In onze prekenserie over Jacobus zijn, is dit keer hoofdstuk 3 aan de beurt. Dat gaat over het gebruik van de tong. Daaraan kun je herkennen of je echt christen bent of dat je godsdienst waardeloos is. We denken na over: 1) De invloed van de tong op de koers van ons leven. 2) De tong als massavernietigingswapen in de samenleving en in de kerk. 3) Hoe we de tong kunnen hervormen en temmen.

My longtime friend Raeburn Cameron-Smith has passed from this life to be with Christ. We had a fellowship in the gospel for many years, for which both of us were thankful. Today was his memorial service in Australia. With fondness I recall his biblical preaching, aimed at expounding the Word of God for our life. He also was a fervent evangelist, who spent many a day evangelising and handing out Christian literature. Raeburn knew the value of stories and how the experience of people may have an impact on the lives of others. He also was a man of peace, who suffered from adversity, bitterness and politicking in Christian circles. Raeburn was a peacemaker. And longed for other people to have peace with God, and to have love among one another. I recall one day, as we were walking near the Tasmanian wilderness, we watched two cars stopping violently, and two young men jumping out and starting to fight, the one threatening to kill the other over a relationship issue. Raeburn stepped in, seemingly fearlessly, told them: "I am a Presbyterian minister, please shake hands now and make peace." Amazingly they did and each went his own way. As this so much characterized his life, I share with you a sermon of Raeburns on forgiveness (with thanks and credit to the PCEA Ulverstone). Blessed are the peacemakers, because they shall be called children of God. I am sure you will be blessed by Raeburn's sermon.

Hoe kun je weten of je een kind van het verbond bent dat in de hemel komt? Uit de Bijbel is immers duidelijk dat er mensen zijn die doorgaan voor christen maar toch niet gered zijn. Onder het oude verbond waren er Joden die ondanks het verbond toch onder Gods oordeel vielen. Niet iedereen die gedoopt is, komt in de hemel. Sterker nog, in een van de Bijbelgedeelten die we in deze podcast lezen, zien we dit zelfs dominees kan overkomen. Mensen die schijnbaar de intiemste ervaringen met God hebben: in Zijn naam profeteren en wonderen doen. MAAR: toch verloren gaan en door de Heere geoordeeld worden. Hoe kan dat? Hoe kun je weten dat jij niet ook verkeerd zult eindigen? Misvatting Dus niet door je religieuze ervaringen en gevoelens. Dat hadden die mensen ook wel. Toch zoeken sommigen hun zekerheid op die plaats. Dat heeft vooral in afgescheiden kring geleid tot een onjuiste filosofische invulling van de leer over tweeërlei kinderen van het verbond. In die visie moet een groot deel van de gemeente te beseffen dat men het nog niet heeft en er nog niet is. Dat laatste kan waar zijn. Het eerste loochent de leer van de kerk. Bovendien kan deze overtuiging ertoe leiden dat men meent dat elke preek een soort formule moet zijn die allerlei mensen in diverse geestelijke staten aanspreekt. In plaats van de hervormd-katholieke benadering om mensen op te roepen tot geloof en bekering, zaaien we dan wekelijks twijfel. In plaats van de kinderen van de gemeente te laten bouwen op het werk van Woord en Geest, begonnen in de Heilige Doop, verkondigen we dat het allemaal misschien niet echt was. Met als gevolg dat we meewerken aan een onverschillige of wanhopige geloofsbeleving bij jongeren, die wedergeboorte gaan zien in termen van een speciale categorie volwassenen. Buiten hun bereik, althans voorlopig. Geloof preken, geen twijfel In plaats van een wekelijks “ja-maar-christendom” hebben we weer echte hervormde prediking nodig: een uitnodiging tot heil, bekering van zonden en opgroeien tot geestelijke volwassenheid in Christus. De volle raad Gods, het afsterven van de oude mensen en het opstaan van de nieuwe, met alle uitdagingen van het dienen van de Heere in onze tijd. Wat is het jammer als we in plaats daarvan wekelijks hetzelfde krijgen en blijven steken bij wat Paulus “de eerste beginselen” (Heb 6:1) noemt en nooit verder komen dan baby-christendom. Op die manier kan de kerk geraken tot een wekelijks evangelisatiestation, waar elke week dezelfde formule, oplossing en inhoud verkondigd wordt met een andere Bijbeltekst. Ten diepste is het volgens die filosofische benadering tot het geloof eigenlijk ongeoorloofd om de kerkgangers aan te spreken met “gemeente van Christus”. Dat is immers feitelijk niet zo? We moeten het immers allemaal nog maar afwachten, want de mens moet wel iets ervaren. Leer van de kerk Hoewel zij soms theologisch totaal onverantwoordelijk wordt ingevuld, is de leer van tweeërlei kinderen van het verbond als zodanig Bijbels. De oproep tot zelfbeproeving, of we in het geloof zijn ook. Hoe kun je weten of je op de verkeerde weg bent? In Bijbelse termen: op het smalle pad van eeuwig leven, of op de brede weg naar het verderf? De Heere Jezus en Zijn apostel Jacobus spreken hierover. Het antwoord is in het kort: aan hun vruchten zult gij hen kennen. Als er geen vrucht is in je leven, dan is er ook geen waar geloof. Want het echte geloof, wie waarlijk op God vertrouwt, neemt Zijn Woord serieus genoeg om het ook te gaan doen. Wie het niet doet, gelooft het niet echt. Wie het wel geloof, gaat het doen. Met vallen en opstaan, zonder te vertwijfelen of in de zonde te blijven liggen. Verder lezen op mijn website.

From an evolutionist perspective mankind should not exist anymore. We are genetically moving downhill with 62 random mutations added per new generation. In this episode we have a conversation with Dr Don Batten, former CEO and senior scientist with Creation Ministries. Don is a horticulturalist, with a PhD from Sydney University, in New South Whales where he grew up on a farm. Dr Batten relates how he initially took evolution for granted, but how his university years convinced him that Darwinism as a theory of descend is an impossibility from a biological and genetics perspective. Initially that made him an old earth creationist, because that seemed indicated by the science of geology. In his search for a coherent biblical and scientific worldview, he eventually settled on the classic Christian or Catholic view of creation. Very much like the church fathers taught it. In this conversation he also answers some of the big questions many people ask about creation. What evidence do you have that the creation narrative in the Bible is history? How did all the animals fit into Noah's ark and how could the earth have repopulated with species in the few thousand years since? Where did Cain get his wife? Food for thought and contemplation! Please join us for this stimulating encounter with Dr Don Batten in Queensland, Australia. Links: -Website: https://creation.com/ -Biography: https://creation.com/dr-don-batten-cv -Creation answers book: https://www.creationbookpublishers.com/the-creation-answers-book/

Geestelijk tuinieren naar aanleiding van Jacobuus 1 en 2.

In this conversation with Dr Ralph C. Martin we discuss the life changing impact of the Word of God. The reverse is also true. Most problems in the Church are related to how one views the Bible. Meet a Catholic professor who believes that we have an inerrant Bible that contains the Word of God. Dr Martin teaches at Sacred Heart Seminary and president of Renewal Ministries. Under Pope Benedict XVI he was advisor for evangelism. Are the Scriptures sacred vehicles that contain the reliable Word of God? Or is the Bible a collection of fallible human writers who were inspired to write things about God as they imagined him from below?How you see the Holy Scriptures has a direct impact on morality and doctrine. Professor Martin believes that Christians benefit from clarity. That Rome preaches an empty hell these days, if there is one, seems in flagrant contradiction with the message of Jesus. That many in the Church teach that morality does not matter as long as one is true to his feelings, is evaluated as a grave mistake in Scripture, which says that no fornicator, robber or person who continues to commit homosexual acts will inherit the kingdom of God. In the 1970’s Dr Martin warned against the collapse of Biblical authority in the Church in A Crisis of Truth. First a series of talks, it was published in 1982. He spoke clearly and forcefully on the crisis that was beginning to pervade the Church, which was ultimately a crisis of authority. Is God in control of religion and morality? Or are we allowed to created our own? While there was a temporarily move towards Biblical authority under pope JP2 and Benedict 16, this was mostly not the case in catholic education. By the 2020 the crisis had also permeated the ecclesiastical hierarchy. To address these circumstances, Ralph wrote his book: “A Church in Crisis, pathways forwards.” In this conversation he tells us about the transforming power of the Word of God in his life. The Bible is not theory, but the living Voice of God, an instrument that he uses to make you grow spiritually and morally: trusting in the Father, through the Word, applied by the Holy Ghost. As to critical scholarship, Ralph Martin’s message is: Take care which voices you listen to and decide to trust. There are scholars who profess the Scriptures as the inerrant and reliable Word of God. Have faith in God, and: “Keep on!”

Dr David Daintree is director of the Christopher Dawson Centre for Cultural Studies in Australia. In this conversation we discuss the state of Western civilisation and its important features, perhaps the most important one that it is grounded in a material and spiritual reality that cannot be changed by our perception and only ignored to our detriment. David took a BA from the University of New England, an M Litt from Cambridge and his PhD in Tasmania. His academic background is in Classics, and his specialisation medieval Latin. Dr Daintree was Principal of Jane Franklin Hall, a college of the University of Tasmania, from 1984 to 2002. From then to 2008 he was Rector of St John’s College in the University of Sydney, and after this President of Campion College: Australia’s only Liberal Arts college. Dr Daintree has been a visiting professor at both the Universities of Siena and Venice, and a visiting fellow at St. John's College, University of Manitoba, Canada. In 2013, at the invitation of Archbishop Julian Porteous, he became founding Director of the Christopher Dawson Centre for Cultural Studies. In 2017 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. David is married to Elizabeth.

Hugh Owen was raised in a highly succesful and well connected secular family. His father was the first assistent secretary general of the United Nations and also the first chairman of Planned Parenthood international. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his achievements. In short, Hugh was an unlikely candidate for orthodox Catholic faith. Still today he no longer believes the evolutionist worldview of his youth. Instead he has been persuaded to believe in Scripture and Creation as the fathers of the Church, and Prophets and Apostles before them taught it. This was initiated with a moral shift and reaching out to God, merely to try out whether there was truth there or not. It all started with praying a sinner’s prayer of repentance as a 17 year old. Join me in listening to Hugh Owen’s testimony and spiritual views on Scripture and Creation. The authority of the Bible and a litteral creation are not intellectual stumbling blocks for Catholic Christians, but opportunities to explore truth and to live in greater harmony with God. It is difficult to maintain a relationship with Christ as bridegroom of the Church if we distrust his actions and his Word. Also, biblical creation is not about anti-intellectualism or anti-science, but about observing truth from the premise of Divine revelation. -Learn more about the Kolbe Centre for Creation studies.

How a chance visit to a cathedral during your holidays as a seventeen year old can be the start of a spiritual journey that ultimately takes you into exile, but serving Christ and spreading a message of truth, hope and love. In this podcast we listen to the fascinating story of Rod Dreher, American author, journalist and Orthodox Christian. This podcast aims to provide virtual space and intelligent in depth conversation for spiritually minded people. Please, pray for those who, in every field of life, aim for communion with the saints and catholic Church of all times and places. Liking and subscribing if you find these conversations helpful is an encouragement for me and my guests. Note for western Catholics, particularly in the Reformed tradition: If you prefer to address the Godhead at the Person of the "Father", in the light of our Lord's teachings about prayer, I suggest you use, rather than the Jesus Prayer, the Lord's Prayer (Pater Noster) and/or the penitential Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143 (miserere mei).

Wat hebben anderhalve man en een paardekop met de ideologie van onze tijd te maken? Is de grondslag van de studentenvereniging CSFR een vroom fabeltje uit een premoderne tijd? Geloven we het nog of eigenlijk niet meer, vanwege de revoluties in het wetenschappelijk denken, de maatschappij en hoe we seksualiteit zijn gaan zien? Deze week gaf ik voor een enthousiast publiek van slimme mensen de jaarlijkse grondslaglezing van de Civitas Studiosorum in Fundamento Reformato (C.S.F.R.) "Johannes Calvijn" in Delft.