmen Declaration from Fuller Seminary on Vimeo.
Speaker(s): Dr. George Harinck
Professor of History and Archivist at the Free University of Amsterdam

"Dr. Harinck brings a fascinating--and challenging--interpretation regarding the historical context in Nazi Germany in which this confessional document came forth.” President Richard J. Mouw
Dr. Harinck is also one of the leading present-day Dutch experts on theologian Abraham Kuyper.

Michael Polanyi's view of knowledge - a concept map

A concept map of Michael Polanyi's view of knowledge.


Polanyi Knowledge

The antithesis in pictures

The antithesis in pictures. Cartoon by Albert Hahn.

The text underneath reads: "Free thought against/ opposite dogma". 

Multatuli was the author of the satirical novel Max Havelaar.  

Source: BG C13/308 (print), The Dutch Labour Movement till 1918, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam.

(Some) reformational basics by David Hanson

These are the slides from David Hanson's presentation at WYSOCS' Open day on 29 September 2012.
The talk is a summary of a series of talks on a presented at Leeds and Sheffield.
If you'd like to book David to do a series of talks contact him via WYSOCS.

Some reformational basics from Steve Bishop

Richard Mouw's Abraham Kuyper (Eerdmans, 2011) - a mindmap

This is a mindmap of the second section of Richard Mouw's Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction. Eerdmans, 2011. The first part appeared here.

The Staves - Winter trees

WYSOCS - Open day Sept 2012

WYSOCS provides opportunities for learning from a Christian perspective in all aspects of life, it seeks to engage with and transform culture from a distinctively Christian worldview.

Saturday was an open day to provide a taste of what WYSOCS does.

Cal Bailey, a trustee of WYSOCS, opened the day by opening up the scriptures. As a businessman he was embarrassed by some of his fellow business folk. Capitalism has become distorted and become 'my gain at any cost'. It has been sold as a story of freedom but has become a story of slavery. In contrast Deuteronomy 6: 1-9 appears to be a story of slavery and yet brings great freedom. He posed a vital question: What is God's required behaviour for business?

WYSOCS has three main strands: RealityBites, LifeMatters and the newly launched Faith-in-Scholarship.

As part of LifeMatters a number of successful day events have been held. these include: Creation Regained with Al Wolters and Harry van Dyke, The Story of Richard Oastler (David Hanson), Healthy bioethics (James Rusthoven), three talks by scientists (Richard Gunton, Anthony Smith and Gareth Jones), Religious roots for secular law (Nicholas Aroney). A Reformationals' colloquim (July 2012) was also organised.

Mark Roques was winging his way to the Antipodes and couldn't make the day - instead we were treated to a clip of him doing his stuff at a recent Youth Workers event. This clip gives a flavour of what RealityBites is about - an attempt to communicate in a non-cliched way, to inspire and envision youth workers, teachers and students with the transforming gospel.



David Hanson then provided us with a short refresher on (some) reformational basics. This was a much shortened version of a series of talks he had given at Leeds and Sheffield. He remined us of the need to listen to the whole breadth of the word of God. All of creation is a spiritual reality and all of creation is a material reality .... all the way down.

During the refreshment break we were treated by some piano music by the multi-talented Anthony Smith.

The newest facet of WYSOCS is Faith-in-Scholarship. A new project to support postgraduates. This is headed up by Richard Dunning. Here, with his permission, are the
slides from his presentation:

WYSOCS Open day Faith-in-Scholarship from Steve Bishop

I then gave a brief introduction to the All of life redeemed website, highlighting the subject and journal resources there.

Richard Gunton concluded by showing the results for a recent survey of WYSOCS supporters.

You can still take part in the survey here.

The morning finished with a really excellent lunch.

Music for a Sunday morning - Benedikt Jahnel Trio

Workflowy - an excellent organiser

I have recently signed up to workflowy - it is an excellent, easy to use organiser/ to do list.
It is browser based so there's nothing to download and so can be use on multiple machines.

Use this link to sign up and you'll get 250 extra items per month (and get more for me too!).

Here a short vid to show how easy it is.

Work defined remix

The Staves

Is work a paycheck or a calling?

Howard Butt of http://www.thehighcalling.org shares a story about three people who have very different perspectives on their work.

Bible highlighter

[HT Light-hearted Calvinist]

How the Church Fails Businesspeople by John C. Knapp. Eerdmans, 2012

How the Church Fails Businesspeople

(And what can be done about it)

Eerdmans, 2012

ISBN 9780802863690

pbk, 178pp, 

publisher's web page

"Is faith only of value when healing is needed? Is it not essential to living our daily lives as instruments of God's healing power in the world? Church culture, like business culture, reinforces the notion that the proper place for faith is the private sphere. Despite this, many men and women in the pews are not easily persuaded that the God they worship on Sunday morning is unconcerned with how they make their living."

So writes John C. Knapp, director of Samford University's Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership. This perspective resonates with many. Our life outside the congregation is of little 'spiritual' value; Christianity is a part-time activity.These are the implicit messages conveyed by far too many church services. Knapp's contends that the church has failed us and has failed businesspeople in particular.

The ground covered in this book is similar to, but more focussed, than Amy Sherman's excellent Kingdom Calling. Going to most church services we would never realise that there are over 2000 Bible verses that deal with business, the impression given would be more in tune with Augustine's when he is alleged to have declared that 'business is in itself an evil'.

Knapp and his team interviewed 230 people to see how church has helped them in their businesses. It makes for sombre reading.  Most found that the church was too concerned with the (so-called) private sphere of life and uninterested in the public realm. The majority found that the church had done 'little or nothing to equip them for faithful living at work'.

It's not all doom and gloom though. Knapp identifies some glimmers of hope. The faith at work movement provides some promise. He stresses that this is a laity led movement. But is that such a bad thing? This highlights one weakness of the book. It doesn't really address the role of the church - it fails to distinguish between the church as an institute and as an organism.

This is a book to give to your pastor. My concern is that it will only be read by the 'laity'. Until we see a change in clergy training it may be a while before we see a paradigm shift in the way that the church as institution equips the church as organism for 'works of service'.


Buy from Byron Borger's Heart & Minds store.

Skylights - a timelapse film

Music from lowercase noises

Kuyper's The Implications of Public Confession

The Implications of Public Confession
Abraham Kuyper
Translated by Henry Zylstra
Zondervan, 1934
88 pages

This short booklet was translated by Henry Zylstra from part III of the Dutch Voor Distel een Murt (1891). It was originally published in English in 1934 by Zondervan. It has since been republished by Federation of Protestant Reformed People's Societies (1934) and by Kessinger Publishing as a print-on-demand book (2010).

Voor Distel een Murt comprised 44 devotions on the sacraments, baptism, public confession and the Lord's supper. The twelve on public confession make up this booklet. They were originally written for, and published in, De Heraut from 11 Jan 1891 - 29 March 1891.

For Kuyper 'Baptism is not complete without its complement, the holy supper'. This posed a problem as Kuyper advocated infant baptism. In part to overcome this public confession was required after baptism before taking the 'holy supper'. In these short chapters Kuyper examines the nature of this public confession. He looks at the 'who' and 'why' questions, as well as the questions of church membership and tithing.

It is available here as a pdf.

Jan Dengerink on the church

According to reformed conviction, the church-organized-with-special-offices is looked upon as a specific and separate sphere of life. Perhaps we can best describe the church as a community of believers instituted by Christ and by Him endowed with offices for the administration of Word and sacraments. She does not find her place at the top of a hierarchically organized “natural” life but in the midst of other life-spheres such as family, school, state and industry. The church may not govern the latter but serve them through the proclamation of the full Word of God. This Word teaches that the bearers of special offices as well as individuals Christians have their own task in life according to the general office of believers. 

However, in view of the fact that the church is entrusted with the administration of Word and and sacraments, ... she does not occupy a unique position. Although this position is not at the “top” of human life in the Roman Catholic sense, the church may not be placed on a par with the other socalled “natural” spheres which are rooted in the crration-order. In Christian life the Church occupies a central, as a matter of fact, the central place for which no community can act as a substitute. Without the church Christian life on earth cannot be understood since there the communion of saints is experienced in the most central manner. 

Jan Dengerink 

Wordle on the whole of Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism

In previous posts I have displayed Wordles of each of the separate chapters of Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism. Here is a wordle on the whole book:

This list is largely in alphabetical order. 

Two things stand out: 

• the little use, compared with the word 'God', of the word 'Christ' - only slightly more than 'Calvin'!
•  and how often the word 'life' is used.

Wordles on

Chapter 1 'Calvinism as a life system'

Chapter 2 'Calvinism and religion'

Chapter 3 'Calvinism and politics'

Chapter 4 'Calvinism and science'

Chapter 5 'Calvinism and art'

Chapter 6 'Calvinism and the future'

Mind maps on

Chapter 1 'Calvinism as a life system'

Chapter 2 'Calvinism and religion'

Chapter 3 'Calvinism and politics'

Chapter 4 'Calvinism and science'

Chapter 5 'Calvinism and art'

Chapyer 6 'Calvinism and the future'

Music for a Sunday morning - Max Richter

The Entrepreneurial Vocation by Robert A. Sirico

The Entrepreneurial Vocation
Robert A. Sirico
Acton Institute, 2012
http://www.vocationofbusiness.com/

The Lord is my entrepreneur I shall not lack?

This is little book asks the right questions. I'm not sure it always gives the right answers.

Robert Sirico is a Catholic priest who co-founded the Acton Institute in 1990. He has written this book out of a concern for the church and the lack of understanding of economic principles. He writes with the aim of integrating the concept of entrepreneur and vocation. He is right when he writes:

While entrepreneurs should not be unfairly criticized for making money, they also must not be treated as victims of unjust discrimination who deserve a special blessing. However, it is also true that their chosen profession deserves to be legitimized by their faith. The public must begin to acknowledge the value of the entrepreneurial vocation, the wise stewardship of talents, and the tangible contributions of entrepreneurs to society.

He starts by highlighting the lack of insight many have regarding the integration of faith and business. Typical of many examples is this one Sirico gives:

I recall one man, a self-described conservative Christian, saying that he no longer attended church services because he refused to sit in the pew with his family and, in effect, be chastised for his business acumen. How many critical sermons can a small-business owner or investment banker hear before he or she loses heart and decides to sleep in on the Sabbath? 

His analysis is correct. "An obvious reason for this ignorance is the astonishing lack of any economics training in virtually all seminaries." He may well be right, but is that the role of seminaries? Does this mean we should also provide science training in seminaries, and what about politics, art .... the danger then would be the seminary becomes a general education college. I would rather see seminaries equipping the pastors to be able to equip the rest of the saints. That may include some economics training, but better would be equipping in the tools to be able to critique the economic, scientific, political, .... ideologies.


I must also confess to being a little troubled by his 'principal argument':

The principal argument of this essay is that the pursuit of excellence, like the mind’s original constitution, discloses humanity’s ontological orientation toward the highest and most supreme good, namely, the perfect apprehension of God in heaven (cf. 1 Cor.13:12).

This sounds a little close to being neo-platonic.

He helpfully contrasts two views of the market the first held by 'religious leaders' as they pass the collection plate, is static and commands a Robin Hood morality; the other held by entrepreneur is of making rather than collecting money, the market is dynamic, a process rather than a place or object. This is obviously an over-characterisation. He makes this point to show that the 'clergy' must understand the market economy.

For those who think that the business enterprise is fuelled by selfishness and greed or that when entrepreneurs make economic losses they are getting their just deserts, this booklet will provide a helpful antidote.

He closes the book by taking a look at the parable of the talents and uses it to show how business and entrepreneurship are not no-go areas for Christians. As he rightly notes: "Entrepreneurs are the source of more social and spiritual good than is generally recognized."

There is much in this short booklet for careful and considered thought, it will provide the stimulus to think more carefully over these issues. The entrepreneur is a part of God's good creation and should be valued as such. The entrepreneurial vocation is just as much a vocation, a calling as being a priest, pastor or preacher.

Gerber Baby Christian Food

Una filosofia basata su presupposti cristiani

An Italian reformational philosophy site:

 

The Richard Mouw rap

This is Branson Parler's rap mentioned in the previous post:

Richard Mouw on Kuyper at Kuyper college

Go and think no more

From: Third Way June 1995.

Wordle on Kuyper's Lectures Ch 6

This is a 'wordle' of Abraham Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 6 "Calvinism and the future". The size of the word is proportional to its use. 

Throughout the lectures Kuyper has been making much use of the word 'life'. Here it is the word most used. For Kuyper Calvinism is life in all it fullness - and that affects the whole of life. 

Wordles on

Chapter 1 'Calvinism as a life system'

Chapter 2 'Calvinism and religion'

Chapter 3 'Calvinism and politics'

Chapter 4 'Calvinism and science'

Chapter 5 'Calvinism and art'

Chapter 6 'Calvinism and the future'

Mindmap of chapter 6

Covolo on Eglinton in Themelios

Robert Covolo reviews James Eglinton's Trinity and Organism in the latest edition of Themelios here.

He concludes:

It is difficult to overstate the importance of Eglinton’s work for Bavinck studies. This volume convincingly overturns a paradigm that has stymied the field, and it does so in a way that elucidates one of the most creative theological minds in the modern period. What’s more, it does this while simultaneously offering an incisive overview of Bavinck’s theology. This accomplishment is all the more valuable given Eglinton’s rejection of a reading of Bavinck that ignores the problematic or unresolved issues in Bavinck’s thought. The result is one of the best companions to Bavinck’s theology in the English language. Eglinton’s work leads the way for a new generation of Bavinck scholarship keen to advance Bavinck’s vision for a capaciously Reformed, trinitarian orthodoxy capable of speaking with both integrity and relevance to our modern world.

My visual summaries of Eglinton's excellent book are here.

A book worth waiting for! Bratt on Kuyper

Eerdmans have just announced a forthcoming book by James Bratt on Abraham Kuyper.

Abraham Kuyper (LRB)
Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat
James D. Bratt
PAPERBACK; Coming Soon: 1/31/2013
ISBN: 978-0-8028-6906-7
464 pages

Details here.

Description

In this first full-scale English biography of Abraham Kuyper, the highly influential religious and political leader of Dutch Calvinists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, historian James D. Bratt draws connections between the life and thought of Kuyper and current debates in America today. Bratt's study covers Kuyper's early years, his development as a person, his various leadership roles and spheres of influence, and the considerable ongoing impact of his ideas. A convinced Calvinist and a distinctly modern public figure, Kuyper held a wide variety of roles over the course of his life -- minister, newspaper editor, educational innovator, politician, religious reformer, and prime minister of the Netherlands (1901-1905). Kuyper's life demonstrates how devotees of any faith can carry on a responsible public life in contention -- and concert -- with people of other convictions.

Wordle on Kuyper's Lectures Ch 5

This is a 'wordle' of Abraham Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 5 "Calvinism and art". The size of the word is proportional to its use. 

As in Chapter 1 the words life and development are used often.

Wordles on

Chapter 1 'Calvinism as a life system'

Chapter 2 'Calvinism and religion'

Chapter 3 'Calvinism and politics'

Chapter 4 'Calvinism and science'

Chapter 5 'Calvinism and art'

Chapter 6 'Calvinism and the future'

Mindmap of Chapter 5

What is Reformational Philosophy? by Andree Troost

A new book from Paideia Press  

What is Reformational Philosophy? An Introduction to the Cosmonomic Philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd 

by Andree Troost

Wordle on Kuyper's Lectures Ch 4

This is a 'wordle' of Abraham Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 4 "Calvinism and science". The size of the word is proportional to its use. 


As would be expected the terms science, Calvinism and God appear most. Life also is predominantly used. The term cosmos has many mentions - again showing Kuyper's emphasis that the gospel of the kingdom is good news for the whole cosmos and not humans only.

Wordles on

Chapter 1 'Calvinism as a life system'

Chapter 2 'Calvinism and religion'

Chapter 3 'Calvinism and politics'

Chapter 4 'Calvinism and science'

Chapter 5 'Calvinism and art'

Chapyer 6 'Calvinism and the future'

Mindmap of Chapter 4

Wordle on Kuyper's lectures Ch 3

This is a 'wordle' of Abraham Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 3 "Calvinism and Politics". The size of the word is proportional to its use. 


Again the usual and expected terms appear many times: God, government, church, state, authority, Calvinism; more unusually, for a late nineteenth-century Calvinist,  the words 'sphere' and 'sovereignty' appear in conjunction.




Wordles on

Chapter 1 'Calvinism as a life system'

Chapter 2 'Calvinism and religion'

Chapter 3 'Calvinism and politics'

Chapter 4 'Calvinism and science'

Chapter 5 'Calvinism and art'

Chapter 6 'Calvinism and the future'

Mindmap of chapter 3

Wordle of Kuyper's Lectures Ch 2

This is a 'wordle' of Abraham Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 2  "Calvinism as religion". The size of the word is proportional to its use.


The usual words are large: God, religion, church, human, Calvinism, Christ.
Interestingly, so too are: life, earth, world. This shows Kuyper's concern for a worldy (in the right sense) form of Christianity.   
One surprise is that the word 'must' gets a lot of mentions. This is perhaps indicative of Kuypers' rhetorical style. 

Wordles on

Chapter 1 'Calvinism as a life system'

Chapter 2 'Calvinism and religion'

Chapter 3 'Calvinism and politics'

Chapter 4 'Calvinism and science'

Chapter 5 'Calvinism and art'

Chapter 6 'Calvinism and the future'

Mindmap of chapter 2

Graham Cray on church

Here he makes an interesting distinction between church scattered and church gathered:
Kuyper made a similar distinction between church as institution and church as organism.

"The primary purpose of church gathered is to equip us for church scattered."

Richard Mouw's Abraham Kuyper (Eerdmans, 2011) - a mindmap

This is a mindmap of the first section of Richard Mouw's Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction. Eerdmans, 2011.

For a list of reviews of Mouw's book see here.

A Shot of Faith {To The Head} by Mitch Stokes

A Shot of Faith {to the Head}
Be Confident Believers in an Age of Cranky Atheists
Mitch Stokes
Thomas Nelson, 2012. Pbk, 251pp.
ISBN 978-1-5955-5434-5

Mitch Stokes has studied under some of the best Christian philosophers: Nicholas Wolterstorff for a Masters and Alvin Plantinga and Peter van Inwagen for his PhD. Here he draws upon, develops and distils their ideas in this introductory book.

Stokes starts by looking at the new atheists and shows that they adopt an evidentialist view (the view that all beliefs, if they are rational, must be supported by sufficient evidence) . He quickly shows that evidentialism is false but does so in a humorous and non-technical way. As he puts it:

We have a choice then: either evidentialism is true and we're all irrational, or else many of the beliefs we ordinarily accept as rational really are rational and evidentialism is false.

In parts two and three he looks at two old chestnuts: science shows God doesn't exist and suffering and evil show God doesn't exist.

In part two he makes some interesting remarks about mathematics; he believes it is central to the science-faith debate. He argues that the effectiveness of mathematics means that a naturalistic account of reality is unfounded. He uses Plantinga's idea that mathematics isn't created. However, this would mean that mathematics takes on divine attributes! For me that's a few steps too far! God is the only uncreated; mathematics is a creation.

The other 'defeater' he examines is the existence of evil and suffering. He takes the usual approach of distinguishing two types of problem (the logical and the probalistic arguments) before turning the tables and looking at the problem of evil for the atheist. If there is no divine lawgiver how can we have moral standards? If there are no moral standards how can we have evil?

Stokes has written this book not to defend Christianity against the (irrational) claims of the new atheists or to get atheists to believe in God, but essentially to equip Christians to expose the flaws in the new atheist approach. He is providing tools to do apologetics, in a non-apologetic way.

Abraham Lincoln is purported to have said “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” This book will certainly help with the tool sharpening. It gives Christians the tools to cut down the rootless atheist tree.

Is there a place for God in Education?

Wordle of Kuyper's Lectures Ch 1

This is a 'wordle' of Abraham kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 1 "Calvinism as a lifesystem". The size of the word is proportional to its use. 

Hardly surprising is that words such as Calvinism, God, world, church, human/ man are used a lot. But what does stand out are the two concepts life and development.  These were important for Kuyper in a way that wasn't in so many other late nineteenth-century Calvinist works.

Wordles will follow on the other lectures in the nest few weeks/ days.

Wordles on

Chapter 1 'Calvinism as a life system'

Chapter 2 'Calvinism and religion'

Chapter 3 'Calvinism and politics'

Chapter 4 'Calvinism and science'

Chapter 5 'Calvinism and art'

Chapter 6 'Calvinism and the future'

Summary table of parts of Chapter 1

Mind map of Chapter 1

Creation Regained

Anthony Smith has been blogging through Al Wolters' excellent Creation Regained. 

His posts provide an excellent summary of the book:

  An all-encompassing worldview
  God the law-giver and his creation
  The development of creation
  Creation distorted
  Creation regained
  Regaining creation
  Worldview, story and mission


Some years ago I posted some study questions to the first edition of the book. I thought it would be worth recycling them here.



Before starting to read Al Wolters' Creation Regained write down what you understand by the following terms: creation, fall, redemption, law, dualism, word, worldview.

CHAPTER 1 What is a worldview?

1. How does Wolters define worldview? What are the four main components of a worldview?
2. How do scripture and a worldview interrelate?
3. Describe the reformational worldview. How does it differ from other Christian worldviews?

CHAPTER 2 Creation

Pages 12-24
1. What are the two (double) aspects of creation?
2. What does Wolters mean by law?
3. In what ways does God impose his laws upon the cosmos?
4. What is the distinction between "norms" and "laws of nature"
5. What is the distinction between general and particular creation law?
6 What does Wolters mean by "word"?

Page 24-35
7. How can the law of creation impart knowledge?
8. What does Wolters mean by "wisdom"?

Page 35-43
9. What does it mean to develop creation?

CHAPTER 3 Fall

1. What are the effects of the fall on society, culture, humanity ,...
2. What does Wolters mean when he says "Sin is alien in creation"?
3. Explain the meaning of structure and direction (cf also p 9)
4. What three meanings are given to the word "world" in the scriptures?

CHAPTER 4 Redemption

1. What synonyms are there for the word "redemption"; how do these crystallise its meaning?
2. Why is it that nothing in creation is neutral?
3. What is meant by the kingdom of God?
4 What are the misconceptions associated with the kingdom?

CHAPTER 5 Discerning structure and direction
(cf also pp 9, 49 ff)

1. How do the terms structure and direction summarise the biblical themes of creation, fall and redemption?
2. What two connotations of "reform" are present in the term reformational?
3. What is a "dualistic worldview"?
4. What does Wolters mean by "We are always in danger of rejecting the creational in the name of the fall, and of accepting the fallen in the name of creation".


Look back at the meanings you gave to the terms creation, fall, redemption, law, dualism, word, worldview. How has reading Creation Regained helped you to clarify/ change the meaning you gave to them? In what ways has your thinking changed (or remained unchanged)?

Resources for a Christian approach to music

Books

Jeremy Begbie


1989. Music in God's Purposes, Continuum.

1991. Voicing Creation's Praise: Towards A Theology of the Arts, T&T Clark.

2000. Beholding the Glory: Incarnation Through the Arts (ed.), DLT/Baker Books.

2000. Theology, Music, and Time, Cambridge University Press.

2002. Sounding the Depths: Theology Through the Arts (ed.), SCM Press.

2007. Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music (ed. with (Engaging Culture Series), Baker Academic.

2011. Resonant Witness: Conversations between Music and Theology (ed. with Steven R. Guthrie) Eerdmans. 

Harold Best 1993. Music Through the Eyes of Faith. Harper

Karen A. De Mol. 1999.  Sound Stewardship: How Shall Christians Think About Music? Dordt College Press.

William Edgar 1986. Taking Note of Music. ThirdWay/ SPCK.

Hans Rookmaaker 2002. New Orleans Jazz, Mahalia Jackson and the Philosophy of Art: The Complete Works Vol 2. Piquant.

Quentin Schultze et al. 1991. Dancing in the Dark: Youth, Popular Culture and the Electronic Media. Eerdmans.  


Online resources
Arts Reformation

International Reformed Bulletin issues 1-4

The International Reformed Bulletin was published by the International Association for Reformed Faith and Action (IARAFA).
It was first published in April 1958 under the editorship of Philip Edgecumbe Hughes.
Thnaks to WYSOCS' David Hanson who later took up the editorship the Bulletin will be made available online at www.allofliferedeemed.co.uk/IRB.htm


The fist four issues are up and the contents are shown below:

1	Apr-58
	Editorial					Dr P E Hughes		2
	International Congress, Strasbourg 22-30/7 1958							5
	The International Association: its Foundation and Growth					Dr Jan D Dengerink		7
	International News
		France: the Story of the French Calvinist Society				Rev Pierre Ch Marcel		11
		Japan				Dr Shinya Ito		14
		The United States: Calvinistic Action Committee				Rev Jacob Hoogstra		15
	The Christian and the State					Dr P E Hughes		17
	Voice from the Past: Three Fears to be Overcome					John Hus		24
2	Oct-58
	Editorial					Dr P E Hughes		2
	Confessors of the Reformed Faith					Prof Jean Cadier		4
	The Evangelical Library					Geoffrey Williams		13
	International News
		Canada				Prof W Stanford Reid		17
		Indonesia				Prof Raden Soedarmo		21
		Belgium				Rev Walter Marichal		25
	Secretarial Notes							28
	Voice from the Past: The Most Diligent Preacher and Prelate in all England					Hugh Latimer		31
3	Apr-59
	Editorial					Dr P E Hughes		2
	The Reformed Faith and the Modern Concept of Masn					Prof GC Berkouwer
	International News
		Brazil				Prof Gerson A Meyer		13
		Lebanon				Henry Madany		16
		Great Britain				Dr P E Hughes		19
	Congress Sermon: On the Reform of a Sceptic					Dr P E Hughes		24
	Secretarial Notes
	Voice from the Past: The New Birth and Good Works					Martin Luther		32
4	Oct-59
	Editorial					Dr P E Hughes		2
	The Church in the Holy Land					Rev Jacob Blum		4
	The Reformed Position in Australia					Rev DWB Robinson		11
	Calvin the Theologian					Rev Dr James I Packer		15
	Witness In and Through the Family					Prof Gwyn Walters		25
	Voice from the Past: Joy in the Midst of Affliction					John Chrysostom		36

Bill Edgar 'Heaven in a nightclub"

Music for a Sunday morning - Możdżer, Danielsson & Fresco

Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 6 mindmap

Wolterstorff & Plantinga on the nature of Christian scholarship

Plantinga discusses his classic paper On Christian Scholarship

Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 5 mindmap

Zombie apocalypse

Music for a Sunday - Vijay Iyer trio

50 shades of grey

Contours of a Missional Neo-Calvinism by Mike Goheen and Craig Bartholomew

Here is an updated version of Contours of a Neo-Calvinist Position from April 2011.

Contours of a Missional Neo-Calvinism

Mike Goheen and Craig Bartholomew

1. We begin with Jesus the Lord Christ and this focus opens up into a full Trinitarian faith.
2. Christ is rendered to us truly in Scripture, which is fully trustworthy as God’s Word.
3. Christ stands at the centre of the biblical story and the good news he proclaims is about the kingdom as the goal of history—God is restoring his rule over the whole of human life and all of creation.
4. Since Christ has revealed and accomplished the end of history the Scriptures have a storied shape, and as such tell the true story of the whole world.
5. A central theme in the biblical story is God’s election of a people to embody the kingdom, to be a preview of the goal of history, and thus to bear witness to Christ’s rule over all of life in life, deed, and word – this constitutes mission.
6. The comprehensive gospel of the kingdom has been narrowed and consigned to a very minor, private place within the dominant Western humanist worldview, and this calls for a conscious articulation of a biblical worldview in relation to the cultural worldview to enable the church to recover the public truth and all-embracing scope of the good news.
7. The good news is a message concerning the restoration of the creation including human life from sin, and thus a biblical worldview insists on a comprehensive and integrated understanding of creation, fall and restoration as the most basic categories of the biblical story.
8. The fundamental backdrop of God’s drama of restoration is creation and thus we embrace a rich doctrine of creation including its good and dynamic creation order and humanity’s place within it.
9. God’s order for creation unfolds in history and thus we affirm the historical development or differentiation of creation.
10. The implication of the fall is that the power of sin and evil now radically twists every part of creation, individual and communal human life, and cultural development. While the structures of society remain good the distorting power of sin means they have been radically misdirected.
11. The Bible tells the story of restoration centred and accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ which is the recovery of God’s originally good purposes for the whole of his creation and all of human life.
12. The outpouring of the Spirit brings a foretaste of God’s renewing power into history.
13. The church is the community that is gathered to Christ in repentance and faith for the forgiveness of sins, based on the substitutionary work of Jesus on the cross, and so have begun to taste that comprehensive salvation with the call to make known Christ’s forgiveness and renewing power in life, word, and deed across the whole spectrum of human life.
14. The local congregation plays a central role in God’s story as that place where God’s renewing power is at work to form and nurture a faithful kingdom community.
15. Since God’s restorative power is at work in the creation by the Spirit, and since the forces of evil remain powerfully at work in the creation, we recognize an ultimate religious conflict for the whole of human life that will often lead to suffering. The church is called to side with the kingdom of God and participate in God’s redemptive mission—the missio Dei—as witnesses to his victory. But since we await the final victory, there is no room for triumphalism.
16. The mission of God’s people must be rooted in a communal life centred in the gospel, and also in a vibrant spirituality of worship, prayer, and thanksgiving.
17. God is at work leading his creation to its destiny of a new heavens and a new earth, and only then will the kingdom finally come. Then the whole of human life and the creation will be restored and renewed from sin and its consequences.

Thanks to Mike Goheen for permission to publish it here and to Mike Wagenman for facilitating it.

History of art

HT refwrite

Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 4 mindmap

Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 3 mindmap

Mindmap of Abraham Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism Ch 3 "Calvinism and politics".

Here Kuyper shows that Calvinism is not merely an ecclesiastical concept. Neo-Calvinism stresses the sovereignty of God over every area and aspect of life. Here Kuyper articulates and fleshes out how State, church and society relate using the idea of sphere sovereignty. 

Music for a Sunday morning: This Will Destroy You