216--A Good Friday Poem by Jan H. Boer

A Good Friday Prayer

Jan H. Boer

Lord God, our Father;

Lord God, our Saviour,

Here we are with Jesus at the end of 33 years of living amongst us,    

          After three years of healing,

          After three years of demonstrating and teaching Your Kingdom.

                  

It all began with You wrapped in the swaddling cloths of birth,

          the cloth of life and of hope.

It seemingly all ended once again wrapped in cloth, but now the

          cloth of death.

It all began in an animal manger, fit only for the lowest of the low;

It all seemingly ended in a cave of death.

And there we leave You, our Saviour.

          An apparent end to years of teaching the Kingdom.

          In the hands of a good and upright man, who had been waiting

                   For that Kingdom

                   But now was left perplexed and shattered with a dead Jesus

                             on his hands.

And there, in that tomb, we leave You

          With a group of faithful women who had traveled Your long    

journey with You.

Apparently only to be rewarded with that onerous task of putting

Him away—for good.

Lord, we remember the words of the ancient prophet:

You were pierced for our transgressions, for mine;

You were crushed for our iniquity, for mine.

And You were buried for our sins and evil, for mine.

There, in that tomb, we leave You.

Yes, we have a more joyful hindsight than did Joseph;

Yes, we have a more hopeful scene of what’s ahead than the women.

But for now, as we go home, we leave You there…

          In the darkness of that tomb.

Post 215--Financial Nakedness

I reminded myself the other day that I really want to get Canadian stuff on this blog. I re-started on 214 and I hope I'm now on a Canuck roll. Today it's Arnold Machel, a resident of White Rock, BC.  The town lies just north of the Canadian-USA border. So I am just squeezing by--assuming Machel is not an American citizen!

I am not all that familiar with the magazine in which Machel's article appears, namely The Light Magazine of March 2018. So, whether today's feature is part of a regular column in The Light or just a one-time article I do not know, but that does not really matter.

I write or, rather, pass on an article on a subject that really seems foreign to me--yes, and yet Canadian! Financial openness and honesty between married couples. The subjects seems somewhat foreign to me, for my wife and I share everything financial. We only have joint bank accounts and we only have joint emails, so that we have full access to all our finances and dealings. We also have one single mailing address. All this means we cannot hide anything from each other; we both have access to everything.

The article indicates that one-third of married Canadian couples keep financial secrets from each other or engage in "financial infidelity."  I'm glad it's only one-third, but that is still a lot and, I suspect, it is on the increase, since marital ties are losing their strength as divorce increases. Financial secrets and infidelity, it seems to me, are indications of marital secrets and infidelity; they are indications of weak marital ties.  When your ties are weak; if your "I do" is merely a ceremonial symbol without any serious intention behind it, then you will probably hesitate to share everything, including finance, for you never know what tomorrow will bring.  My wife and my "I do" were taken seriously as vows before God and we had decided that, come what may, we will work our way through without the threat of divorce. So, we have no reason to be secretive about our finances. It is truly liberating when you don't have to hide stuff. 

I plan another financial topic for Post 217,for 216 is reserved for a topic related to Good Friday and Easter. That topic is closely related to naked finance, for if you believe in the events celebrated this weekend, then chances that you have separate finance are slim, since your marriage is built on the Rock named Jesus. 

So, introducing Arnold Machel!

                            Getting financially naked

by Arnold Machel CFP

“…and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

– Luke 16:10 (NIV)

It’s been all over the news lately and it’s been dubbed “financial infidelity”.  An online poll found that 36% of Canadians have lied about a financial matter to a romantic partner and 34% keep financial secrets from them.  The most common form of deception was secretly running up a credit card bill.  Other answers were “lied about income”, “made a major purchase without telling me” and “went bankrupt without informing me”.

A small number of these infractions are likely simply due to a misunderstanding and/or poor communication.  For example, a “major purchase” could mean something different to husband and wife. But you have to work pretty hard at concealing growing credit card debt or bankruptcy, so I’ll go out on a limb here and say that in the vast majority of these circumstances a spouse is actively involved in deceit.

I’ve seen first hand the devastating results of this type of behaviour.  Years ago, I met with a nice young couple and worked with them for a few years as they raised kids and struggled financially.  The wife, addicted to gambling, started hiding withdrawals from their bank account from her husband.  She admitted to it when he discovered it and challenged her, but it was too late.  They tried to get through it, but failed.  Ultimately it caused the destruction of their marriage.  My guess is that it was the deceit more than the addiction that caused the failure.

As Christians we have no excuse for this kind of deceit.  Yes – we screw up.  Yes – we fail.  But honesty with our spouses must be held in the highest regard.  And when we’re honest and contrite, it’s surprising how much grace is afforded to us.

One way to avoid getting there in the first place might be to have regular financial discussions.  Couples often find it challenging to talk about sensitive subjects such as sex and money.  The wife cries.  The guy doesn’t know how to react.  They fight and feel like they’re not getting anywhere and sometimes that may be the case – they may not be getting anywhere.  Regardless of how difficult it can be, it’s important to have those deeper conversations.  In some cases professional counselling may be needed.

There are often issues in a marriage that we will never resolve and we may need to accept that we will forever be on opposite sides of.  But that never justifies deceit.  In fact, having regular discussions makes it easier to fess up early on if there ever is even a hint of something that might lead to deceit.

More often though, regular discussion does help us move forward and to find common areas of agreement.  It builds our relationships when we work together to resolve problems and/or respectfully discuss topics to try to find common ground.

Personally, my wife and I have found it relationship building to discuss our future goals, be they short, medium or long term.  Visioning our future life together helps reinforce our commitment to one another and helps ensure that we are rowing in the same direction… at least most of the time.  It’s not something that we do formally and it’s not specifically about money.  It’s just something that, over the years, we’ve developed a habit of doing and tends to help us direct our finances.

We talk about places we want to travel to, organizations we want to support, legacies we want to create. It’s not like either one of us rubber-stamps the other’s vision.  Sometimes we disagree.  Sometimes one of us has to give in to the other.  And sometimes alternate visions just sit there – waiting – and we have to accept the possibility that they will sit there waiting forever.  The important thing is that the relationship is more important than any issue.  And honesty is the cornerstone of any healthy relationship.

Valentine’s Day is over, but if you are one of the many Canadians hiding things (financial or otherwise) from your spouse, consider giving them another Valentine’s gift: honesty and repentance.  Get financially naked with your spouse.  It won’t be easy.  And there’s a good chance that it will make your marriage harder in the short term.  But keep being honest; keep talking about the deeper issues – and your marriage will be stronger for it in the long run.

Arnold Machel, CFP(r) lives, works and worships in the White Rock/South Surrey area.  He attends Gracepoint Community Church where he serves on the Leadership Team.  He is a Certified Financial Planner with IPC Investment Corporation and Visionvest Financial Planning & Services.  Questions and comments can be directed to him at dr.rrsp@visionvest.ca or through his website at www.visionvest.ca  Please note that all comments are of a general nature and should not be relied upon as individual advice.  The views and opinions expressed in this commentary may not necessarily reflect those of IPC Investment Corporation.   While every attempt is made to ensure accuracy, facts and figures are not guaranteed.

Post 214--Parent 1 / Parent 2: Christie vs Justiin

In Post 212 I promised I would treat you to a dish of Christie--Christie Blatchford, that is, a Postmedia columnist.  212 dealt with that amazing issue of public bathrooms and transgender. Well, this one today also deals with a trans issue. And of all the luck, would you believe it? This particular column of Christie is crossed out and does not appear on the internet, which means I either keyboard it in myself or summarize--or break my promise, something that many many moons ago I pledged not to do too often. 

Remember those posts way back when? I promised I would try not to break too many promises, but that it is hard to avoid all the time. Just for the record, in the case of 212, I did not break any promise; I just postponed one.  Hope you'll accept subtle distinctions. We writers thrive on them!

Back to Christie. Her heading:  "Can we put the Liberals on mute?"  Her subtitle: "Government's social engineering going way too far."  The "Government" she's talking about is Canada's Fed. Though in this article she applies this to gender terminology, her subtitle can be applied to a wide range of things that all lead to a desire on my part to mute the beast, period.

I should be more moderate with my language. Referring to one's Government as "the beast" is a bit much and harsh. Being a Christian, the admonition in Scripture to respect, obey and pray for government is important. For a moment I forgot, which is not difficult to do, given the kind of "leadership" oozing out of Ottawa these days. 

I hope you remember my statement in 212 that I am fully in favour of giving our transgender friends full scope and freedom. I resist any unnecessary restriction on their freedom as well as on mine. I added to that that I do oppose and resent the agenda(s) of the extreme among them, as I do any extreme apart from those extreme in genuine Christian love. Well, the extremist(s) in this case are Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, whom Christie refers to as "that self-described proud feminist," and his hangers on.     

It is so absurd that the only way I can describe the issue for you is through Christie's nimble fingers. "Service Canada bosses have been given a directive telling them to use gender-neutral language to avoid 'portraying a perceived bias toward a particular sex or gender.'  Instead of using the tried-and-true Mr., Mrs. or Ms., for instance, employees were told to either use a client's full name or to ask how they'd prefer to be addressed. Similarly...workers were also told to avoid such gender-specific terms a 'father' and 'mother', and to use 'parent' instead."  

Not surprisingly, it's "already causing employees grief, having to inquire of bewildered patrons if he/she is 'parent 1' or 'parent 2." Nor is it surprising that "Families Minister Duclos was furiously back-pedaling, tweeting that Service Canada would of course'continue to use Mr/Ms....  We are only confirming how people want to be addressed as a matter of respect."  Christie asks, "Then why did he tell his people to stop using those particular honorifics?" She states, "This government's insistence on viewing the world through an 'equity lens' is pervasive and exhausting, not to mention distorting."    

With reference to a related issue in another section of the article, Christie writes, "I quote directly from the government's press release of the day, because I've no real idea what on earth it actually means. Towards the end of her article, "This may not be a perfect country, but for women, it comes close enough that evolution, not revolution, is all that's needed. Most of us muddle along just fine.... The last thing...the rest of us need or want is more gendered language instruction or social engineering from this strangely obsessed government."  Hear! Hear!

Post 213--The Demise of Beauty

I promised in my last blog to do one on a Canadian. I intend to keep that promise, but am interrupting my plan for something lighter and sadder at the same time.  I am passing on to you an email story from a friend of mine in Jos, Nigeria, where I used to live. The friend is Prof. Danny McCain, a distant relative, I believe, of the more famous Senator McCain in the USA.  Danny wrote this story as an email letter to his adult children who are spread all over. 

"The Demise of Beauty"--that sounds pretty heavy and serious, doesn't it? It also sounds heavily philosophical.  Well, it is heavy and serious if you consider the life of a bird a serious and important thing, the bird in this case being a parrot called Beauty. Especially if Beauty happens to be your pet for twenty years or more, his death can be devastating to its owners.  His demise may not have been noticed by the world, but it was kind of devastating to Danny and Mary. 

So, please read this story, both charming and sad. It is so good that we humans, ruthless as we often are to each other and to animals, can also have such a long and tender relationship to animals. Sometimes we think that nature is more at peace with itself than we humans are, but that is not always the case. In this story there is a strong and tender connection between humans and an animal, while 

==========
26 March  2018

Dear Family

   Last night, shortly after we went to bed, we heard a very terrible screech from Beauty--a real  parrot screech of terror. We looked out but could see nothing. This morning when Mary went outside, she found that something had attacked Beauty. She appeared to have one eye scratched out. There were about four of five large feathers in the floor of the bird cage. Beauty was huddled over in a corner. Mom called a veterinarian about possibly repairing her eye. I was quite amazed that at mid-morning, Beauty was out there making all of the typical sounds that she normally makes. She seemed quite happy. 

   When I came back in the mid-afternoon, she had moved to a different perch. That was good news. I was encouraged. However, she did not seem to have much appetite. Around dark, she had moved back to the edge of the cage and was sitting there with her head lowered down. 

   About 8:40 this evening, Amos came into my office to inform me that Beauty had "given up." She had fallen from her perch and was lying upside down with her little feet sticking in the air and her red tail feathers all spread out in their red glory.

   We assumed that this was a big rat that had climbed up into her cage and attacked her. As you know we have some rats that are as big as small cats. However, when Adamu got here this evening, he said it was a black and white cat. Apparently, Beauty saw the animal and stuck her head out at the cat and the cat really went after her. Apparently she was injured more than just a scratched eye. Adamu is on the lookout for that cat.

   Beauty came to live with us during the summer of 1989. She had been owned by a family from Mississippi named Jess and Dot Boggin who worked at NAVCON, a fertilizer company near Port Harcourt. We had seen Beauty many times when we had gone out there to visit them. She made the move with us to Jos and has been out there on that porch ever since squeaking and squawking and making braking sounds and squeaky door sounds and speaking in English and Hausa with a Louisiana accent. Even though she was loud and made a mess, we would bring her into the house  during the cold weather, at times trying to keep her from biting my hand as we moved the cage. She loved Mom and any time she came near she would poke her head out of the cage and lowered it so Mary would rub her head. The first 20 years we had her, I was not her favorite friend and she tried to bite me every time I came near her cage. She has been successful several times. However, she mellowed over the years and I don't think she has tried to bite me in 10 years or so. Maybe once.

   This evening, Amos and Adamu dug a hole between an orange tree and a Mango tree not too far from where Sarki is buried. We put Beauty  in a little wrapper and Adamu lowered her into the ground with the words of Jesus who said, "But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it" (Matthew 10:29 ). Beauty was much bigger than a sparrow and much bigger in our lives than many things so I am sure the Lord noticed our little loss.

   Beauty has been such a part of our family that we will hardly know what to do without her. No more peanuts and fried eggs (she was kind of a cannibal); no more getting her the small avocados that fall from the tree and mango seeds to chew on. No more enjoying her loud belly laughs and her making the sound of water being poured into her water container. However, we will always live with the happy memory of this rather obnoxious, loud, beautiful and ever present friend.

   Be sure to shed a tear tonight for Beauty.

Dad

Post 212--Result of Ignoring Gender

This is my no. 2 today.  The pressure of my main retirement job, namely building an ONLINE CHRISTIAN ACADEMIC LIBRARY, is off for a couple of weeks. That gives me more time for doing this and another blog (Christian-MuslimWorld).  

Some time ago, I complained about Canadian authors resorting too much to American sources. I meant that sincerely, but recently am finding myself doing the same thing. I apologize. It's not hypocrisy so much as being busy and not having enough time to do the Canadian research. America is huge and it's all over the place. Americans are activistic, much more so, I believe, than we Canadians. They've got ten times as many people and, probably, ten times as many researchers and writers.  Given their activistic nature, probably more than ten times. I will try to restrain myself and do more Canadian stuff. Of course, most of the issues I write about are similar in both countries.  

Another but related issue is that American Christians are much more activistic than us Canadian Christians.  They are also more in number and thus have more people to speak up against the awful things that the secular or post-modern crown tries to impose on us. One has to look longer and harder to find Canadian Christian writings objecting to the raw secular Canadian culture. I promise: The next post will zero in on a Canadian writer, a woman even!:  Christie Blatchford. 

Now I want it understood that I do not identify with many issues that American or Canadian Christians promote.  I am strongly in favour of giving my gay neighbours their rights of marriage, for example, but I do not favour or champion the gay agenda which is to accept homosexuality as normal and even desirable.  

Today's issue is the Transgender Bathroom law. This contribution is about Alaska, but we face the same issue here in Canada with the same problems. I am quite sure most Canadian women will object just as much about having men intrude into their public bathrooms, not to speak of perverts. I doubt that anyone consciously chooses to be trans, but some people somehow or another are that. We need to accept them and give them the space they need, but I do not go along with the extremists described below. 

So, here goes:   

Help Overturn Anchorage's Dangerous Transgender Bathroom Law

BB

Brian Brown <info@nationformarriage.org>

 

|

Thu 03-22, 1:22 PM

You

View this Message Online.

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 All across America, communities are pushing back against LGBT extremists and their political allies who insist on imposing a dangerous gender ideology of allowing biological men into the most intimate, private areas reserved for females – including showers, bathrooms, locker rooms and changing areas. NOM has helped champion this push back at the federal level, successfully urging President Trump to repeal Obama's transgender directive to the public schools and in our military, and in communities like Houston where we successfully urged voters to overturn the transgender bathroom law imposed on their community. Just like the Houston City Council did, local politicians in Anchorage, Alaska ignored the wishes of citizens and enacted an ordinance that allows men to force their way into intimate areas reserved for women and girls simply by claiming a female "gender identity." And just like in Houston, citizens have risen up to say "enough" and put the issue on the ballot. It will be decided at the April 3rd municipal election. I'm asking you to step up to make a generous financial contribution to the Yes on 1, Protect Our Privacy campaign in Anchorage. Polls show that voters oppose the transgender bathroom law and are ready to overturn it. But LGBT activists are flooding Anchorage with outside money in an attempt to confuse the issue and mislead the electorate. LGBT activists can't come up with convincing arguments to persuade voters to endorse their position, so instead they resort to ugly attacks on opponents, labeling them bigots. We say, "baloney." Preventing men from having access to women in intimate areas like showers and bathrooms isn't about bigotry, it's about biology. It's also about common sense and respecting the wishes of women, including victims of sexual assault and abuse. Many women simply are uncomfortable being in a vulnerable situation, including being in a state of undress, in the presence of a biological male. Forcing them to do so disrespects their rights, violates their privacy and risks their safety. The LGBT activists say there's no problem with men who claim a female "identity" showering with women, or sharing the same intimate areas like changing rooms and restrooms. But it sure didn't take long for Anchorage residents to see that there is a problem. Just a few weeks ago a man claiming to be a woman demanded access to an Anchorage women's shelter that serves homeless women and female victims of sexual assault and is run by local Christian churches. According to media reports, the man has a criminal record and had been kicked out of another shelter for fighting. After the Christian-run shelter refused him access, the man filed a complaint with the local Equal Rights Commission and is trying to get them to order the shelter to give him access to the women because of Anchorage's transgender bathroom law. The Commission is actively considering doing just that. There are plenty of better ways to accommodate those who believe they are transgender without sacrificing the privacy and safety of young girls and women.  The results of this municipal election will reverberate far beyond the city limits of Anchorage. A victory there, just like what happened in Houston, will send a powerful message to officials across the country that it's time to stop pandering to LGBT extremists and start standing up for common sense.

Post 211--The Spiritual Collapse of Europe

Yes, the rumours are true; the stats confirm them. Europe's spirituality is imploding, caving in on itself, according to CNS--Catholic News Service. You can read all about it down below from Michael Chapman.  

The result? Well, be sure to read to the end and you will come across the Pope's conclusion about the effects of this despiritualization.  He said:  

"The de-Christianization of the West has yielded such fruit as record high levels of abortion, out-of-wedlock births, homosexuality, divorce, sexually transmitted diseases, pornography, prostitution, drug abuse, depression, and suicide." 

What surprises me in the Pope's conclusion is that he limits his comments mostly to private and personal behaviour and says nothing about political or economic results. I am not sure where I would go with that. Is the current international behaviour of the West better or worse than that of the colonial era?  Better or worse for whom?  

The colonialist era was dominated by a people who largely considered themselves Christian, something their governments exploited by turning it into an ideology that justified ripping off other people.  Most Christian people did not even recognize how they were being hoodwinked by their powerful elite.  Was that situation really better than today's?  You give that some thought while you read the article below.  

(As far as that colonial issue is concerned, I wrote a dissertation on the subject that you can find as the second item on < www.SocialTheology.com/boeriana. htm >. )

I hope that reading the article below will bring you to your knees and pray for Europe's youth--as well as Canada's, for ours is not far removed from Europe's I believe, though I have no stats at my fingertips to prove it. 

===============

Report: Europe's Youth Abandoning Christianity

By Michael W. Chapman | March 22, 2018 | 3:52 PM EDT

Notre Dame Cathedral

in Paris. 

(YouTube)

(CNSNews.com) -- A new report, Europe's Young Adults and Religion, reveals that European youth (ages 16-29) have abandoned the Christianity of their ancestors in large numbers, and now many young people, in some countries more than 50%, do not identify with any religion at all. In addition, large majorities of young Europeans say they never pray. 

The report was prepared by researchers at St. Mary's University, Twickenham in London and the Institut Catholique de Paris. The report's author is Prof. Stephen Bullivant of St. Mary's University, where he directs the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society. 

Some of the major findings from the study, which covered 22 European countries, include the following:

The proportion of youth (16-29) that said they do not identify with a religion was 91% in the Czech Republic. Estonia was 80% no affiliation with a religion; Sweden, 75%; France 64%; Spain, 55%; Germany 45%; and Austria 37%.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  (YouTube)

In Poland, only 17% of youth said they had no religion; 25% of Lithuanian youth said the same. In Israel, only 1% said they had no religion. 

Seventy percent of Czech youth and 60% of Spanish, Dutch, British, and Belgian young people said they "never" attend religious services.

Eighty percent of Czech youth and 70% of Swedish, Danish, Estonian, Dutch, French, and Norwegian youth said they "never" pray.

As for the proportion of young people who identify as Catholic, in what was once known as Christendom, it is less than 50% in most of the countries surveyed. For instance, several countries had high proportions: Poland, 82% identify as Catholic; Lithuania, 71%; Slovenia, 55%; Ireland, 54%; and Portugal, 53%.

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Young people at World Youth Day.  (YouTube)

However, in all the other countries surveyed the proportion of Catholic young people was often far less than 50%.  In Spain, it was 37% of youth who identified as Catholic. In Switzerland, 24%; France, 23%; United Kingdom, 10%; Norway, 2%; Sweden, 1%; and Denmark, 1%. 

As for weekly Mass attendance, only 2% of Belgian youth said they go every week. In Hungary, 3%; Austria, 3%; Lithuania, 5%; and Germany, 6%.

However, in Poland 47% of the young people said they go to Mass every Sunday. In Portugal, 27%; Czech Republic, 24%; and Ireland, 24%. 

The report further found that "only 26% of French young adults, and 21% of British ones, identify as Christians. Only 7% of young adults in the U.K. identify as Anglicans, compared to 6% as Muslims. In France, 2% identify as Protestants, and 10% as Muslims."

(YouTube)

Commenting on the report, Prof. Bullivant said, "Christianity as a default, as a norm, is gone, and probably gone for good -- or at least for the next 100 years."

In 20 to 30 years, "mainstream churches will be smaller," he said, "but the few people left will be highly committed." 

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said that Pope Benedict saw all of this coming. "He saw the effects of multiculturalism as clearly as anyone, showing how a contempt for moral truths that adhere to the Judeo-Christian ethos has led to 'a peculiar Western self-hatred that is nothing short of pathological." said Donohue

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Westminster Abbey in London.  (YouTube)

"The de-Christianization of the West has yielded such fruit as record high levels of abortion, out-of-wedlock births, homosexuality, divorce, sexually transmitted diseases, pornography, prostitution, drug abuse, depression, and suicide," he said.  "This is the natural outcome of a civilization that has allowed moral relativism to triumph over Christianity. Just as Pope Benedict XVI said it would."

210--Abraham Kuyper Conference

Two hits in one day!  This is to atone partially for the many times I've failed to show up. But it's even more because of the importance I am attaching to the event I am about to advertise today.

There is this conference about Abraham Kuyper I want you to know about.  If you have liked the perspective of this blog so far, then you will be interested in this Kuyper guy. If I have been successful in luring you towards my website < www.SocialTheology.com >, then you will have felt something of the wholistic perspective that this Kuyper guy blessed us with. He is not the only one who upheld a wholistic perspective on religion in general and on Christianity in particular, but few there are whose work has developed into a global, international, school of thought and community of scholars and social activists like Kuyper did--without having any idea, let alone plan, that this would be the case post mortem. 

Anyhow, there's been a series of twenty annual conferences called Kuyper Conference. They have generally been held at Princeton University, one of the Ivy League schools in the eastern USA. The one this year will be held at Calvin College and Seminary, both of them my Alma Maters. If you're anywhere near Grand Rapids, MI, I strongly urge you to try to make it. Even if you're far away, if you want a life-changing experience in your religious and spiritual life, you should try to attend. I live in Vancouver BC, some 4,000 clicks away, but, the Lord willing, I will be there.

Here follows the info you need:

DESCRIPTION

The annual Kuyper Conference, which began in 1998 at Princeton Theological Seminary, was founded to acknowledge the stream of Calvinist thought represented by Abraham Kuyper, Dutch theologian and statesman (1837-1920), and to explore the tradition he helped to form, commonly known as neocalvinism.

The Kuyperian movement, originally primarily associated with Dutch Calvinists in the Netherlands and North America, is now growing globally. The 21st annual Kuyper Conference will focus on this international expansion as we examine The Future of African Public Theology on April 30-May 1, 2018 at Calvin College & Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event will pursue a conversation between African public theologians from a variety of perspectives and Reformed Christian scholars from several continents about the state of African public theology, the need for it, and the promise it holds for informing Christian thinking and practice on the African continent and beyond.

The Conference is intended to advance scholarship, as well as to foster personal and professional networks of scholars, pastors, ministry professionals, civic leaders, and practitioners with interests in Kuyper and the neocalvinist tradition. Conference participation is open to anyone who is interested in the topics considered at this event.

Proposals for concurrent sessions on a variety of topics are welcome (see the Call for Papers). The two-day event will also include plenary sessions featuring prominent African theologians, as well as roundtable discussions on various topics related to Kuyperian thought. The conference registration fee of $75 ($45 for students) includes all of the event sessions, as well as lunch and a reception on Monday and coffee breaks throughout the event.

For more information about the Conference, including overnight accommodations and the event schedule, go to https://calvin.edu/events/kuyper-conference/

Post 209--Church and Limits of Solar Energy

Sometimes I get disgusted with the denomination of which I am a member, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). So often it does not live up to its own theology.At other times I am really proud of it and that's the case today. The church or its members can sometimes be very imaginative, at the front edge of things, creative.  

Today's story is about an American community. Now, I am not an American and I do not live in America. I am a Canadian living in Vancouver BC. However, my denomination straddles the border between our two countries; it has both Canadian and American members and churches. This story is American but in the context of an international church.

I share with you a story from the January issue of the CRC monthly, The Banner. It's a short story, but a powerful one, for it can serve as a model to be followed. And if all the churches were to follow its example, just imagine how much energy would be saved to be used for other causes!  And, of course, just imagine how much money each church would save that could be used for more positive things.  

The only thing I hope is that this would not deplete the supply of solar energy!  Not sure whether that is possible. My question here is: Is solar energy inexhaustible. Can we use too much of it like we do oil?  I have long ago been told that nothing is infinite except God. But what of solar energy? 

Here then is the article:

        “New Mexico Church to Run on Solar Energy”

            By Amy Toornstra

This fall, the people of Bethany Christian Reformed Church in Gallup, N.M., watched as a local company constructed an 1,800-foot carport fixed with 100 solar panels in their church parking lot. The solar energy collected from the panels will provide all the electrical needs for the church building. The carport project was initiated by the church’s “green team” coordinated by Rick Kruis, a member of Bethany CRC and leader in the Christian Reformed Office of Social Justice Climate Witness Project. The new construction was funded by investors within the church. The investor team will sell the solar energy back to the church in the first several years at a fixed cost of 12 cents per kilowatt hour until the system has paid for itself. With those costs less than the current utility rate, the church will save approximately $10,390 over eight years. After that, for the 25-year lifespan of the system, the church will have its energy supplied at no cost, saving about $172,000 over time. The church’s carbon output will also be reduced, eliminating approximately 944 tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the system. —

In The Banner, January 2018, p. 14.

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