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Conferences

“We believe…” 1,700 years ago

Redeemer University conference celebrates the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed

*****

In times past, scholars and theologians may have found themselves travelling across countries and continents to attend meetings about doctrines of particular importance to the Christian faith. One of the most famous of these occasions was the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, when bishops from all over the Mediterranean gathered to address heresies about the nature of Christ.

More recently, theologians met once again in discussion of these same issues – not to write new creeds, but to affirm and celebrate the council and the creed which it produced. They met at Redeemer University, a Reformed Christian university in Southern Ontario, which hosted the conference: “Defending Christ: Celebrating 1700 Years of Nicaea.” Historians, theologians, pastors, and laypeople attended this conference to glean knowledge from one another and re-immerse themselves in the rich theology of Nicaea. What follows are a few of the highlights.

On the history of the council

The council was called by Emperor Constantine, not primarily to address doctrine, explained Dr. Stefana Liang, but to find solutions for a divided church and empire. The result of the council, however, is evidence of the providential work of the Holy Spirit, and even Constantine recognized it as such. He referred to the council as “great and holy” and “a complete blessing from divine providence.” “It cannot be other than the doctrine of God,” he said.

The women of Nicaea

A presentation by Reanna Lingley investigated the women behind the Council of Nicaea. While no women were in attendance, figures like Macrina the Elder and Macrina the Younger (respectively the grandmother and sister of brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa) and Nonna (wife of Gregory the Elder) embodied the vision of the Christian life and were active shapers of the theological tradition that raised up the men who participated in the council.

Macrina the Elder survived in hiding for seven years during Emperor Diocletian’s persecution and was described as a vessel of theological continuity. Nonna’s persistent faith led to the conversion of her husband, and she spurred her husband and sons on to holiness and service. Instead of regretting the absence of women at the council, Lingley argued, we ought to recognize the tremendous but quiet influence that women did have on the theological landscape of the Early Church.

A Nicene AI?

Another interesting presentation evaluated the most theologically sound large language models (LLMs). If that’s an unfamiliar term, it’s what makes AI chatbots go, and you can think of the term as almost a synonym for the chatbots. Studies show that increasingly more young people are turning to AI for important questions, so an organization called ChristianBench tested the biggest AI chatbots on their theological stances. Commonly these bots will refrain from giving a pointed answer – they will present all the options as equally valid. But, of course, that sort of relativization of the truth is a strong stance of its own.

However, depending on how a question to the chatbot is framed, the LLM can anticipate what kind of answer the prompter is looking for and give an individualized response. (For example, a question about the “natures of Christ” will generate a theological answer that could be solidly in line with the Nicene Creed, whereas a more general question about “Who is Jesus?” will usually result in a more all-options-on-the-table response that provides the user with a variety of answers to consider.)

The only chatbot that scored exceptionally high for adherence to the Nicene Creed was a Catholic LLM called Magisterium AI, an AI chatbot that aims to provide answers to questions about the Catholic faith.

Art as theological testimony

The conference’s main presentation was by Dr. Megan DeVore, and was centered on Christian art during the time of Nicaea. Early Christian artists used pagan motifs which they adapted and redefined to reflect the gospel story. After the Council of Nicaea, depictions of Jesus began to showcase the artists’ understanding of His divinity. Jesus also started being portrayed in Old Testament scenes, like the story of creation, reflecting a trinitarian understanding of God’s work throughout all of Scripture.

Christian art in catacombs show something noteworthy about the Christian faith and the doctrines of Nicaea: Jesus’s divine nature provided early Christians with eschatological hope. The depictions of the deceased in Christian catacombs were of hopeful and prayerful believers, in stark contrast with the mournful depictions in pagan catacombs. The art shows that Christians found real, impactful, and lasting hope through the doctrines they believed.

Dr. DeVore outlined how early Christian art was characterized by theological declarations rooted in intricate Christological hermeneutics. She asked whether modern Christians are perhaps missing out on a key aspect of theological understanding by overlooking the value of faithful creative expressions through the arts.

The use of the creed

The Nicene Creed formalized for the church the doctrine of Christ’s divinity. Written in Greek, almost all of the words in the creed are found in the New Testament. The handful that are extrabiblical nevertheless convey strongly biblical ideas and were necessary to clarify the biblical concepts that were debated at that time

The Nicene Creed is especially helpful for interfaith conversations today. It lays out a “mere Christianity” that distinguishes orthodox Christians from Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Latter-day Saints. The classical trinitarianism expounded in the creed, argued a paper presented by Matthew Waddell, is the only trinitarian view that can provide proper responses to scrutiny from Islamic apologists.

But while encountering Christianity may begin with the Nicene Creed, it cannot end there. Interestingly, as passionate as these scholars at the conference were about the Nicene Creed, all of them agreed that it cannot even be compared to the riches of Scripture. The formal doctrine laid out by the creed is meant to lead us toward biblical doxology (see Jude 24-25). The creed can be seen as a CliffsNotes summary of biblical doctrine; it was never meant to be a substitute for the original text and cannot match its force and power. One scholar likened the creed to a beautiful doorway with magnificent engravings. It may be wonderful, but it is merely meant to provide access to something much greater: the full extent of the biblical witness.

THE NICENE CREED

We believe in one God, the Father almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all ages;
God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God;
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father;
through whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and our salvation, came down from heaven
and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he arose, according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified;
who spoke through the prophets.

And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins;
and we look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

***

Picture at the top (as generated for ChatGPT) is of Athanasius taking it to Arius. Emperor Constantine I (272-337 AD) called the Council of Nicaea so the Church could deal with the dispute these two were having over the nature of Christ. Athanasius proclaimed Christ as coeternal and of the same essence as God the Father, while Arius claimed Jesus was created by the Father and therefore not fully divine. While the Nicene Creed we have today probably wasn’t completed at the Council of Nicaea (and not for another 50 years) it is named after that council, because it professes the truth defended there.

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Saturday Selections – Nov. 1, 2025

Luther vs. the Roman Catholic church In light of Reformation Day this week: Luther's stand, as a rock opera. A theology of bed Many of us go to bed plugged into our smartphone and then fade into sleep all the while never free from distraction. But, as Rev. Ian Wildeboer shares, the Bible points us to a different sort of bed time. "You can tell cause a da bones!" Viral dinosaur skit perfectly exposes “Trust the Science” culture It took quite a while for me to realize that much of what I was learning in university wasn't actual, but only theoretical. I wasn't the only student confused, because our profs weren't presenting their theories as educated guesses – they were presenting them as facts. And their guesses were based on assumptions, and sometimes, as this video highlights and mocks, there was an awful lot of guesswork and assumptions stacked atop a scant amount of actual, factual information. Canada is turning its assisted suicide regime into an organ donation supply chain Canadian doctors are now murdering their patients and then harvesting their organs – it's happened at least 155 times so far. And under the euthanasia regime, it's all legal. The idea of giving your organs away to those in need will now become one more enticement to encourage desperate, confused, lonely, ailing, or abandoned people to sign up for MAiD murders. This has implications for Christians, even though we'd never agree to euthanasia. Why? Because Christians are going to require transplants. Do we need to create a parallel organ donation system that is free from any encouragements to murder? How could we even go about doing that? Manage your time better... ...with these 4 quick tips. Creationist on why you shouldn't be worried about climate change In this conversation, atmospheric scientist Dr. Larry Vardiman starts talking about the Ice Age and its causes, but about 5 minutes in continues on to talk about climate change, and how today's concerns "are the result of a deep confusion about earth history." This is 20 minutes, but worth it for Christians concerned about climate change or curious about a creationist perspective on ice cores. ...

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Articles, Entertainment, Movie Reviews

Reading films: are Christians as discerning as they used to be?

"Moving pictures" have only the briefest of histories, spreading throughout North America early in the twentieth century. The first movie theatres were converted stores with hard wooden benches and a bedsheet for a screen, and they came to be known as "nickelodeons" because the admission price was five cents. Films were short – in 1906 the average length was five to ten minutes. In 1911 the earliest cinema music was played on tinkling pianos. During the silent film era, slapstick comedy – which depends on broad physical actions and pantomime for its effect rather than dialogue – was widely prevalent. With the advent of the "talkies" in the 1930s, screwball comedy became widely popular. It was laced with hyper action, was highly verbal, and noted for its wisecracks. In 1939 the first drive-in theatre was opened on a ten-acre site in Camden, New Jersey. A brief history of the Church and movies  When movies first because a form of widespread public entertainment, Christians were frequently warned against movie-going. Many "fundamentalist" pastors forcefully exhorted, "When the Lord suddenly returns, would you want to meet Him in a theatre watching a worldly movie?" In Reformed Churches too, Christians were also exhorted not to attend movie theatres. 1. The Christian Reformed Church (CRC) As early as 1908 the editor of the CRC denominational magazine, The Banner, complained: "Theatre going supports a class of people that frequently caters to the lowest taste of depraved humanity, actors and actresses and their employers." A general objection was that the movie industry as a whole tended to be "of the world," and thus against Christian values and the church… and ultimately against God's Kingdom. The CRC 1928 Report of the Committee on Worldly Amusements paid close attention to the question of worldliness in relation to the movies. The Report stopped short of calling the whole movie industry anti-Christian, but still issued severe warnings against attending movies. CRC Synod 1928 judged: "We do not hesitate to say that those who make a practice of attending the theatre and who therefore cannot avoid witnessing lewdness which it exhibits or suggests are transgressors of the seventh commandment." In 1964 the CRC took another serious look at the movies. The CRC realized that its official stance and the practice of its members were at great variance, producing a "denominational schizophrenia and/or hypocrisy." In 1966 a major report The Film Arts and the Church was released. It differed substantially from the earlier studies. Film, it said, should be regarded as a legitimate means of cultural expression, so the medium of film must be claimed, and restored by Christians. The Report was idealistic in hoping that members of the CRC would become discriminating and educated moviegoers, reflecting on and discussing films as part of their cultural milieu. The review of movies in The Banner began in 1975, but faced strong opposition. But in time the Reformed doctrine of the antithesis  (we should not be just like the world) became muted in the choice of movies made by CRC members. There was little difference in what they watched, and what the world watched. 2. The Protestant Reformed Church (PRC) The PRC was fervent in its denouncement of movies and movie attendance. The PRC considers all acting as evil, as is the watching of acting on stage, in theatres, on television, or on video. PRC minister Dale Kuiper said, "Certainly the content of almost 100 per cent of dramatic productions (movies, television programs, plays, skits, operas) place these things out of bounds for the Christian." But already in 1967 a writer noted that PRC practice did not match PRC principle: "When I was formerly an active pastor in a congregation, it was always a source of sad disappointment to me that so few of our young people could testify, when asked at confession of faith, that they had not indulged in the corruptions of the movie." And since 1969 and continuing till today, various pastors and professors have lamented that large numbers of PRC members watch movies, either in theatres or, more often, on television. 3. Evangelicals Evangelicals have a history of making films as a way of teaching Christian values. The Billy Graham organization Worldwide Pictures made modest independent films to evangelize youth: The Restless Ones (1965), about teenage pregnancy; A Thief in the Night (1972), an end-times thriller; and the Nicky Cruz biopic, The Cross and the Switchblade (1970). A reporter dubbed them "religious tracts first, entertainment second." More recently, evangelicals made new producing sci-fi films about the apocalypse, which critics claim are embarrassingly poor-quality – artistically flawed – productions marketed in the name of evangelism. As examples, they refer to the three profitable Left Behind Movies (2000, 2002, 2005). There has also been a trend to create "family-friendly" movies. However, these movies tend to depict a world where all issues are plain and simple. Evildoers are destroyed, the virtuous rewarded, and often times the “good” characters have within themselves everything they need to secure their destiny. Clearly, then, this is not the real world. We've also seen, among evangelicals, a defense of less than family-friendly films. Already back in 1998, the Dallas Morning News ran a story about the growing number of Christians who advocate going to even R-rated movies. The reason? Evangelical filmmaker Dallas Jenkins said, “Non-Christians are just as capable of producing God-honoring and spiritually uplifting products as Christians are, and I've been as equally offended by a Christian's product as I've been moved by something from a non-Christian." Perspectives So how should Christians think about films? How can we approach them with discernment? It begins with recognizing that a film is more than a form of entertainment: it propagates a worldview. Films often: exalt self-interest as the supreme value glorify violent resolutions to problems promote the idea that finding the perfect mate is one's primary vocation and highest destiny Films also so often promote a view of romantic love as being passionate and irresistible, able to conquer anything, including barriers of social class, age, race and ethnicity, and personality conflicts. But the love it portrays is usually another euphemism for lust. In Images of Man: a Critique of the Contemporary Cinema, Donald J. Drew observes that in contemporary films, the context makes it clear that love equals sex plus nothing. An underlying assumption in mainstream Hollywood films is that the goal in life is to become rich. And acquiring things is even supposed to make you a better person! But the values of consumerism, self-indulgence and immediate gratification can harm individuals, families, and communities.  Titanic (1997) Most films depict a world in which God is absent or non-existent. For example, there is nothing in the film Titanic to suggest that God is even interested in the fate of those on board the sinking ship. Whether uncaring or impotent, God is irrelevant in the world of this film. In his book Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture, William D. Romanowski comments: "Whatever outward appearances of belief dot the landscape of Titanic, they have little bearing on the faith of the main characters, especially when compared to the film's glorification of the human will and spirit." The principal character Rose Bukater is engaged to Cal Hockley, who is concerned only with the approval of his social set. He equates wealth and social status with worth and character. Aware of the limited lifeboat capacity, Rose says, "Half the people on the ship are going to die." The snobbish Cal responds, “Not the better half.” These attitudes run against the grain of American values associated with freedom and equality. And because he is the obvious bad guy, the director has so framed things that whoever stands against Cal will be understood, by the audience, to be the good guy. And so we see in opposition to Cal, the free-spirited artist Jack who is the ultimate expression of pure freedom. His character traits, talent, and good looks easily identify him as the hero. And so the scene is set that when Rose and Jack have an illicit sexual encounter, the audience is encouraged to cheer this and want this, because it is for Rose a declaration of independence from her fiancé and her mother's control over her. The now famous sex scene sums up many of the film's themes: Forbidden love, class differences, and individual freedom. The Passion of the Christ (2004) There was, not so long ago, a film in which God was included. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was highly recommended by evangelicals for its realistic portrayal of Christ's suffering and death. But how true to the Gospels is the film? Why did the director have Jesus stand up to invite more scourging by the Roman soldiers? Was the suffering Jesus endured primarily physical, as this film portrays? Is the film historically accurate or is it a reflection of Gibson's theology? Co-screenwriter Mel Gibson said that he relied not only on the New Testament but also on the writings of two nuns, Mary of Agreda, a seventeenth-century aristocrat, and Anne Catherine Emmerich, an early nineteenth-century stigmatic. The violence in the film became a matter of much debate when the film was released. On the one hand, the head of an evangelical youth ministry said, "This isn't violence for violence's sake. This is what really happened, what it would have been like to have been there in person to see Jesus crucified." On the other hand, many critics cringed at the level of violence in the movie. Romanowski comments, "In my estimation, it is difficult to provide dramatic justification for some of the violence in the film." Star Wars (1977) While the inclusion of God in a film is a rarity, the inclusion of spirituality is not. One of the most iconic and controversial film series has been Star Wars. In 1977 it hit the big screens and it was an immediate success. Legions of fans formed an eerie cult-like devotion and the box-office receipts were astronomical. It originated a new genre – the techno-splashy sci-fi soap opera. The film definitely has a semi-religious theme. In From Plato to NATO David Gress writes that the Star Wars film saga broadcast a popular mythology of heroism, growth, light, and dark sides, wise old men and evil tempters, all concocted by the California filmmaker George Lucas. Much of the inspiration came from the teaching of Joseph Campbell, who claimed there is truth in all mythology. Campbell wrote in 1955 that "clearly Christianity is opposed fundamentally and intrinsically to everything I am working and living for." Meanwhile, John C. McDowell, Lecturer in Systematic Theology at New College, University of Edinburgh, finds something redemptive in Star Wars. He analyses the "classic trilogy" Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and the Return of the Jedi in his book The Gospel according to Star Wars: Faith, Hope, and the Force. He calls these films a "pop-culture phenomenon" of unprecedented stature and much more than mere entertainment. He suggests that the films carry even "more influence among young adults than the traditional religious myths of our culture." He argues that these films possess rich resources to change and transform us as moral subjects by helping us in some measure to encounter the deep mystery of what it means to be truly human. He even claims that Star Wars is "a parabolic resource that reveals something of the shape of a Christian discipleship lived under the shadow of the cross." He notes that the theology of the original trilogy is difficult to pin down – though the interconnectedness of all of life does seem to be the fruit of the Force in some way and this is therefore exalted as the movies' "good" or "god." McDowell also discovered pacifist themes in the films – according to him, Star Wars at its best possesses radical potential to witness to a set of nonviolent values. Critical assessment Should we warn Christians about the kind of movies they are watching, whether in a theatre or on TV? Some say, "They are only movies. They won't influence us." I wonder whether the lack of critical thinking by evangelicals is the result of the tendency to privatize faith, confining religious beliefs to personal morality, family, and the local congregation, all the while conducting their affairs in business, politics, education, and social life, and the arts much like everyone else. Aren't even many Christians overlooking the persistence of evil in human history? We live in a fallen world that is at once hostile to God and also in search for God. Works of art can glorify God – including film art – but they can also be instrumental in leading people away from Him. Ever since the fall, human beings have been in revolt against God, turning their gifts against the Giver. Art, along with nearly every human faculty, has been tainted by the fall. Indeed, one of the first phases of the disintegration brought by sin was the usurpation of art for the purpose of idolatry (Rom. 1:23). Most people believe they are personally immune to what they see on the film screen or on TV. How do we grow in our faith? Not by watching and observing a steady diet of movies. We must restore the primacy and power of the Word of God. God gave us a book – the Bible – and not a movie. We should be critical in our thinking, and apply our Biblical worldview. Scripture calls us to "test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil" (1 Thess. 5:1-22). Rev. Johan Tangelder (1936-2009) wrote for Reformed Perspective for 13 years. Many of his articles have been collected at Reformed Reflections. This article was first published in November 2019....

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Education

A load of lumber is a wonderful thing

Back in 2007 Ebenezer Canadian Reformed School here in Smithers decided to supply the students with an “imaginative play kit.” What was it? A pile of lumber, fence posts, plywood pieces, shovels, and rope. And since then the students have spent countless hours using these materials to make forts, obstacle courses, bike jumps, and many other creative structures. Over the years pallets and plastic pipes have been added, and the students complemented the supplied equipment with long grass and rocks from the grounds. Since the uses are limitless, the students’ interest has not waned. In fact, it is so popular year-round that a schedule had to be made to ensure that the grades all got their own turns. The entire package was less than $1000 – paid for by the school’s “Helping Hands” committee – an amazing value for the amount of enjoyment over the past 18 years (especially compared to the cost of ultra-safe playground equipment). Yes, many structures have collapsed, students get slivers and scrapes, and there have been minor injuries. But the kids also get to use their imaginations, learn how to cooperate and resolve conflicts, and grow in confidence as they take risks while having lots of fun!...

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Interview with an artist

Paula Roth loves painting her studio

Hawkins Pond was painted at sunset to capture light sparkling off the leaves of the trees surrounding the pond. I enjoyed the contrast of the shapes of each type of greenery from spikey and straight, to ribboned and round. It’s no surprise that someone who has lived in as many beautiful places as Paula Roth has, would be drawn to landscape as the subject for her art. This very same landscape has also become a studio for Roth who now takes her easel and paints outdoors to complete her colorful paintings on location. Roth’s life journey includes time in Nigeria, Colorado, Washington State, Michigan, and finally Ontario, where she married a Canadian. Paula and her husband Ray currently live in Tillsonburg, Ontario where they are members of Hope Reformed Church. Paula minored in art in college and graduated in 2003 with a B.A. and B.Ed. from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She spent the first 20 years of married life teaching, finding particular fulfillment supporting students with unique learning profiles. “I learned patient perseverance, and hopefully grew in compassion.” Paula has since founded her home-based business, Early Bird Learning Consultant, to support children with learning challenges. Ruts & Paths was painted in August in Oxford County. I am often drawn to roads as they symbolize a journey. Life can feel uphill, and it takes faith and hope to see beauty in the midst of challenge. For Roth, art fulfills a need for creative expression and provides a sense of “balance and well-being.” The youthful dream of being an artist began when she was 9. A watercolor artist/neighbor, (also a Wycliffe Bible Translator), took her to buy her first art supplies. She also helped Roth set up a small studio in an old pioneer milking parlor on the property her family was renting at the time. The start was modest but exciting. The studio spaces have been even more modest since then. During her teaching career, Paula loved to teach art in the classroom setting, and enjoyed making beautiful bulletin board displays. After she left the classroom, to focus on special education, her creative outlets were mostly found at home where she made space for her creative work in corners of bedrooms, on desks, or at the kitchen table. Motivated in part by her parents’ mantra “You can always learn something new,” Paula is a lifelong learner. She has completed many art classes at Dundas Valley School of Art, including classes by mentors Marla Panko and Guennadi Kalinine. In 2008, Paula started illustrating for Open Windows, a Free Reformed publication for children creating collage images with paper. Then, about four years ago she discovered a passion for plein air painting. Currently, she is inspired by rural landscapes in Oxford County, ON. The dream of becoming an accomplished artist still captures Paula’s imagination. “If the Lord wills, I hope to keep taking courses, reading books about painting, and to be out in the field painting as often as I can.” Paula says, “Painting has taught me to be still. I lose all sense of time and am completely at peace. Pausing to observe, interpret, and represent creation makes me feel small and makes the Lord’s world feel gloriously large. When painting outdoors, I seek to capture a special moment in time, a scene that depicts the beauty, essence, and uniqueness of that location. Through my art I hope to share my enjoyment of my rural region and inspire others to appreciate its unique beauty too.” You can view more of Paula’s work at RuralHuesArt.com and Instagram.com/PaulaRoth.RuralHues. Morning Fog on Pigram Line was painted as the crops were ripening in the fall. The golden fields covered with dew and fog were enchanting. The saturated reds and fuchsias have drawn hummingbirds to my palate which makes time stand still for a few seconds....

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Conferences

2026 Summit Reformed Young Adult Conference

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Politics

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News

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Culture Clashes

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Parenting

Why it’s good for teens and kids to do chores

We should do chores for the same reason we go to school – preparation ***** Chances are, as a part of the family, you are asked to do various menial (or not so menial) tasks about the house or yard. “Son, will you take out the trash?” “Sweetheart, would you dust the house for me?” “Will you mow the lawn?” “Will you start the laundry?" “Would you put away the dishes?” Or, if, like myself, your mother decides to finish writing a fifty-lesson Bible study in a week flat, then you find yourself generously helping her keep the house running by taking over the role of “housewife” for a week. This should be easy. Now, to most of us, the word “chores” sends us running to our bedrooms where we promptly take solace under the bed where nobody can find us (unless that’s always the first place you go when you’re trying to avoid doing something. Too predictable, mate. Find a new spot). Your parents assign you chores from an early age because you are a part of this family, and so it is your duty to contribute to the running of the house. What if I told you that chores will inevitably prepare you for being an adult? And if you hope to be married, you need to be doing chores for along the same reasons why you do school. It’s imperative that we all learn how to read, write, and calculate arithmetic so we can be better prepared for what the world has in store for us. It would be a bummer if you were not able to read your Bible because you had never learned how to read. Same with chores. What if you had never learned how to load the dishwasher until after you moved out? Any roommates wouldn’t be impressed. Or what if you never learned how to fold clothes until you were finally forced to do it after your marriage? Your husband would come home and find his clothes smelling awful from not being washed, and all his shirts wrinkled after being stuffed carelessly into the bureau (hang them up – Braendlein men’s shirts should be hung up in the closet!). What if you had never dealt with the trash in your life, and now you watch helplessly as your roommate drags the overflowing garbage bag to the apartment hallway, where he leaves it for no other reason than “I don’t know what to do with it!” …and you don’t know either! What if you had never learned how to make a decent peanut butter and jam sandwich, and you starved? Or your kids starved? Or you starved your husband of the nutrition he so sorely needs in order to support his growing family? What if you never learned how to scramble a decent egg, and all you could do, to surprise your wife with breakfast in bed, was bring her the box of Cheerios? Doing chores and learning how to manage a household will get you off on the right foot as you prepare to leave your home and someday get married. And if you think that women should learn how to do women’s chores, like dishes and laundry, while men should learn how to do men’s chores, like mowing the lawn and taking out the trash, then think again. Both sexes should learn how to do all of the aforementioned chores, regardless of whether or not the wives will spend their married days mowing the lawn and the men folding the clothes. You might find that your husband is great at folding laundry, and that you actually love mowing the lawn. My father is terrible at folding laundry and figuring out the difference between his boxers and his son’s (what an awkward day it was when he tried on my brother’s boxers and found that he had put the wrong ones in his own drawer). But he will do it if it blesses my mother (actually, scratch that; he will willingly make his four children fold the laundry if it blesses his wife). So if your mother asks you to move over the laundry and start a load of delicates, or your father asks you to take out all the trash in the house (how many trash cans are there, seriously?), do it with joy, and know that knowing how to do chores will save you a lot of pain when you finally move out or get married. And besides, you get to do all the chores when you’re a grown-up! Pictures by Hannah Penninga....

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News

Saturday Selections – Oct. 18, 2025

Should Christians celebrate Halloween? If we do, we should definitely do it differently. Whatever its historic origins, Halloween today has become a celebration of, and the commercialization of, death, the demonic and all things creepy – 5-foot spiders and 8-foot skeletons are on sale now at your local Walmart! Your kids want to dress up as a cute puppy dog or a princess? Downright counter-cultural! Shucks, while trying to find a stock picture for the topic of Halloween, I discovered 99% of the Halloween pictures had skeletons, ghosts, devils, witches, vampires, or the like. Photos of kids dressed up in clever or cute costumes could hardly be had. The most compelling case against tech in schools (10-minute read) This is on "the mounting evidence that computers and tablets on students’ desks are interfering with their education because the distraction effects almost always outweigh whatever educational benefits were promised." As Jonathan Haidt (author of The Anxious Generation) writes, "I banned the use of all screens in all of my classes at New York University several years ago, because it became clear that many college students can’t stay present in class when there’s a laptop or phone on their desk." National Post article highlights the case against term limits and for small, teeny tiny government Citizens, frustrated with politicians who don't deliver on their promises, might well raise the notion of term limits, to ensure that we can at least sweep out the disappointing mass of them every couple of terms or so. But what good is it, if we get rid of the figureheads and not the powers behind the throne? "Nearly one-quarter of Ontario's senior managers appear to have progressive leanings" – so reads the headline. We can debate how conservative Ontario's current government may or may not be, but even if it was headed by the most stalwart of Christian conservatives, it might not make any difference if its bureaucracy – the folks who actually decide how government decisions will be implemented – was run by radicals. So a case could be made then, that if an elected official is ever going to have a chance at draining the swamp, he's going to need to have some time on the job to figure out where exactly the drain is situated. Term limits might just ensure that no one ever has enough experience to take on the swamp. Of course, we already have politicians with plenty of experience, and they haven't righted the wrongs. But what an article like this shows is that our priority shouldn't be to bring in a new batch of politicians, but to just start whacking away at the bureaucracy. If we were to elect some good men, the only chance they'd have against an entrenched bureaucracy is if it were quickly reduced and rooted out. Sports gambling ads are overrunning the airwaves It's called the gambling industry, but there's nothing industrious about it. In true industries, everyone benefits. A farmer grows grain, a builder creates a home, a barista serves up a cappuccino – in each case provider and purchaser are both better off, such that everyone involved can say "thank-you." But in gambling, the only way someone can win is for others to lose – there is no mutual benefit. The government and the gambling industry know the odds are always against the betters. Even the winners, if they keep gambling, are sure to lose in the long run – that's how the odds are stacked. In other words, our government and the gambling "industry" they've partnered with are making their money by encouraging their citizens to do something stupid with their money. This is evil undisguised. Let kids read dangerous stories This is about the rise of "cozy stories" – the Hallmark-movie versions of middle school novels, that don't have grit, chills, or tension – and why we need to steer our kids away from reading too many of these. What is the unbeliever's most compelling argument? Jeff Durbin, on how even the most emotionally powerful argument from an unbeliever has to have power from the Christian worldview to have any power at all. ...

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Articles, Documentary, Watch for free

12 free must-see docs for Christian families

Documentaries aren’t your thing? Then you haven’t seen these. We’ve got brilliant scholars and scientists sharing, in just a line or two, all their study, and the many books they’ve read or written. And we get videos and pictures of birds, planets, or our own insides, that we’d never see like that on our own. Six categories each have two “winners” to create this  "Top 12" list, but I’ve cheated a bit by sneaking in some honorable mentions. All the films can be watched for free online, and you can click on the documentary titles for longer reviews. 6-DAY CELEBRATED Some creationist videos limit themselves to beating up evolution, and while that can be fun and valuable – we are called to destroy false arguments (2 Cor. 10:4-5) – the best sort celebrate the truth of God’s Word and the genius of His design. The Riot and the Dance: the TV series 2022- / 30 minutes RATING: 9/10 The folks who brought us Riot and the Dance: Earth and Riot and the Dance: Water now have a TV series, and you can watch the pilot episode for free. It’s God’s creation viewed through the eyes of a poet and an adventurer. Narrator Dr. Gordon Wilson shares that while he teaches a marine biology class, he “needed to go back to school for this film – scuba school!” Why? “I don’t want to just sit back and narrate over some pretty picture. I wanted to get as close as I can to as many divinely crafted underwater miracles as possible.” Dr. Wilson can’t help but gush: “I love turtles, their eyes, their beaks, their scales like tiles on a fancy floor. What hilarious cartoon characters they are, and what a fantastic cartoonist God is.” This is just geeky cool! Is Genesis History? 2017 / 100 minutes RATING: 8/10 Del Tackett is best known for his excellent Truth Project video series, and this is every bit as good. He interviews PhD-holding scientists with various areas of expertise, all of them happy to share why their field of study backs a literal understanding of the first few chapters of Genesis. This is among the best creationist documentaries ever made, filled to the brim with heartfelt, concise, deep discussion! When that leaves you wanting more be sure to explore their YouTube channel and IsGenesisHistory.com for extras they just couldn’t fit in the film. HONORABLE MENTION: Remember all those cutesy story bible ark depictions that had the giraffes sticking their necks out of the top windows? No wonder many people – Christians included – are skeptical of the Bible’s Flood account. But as Tim Lovett shows in Noah’s Ark: thinking outside the box (2008/35 minutes), the ark’s dimensions have more in common with a modern ocean-going oil tanker. Computer animation, large-scale models, and a generous dose of humor make this a documentary that parents and teens will both enjoy. INTELLIGENT DESIGN Intelligent Design (ID) proponents celebrate a Designer but purposely won’t mention who He is. It’s a familiar enough strategy for Christians in the public square: the world demands we leave God out of it, and for some reason we listen to them rather than Him (Ps. 96:3)! But while ID is afraid to go much beyond toppling evolution, that shouldn’t stop us from taking their findings and going further, giving credit to the Brilliant Triune Engineer. The Master Designer: the song 2014 / 76 minutes RATING: 8/10 I appreciated this documentary’s patience, keeping to just a half dozen animals, to allow the time to explore each one in some depth. It begins with the bee and its amazing ability to make honey. Did you know “It takes 556 bees flying a total of 55,000 miles to gather nectar from an astounding 2 million flowers to make a single pound of honey”? Though a bee has a brain the size of a seed, it’s a brilliant architect, with a hive’s hexagonal honeycomb structure maximizing storage capacity. Weirder and more wonderful, the bee communicates through the language of dance – yes, really! – wiggling this way and that to tell the other bees where the nectar is to be found. And we shouldn’t forget that honey itself is amazing in that it never spoils! And that’s just the first of the six critters we get to meet. Revolutionary: Michael Behe and the mystery of the molecular machines 2016 / 60 minutes RATING: 7/10 Revolutionary is about what a quiet professor did to get Darwinian evolutionists very, very upset with him. Michael Behe seems to believe in an old earth and that some sort of evolution may well have occurred. So why would Darwinians be so very disturbed by him? Because Behe doesn’t believe the world came about by chance. While studying the human cell he realized the microscopic machines within it are so intricate and complex it’s inconceivable they could have come about via only random mutation and natural selection. This is in part, a history of the ID movement, which Behe had a big hand in beginning. But the real “star” of the show is one of those “micro-machines” that so fascinated him: the bacterial flagellum motor that can manage 100,000 revolutions per minute. Behe is too quiet to keep kid’s attention, but he’s also an ID giant, and someone worth knowing. HONORABLE MENTION: Michael Behe’s Science Uprising: a revolutionary case for Intelligent Design (2019-) series might be just the thing for teens. With 10 different short videos, just 6-10 minutes each, this comes in bite-sized chunks. And there’s still plenty to chew on here, with topics like “The myth of the Multiverse,” “Mutations break’ they don’t create,” and “No, you are not a robot made out of meat.” ECONOMICS Economics is a bigger spiritual battlefield than maybe most Christians realize. Just consider how, while God commands us not to covet our neighbor’s goods, those on the Left make envy out to be downright virtuous, peaking over the fence at what the millionaires and billionaires have. So, this often-neglected sphere is worth further study. The Pursuit 2019 / 77 minutes RATING: 7/10 The Pursuit is the story of one man’s search for the best way to lift the world’s poorest out of their poverty. And what the former French-horn player and current globe-trotting economics professor Arthur Brooks discovered is that it’s the free market that did this, that lifted literally billions out of extreme poverty. So why would a Buddhist/Catholic former French horn player make a good guide for Christians interested in learning about economics, and the benefits of the free market? It’s because, as much as he might differ from us in big ways and small, his case for free trade is built on principles that line right up with Scripture. He doesn’t quote it, but his foundation is the Second Greatest Commandment (Matt. 22:36-40) – Brooks is clearly motivated by a love for his neighbor. Love Gov: Breaking up with government is hard to do 2015 / 25 minutes RATING: 8/10 An economic argument for small government presented as a comedic romance? Hmmmm… Alexis is thinking of quitting college to start her own business, but then she meets the strangely charming Scott Govinsky (known as “Gov” to his friends). Gov is so very caring and supportive. And eager to help. And he never seems to runs out of advice. Perfect material for a boyfriend? Alexis thinks so…at first. The problem is, Gov’s advice isn’t nearly as helpful as it seems. Alexis’ new boyfriend Gov is a stand-in for our government, which wants to mind our business because it cares for us so deeply. But as much as the politicians and bureaucrats might mean well, that doesn’t mean they are doing well…which is what Love Gov tries to show. That’s a point worth sharing with our kids, and this series 5 short 5-minutes videos makes for quick viewing. But these are libertarians, not Christians, teaching the lesson here, so parental guidance is a must. Watch the whole 5 episode series here. THEOLOGY Theology is the study of God, and as the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Ps. 24:1) so, in a very real sense, all the other documentaries are theological too. But here it we get to learn more about God without anything distracting from our focus. The God Who Speaks 2018 / 92 minutes RATING: 9/10 The God Who Speaks makes the case that God still speaks to us today like He did with His prophets, doing so through Scripture. Alistair Begg, R.C. Sproul, Albert Mohler, Frank Turek, Kevin DeYoung, and Norman Geisler are some of the names here, all speaking to how the Bible attests to its own Divine origin. Really worth checking out! The Marks of a Cult: a biblical analysis 2005 / 115 minutes RATING: 8/10 How would you define a cult? What this documentary focuses on are religious groups that have some connections to biblical Christianity, but which have departed so far from it, that they are worshipping another God. The film offers Christians an easily understandable way of spotting those departures by using the four common math operations. As the host explains it, “A group can be classified as a cult when they: 1. Add to the 66 books of the bible… 2. Subtract from the triunity of God by either denying the personhood or the deity of one or more members of the Godhead 3. Multiply works necessary for salvation 4. Divide the loyalties of their followers from God…” These math symbols are then used as the documentary’s four “chapters” and serve as logical breaks for any who might prefer to digest this 2-hour documentary in chunks. PRO-LIFE Is there a bigger tragedy in our age? Are there any victims more vulnerable, and more in need of someone to speak up for them? Here’s some help to get you ready. Babies are murdered here 2014 / 54 minutes RATING: 8/10 This is a must-see for anyone sitting on the sidelines. Where the film gets controversial is in the producers’ argument that we must name the sin that is going on behind clinic doors, using stark, clear terms, like “murder.” Do they want us shrieking it as women enter abortion clinics? Not at all. The men and women we see here witnessing are carrying large signs that read “Babies are Murdered Here” but there isn’t a hint of self-righteousness about them. They are clear, and generally pretty winsome too; truth is being coupled with grace. Their approach is comparable to pro-lifers who make use of large graphic pictures and pair that with soft-spoken words. 180: from pro-choice to pro-life in minutes 2011 / 33 minutes Rating: 7/10 What kind of question would prompt a pro-choicer to become pro-life almost instantly? What street preacher Ray Comfort does here is confront people with the incoherence of their own views. When he asks them to explain what circumstances make it permissible to kill a baby, each of his interviewees is brought short. They don’t want to say we can kill a human being simply because they might grow up poor. Or because they are unwanted. Or because they are inconvenient. Their conscience convicts them with the knowledge that these are not good reasons to murder someone. By asking his pointed question Comfort makes them realize that they have never really thought through the issue of abortion before. Comfort’s approach will not work with any who have hardened their conscience. But for the ignorant or confused, what Comfort presents is incredibly clarifying. HONORABLE MENTIONS: While Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (49 minutes) is little more than a PowerPoint lecture, it’s an amazing lecture, which is why it was for years, among Answers In Genesis’s top-selling DVDs. A Christian looking at their newborn might call the child a “little miracle” but Dr. Menton reveals the insufficiency of this description. There isn’t just one miracle involved in the conception and birth of a child – numerous miracles are involved at every stage, even before conception occurs. Any adult who gives it 15 minutes will want to stay for the rest of it, and will be sharing this link with all their friends! Back 2019, to mark 50 years since Pierre Trudeau’s government first legalized abortion, pro-life organizations came together to make The Missing Project (75 minutes). It’s an important film, for the history lesson it provides, and for how it explains the division that exists among pro-lifers, between “abolitionists” and “incrementalists.” Who are these two camps? Abolitionists argue we can never settle for half measures – we need to push for a total ban on abortion. Incrementalists want this same end, but believe the best way forward is one step at a time. What’s missing from this film is any sort of explicitly Christian defense of the unborn. Our value, and everyone’s equality, can only be properly grounded in what we all share – being made in the Image of God (Gen. 9:6) – so that is a notable omission. APOLOGETICS We’re called to have a ready response to any who want to know about the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15) because of Jesus. How can we do that? What would it look like? Here’s a couple of masterclasses. Collision 2009/ 88 minutes RATING: 9/10 In May 2007, leading atheist Christopher Hitchens and pastor Douglas Wilson were asked by Christianity Today to dialogue on the question “Is Christianity good for the world?” They wrote six exchanges which were printed in the magazine and then, in 2008, compiled into a book. When the two men headed out to do an east-coast book tour, filmmaker Darren Doane tagged along. He captured their exchanges and interactions, both onstage in formal debate settings, and as they conversed over a pint of beer in the local pub. The end result is the most entertaining and enthralling debate you will ever see on film. This is a must see for its able demonstration of presuppositional apologetics. (Don’t know what that is? See the next documentary.) The attacks that Hitchens levels against God and Christianity are mimicked on secular campuses, so Wilson’s able defense of the faith will be instructive and will be an encouragement to our young people when they face these same attacks from their professors and fellow students. You can watch it on Facebook here. How to Answer the Fool 2013 / 85 minutes RATING: 8/10 While Wilson, in Collision, gives the better demonstration of presuppositional apologetics, Sye Ten Bruggencate gives the better explanation of it here. Some Christians will try to provide atheists with reasons for why they should believe in the Bible, and for why they should believe in God. In How to Answer the Fool, Ten Bruggencate teaches us to start with the Bible instead, and to present to the unbeliever the fact that it is only by acknowledging God, and the Bible as his Word, that the world makes any sense. Or to borrow from a C.S. Lewis analogy in Weight of Glory, this is believing in the Bible for the same sort of reason we believe in the sun. It’s not because we see it but because by it, we can see everything else. HONORABLE MENTION: The Fool (2019 / 65 minutes) is the true story of how evangelist Ray Comfort was ridiculed by atheists the world over for a silly joke he made that fell flat. But God was using Ray’s humiliation: these same atheists started inviting Ray onto their shows, podcasts, and stages and they let him say anything he wanted. So Comfort used these forums to share the Gospel with thousands of atheists at a time. Atheists even took Ray’s books and read through them on their YouTube channels, all in an attempt to mock him. But the end result was they read out a Gospel presentation to their listeners. As Ray asks, “Who but God could take atheists and not only have them listen to the Gospel, but have them proclaim it?” Find more than 100 other documentary recommendations, many of them also free to see, at ReformedPerspective.ca/100....

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Theology

Genesis: theology and history!

A common objection to understanding Genesis 1 as history is that we should instead take it as theology. We’re told that God wants us to learn about Himself, and not history here. But it doesn’t have to be one or the other. In 1 Corinthians 10, the Apostle Paul says something very important about the relationship between the “text” of Scripture and the “history” recorded in Scripture. We need to keep this connection between God's work in history and the message of the words of Scripture in mind, so we can rightly understand the importance of the events recorded in Scripture. Paul is speaking in this passage about the events of the Exodus and the wilderness wanderings, and the importance of these events for his readers: Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. – 1 Corinthians 10:6-11, (ESV) Note carefully the words Paul uses in this passage. “These things occurred.” “These things happened.” These were actual events in history, and that is important. To say that they were recorded in Scripture to make a theological point, a theological point that should have a great impact on all of God's people, is absolutely true. They were “written down for our instruction.” But not only were these stories written down as warnings, “these things happened to them as an example”! There is no dichotomy here between theology and history; the two are so tightly linked that they cannot be torn apart. It's not “either-or.” It's “both-and”! Did God use a recognizable pattern in his work of creation? Yes, he did, and that pattern was meant to teach us many very important things. But to say that his work is recorded in a pattern that is meant to teach must not be used as a reason to deny that what is recorded is a true and accurate account of actual events. Our God is the God of history, not merely the God of ideas. This first appeared in the June 2015 issue....

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Assorted

Charlie Kirk in context

Many will condemn a man for an isolated sentence or two. Christians do it too. Instead, we should assess others just as we would like to be judged (Ma...
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Saturday Selections – Oct. 11, 2025

Ray Comfort does a stint at a Turning Point USA event Since Charlie Kirk's murder, his organization has been filling his shoes with quite a variety o...
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Why Charlie Kirk’s death hit so hard

For a time, in September, my Facebook feed – I’m sure yours too – was full of tributes to Charlie Kirk. At this point, I don’t need to tell yo...
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ARPA condemned in BC legislature

On the very first day of the fall legislative session, British Columbia MLAs debated the “views and policies of Association for Reformed Polit...
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People we should know

Cornelius Van Til: his life and impact

Cornelius Van Til may not have seemed a likely candidate to accomplish a "Reformation of Christian Apologetics," but God is in the habit of utilizing unlikely candidates to mount great victories for His kingdom. Van Til "wanted to be a farmer.... Instead he became one of the foremost Christian apologists of our time," to use the words of David Kucharsky in Christianity Today (Dec. 30, 1977, p. 18). Early life Van Til was born May 3, 1895, in Grootegast, Holland, as the sixth of eight children to a devout dairyman-farmer. At the age of ten his family sailed to America and settled in Indiana. Cornelius enjoyed the soil and animals, but his evident intellectual strengths got him sent to Calvin Preparatory School in 1914. He worked his way through as a part-time janitor and wholly loved the study of philosophy. By the time he enrolled in Calvin Seminary in 1921, he was already familiar with the works of Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck and had added a knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin to his Dutch and English! He studied systematic theology under Louis Berkhof and Christian philosophy under W. H. Jellema. During his first year of seminary J. Gresham Machen - the man who stood head and shoulders above others as presenting a Christian faith worthy of scholarly defense – published The Origin of Paul's Religion. The next year Van Til transferred to Princeton where he could study with Machen as well as at the philosophy department of Princeton University (under the Scottish personalist, A. A. Bowman). At the seminary Van Til managed the student dining club, and lived on the same floor in Alexander Hall with "Das" Machen, who was busy publishing numerous apologetical studies (including his monumental Christianity and Liberalism ). Van Til's seminary adviser, C. W. Hodge Jr., was a grandson of Charles Hodge and the successor to B. B. Warfield. Van Til profited from the solid Biblical instruction of men like Hodge, Robert Dick Wilson, William Park Armstrong, and Oswald T. Allis, but the professor closest to his heart was Geerhardus Vos, the respected Dutch scholar who championed the method of "Biblical theology." Van Til won the prize-winning student papers for both 1923 (on evil and theodicy) and 1924 (on the will and its theological relations). The seminary granted him a Th.M. in systematic theology in 1925, after which he married his long-time sweetheart, Rena Klooster. At the university Van Til's prowess in metaphysical analysis and mastery of Hegel's philosophy had gained high praise from A. A. Bowman, who offered him a graduate fellowship. In 1927 the university granted him the Ph.D. in philosophy for a dissertation on "God and the Absolute." In the same year his first published piece (a review of A. N. Whitehead's Religion in the Making) clearly exhibited the salient lines of presuppositional analysis: a) locating an opponent's crucial presuppositions b) criticizing the autonomous attitude which arises from a failure to honor the Creator-creature distinction c) exposing the internal and destructive philosophical tensions which attend autonomy, and then d) setting forth the only viable alternative, Biblical Christianity. When J. Gresham Machen declined the chair of apologetics at Princeton Seminary, deciding to remain in the New Testament department, the Board of the seminary was encouraged by William Brenton Greene (1854-1928), the retired professor of apologetics, to invite Van Til to lecture in the department for the 1928-1929 academic year. Following the reception of his doctorate and his first visit back to the Netherlands (1927), Van Til had accepted the pastorate of the Christian Reformed Church in Spring Lake, Michigan. Although installed for only a year, he took a leave of absence from the congregation and taught apologetics at Princeton, impressing everyone so favorably (even though the youngest instructor there) that at the end of only one year the Board elected him to assume the Stuart Chair of apologetics and ethics. The decline of PCUSA and the beginning of the OPC However, within weeks the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. reorganized Princeton Seminary in such a way that control of the once conservative bastion of Reformed orthodoxy was turned over to men who desired to see many different viewpoints represented at Princeton and who favored a "broad church." Machen resigned and immediately started work to establish Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Van Til likewise resigned and returned to Michigan. In the mean time, Machen handpicked Van Til to teach apologetics in the new seminary, even traveling with Ned B. Stonehouse to Michigan in August to plead for Van Til's acceptance of the position – after a previous visit from O. T. Allis had not secured it. After declining at first, Van Til took up teaching duties at Westminster Seminary in the fall of 1929, where he continued in that ministry until retiring more than forty years later. When Machen was unjustly forced out of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. in 1936, Van Til supported him in the founding of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, where he came to have a decided influence for years to come, both as a scholar and as a powerful pulpit preacher. Presuppositional publishing From the outset of his teaching career Van Til sought to develop a distinctively, consistently Christian philosophical outlook. He wanted to see everything in terms of a Biblical world-and-life-view. The first major syllabus produced by Van Til at Westminster Seminary, (now titled A Survey of Christian Epistemology) came out in 1933. In it he traced through history various epistemological positions, noting the bearing of metaphysical convictions upon them, and advanced the necessity of a transcendental, presuppositional method of argumentation. He insisted that Christians must reason with unbelievers, seeking to reduce the non-Christian worldview (whatever form it takes) to absurdity, by exposing it to be epistemologically and morally self-contradictory. Van Til's insight, a brilliant and apologetically powerful one, was that antitheism actually presupposes theism. To reason at all, the unbeliever must operate on assumptions which actually contradict his espoused presuppositions – assumptions which comport only with the Christian worldview. Van Til's presuppositional approach has been a powerful impetus for reform in Christian thinking. Outwardly, it directs a transcendental challenge to all philosophies which fall short of a Biblical theory of knowledge, demonstrating that their worldviews do not provide the philosophical preconditions needed for the intelligible use of logic, science, or ethics. Inwardly, it calls for self-examination by Christian scholars and apologists to see if their own theories of knowledge have been self-consciously developed in subordination to the word of God which they wish to vindicate or apply. It has likewise cut a wide swath through a large number of relevant areas of interest, requiring that every area of life be governed by the inscripturated word of God. Conclusion Those who knew Dr. Van Til personally will testify that he was not only a man of principle and conviction, a towering intellectual, but equally a man of warmth, humor, and compassion. On April 17, 1987, he joined all the saints who from their labors rest. This article was first published in the May, 1995 issue of Penpoint (Vol. VI:5) and is reprinted with permission of Covenant Media Foundation, which hosts and sells many other Dr. Bahnsen resources on their website www.cmfnow.com. It appeared in the November 2014 issue....

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90,000 legal homicides in Canada since 2016

According to calculations from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC), as of September this year approximately 90,000 Canadians have been euthanized since this form of homicide was legalized by the federal government in 2016. Homicide is defined under Section 222 of Canada’s Criminal Code as an act causing the death of a human being. The staggering number of euthanasia deaths have been steadily increasing, from 1,018 in 2016, to 15,343 confirmed cases in 2023. Based on the reports available for 2024, the EPC projects there were 16,500 euthanasia deaths that year, an increase of 7.5 percent. EPC drilled in on BC’s 2024 data and found that 35 percent of the 2,767 euthanasia deaths were approved based on “other conditions.” Of these, 65.9 percent were related to “frailty.” They noted that “frailty” isn’t defined and can encompass euthanasia for a “completed life” – in other words, an elderly person is not sick or dying but simply wants to die. The increasing numbers, and broad standards for qualifying, are a far cry from what the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Carter v. Canada (2015), when it allowed euthanasia for a competent adult who “has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease, or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition.” Behind each of these statistics is a human being made in the image of God, many of whom left this earth without hope. As ARPA Canada and others communicated to Parliament and to the courts prior to the legalization of euthanasia, as soon as we remove the sacred line of the Sixth Commandment to not murder, it becomes impossible to maintain any other line. Sure enough, Parliament is now considering further expansions of euthanasia for those whose suffering is solely psychological, as well as for children....

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Saturday Selections – Oct. 4, 2025

Bahnsen vs. Hitchens, the Rap Battle Here's AI put to its weirdest and most wonderful –the late Reformed apologist Greg Bahnsen taking on the late atheist apologist Christopher Hitchens. Were dragon stories really dinosaur encounters? Short answer: it sure would seem so! Where do human rights come from, senator? A US senator thought that it was akin to being a fundamentalist Muslim to think that human rights come from God. They come from the state, he insisted. But if they come from the state, how could the state ever violate them? How could we ever complain about any state abusing human rights? Health-care costs for typical Canadian family will reach over $19,000 this year That we don't pay for healthcare directly doesn't mean we don't pay for healthcare. It means, at the very least, that tax dollars that go for that care aren't used for anything else. And the hidden costs of our socialized healthcare system also mean it is really hard for us to tell if we're getting value for our money. Canadian government pushing hate speech law again "Hatred is a real sin. But government and law enforcement cannot discern the degree of hatred in one’s heart, though they can judge and punish the things they do. "That’s why existing prohibitions in the Criminal Code focus on prohibiting particular actions, not emotions or motivations. While Christians should condemn hateful thoughts, words, and gestures, the government cannot regulate the heart." The dangerous logic of Moral Subjectivism "If right and wrong are things outside of ourselves which we can't change, we need to align our behavior with what's right. But if it's the other way around, and morality is just a thing I get to make up, well, I can act however I want." "Huh... that's basically the same as not having a moral system..." **** This video is worth watching for what it gets right, like the above. But where it falls short is in what it settles for – that agreeing there is some sort of objective moral standard outside ourselves is all that's really important. The problem is, ideologies and religions can hold to an objective truth that includes the notion that "conversion by the sword" is a legitimate means of persuasion. So, for example, it isn't enough that an ISIS jihadist thinks a moral standard exists outside himself, he isn't about debate and dialogue. This sort of short-sightedness is what happens when we appeal to the fruits of Christianity without actually holding to the Root of it, Christ Himself. Civil discourse is a fruit of the only real objective standard that exists, God's morality, which teaches us: God has no interest in merely outward observance (Is. 1:13), discouraging any attempts at compelled belief. to treat others as we would like to be treated (Matt. 7:12), prompting civil discourse. to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-4), prompting civil discourse. it is good to hear both sides (Prov. 18:17), which encourages hearing out things you might disagree with. we are all made in the Image of God (Gen. 9:6), and that hate is the equivalent of murder (Matt. 5:21-22), which both, again, encourage civil discourse. So not just any objective moral standard will do. Civil discourse is a fruit of Christianity, and as we are seeing, a nation that turns from Him will slowly but surely start losing the fruit of the Christian faith, including civility. ...

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Assorted

Dominee’s friend

There is style and there is class. Dominee may not have had much style, as the world considers style, but he had class. Dominee had accepted a call to another church. At such a time we cover up the pain of separation with laughter. How could we be happy? This was the man whom God had sent to us to speak to us the Word of God every Sunday. We heard the voice of the Great Shepherd through His under-shepherd twice every Lord’s day. Because Dominee’s voice was so familiar, and his sermons somewhat predictable, we thought we knew him. We knew from the cadence of his heavily accented sentences when he was wrapping up the sermon — just the final song yet, and the benediction, and we’d soon be outside chatting, swapping stories, and laughing. Dominee was not what you would call an especially stylish man. During all the years he preached to us he wore a grey suit. He may have replaced it with a new one once in a while, but we never noticed because the new one was identical to the previous. Nothing stylish about Dominee. Even when he would drop by because of illness in the family or if someone needed encouragement, he’d wear a grey suit. We thought we knew him, until his farewell evening. As I said, when we are sad, we turn to laughter. To cover up our sadness. The farewell evening had begun and was evolving in a predictable way. There was only one unusual thing that immediately caught everyone’s attention. Near the front of the church sat an old Sikh gentleman and his wife. We could tell he was a Sikh because he was wearing a turban. The turban happened to be pink. Later I was told it was, in fact, lavender. The chairman of the men’s society, a serious man, ascended the pulpit. He read some Scripture, prayed, and invited us to sing a well-known Psalm. On behalf of the men’s society, he spoke some kind words of farewell to Dominee, his wife, and the children, and then presented them with a gift, a beautiful painting of local scenery: “We don’t want you to forget this beautiful part of the country!” This was followed by several presentations — women’s, young people’s, youth. And on it went, predictably and comfortably. The presentations alternated between funny, sad, and poignant. But mostly we laughed. When the elders and deacons performed a humorous skit about Dominee’s typical way of leading a meeting, we laughed heartily. When one of Dominee’s local colleagues told a story about Dominee at a classis meeting, we laughed so hard we thought our sides were going to burst. After several hours, when everyone was good and ready for coffee and cake, the chairman of the men’s society ascended the pulpit once again. With gravity, he thanked everyone for coming, bade Dominee farewell once more, and asked if there was anyone whom he had missed, or who had not been on the program but yet wanted to say something. The Sikh gentleman stood up. Well, this was interesting. Slowly, with age and dignity, he walked to the front of the church. He began to speak. This was very interesting. No one could remember a Sikh speaking in our church. He began to tell a story. It had been a hot summer afternoon when he and his wife were walking along the sidewalk. Suddenly overcome by heat, thirst, and exhaustion, he sat on a stone wall in front of a house. That house, as it turned out, was the Manse. Dominee was sitting in the shade reading a newspaper from the old country that had just come in the mail. He noticed the Sikh man sitting at the end of the driveway on the stone wall, and the man’s wife bending over him with a look of concern on her face. Dominee got up to see if he could help. “My husband is very thirsty,” said the lady. “Could he please have some water?” Dominee went to the house and came back with a pitcher of water and some glasses. He poured two glasses of water, and then he took a moment to speak about the other water, the living water that Jesus provides. On that day Dominee and the Sikh became friends. The Sikh gentleman and his wife would drop by more often to talk with Dominee. We never knew. We thought we knew our Dominee. We all listened intently to the Sikh as he told us the story about our kind Dominee. He considered it an honor to count him a friend and wanted to give him a parting gift. The Sikh explained that it was their custom to give the turban they are wearing to their departing friend. The turban would be a reminder of their friendship. With that the Sikh removed the turban from his head, reached forward, and placed it on Dominee’s head. Dominee was mostly bald and had a smaller head than his Sikh friend, and so the turban sank down over Dominee’s forehead. It was a sight to behold! Our Dominee clothed in his trademark grey suit, the only way we had ever seen him in all the years he had ministered to us, wearing a lavender-colored turban. No one laughed, snickered, or tittered. Instead, after a moment during which you could have heard a pin drop, the congregation slowly rose and began to clap. We did not know whether we were clapping for Dominee or the Sikh. Likely, we were clapping for the Lord. We had seen a remarkable thing. Our immigrant congregation may not have had much style, but on that evening we had class. Dominee wore the turban for the rest of the evening, during coffee and as we all came by his table to say farewell. He wore it with pride. Dominee did not have much style, but he had a lot of class. And we thought we knew him. There is style, and there is class. This is a true story, which I experienced as an adolescent boy at the departure of a neighboring minister. The references to style and class were inspired by Sietze Buning’s “Style and Class” collection of poems. This first appeared in the January 2015 issue....

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