Clarion · 2013. 9. 24. · 542 CLARION, NOVEMBER 13, 1998 This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the famous Stone Lectures on Calvinism which Abraham Kuyper gave at Princeton

ClarionTHE CANADIAN REFORMED MAGAZINE

VOLUME 47, NO. 23 NOVEMBER 13, 1998

Abraham Kuyperand the

Stone Lectures on Calvinism

542 CLARION, NOVEMBER 13, 1998

This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of thefamous Stone Lectures on Calvinism which Abraham Kuypergave at Princeton University in Philadelphia. At the timeKuyper was at the zenith of his powers, and his influencewas growing, especially in his native country, but also be-yond its borders. The lectures reveal Kuyper’s noble aim: tohave the whole of life brought under the lordship of JesusChrist, and to promote a Calvinist world view in which allman’s labours, whether in science or art, would be directedto the glory of God. The lectures illustrate clearly his lovefor science, art and culture, and at the same time his specialappreciation for America as the new world of opportunity,‘the land of the free.’

In order to commemorate the event,Princeton held a special Kuyper confer-ence in February of this year, inviting par-ticipants from many countries, and espe-cially from Kuyper’s native Holland.Although appreciation was expressed forKuyper’s work, on the whole he did notcome off that well. In fact, according tothe reports, Kuyper was labelled as a racistand a sexist, one who in many respectsdefended an outdated and antiquatedworld view which cannot be considereduseful in any way for us today.1 EspeciallyPrinceton’s own faculty participating inthe conference were rather scathing intheir attack against the well known Dutchleader and statesman. Their perspectiveseemed to indicate that it would havebeen better in their eyes if these lectureshad not even taken place one hundredyears ago.

What do we make of this drasticchange of fortune for “Abraham themighty”?2 In his zenith, and for years after, he towered abovehis contemporaries as a mighty general, defending his “Re-formed principles” (gereformeeerde beginselen) with vigourand conviction even up to his death in 1920. Now, onehundred years later, many of the sons are standing aroundto witness the continued burial of the father. In today’sview, the mighty general was really a charlatan, a racist anda sexist, whose central world view should be abandoned asquickly as possible. Why the sudden turn of thought? Is thereany valid reason for the change?

The Stone LecturesOne look at the Stone Lectures will alert the reader to the

fact that we are indeed entering another era and anotherworld. Kuyper championed Calvinism as a life system and a

life and world view of all encompassing significance. Inthese lectures he sought to set principle over against princi-ple, the principle of the lordship of Christ over against theprinciple of humanism and modernism. He saw the wholedevelopment of culture as the unfolding of the battle be-tween these two principles. And he took Calvinism as thehighest expression of the principle of obedience to the goodnews of Christ.

One might even question how much of Calvin has beenretained in Kuyper, or to what extent we have the rebirth ofCalvin in a new dress. Kuyper has often been called a neo-Calvinist, where prefix neo is to be taken in a more pejora-tive sense of one who, as a neophyte, uses the name of the

master, but in effect introduces a newteaching which undermines the work ofthe master, (in this case, Calvin). WouldCalvin recognize himself in Kuyper’sCalvinism?

Already in the first lecture Kuyper laidbare some of the essential principles thatcoloured his view on Calvinism in all hiswritings: the sovereignty of God over all oflife, the principle of renewal (palingenesis)through which life is in principle restoredto God, and the principle of commongrace, through which Christians are calledto keep their focus on this world.3 Thefirst refers to God’s special work in gath-ering the elect as the new mankind.Kuyper’s focus here is on the church asan invisible, and essentially supra-terres-trial reality (61). But while God is doingthis he does not abandon the world, andso the Christian cannot close the door tothe world either. Besides particular gracewhich works salvation, there is also a

common grace (gratia communa) by which God maintainsthe world, “relaxes the curse which rests upon it, arrests itsprocess of corruption, and thus allows the untrammelled de-velopment of our life in which to glorify God as Creator” (30).The result of these two principles combined is a form ofCalvinism expressed in terms of evolutionary optimism. InKuyper’s perspective, Calvinism has evolved as the highestexpression of man’s social, political, cultural and religious lifeup to that time.

Calvinism for Kuyper is neither an ecclesiastical, nor atheological, nor a sectarian conception but as he says, “oneof the principle phases in the general development of thehuman race” (34). As he puts it, three principal tribes ofwestern Europe make up the genealogy of the Calvinistic na-tions: the Celtic, Romanic, and Germanic elements under

EDITORIAL

By J. De Jong

Kuyper at Princeton

Dr. Abraham Kuyperreceiving the honourarydoctor’s degree at PrincetonUniversity in 1898.

the leadership of the Germanic. Kuyperextols the intermingling of the nations,and adds “only among Calvinistic na-tions does it achieve its highest perfec-tion” (37).

The next lectures work out in detailthe program outlined with a broad brushat the outset. The first examines Calvin-ism from the angle of particular grace.The one principle of particular graceworks itself out in the specific Calvinis-tic forms of religious practice and wor-ship as it is known in the churches ofthe Reformation. Theology, organiza-tion, discipline, worship and life-styleare all “the logical product of its ownfundamental thought and the embodi-ment of one and the same principle”(41). The whole work of particular graceis represented as the unfolding of one di-vine idea, the special predestination ofGod which is the chief hallmark of hisabsolute sovereignty in the world.

Common graceThe next three lectures move in the

realm of common grace and expandupon the importance of this essentialprinciple for the development of humanlife, including Calvinism itself. Forwhile the elements of special grace canbe a help for common grace, the re-wards of common grace can also serveas added boosts for particular grace(118-121, 124). Kuyper here paints agrand canvass: in politics, in scienceand in art Calvinism has done the worldits greatest service. In politics, Calvin-ism has consistently defended the es-sential liberties: liberty of conscienceand freedom of religion. Kuyper admits

that this did not always work itself out toa full fledged freedom of speech andworship but in these essential elementsthe foundation was laid. The real guar-antee of freedom lies not in a forcedrule, but in the principle of the sover-eignty of the spheres, whereby eachsphere of life organically manifests itsown principle of sovereignty accordingto the norms of God’s Word (91ff).

Similarly in science, Calvinism un-folded the principle of free science, thatis, science not governed by church orstate, but in obedience to divinely estab-lished creational ordinances, permittingthe free discovery of the secret treasuresof God in accordance with his ordi-nances and statues (126-128, 138). Andin art, Calvinism yielded some of thehighest expressions of human artisticendeavour precisely because of the ex-ploration into the many facets of lightand colour as revealed in God’s creation.

In this section, the recurring theme isthe birth of freedom as espoused by theCalvinist life system. The sovereignty ofGod translates itself into the principle ofthe sovereignty in one’s sphere, bywhich each dimension of life is as itwere held to its own sphere. Freedom isCalvinism’s greatest ideal, and preciselyhere Calvinism and America meet!

CLARION, NOVEMBER 13, 1998 543

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Publications Mail Registration No. 1025 ISSN 0383-0438

IN THIS ISSUEEditorial – Kuyper at Princeton

— J. De Jong……………………542Treasures, New and Old – Love is

a Command — P. Aasman ……545Timeless Insights From A Century

Ago – Kuyper’s Stone Lectures — Kenneth J. Boessenkool ……546

A Lost Family Treasure Rediscovered — J.L. van Popta ………………547

Book Review – Abraham Kuyper. A Centennial Reader— J. De Jong……………………550

Clay Pots and Prairie Fields — Hilda Tams …………………553

Ray of Sunshine — Mrs. R. Ravensbergen ……555

Our Korean Connection — J. Faber………………………556

Observation Deck – Church Membership and Divorce — J. VanRietschoten …………559

Book Notices — N.H. Gootjes …560Press Releases ……………………560Our Little Magazine

— Aunt Betty …………………562

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What’s inside?The name of Abraham Kuyper

(1837-1920) is well known to us. Hisinfluence was felt throughout theNetherlands in the years before and afterthe turn of the century. Born in Maass-luis, near Rotterdam, he studied in Lei-den and entered the ministry in theHervormde Kerk of Beest in 1863. Hesubsequently served the HervormdeKerk in Utrecht (1868-70) and Amster-dam (1870-74). In 1886, he led a seces-sion from the Hervormde Kerk which,six years later, united with the secessionchurches of 1834. However, his interestswent beyond the pastoral ministry andchurch reformation. In 1874, Dr. Kuyperentered politics even serving as theprime minister of the Netherlands from1901-1905. In 1880 he founded the FreeUniversity of Amsterdam where he him-self taught for many years lecturing in avariety of fields. Not satisfied with thefields of theology, education and poli-tics, he was a journalist too. He editedthe daily Standaard for nearly fifty years,and the weekly Heraut. He publishedmany, many books. Which student oftheology has not known the ecstasyand the agony of ploughing throughKuyper’s Principles of Sacred Theology?

Abraham Kuyper also travelled, no-tably to the United States of Americawhere, in 1898, he delivered the fa-mous Stone lectures on Calvinism. Thisyear is the centennial of these lectures.We are very happy to present you witha variety of articles about Dr. Kuyperand his lasting impact.

GvP

In Kuyper’s perspective,Calvinism has

evolved as the highestexpression of

man’s social, political,cultural and religiouslife up to that time.


In all this we can say: Kuyper un-folded a majestic tapestry! In six lec-tures he covers all spheres: particulargrace and common grace, the world ofthe church and the church in the world.In the final lecture, Calvinism and thefuture, resounds forth in positive tonesabout the glorious future that awaits usif only we permit the Calvinist princi-ple to unfold to its limit.

The critiqueNow it cannot be denied that for us

too there are elements of the lecturesthat cannot escape critique. There issomething in them which is foreign tothe principal founder of the systemKuyper is defending. For Calvin, whilebeing the many sided man who pro-vided a perspective on many areas ofhuman endeavour, never meant to cre-ate a system. He was first and foremosta preacher and servant of the church.Calvin also never thought in terms ofevolutionistic optimism, and neverspoke in terms of the evolutionary pro-gression of the human race in a posi-tive direction. Neither would he havetaken his own thoughts as representingthe highest pinnacle of human devel-opment. Kuyper’s mixture of race,blood and Calvinism is one at whichCalvin himself might have balked.

To this and to many other points wemust say: Kuyper was a child of his time.He remoulded Calvin’s work in the lan-guage and thought world of the 19thcentury, and he had the vision and thegrandeur to interpret Calvinism in a veryinspiring forms of language, optimism,and assertiveness. There is somethingabout the frail and emaciated Calvin oflater life that disappears behind this tow-ering giant of the 19th Century. Kuyperwas not afraid even to use aspects of thephilosophical thought world of his day asa frame of reference in order to expressand promote his Calvinist world view.4

Kuyper’s vision was not presented with-out some of the leaven of the leading Ide-alist philosophers of the day.

Yet it cannot be said that in his sys-tem Kuyper in effect departed from themain principles that Calvin defended.For all the 19th century colour andcrimson he brought to Calvin, with itsaccompanying stains and stresses, hewas none the less true to Calvin’s es-sential aim! For Kuyper stood in Calv-in’s line on the one central point: soliDeo gloria! That rule can be translatedinto the distinct principles of the sover-eignty of God, and the lordship of JesusChrist over all creation, along with theduty and calling of believers to live forthe King (pro Rege).

But Princeton?It is then quite another story to turn

Kuyper into a sexist and a racist, and todiscard his positive and optimistic spiritas a brand of 19th century hubris. Forthe Reformed of later years have al-ways said: Kuyper had his faults. Hewas a man of weaknesses, not only inthe way he let his thoughts run freewith leaven borrowed from the philo-sophical currents of the day, but also inthe way he asserted the truth of histhoughts above the criticism and opin-ions of others. The dangers were there,and the criticisms did not remain hid-den! But there is another side to thematter. In his approach, Kuyper main-tained the leading thought of the motherpromise (Gen 3:15) and its accompa-nying antithesis. He confessed the en-mity that spanned the history of theworld! He bowed to Scripture!5 Theselectures, too, still breath the spirit of rev-erence and respect for the sacred text!His fundamental criticism of mod-ernism and humanism is the departurefrom the sacred text!

It is this voice, a voice of manynovel thoughts, but above all this, avoice of obedience to the Word thatthe modern critics want to wipe awaywith their ready use of politically cor-rect labels. In his philosophy and in hisstatesmanship Kuyper was indeed agreat man – Abraham the mighty! Butthe LORD who is mightier than all fleshmade him weak, yes, made him a childwhen he stood with his heart beforethe power of the unchanging Word!

With all their idealism and with theirrolling waves of the optimism and ofevolutionary progressivism of the age,the Stone Lectures have this undercur-rent: he who obeys the Word will see theblessing of the work of the Spirit of God.With all their criticism, today’s academiamay try to silence this Kuyper. They maytry to erase the very antithesis he main-tained. But they will never succeed. In

fact they only make his words speaklouder.6 For what else do we get fromPrinceton today but the very modernisticcriticism that Kuyper spoke about?

They have read him and studiedhim, thoroughly analyzed him, andwaxed eloquent about his work. Butthey have not understood! For they donot look behind Kuyper to the drivingforce in his life: with all his weaknesses,still to be a servant of his Saviour andso to adorn by his work the glory andpraise of the only living God.

1See the report by M.R. Langley in ChristianRenewal, Vol 16:14 (April 6, 1998), 62A (somewhat inexact) translation of the pop-ular Dutch phrase “Abraham de geweldige.”3Kuyper, Lectures on Calvinism. The StoneFoundation Lectures, (Grand Rapids: Eerd-mans, 1931) 56, 58. Further page referencesto this work appear in the text of this article.4Hegel and Von Hartmann come to the aidof his view on art, 1485See Kuyper, 56: “The necessitas S.S. [the ne-cessity of Sacred Scripture, JDJ] was forCalvin the unavoidable expression of the all-dominating authority of the Holy Scriptures,and even now it is this very dogma whichenables us to understand why it is that theCalvinist of today considers the criticalanalysis and application of the critical sol-vent to the Scriptures as tantamount to anabandoning of Christianity itself.” 6Kuyper says: “A theology which virtuallydestroys the authority of the Holy Scripturesas a sacred book; which sees in sin nothingbut a lack of development; recognizes Christfor no more than a religious genius of centralsignificance; views redemption as the merereversal of our subjective mode of thinking;. . . – such a theology is like a dam givingway before the first assault of the inrushingtide. It is a theology without hold upon themasses, a quasi-religion powerless to re-store our sadly tottering moral life to even atemporary footing,” 182-183. One look atmorality in contemporary America – even itits highest places! – bears out the truth ofthese prophetic words.

Kuyper maintained the leading thought ofthe mother promise,

and its accompanyingantithesis. He confessed

the enmity that spanned the history

of the world! He bowed to Scripture!

Freedom is Calvinism’sgreatest ideal, and

precisely here Calvinism and America meet!


“But I don’t love her!” That may wellhave been Joseph’s reply to the angel,had he been informed by late 20th Cen-tury culture. And that would be the endof the matter. Since discovering that shewas with child by no act of his own,Joseph may well have felt that he did notlove Mary anymore. And what is a per-son to do if he has lost his love?

Love has become, in our day, anelusive emotion that makes puppets ofus all – a fickle tyrant – and we, itshelpless slaves. People are either head-over-heels in love, or without hope be-cause their relationship has lost its love.Christians are beginning to see it thisway too: when a relationship has lostthe dynamic of love, it is hopeless.What can we do when love has becomea fugitive, when the elusive feeling hasfled? For many, there is no solution butto separate or divorce.

This is a common perception of lovebetween a man and a woman.

But this is not a biblical perception.In the Bible, love is just one emotion

among many that we must master. Justas we must control sinful emotions (byresisting them), we must control right-eous emotions (by using them). Love isa righteous emotion. Christians are notto wait for love to happen. In the Bible,God commands us to love. “You shalllove Yahweh your God.” Jesus demandsthat we exercise extraordinary controlover this righteous emotion when hesays, “Love your enemies.” Love is not achoice. It is a command. It is not some-thing we wait until it happens to us, wemust simply go and love.

That may sound impossible, but itis not. God does it. He commands us tolove because He loved us first. We can-not meditate on God’s love enough.Paul says that the love of God in JesusChrist is beyond every conceivableboundary, for He loved when it seemedimpossible to love. It is easy for a childto love his parents, and for a parent tolove his child, but there are many peo-ple that we just cannot imagine loving.Yet, the truth is, it is easier for me tolove Adolph Hitler (a man responsible

for the attempted extermination of theJewish people and many others) orHenry Morgentaler (the man whofought for and won the right for womento abort their unborn children) then forGod to love me. Much easier. Hitlerand Morgentaler sinned against equals,against their fellow man; my sin is of amuch higher or uglier order: I hadsinned against God. “Against you, youonly have I sinned,” David says.

And yet, as ugly as we are, Godloved us. He sent his Son down fromheaven to save us. And even thoughwe keep on insulting God with sin everyday, He keeps on loving us, and drawsus closer to himself by the Spirit ofadoption. That is the love of God. Heloves people who are utterly disgustingin his eyes; He loves people who haveabsolutely nothing lovely about them.Despite who we are, God loved us andkeeps on loving us.

The emotion of love is a beautifulthing. A man should be desired and

loved in the eyes of his wife, and awoman in the eyes of her husband. Peo-ple cannot seriously contemplate mar-riage if they do not experience vibrantand growing love. Their relationshipshould demonstrate the emotion oflove. But if the love of God controls us,then even if this emotion fails, we willcontinue to love. We are commandedto. God could. And so can you, if God’sSpirit does indeed dwell in you. Thenyour love becomes extraordinary, likeGod’s. It costs you something you neverpaid before: it costs your own self.

Paul says in his letter to the Romansthat nothing can separate us from thelove of God. If we are in the love ofGod, then nothing can separate a hus-band and a wife. Not even when theemotion has fled. Love remains, be-cause God commands it.Rev. P. Aasman is the minister of theCanadian Reformed Church of GrandValley, Ontario.

TREASURES, NEW AND OLDMATTHEW 13:52

By P. Aasman

Love is a Command. . . and to know His love that surpasses knowledge. Ephesians 3:19


Is your Reformed perspective deepand broad? Do the ideas you hear offthe pulpit, discuss in your study soci-eties, and ponder in your personal andfamily devotions, penetrate every areaof your life? How about your politics?Or science? What about art?

It is easy to say ‘Yes, of course’ toeach of these questions. But can manyof us really explain how our Reformedperspective affects politics, science andart? How many of us would be ready tostand in a public forum and defend ourview of these things against worldlyopponents? Exactly one hundred yearsago a great Dutch theologian, writer,politician, and academic did just that.

In 1898 Abraham Kuyper was invitedto Princeton University to deliver theprestigious Stone Lectures. These lec-tures are rich with Calvinist heritage butare also deeply relevant for Reformedconfessors today. Before delivering theselectures, Kuyper had led a rich and var-ied life as a theologian, pastor, author,editor and educator who founded theFree University of Amsterdam in 1880. In1901 Kuyper was elected Prime Minis-ter of the Netherlands.

Kuyper opens the first of six Lec-tures on Calvinism with a warning.Christianity, he says, is “imperilled bygreat and serious dangers. Two life-systems are wrestling with one another,in mortal combat.” The mortal combatis not between Protestant and RomanCatholic religions, nor between twoDutch churches, but between mod-ernism and Christianity.

Modernism is bound to build a worldof its own, from the data of the naturalman, and to construct man himselffrom the data of nature; while on theother hand, all those who reverentlybend the knee to Christ and worshipHim as the Son of the living God,and God Himself, are bent upon sav-ing the ‘Christian Heritage’.

The modernism of Kuyper’s day was notmuch different from modernism today,though most of us would know it as lib-

eralism. Today it is the liberal philoso-phers, politicians, and their minionswho want to create a world “from thedata of the natural man.” Against thisphilosophy, or life-system, the StoneLectures find “rest” in Calvinism. “FromCalvinism,” Kuyper states, “have Idrawn the inspiration firmly and res-olutely to take my stand in the thick ofthis great conflict of principles.”

What are the principles of Calvin-ism on which we can firmly and res-olutely take a stand? The Stone Lecturesare Kuyper’s answer to that question. Inhis six lectures, Kuyper presents the rich-ness of Calvinism (1) as a life system; (2)on religion; (3) on politics; (4) on sci-ence; (5) on art; and (6) on the future.

The first two lectures contain mate-rial that, I suspect, is familiar to all of us.Yet the vigour in which the principlesare set out, the clarity of the writing, andthe verbal combat with competingworld views makes it a joy to read. It isin the third lecture, however, wherethe fun really begins.

On politics, Kuyper moves quickly tothe central issue. Government is unnec-essary in a world without sin for “whobinds up, where nothing is broken? Whouses crutches, where limbs are sound?”Of course, we live in a world of sin. Yet

we should always keep in mind, Kuypersays, that the state, the law, judges, andall other mechanical means of com-pelling order “are something unnatural;something against which the deeper as-pirations of our nature rebel.” Thus a bat-tle develops between authority and lib-erty. Kuyper tells us that a properunderstanding of liberty and authoritydepend on what Calvinism calls “the pri-mordial truth that God has instituted themagistrates, by reason of sin.”

This primordial truth points to boththe danger and the necessity of the au-thority that God places in the state. Thedanger comes from the fact that sinfulmen direct the state, “and is thereforesubject to all manner of despotic ambi-tions.” The necessity of the state flowsfrom the fact that, in a world of sinfulmen, living “without law and govern-ment, and without ruling authority,would be a veritable hell on earth.”

This is powerful stuff. Humanitymight have been spared much horrorin this century had it paid more heed toCalvinism’s primordial truth rather thanto the foolish liberal idea of the per-fectibility of man.

Kuyper goes on to show the power-ful implications of three crucial Calvin-ist ideas. The first of those ideas is

Timeless Insights From A Century AgoKuyper’s Stone Lectures

By Kenneth J. Boessenkool

Dr. Abraham Kuyper – 1875 Dr. Abraham Kuyper – 1895


unmediated communion between Godand man. The second states that the so-cial spheres such as family, science,business and art “do not owe their exis-tence to the state, and do not derive thelaw of their life from the superiority ofthe state, but obey a high authoritywithin their own bosom, an authoritywhich rules, by the grace of God, just asthe sovereignty of the State does.” Thethird crucial Calvinist idea is the equal-ity of persons that follows from man’sdivine likeness.

What are the implications of un-mediated communion, sphere sover-eignty, and equality of persons? The

three most crucial for politics are democ-racy, constitutional law, and civil liber-ties, which form the core institutions inWinston Churchill’s Great Democracies.It was the Calvinist influence in theNetherlands, the United Kingdom, andthe United States that was responsible forthe development of the institutions onwhich global stability and liberty nowdepends. This is our rich heritage.

I can only scratch the surface ofone of Kuyper’s lectures here. I heartilyrecommend, therefore, that you getyour hands on Kuyper’s six rich lec-tures. These ideas should also find theirway into the hands of our high school

students. Although they are a centuryold, these timeless lectures will deepenand widen the Reformed perspective ofall who read them.

Abraham Kuyper’s Lectures on Calvin-ism are still in print and are availablefrom your local bookstore or from Eerd-mans Publishing, Grand Rapids (thelatest reprint is 1994); Paperback, 199pages; $ 13.00 U.S.

Kenneth J. Boessenkool works for aToronto think tank where he writes andcomments on government policy. Hehas an M.A. in Economics and is amember of the Ebenezer Canadian Re-formed Church in Burlington.

A Lost Family Treasure RediscoveredA Book Study By J.L. van Popta

Peter S. Heslam. Creating a ChristianWorldview: Abraham Kuyper’s Lec-tures on CalvinismGrand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998. 300pages. Paperback, $28.00 US.

As the new millennium approachesa dramatic change in the generally ac-cepted worldview is becoming moreand more apparent. The modernistworldview is collapsing under the bur-dens it sought to carry. The answersmodernism sought to bring forward tothe questions of God, the world andman’s purpose are being rejected. Weare now entering into a new era. Somecall it “post-modernism.” Post-mod-ernists rejects ultimate answers, yet stillask the questions concerning meaning,purpose and identity.

The Stone LecturesOne hundred years ago, Abraham

Kuyper, the Dutch theologian, states-man, writer, presented six lectures atPrinceton University. He was invited todeliver the annual lecture series spon-sored by the Stone Foundation. In hissix lectures, published as Lectures onCalvinism, Abraham Kuyper laid out aground work for a comprehensive Re-formed worldview while at the same

time giving a critique of, the then new,modernism.

In his book, Creating a ChristianWorldview: Abraham Kuyper’s Lec-tures on Calvinism, Dr. Peter Heslamdoes the Reformed world a great ser-vice. Heslam points out in the preface

that post-modern thinkers agreebroadly with Abraham Kuyper’s cri-tique of modernism. Heslam’s bookgives access to Kuyper’s lectures to anew generation of readers, but alsoholds up Kuyper’s thinking to examina-tion and seeks to find where Kuyper


himself was influenced by his owncultural and historical context and bymodernist thought.

Correcting a great lossFor the Canadian Reformed com-

munity (and the other daughterchurches of the 1944 Liberation) thisbook is especially valuable. For manyyears all things Kuyperian have beenconsidered suspect. Yet, when allKuyperian thought is rejected, a Re-formed community suffers great loss.Heslam demonstrates that Kuyper at-tempted to sketch out a comprehensiveworldview within a Calvinist theologi-cal structure. Kuyper was a giant onthe world stage of his day. Though wetoday may dispute and disagree withsome of his theological structures con-cerning covenant, regeneration andecclesiology, Heslam’s book demon-strates that Abraham Kuyper still hasmuch valuable to say to society 100years after he presented his lectures tothe world. Few men have had such abroad and comprehensive view of theworld; fewer have been able to presentthat view with clarity, insight and visionfor the future. Abraham Kuyper, Heslamshows, was one of these few men.

When all Kuperian thought isrejected, a Reformed

community suffers great loss.

This book contains 10 chapters. Thefirst is an introduction and lays out thethesis of the book. The next two chap-ters outline the historical context of the1898 Stone Lectures. This historical partfirst gives a thumbnail sketch ofKuyper’s life followed by the circum-stances surrounding his invitation andjourney to the United States. Six chap-ters follow, each analyzing the contentof one of the six lectures delivered atPrinceton University. Chapter 10 sum-marizes and draws the threads of theprevious nine together and makes someuseful conclusions and suggests furtheravenues in Kuyper studies.

The first lecture: Calvinism a Life System

One of the controlling themes ofAbraham Kuyper’s work in sketching aReformed Calvinist worldview was hisanti-revolutionary thrust. He believedthat the French Revolution embodiedand articulated the fundamental ideasof modernism. Modernism was built

on the revolutionary principles ofFrance. On the other hand, Kuyper be-lieved that the USA, though also thechild of revolution, was built on God’ssovereignty (80). Kuyper’s Lectureswere part of his attempt to inspire con-fidence among American Calvinists thatthe principles they held had providedthe foundations of their country. Thisperspective on America – that it wasessentially a Christian nation – was aview point held by many Europeans atthe close of the last century. Contem-porary historical analysis shows thatthis likely was not as true as Kuyperwould have liked to believe. Heslam ar-

gues that Abraham Kuyper was a childof his own age. This is true also in thestructure of his thought. Heslam writesat the conclusion of his analysis of theFirst Lecture: Calvinism a Life System:

Although [the contents of hisChristian worldview based onChristian principles] would be anti-thetical to all other modern secularworldviews, its form would bear astrong resemblance: it was to bederived from a single unifying prin-ciple (the sovereignty of God); itwas to provide answers to the samefundamental questions of humanexistence; and it was to be compre-hensive and internally consistent.The meeting of these requirementswas the means by which Kuyperhoped the Calvinist worldview

would be brought up to date, fit toengage with contemporary issuesof society, politics and culture. Tohim, Calvinist thought, developedin accordance with the demands ofthe late nineteenth century, couldoffer a comprehensive, logically co-hesive alternative to modernisticthought and provide the basis forChristian cultural renewal.

In fact, however, this programborrowed liberally from the sys-tems it purported to oppose – frompantheism the idea of coherenceand unity; from evolutionism theidea of human and religiousprogress. Despite his emphasis onthe antithesis between Calvinismand modernism, Kuyper’s ideas area testimony to the all-pervasivenessof nineteenth-century modernism,of which he himself was all tookeenly aware. His aim of using themodernist worldview as a model forhis own in order to bring Calvinismup-to-date appears to have includedsome pitfalls he proved unable toavoid (111-112).

Dr. Heslam’s analysis of this pointshould cause us all to sit up and takenotice. If a man with as keen a mindand with as comprehensive a view ofthe world as Abraham Kuyper was un-able to completely avoid integratingmodern secular (even revolutionary)structures into his thought, we must becareful today in assuming that ourworldview is free of modernist or post-modernist thought. These observationsmust be read as a warning to us today.We too might be so much children ofour own culture that we cannot easilyanalyze or judge its structures nor de-velop or maintain a fully Reformed andCalvinist worldview.

The second lecture: Calvinism and Religion

The analysis of the Second Lec-ture: Calvinism and Religion is of spe-cial interest to many readers of Clarion.In this lecture Kuyper discussed,among other things, his ecclesiology.Heslam’s analysis is striking in that itcomes not from the perspective of thatother great Dutch theologian, Dr. KlaasSchilder. Some students of K. Schilderor those who profess to hold to his ec-clesiology may have a tendency tocreate a caricature of A. Kuyper’s ec-clesiology. Reading Heslam’s analysissheds light on Kuyperian - Schilderiandifferences. Heslam, not dwelling ontheoretical inaccuracies, investigates

Dr. Abraham Kuyper


Kuyper’s views on church within thelate 19th century historical context.He wants to understand and explainthe background against which Kuyperformulated his ecclesiology and whathe hoped to achieve by expounding itin the Stone Lectures (133). Heslampoints out that Kuyper’s understandingof the church as organism was bor-rowed from German philosophy. Astriking observation is made by Heslamwhen he comments on the democraticnature of the church. The church,writes Heslam, according to Kuyper, is“democratic to its bones and marrow”(135). The church is regulated accord-ing to a Presbyterian form of govern-ment. This preserves the monarchicalreign of Christ with his authority in-vested in the congregation. “This ap-plied not only within each local con-gregation but also between churches,such that no one church could haveauthority over another; churches couldonly be united by confederation, ratherthan by means of a hierarchical struc-ture” (135). Heslam concludes then,that in Kuyper’s scheme a church fed-eration organized on these principalsmay never become synodical.

Kuyper taught that churchescould only be united by

confederation, rather than bymeans of a hierarchical

structure.

Kuyper also defended a pluriformidea of church. This arose out of hisbelief in the office of all believers andits democratic nature. And he used thisview of church to defend and justifythe Doleantie and the establishment ofsuch churches outside of the synodicaljurisdiction of the Hervormde Kerk.Heslam argues that much of Kuyper’stheoretical thought was driven by prac-tical circumstances.

The rest of the lecturesOn the pages of this issue of Clar-

ion you can find an analysis of TheThird Lecture: Calvinism and Politics.Heslam’s analysis is different from thatof Mr. Kenneth J. Boessenkool and isworth reading but we will let Mr.Boessenkool’s suffice. Heslam goes onto investigate, analyze, and set withintheir historical context, the other lec-tures: Calvinism and Science, Calvin-ism and Art, and Calvinism and the Fu-ture. In our day in which science plays

such an important role, Heslam showsthat Abraham Kuyper is still relevant. Asfor the chapter on Calvinism and Art, itshould be required reading (along withKuyper’s original lecture) for anyonewho wishes to speak to the issue offine arts and music. The debate on RockMusic in Reformed Perspective sometime ago would have benefited greatlyif the contributors had read Kuyper’sfifth lecture and Heslam’s analysis of it.Though Kuyper did not articulate guide-lines for the fine arts in his lecture, hedid, by his analysis of the arts, attemptto legitimize artistic endeavor in the Re-formed community (262-63).

An unresolved tensionDr. Heslam points out however,

that it is in the lecture on the arts thatthe clearest indication of the tensionwithin Kuyper’s thought appears (262).Kuyper’s thought on the arts is domi-nated by his doctrine of common grace,which is emphasized at the expense ofhis doctrine of the antithesis, whichdominates his lecture on science. Hes-lam writes:

This discrepancy is one of theclearest indications of what is per-haps the central tension in Kuyper’sthought between the antithesis andcorresponding isolation on the onehand, and common grace and cor-responding engagement and accom-modation on the other. It was tensionKuyper never resolved, and a com-parison of his Stone Lecture on artwith that on science demonstrateshow it led to flaws in the overall co-herence of his thought (222).

In his last lecture Kuyper appealed fora future for effective Calvinistic activity.These lectures delivered at the end ofthe last century, along with the rest ofKuyper’s work, have resonated downthe decades. We now again stand at finde siecle; even more so, we stand atthe end of the millennium. There is asense of fear, uncertainly and insecurityprevalent in our culture. Kuyper wastrying to respond with a Biblical Calvin-ism to the rise of Nietzsche’s “cry ofdespair.” Though he did not adopt thepessimism of Nietzsche’s nihilism andanarchism it seems, Heslam writes,that Abraham Kuyper was willing torecognize and work within their mod-ernist framework (228).

Kuyper’s Lectures were an attemptto answer one of Christianity’s crucialquestions: “What is the relationshipbetween Christianity and culture?” Hes-lam writes in his conclusion that the

solutions of Kuyper’s contemporarieswere either pietism or modernism.Abraham Kuyper strove to present analternative. Pietism held that the institu-tions of culture, being part of the fallenworld stood in opposition to Christ.Christian modernists sought to solve theproblem of Christ and culture by insist-ing that Christ is the great hero of cul-ture. Christian modernists, far from de-manding a separation from culture,tended to identify Christianity with cul-ture (267-268).

What relationship is therebetween Christ and culture?

What has Christ to do withculture?

Abraham Kuyper attempted in hislectures, to present a holistic coherentworldview in which this crucial ques-tion might be answered: “What rela-tionship is there between Christ andculture?” Heslam concludes that Abra-ham Kuyper held to a radical distinctionbetween God’s work in Christ and thework of human beings in culture. Heheld, with the Pietists, to the doctrineof total depravity of man, but in contrastto them he opposed cultural with-drawal. He rejected the modernist viewof Christ as the hero of culture and heldto a radical antithesis. The modernistfailure to recognize the falleness ofcreation was unacceptable to him. Hisalternative was a scheme in which cre-ation, fall and redemption were eachthought of in the broadest sense, en-compassing the entire cosmos. He in-sisted that earthly life is in an abnormalstate and that it requires Christ’s work torestore it to wholeness.

ConclusionDr. Peter Heslam’s historical analy-

sis of Abraham Kuyper’s lectures aremust reading for anyone who is inter-ested in developing a Reformed world-view for the 21st Century. Publishedwith a twenty-four page bibliography ofprimary and secondary literature, thisbook can be used as an access, guideand primer to the discussion concern-ing Reformed worldview. If Calvinistsand Reformed Churches are to be ableto present relevant answers to culturalquestions of the new millennium Abra-ham Kuyper’s lectures cannot be ig-nored. Dr. Heslam has demonstratedthis clearly. His book is a great contri-bution to this discussion.


James D. Bratt, ed. AbrahamKuyper. A Centennial ReaderGrand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, xiv+ 498 pages, paperback, US$29.-

The name of Abraham Kuyper is stillused regularly, at least in Dutch Re-formed circles, and still functions as theobject of either praise or scorn, depend-ing on the issue up for discussion. Fromlecture halls to pulpits and study soci-eties, the once revered name of Kuyper,while having lost much of its allure, stillserves as the springboard leading intotoday’s discussions on the Christian ap-proach to anything from church andsacrament to politics and the social is-sues of the day. Terms like ‘church as or-ganism’ and ‘church as institute,’ and‘pluriformity’ are readily bandied about,but increasingly the question comes up:what did Kuyper really say?

This in itself is reason enough to bevery thankful to Eerdmans for the publi-cation of an extensive Kuyper reader.Produced in conjunction with the com-memoration of Kuyper’s Stone Lecturesgiven at Princeton University in 1898,this ‘centennial reader’ brings togethera representative selection of Kuyper’svoluminous output in the many areas inwhich he excelled: church and theol-ogy, politics and society, culture and ed-ucation. As one works his way throughthese pieces, one is again struck by thevast encyclopedic knowledge thatKuyper possessed and how carefully hesought to strengthen his arguments by anappeal to recognized authorities in vari-ous fields. Prejudice may well have ledhim in formulating his arguments; yetthis book proves that Kuyper sought tobe fair and balanced in the way he dealtwith the issues of the day.

The whole is introduced by Prof.Bratt’s comments on Kuyper and his sig-nificance for today. Dr. Bratt, a profes-sor of history at Calvin College, showsan insightful and respectful knowledgeof Kuyper in both his introduction andhis running commentary in the amplenotes along the way. Even the pieceson their own speak of a contemporary

Kuyper. There are aspects to the argu-mentation in some selections, as for ex-ample in the selection on Perfectionism,that could function in any debate today.Yet in his selection Bratt has not justsought to present us with the contem-porary Kuyper. He has worked hard toput Kuyper in his 19th century contextin order to let the reader see from thedocuments themselves how Kuypersought to live out his Christian princi-ples in the context of the world in whichhe lived and how he did it with fearand trembling, and with a mightywrestling before his God.

Here and there one can quibblewith Bratt’s interpretations, as for ex-ample when he states that Kuyper “didnot hold to Scriptural inerrancy as Fun-damentalists today understand thatterm” (cf. note on p. 16). Once mightask whether it is even appropriate tojuxtapose the nineteenth centuryKuyper with what is fundamentally a20th century American phenomenon.But even if Bratt can be forgiven for this,

why is the reader left with ambiguityconcerning Kuyper’s stand on the au-thority of Scripture? Granted he wasnot a fundamentalist (who or whateverthat is), he did not champion a normwhich emulated errors on every page!In fact, if anything, he always speaksup for the essential trustworthiness ofthe norm of Scripture! But even if Brattdoes not touch on this, certainly the se-lections he has chosen make clear tothe reader that Kuyper had a high regardfor the written text of the Word.

Church and theologyIn the first section, “Church and The-

ology,” Bratt has included some very im-pressive selections: the tract Conserva-tivism and Orthodoxy, Kuyper’s farewellsermon at Utrecht in 1870, his speechon Modernism on 1871 (Modernism: AFata Morgana in the Christian Domain),and the very impassioned sermonpreached just after the Doleantie tookplace in Amsterdam (1886), along withselections from Kuyper’s famous trilogy

BOOK REVIEW

By J. De Jong

The Kuyper Centennial


on Common Grace. Over time the lat-ter idea became one of Kuyper’s morecherished concepts; but theologically itremained difficult to defend, and the se-lections here presented only illustratehow much Kuyper struggled to givesome solid conceptual and Scripturalgrounding to this concept. If anywhere,Bratt’s summary of Kuyper applies here:although abandoning the concepts ofGerman Idealism, Kuyper employed itsmethods, and this ended up being a lifelong struggle for him! (cf. p.16).

In all of these selections Bratt’s com-ments are particularly helpful and en-lightening. Bratt introduces dimensionsof Kuyper’s social, ecclesiastical andpersonal circumstances which help toexplain his positions, and which, I sus-pect, are largely unknown to most NorthAmerican readers. Some of Bratt’s com-ments are rather cryptic, and while theymay pass the test for the historian, theydo leave the church historian with somequestions. For example, in a brief sum-mary outlining the distinction betweeninfra- and supralapsarianism, Bratt sur-mises that “Kuyper’s point in the text –that Supras put the highest emphasis onthe majesty or glory of God while Infrasfocused more on the particular peopleelected – is historically warranted.” (p. 167). Aside from the fact that the de-scription of the terms is too brief to beilluminating, one wonders about theaccuracy of this judgment. Especiallyfrom the stronghold of the CRC, with itssecessionist roots, one would have ex-pected a little more caution with regardto the position of the 1834 Seceders.While it may be said that many of themtook the Infralapsarian position, they didnot in any way detract from the sover-

eignty of God. Bratt here could havebeen warned by Kuyper’s own argu-ments with regard to the Seceders asstated in an earlier selection, thefarewell sermon at Utrecht. For hereKuyper, as he was occasionally inclinedto do, derogates the Seceders in a rathercondescending tone, but is not able todevelop a substantial argument againsttheir position, (p. 73).

At another point, commenting onKuyper’s references to the Ethical the-ologians, Bratt says, “Kuyper’s implica-tion that Ethical theologians thought Je-sus to be human without remainder isdisputable” (p. 184). Reading the text, Iwondered whether Kuyper makes theimplication here attributed to him, andif he does, just what the nature of thedispute would involve. The text itselfleaves open the issue whether there isany remainder or not; but seems to sug-gest that if there is some remainder, itin effect amounts to nothing significantsince at bottom the ethicals deniedChrist’s divine nature. Here again, tobe fair to Kuyper, the reader could havereceived more explanation.

Kuyper’s address on Modernismshows him at his best, one who clearlypossessed the marks of genius: a broadmind with a vast intellectual powers,strong emotive and imaginative appeal,all encased in an impassioned tone andstyle that still today ranks him amongthe towering leaders of the modern era.On this selection Bratt’s notes are clearand helpful.

Politics and society The selections on Politics and So-

ciety show us another Kuyper, one whokept abreast of his times, and sought to

discern the spirits of the day by sub-jecting historical events to the criticalnorm of the Word. In his speech onmanual labour one is struck by howmuch Kuyper was ahead of his time inrejecting a strict laissez faire approach,and defending that degree of govern-ment involvement in the world oflabour that would continue to safe-guard the humane treatment of labour-ers. The speech on Calvinism as theSafeguard of our Constitutional Liber-ties also shows a depth of vision andrange of knowledge at which one canonly marvel. Kuyper was familiar withseveral writers on American history aswell, and his special preference forAmerica is clearly reflected in this ad-dress. Bratt has done the North Ameri-can reader a service by including thisspeech, since it is also provides theAmerican reader with another look athow the 19th century European mindsaw the budding flower of Americandemocracy at this time.

A more impassioned Kuyper hitscentre stage in the selection on theSouth African Problem. As can be ex-pected, Kuyper defended the Boer po-sition in the Boer war with the English,

From the speech on “Evolution”:To hesitate here would betray

one’s own convictions. Evolution isa newly conceived system, a newlyestablished system, a newly estab-lished theory, a newly formeddogma, a newly emerged faith. Em-bracing and dominating all of life, itis diametrically opposed to the Chris-tian faith and can erect its templeonly upon the ruins of our ChristianConfession. No satisfaction with orappreciation of the beauty and richescast into our laps by the studies thatit stimulated may let us be at peacefor even a moment with this systemas system. That system remains evil,even though in many respects goodhas come out of evil. And thereforeagainst system of the aimlessly andmechanistically constructed cosmoswe set our full-fledged resistance. Wemust not merely defend ourselvesagainst it but attack it. The textbooksinto which it found its way must belaid aside, and we may not entrustour children to any instructor whoteaches it. Like a deadly bacteria thatwould destroy all spiritual life, it mustbe microscopically investigated andits every trace removed from the tis-sue of our life.

The Kuyper family at the departure of son Frederik to America.


and sharply denounced Chamberlain’sapproach as unbridled imperialism. Atthe same time, he takes pains to remainbalanced, and does not embellish theBoers or clear them of all wrongdoing.1

It is perhaps a selection like this thatelicits the sharpest of contemporary crit-icisms against Kuyper, since he did nothide his views also in speaking aboutother peoples and races. He was by nomeans politically correct in the currentunderstanding of the term. In fact, hewas quite blunt about his opinions thatthe Dutch has certain characteristicsputting them ahead of others, even theEnglish, and that also in America theessential aim of the black people wassuperiority over the whites; an aimwhich he felt lived in South Africa aswell. But I would be hesitant to brandthis as blatant racism. For the selectionmakes very clear that despite his per-sonal views, Kuyper’s aim in the argu-ment is as much as possible to reducethe hatred between the races, and haveall harbour no hatred for the SouthAfrican or black race. Rather, typical ofhis time, he is quite open about nationaland racial characteristics, somethingwhich is prevalent in news commentaryeven today.

Culture and educationThe book crescendos with a number

of selections showing us the Kuyper ashe is most often remembered today:

the famous address on the Blurring ofthe Boundaries, a speech on evolution,a lecture on Common Grace in Scienceand finally, the famous 1880 speech atthe opening of the Free University,Sphere Sovereignty. It’s in these selec-tions, perhaps more than the others, thatboth the strengths and the weaknessesof the great scholar and statesmen standso markedly contrasted: strengths – forhe powerfully defends the Calvinistand Reformed world view while wadingin a veritable sea of secular humanism;and yet weaknesses, for he resorts all toreadily to favourite terms and conceptswhich became philosophically taintedcliches, but as such never could providea full accounting of the actual state ofaffairs. K. Schilder, for example, at onepoint – in deference to Kuyper – sug-gested that the phrase “sovereignty in itsown sphere” should be modified to “au-tarky in one’s own service” – giving apopular and at the same time obscureslogan a more Calvinistic and realisticspin. So in this section one will find thefamiliar fodder for criticism; yet all thewhile one cannot but admire the rangeand depth, as well as the warmth andinsight of this colossal figure.

While I have not withheld somecritical notations, I do hope that my ap-preciation has the upper hand in theseremarks. For my overall assessment isthat we have a very worthy addition tothe Kuyper literature in English, one thatprovides us with the original sources,and does so in a way that will help thereader of our day to find his way aroundin the multi-roomed mansion that isKuyper. I know that we can no longeradopt the impassioned and opinion-ated style of this great leader. His daysare gone, and his world is no more. Yetin opening up his world to us, Bratt hasshown us what really drove Kuyper aspreacher, parliamentarian and states-man. We see standing in the middle oflife Kuyper the Calvinist, wrestling withthe issues of the day, warring against thepowers that be and the philosophiesdominating the intelligentsia, andthrough it all holding to the one trueconfession: God sent his Son into theworld as the Saviour who took uponhimself our flesh and blood to redeemus from all sin.

The organic shape of Kuyper’s “lifeprinciple” (Dutch: beginsel) can be thetopic of considerable discussion andcriticism. In all too many ways the sys-tem did not flow together as easily andas effortlessly as he thought it did. Buthe held to the principle! He believed in

his God and he held high the infallibleWord of his God! Only the most preju-diced reader will overlook that elementin these readings.

Bratt dedicated this volume to hischildren with the simple words: “theirheritage, my legacy.” A dedicationwhich speaks volumes, especially forReformed Christians of Dutch descent!For too often the thirst for change andrenewal remains oblivious to that whichGod has given in the past. Kuyper hadhis weaknesses, and his theologicalconstructions, later misapplied and mis-used as well as misunderstood, havecaused much strife and pain among thepeople of God on Dutch soil, and evenbeyond. But yet it remains true: in this“Abraham the mighty”2 God gave usvery much, and should we be cynical orsparing of his gifts?

1Kuyper says on 337: ”I do not deny that theBoers have sometimes been too severe andhave committed excesses.”2An allusion to the well known Dutch phrase“Abraham de geweldige.”

From the speech on “TheBlurring of the Boundaries”

Our battle today has to be foughton the basis of principle. Arrows shotfrom afar will not reach the target.The clash between the basic theme ofthe Christian religion and that of ourcentury cuts too deep to be left tothe playful sparring of the apologists.If the working of the pantheistic poi-son is not stopped, the flood will rollover us. Hence the calling of Chris-tianity to fight this evil unsparingly,especially in the realm of higherthought. And though the speech I amabout to deliver lacks scope for thefull range of this argument, you willnot take it amiss if I call your atten-tion to one of this poison’s many ef-fects. I mean the clear tendency ofall pantheism, and so also of the pan-theistic mood of our time, to increas-ingly blur the boundary lines in everysphere of life and not to rest until, atleast in our imagination, they havebeen expunged.

From “Calvinism: Source andStronghold of our ConstitutionalLiberties”

Do not be too amazed, ladies andgentlemen, however contradictory itmight seem, if I answer that question[on the doctrinal root of our liberties,JDJ] by pointing to the fundamentaldoctrine of Calvinism: its confessionof the absolute sovereignty of God.For this confession implies that noauthority or power on earth is inher-ent but is imposed. Thus there is nonatural authority to speak either onthe part of the ruler or of the people.Only God is Sovereign; He regardsall creatures, born in royal palace orbeggar’s hut, as nothing in compari-son with Himself. One creature can-not have authority over another ex-cept as God gives it. And God doesnot relinquish that authority but al-lows it to be used to his glory. He issovereign and gives that authority towhomever He will-sometimes tokings and princes, other times to no-bles and patricians, but sometimesalso to the people as a whole. ForHim a democracy, as in America, isjust as useful for showing his glory asis Russian absolutism. The question isnot whether the people rule or a king,but whether both, when they rule,do so in recognition of him.


The church-goers at Coaldale, Al-berta were filled with joy and anticipa-tion on the morning of August 30,1998. After being a vacant church forabout two and a half years following thedeath of the Rev. J. D. Wielenga, wewere going to receive a new minister,Rev. J.L. van Popta.

Jars of clayHis brother, Rev. G. Ph. van Popta

would lead the morning service andinstall our new minister. The text onwhich he based the sermon was: Butwe have this treasure in jars of clay toshow that this all-surpassing power isfrom God and not from us (2 Cor 4:7).

His sermon explained the keywords of the text. The treasure is thelight of the Gospel by which we, thehearers, can be renewed in God’s im-age. The jars of clay are the preachersof the gospel; our new minister, Rev.J.L. van Popta, is one of them. We, ascongregation, are to remember thatthe clay pot is as human as we our-selves are. Therefore, we should focuson the richness of the treasure he isholding, not on the jar of clay. Like-wise, the minister should be humble,remembering he is a jar of clay, just thevessel that bears the treasure.

Even though man is weak, God’spower is all-surpassing and we all cantrust that things will work out well ac-cording to the purpose and plan ofGod. Finally, Rev. G. van Popta ex-horted the congregation to give thanksto God that He has provided a new jarof clay; to praise Him for an old trea-sure; and to pray that the life of Christwill sustain Rev. van Popta and willwork for others through him.

Congratulatory messagesAfter the service, Br. Harry Lub-

bers, the chairman of the church coun-cil, explained that numerous invitationsto come and share our joy on this oc-casion had been extended. I will men-tion a few: Mr. Alex Hann, mayor ofCoaldale, sent a letter in which he, onbehalf of the town council, welcomed

Rev. van Popta and urged the churchto continue its prayers for the commu-nity leaders.

Congratulatory letters and faxeswere read from almost all the individualcongregations in our Classis region, aswell as from the church at Ottawawhere Rev. van Popta last served.

Others sent representatives whowere then given the opportunity tospeak. Br. John Moedt, as far as I know,does not have a split personality; never-theless, he spoke as two persons – once,on behalf of the congregation at Taberand then as a representative of the Clas-sis Alberta/Manitoba. The delegate forProvidence Church in Edmonton, Br.Jack de Haas, with a play on the word“vacant,” quipped, “Judging by the at-tendance here this morning, it’s hard tobelieve that last week Coaldale was a‘vacant’ church.” The third speaker, Br.Casey van Seters, spoke some kindwords on behalf of the Grace CanadianReformed Church at Winnipeg.

Fields and buildingsThen in the afternoon service Rev.

van Popta delivered his inaugural ser-mon. It was based on 1 Cor 3: 4-15and the theme was: You are God’s field,God’s building.

First, some background informa-tion about the city of Corinth was given.The problems in the congregation wasthat the believers were aligning them-selves with the different teachers andpreachers that had served there. Somefavoured Paul; some Apollos; and oth-ers, Cephas.

Paul seeks to rectify the situation.He explains that he, as a servant ofChrist, has planted the seed of theWord; Apollos, another servant, haswatered it; but God has made it grow.Although the service Paul and Apolloshas provided is important, their per-sonage is not. This metaphor was ap-plied to the present situation as well.The minister may be compared to theplanter. Others, such as parents andteachers, may be the waterers and the

Clay Pots and Prairie FieldsBy Hilda Tams

“Brothers in‘His’ Service!”

Rev. Georgevan Popta was

invited toinstall hisbrother asCoaldale’s

new minister.


whole congregation is God’s field. Theharvest is God’s and any dignity at-tached to being in Christ’s service is foreveryone who serves, in whatever way.

All of us were urged to build on thefoundation, Jesus Christ, that Paul, themaster builder, has laid. We need tochoose our building material carefully.Will it be gold or hay? Silver or straw?Our daily walk and talk is important be-cause Jesus cares. Therefore, build onthe right foundation, build on Christthe Lord.

Welcome eveningAt a later date, September 11, the

congregation hosted a welcome eveningfor Rev. J. van Popta and his family.

Again, attendance was high. The vice-chairman of the consistory, Br. Ed Tams,opened the evening in the usual Christ-ian manner and also incorporated a fit-ting poem into his opening remarks. Hethen gave the floor to Br. John Voorhorstwho was the Master of Ceremonies. Afull and varied evening of entertain-ment followed.

Various individuals and manychurch and school groups participated.The audience enjoyed musical piecesperformed by groups of young ladies;songs sung by both the junior and se-nior choirs; one soloist, Br. Bill Selles,sang about our infamous west wind.

Verses were recited by ladies fromthe Wednesday morning Bible Study

and Ladies’ Aid. Youth study groupsand students from Coaldale ChristianSchool also performed well. One ofthe groups gave gifts to the van Poptafamily. Each gift was a grocery item thatis grown, raised, or processed in South-ern Alberta. So the manse cupboardsare no longer bare.

The van Popta family was also en-lightened about the history of the Coal-dale Church in a piece written by Br.Dirk Kok. Sr. Bertha de Vries took onthe daunting task of explaining some ofthe familial ties within the church in aspeech entitled “Relativity.” The eveningended with Rev. van Popta’s thank-youand prayer, followed by refreshmentsand fellowship in the church foyer.

Coaldale’sYouth Choirperforming aWelcome to

Rev. J. van Poptafamily.

One by one, apoem and a gift

was presentedto welcome the

van Poptas.

Rev. J. van Poptaand family enjoyingtheir “Welcome toCoaldaleCongregation.”


Dear Brothers and Sisters,Sometimes you can get hurt. When you cut your fin-

ger, it hurts. Or you may fall or hit your head. There aremany ways to get hurt. Sometimes you don’t see whereyou hurt yourself, you only feel it. But when it is worseyou may start bleeding, or you may even have to seethe doctor. It is not nice when something like that hap-pens, but after a while it will be all over again, and youwill soon forget.

But we can also get hurt in a different way. Nobodycan see it, you do not have to go to the doctor either,but it does hurt, and it may go on for a long time. Thatis when we get hurt inside. That may happen becausesomebody said something to us that really bothered us.Or maybe we did something ourselves that was notright, but we do not dare to talk about it to anybody.Band-aids and stitches cannot heal our inside feelings.When we hurt inside, we may become depressed be-cause we do not know what to do about it.

When we read the Bible, we sometimes get con-fronted with the fact that we are not very good. We arereminded of our sins that we commit every day. Thatgives us a guilty feeling: it hurts inside! Maybe we aretrying to fight our bad habits and the things that we dowrong. But then we hear from the Bible that our sinswill always be there, and we get depressed. We hurt in-side, and who can help us?

Well, there is hope and comfort for us! For we willnever hear about our sins, or we will hear somethingelse, too. The Lord punishes those who live in sin. In thetimes of the Old Testament the people had to go to thetemple and sacrifice an animal. That was to wash awaytheir sins. But the blood of the animals could not reallydo anything for the people. It was only to help themsee that their sins would be forgiven through the bloodof their Saviour. For the Lord had promised them a Sav-iour, Who would come and be killed just like the ani-mals on the altar. Because that Saviour would be theSon of God, His blood could wash away their sins.

In the meantime that has happened already. JesusChrist came to earth and He paid for the sins of all the be-lievers. Everyone who puts his/her hope and trust inHim has the assurance that his/her sins are forgiventhrough Him.

But sometimes we forget, or we doubt the promisesthat we are given in God’s Word. Jesus may have died,but what does it help us now? We still sin every day,and we still hurt inside because of things that we shouldnot have done! Sometimes the words that we hearand/or read seem to have so little meaning!

The Lord knows that! He knows our sins and weak-nesses. He also loves us, and He does not want us tohurt. Therefore He helps us. He sent us His HolySpirit, Who works faith into our hearts. Faith that en-ables us to believe all the things that are written in theBible. And to strengthen that faith, He also instituted theHoly Supper. Very regularly we celebrate the HolySupper. We can see that, and many of us can taste thebread and the wine. With the bread and the wine theLord wants to remind us that Christ’s body was brokenand that His blood was shed for our sins.

With the Sacrament of the Holy Supper and alsothat of the Holy Baptism, the Lord enables us to knowthat what we read in the Bible is really true: Christ diedfor all our sins. He forgives us, when we repent andfeel bad about it. He takes all our sins away from us, andwith that He opens up for us a glorious future. Aboutthat future we can read in the Bible as well. It will be allthere for us. With help of the Holy Spirit, we can befilled with hope and eagerness to see all the lastpromises fulfilled.

Together we may wait for the Day in which we maybe relieved of all our pains and all our sins. That daywill come; our sins are forgiven. We are reminded ofthat every time when the Lord’s Supper is celebrated.We give thanks and praise to our heavenly Father and toJesus Christ Who gave up everything to free us from oursins, so that none of us has to hurt inside or to becomedepressed. Instead of that, we all can rejoice and givethanks to Him.

The Lord preserves the helpless graciously;For, when brought low, in Him I found salvation.Come, O my soul, relieved from tribulation,Turn to your rest; the Lord has favoured me.

What shall I render to my Saviour nowFor all the riches of His consolation?With joy I’ll take the cup of His salvation,And call upon His Name with thankful vow.

Psalm 116:4,7

Birthdays in December:1: Marten Jansen

325-24 William Street, Shelburne, ON L0N 1S1

Congratulations with your 9th birthday, Marten!Until next month,

Mrs. R. Ravensbergen, 7462 Reg.Rd. 20, RR #1, Smithville, ON L0R 2A0

e-mail: [email protected]

RAY OF SUNSHINE

By Mrs. R. Ravensbergen “And you, who were dead in tresspasses and the uncir-cumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him,having forgiven us all our tresspasses,” Colossians 2:13


Once every four years the Interna-tional Congress on Calvin Research isconvened somewhere in this world. Itis a congress of a limited number oftheologians and historians who are in-terested in the life and work of JohnCalvin (1509-1584) and who receive aninvitation to participate. After Edin-burgh (1994) the congress was held forthe first time on Asian soil, namely inthe city of Seoul in South-Korea at theend of August 1998.

Apart from the Korean delegationabout seventy participants came fromCanada, the Czech Republic, Germany,Hungary, Ireland, Japan, the Nether-lands, South Africa, Switzerland, Tai-wan, the United Kingdom, and theUnited States. Let me mention somecolleagues from the Netherlands: Dr.C. Augustijn (Amsterdam), Dr. W. Janse(Leiden), Dr. W. van ‘t Spijker and hissuccessor, Dr. H. J. Selderhuis (Apel-doorn), and last but not least Dr. F. vander Pol (Kampen) and drs. E. A. de Boer(Krimpen). This was the first time thatour sister institution in Kampen wasrepresented at an International Con-gress on Calvin Research. As you willunderstand, my successor, Dr. N. H.Gootjes, and I felt quite at home espe-cially with our Dutch brothers in thisacademic assembly.

Although it would be interesting toreport on this Seventh Congress, its pro-gramme and the organizing academicinstitutions in Korea, this article in Clar-ion is meant to tell something about ourchurch relations with Korea and espe-cially with Korea Theological Seminary.Korea Theological Seminary is the insti-tute of training for the ministry withinthe Kosin Presbyterian Church, our sis-ter churches in South Korea. This semi-nary was previously located in Pusan.

Three sectionsDr. Gootjes and I had decided to

arrive in Korea before the Lord’s Day atthe beginning of the week of the CalvinCongress. It would give us the opportu-nity to have some contact with former

students of Dr. Gootjes of whom I es-pecially mention Dr. Hae-Moo Yoo.

Our readers know that before Dr.Gootjes came to Canada, he laboured inKorea Theological Seminary in Pusan formore than ten years. He did so on behalfof the Dutch Deputies for Contact withChurches Abroad. Hae-Moo Yoo, one ofhis most valuable students, functionedas his first assistant, especially for cor-recting his Korean and later he went forgraduate studies to the Theological Uni-versity in Kampen. He was one of theparanymphs (assistants) at the promo-tion ceremony of our Dr. J. de Jong. InKorea I saw a picture of this ceremonywhich I had not seen before. Also Hae-

Moo Yoo himself obtained the doc-tor’s degree at our sister institution inKampen. His dissertation in the year1990 was about infra- and supralap-sarianism in the theology of the Nether-lands in the nineteenth and twentiethcentury! Dr. Yoo was then appointedprofessor of doctrine in Pusan and haswritten a Reformed dogmatics in out-line. We live in a small world. In thisKorean book on dogmatics I saw a ref-erence to Inheritance Publications inNeerlandia, Alberta! The Yoo family istrilingual and hopes to spend their sab-batical year in Kampen, beginning inDecember of this year.

Our Korean ConnectionBy J. Faber

Seoul, August 31,1998Ministers of theIndependentReformed Church.Right: Rev. NackJae Choi, inwhose church(Gang ByunChurch) I lecturedfor members ofthe I.R.C.

Seoul, August 31, 1998 – Campus Yonsei University. Ministers of the Independent Reformed Church (right: Rev. HeonSoo Kim, my translator; left: Rev. Nack Jae Choi)


In anticipation of the relocation ofKorea Theological Seminary Dr. andMrs. Yoo and their four children hadalready moved from the harbour city ofPusan to a lovely spot in the mountainsclose to Chon-Ahn (or Chonan), ninetykilometres south of Seoul. There theywere the gracious hosts of Dr. Gootjesand myself before and of Dr. and Mrs.Van der Pol and myself after the CalvinCongress.

At the beginning of June 1998, Ihad received an invitation from the Sen-ate of Korea Theological Seminary todeliver a guest lecture on the occasionof the opening of their new facilities inChon-Ahn. The opening of the newcampus of our academic sister institu-tion coincided with the Seventh Inter-national Congress on Calvin Research.Since we regarded this coincidence anact of God’s providence and since thelast general synod of the Canadian Re-formed churches had expressed a wishfor closer contact between Hamilton,Kampen and (formerly) Pusan, we de-cided to skip the registration of theCalvin Congress and to attend the offi-cial opening of the new buildings ofour sister institution on August 25.Moreover, I was able to change mytravel plans and to accept the invitationto lecture during a Reformation mini-conference in Chon-Ahn at the begin-ning of September.

Our first stay in Chon-Ahn was,therefore, from August 22 till August 25,the Calvin Congress was from August25 till August 29 and my extended visitin South Korea was from August 28 tillSeptember 3, 1998. My report dealswith the beginning and the end of thesethree sections.

First ImpressionsSouth Korea is a beautiful country of

which seventy percent is mountainousso that no less than twelve million in-habitants live in the city of Seoul alone.This capital is very modern, since itwas almost completely destroyed inthe Korean War (1950-1953) and had tobe rebuilt in the fifties and sixties.Koreans are intelligent and hardworkingpeople and in spite of the recent finan-cial crisis the country makes an ex-tremely prosperous impression, espe-cially in the urban areas.

Let me, however, make some re-marks about the development of Chris-tianity and church in South Korea. Somespeak also here in a somewhat deroga-tory manner of a “success story.” One isamazed to hear that the first missionarieslanded only a good century ago, namelyin 1885. One was a Presbyterian and theother a Methodist. In 1955 there werefour thousand churches and one mil-lion believers. By 1997 they had in-creased to forty thousand churches andtwelve million believers. The numbersin my sources do not always add up butaccording to one of them, there are tenmillion Presbyterians today. They formbetween sixty and seventy percent of theentire Protestant population. Twentypercent of the Koreans are Protestants,seven percent Roman Catholics, twentypercent are Buddhists and fifty-threepercent declare to have no religion atall. There are about five and a half thou-sand Korean missionaries working allover the world.

When we hear these and othernumbers, Westerners are inclined to besceptical. We know of certain wrongmissionary methods and church growthmovements. We are aware of the factthat Westernization and Christianiza-tion sometimes go hand in hand and wemet some Korean Presbyterians whomwe regard as “yuppies.” But I also knowof the weaknesses in the Christianiza-tion of my Frisian and Saxon forefathers.Therefore, it gives me shivers of joy,when a lady who sells fish on the mar-ket in Chon-Ahn says “Hallelujah!”when she hears that we are Christians.I believe a holy catholic church, unitedin the praise of the LORD.

In Chon-Ahn or its surrounding areathere is no Kosin Presbyterian church asyet. On the first Lord’s Day, Dr. Yoo, Dr.Gootjes, and I went to an IndependentReformed Church in Daejoen (or Tae-jon). The Rev. Heon Soo Kim of Dae-jeon studied under Dr. Richard Gaffin atWestminster Theological Seminary in

Philadelphia. He distributes the Koreanwritings of Dr. Gootjes and is in theprocess of translating the HeidelbergCatechism into Korean. The small feder-ation of Independent Reformed congre-gations is established by mostly formermembers of the Hapdong PresbyterianChurch. It moves, as far as I could dis-cern, more in the direction of Europeancontinental Reformed churches. Thehymns we sung in the worship servicehad a Scriptural, Trinitarian content.The Rev. H. S. Kim had provided mewith an English translation.

After the service the congregationstayed in the pews and there was an in-tensive question period. I noticed howfluent my successor still is in the Ko-rean language and how the fruits of hislabour there still blossom. While he andour colleague, Yoo, went on to a sisterchurch in Seoul for an evening service,the Rev. Kim accompanied me back toChon-Ahn and questioned me about thesignificance of German terms in ourbeloved Heidelberg Catechism.

Tuesday, August 25 was the greatday of the opening of the huge newcomplex of our sister institution. It wasalso a great day for the Rev. Dr. S.G.Hur. Especially our Australian readersknow him well. After he had defendedhis doctor’s thesis on the office of el-der, he left Kampen and served in thetraining for the ministry at Pusan. Hetook a ten-year break from this teach-ing by becoming a minister in our Aus-tralian sister churches. Some years afterhe had returned to Pusan, he becamethe principal of Korea Theological Sem-inary and oversaw the move to Chon-Ahn. He hopes to retire at the beginningof next year but August 25, 1998, wascertainly to him a glorious pinnacle ofgratitude in his career. The huge audi-torium was filled and the atmospherereminded me of the first “TheologischeSchooldagen” after the Liberation in

My stay in South Koreawas not only gratifying

because of academicendeavours, but also

because of ecclesiasticalcontacts. . . . Let us not

forget our Koreanconnection!

The first missionarieslanded only a good

century ago, namely in1885. . . . there are tenmillion Presbyterians

today. They formbetween sixty and

seventy percent of theentire Protestant

population.


the Netherlands. Dr. Hur was obvi-ously pleased with the Hamilton repre-sentation: he made us rise and receivea thunderous applause.

Extended Stay1. Ecclesiastical contacts

As far as further ecclesiastical con-tacts are concerned, after the CalvinCongress I had the privilege on Sun-day, August 30, 1998, to preach in SeoMoon Presbyterian Church in Seoul inthe same magnificent building in whichthe I.C.R.C. held its assembly last year.The Rev. Park, who had also studied inKampen for a while, translated my Eng-lish sermon sentence by sentence. Itmeans that the preaching time is al-most cut in half and that you have to useshort sentences in order not to lose theattention of the hearers. But my experi-ence was that the message becamemore direct.

Besides this contact with brothersand sisters of our sister church, I againhad intensive contact with the Indepen-dent Reformed Church (IRC). The Rev.H. S. Kim had organized that on the lastevening of August I would deliver ashortened and simplified version of mylecture on Calvin’s doctrine of Wordand Spirit in an address to members ofIRC congregations in Seoul. The IRCarranged that I lodged for two nights inAllen House, the guest house of theoldest Korean University – Yonsei Uni-versity, 30,000 students –, lunched withfour pastors of the IRC, and exchangedwith them information about our re-spective churches and their history.

The evening lecture for the generalpublic was held in Gang Byun churchin Seoul and was led by pastor NackJae Choi. Some Independent ReformedChurch members had made a five-hourdrive in order to attend! The Rev. Kimhad prepared a Korean translation of myoutline, had multiplied the English ver-sion of my entire lecture, and served asmy able translator. There was a very in-telligent question period, facilitated bythe fact that all attendants had receiveda copy of the outline in the Korean lan-guage. Those who read English couldeven purchase a copy of the lecture it-self. At the end of the evening the Rev.Choi gave an elegant and eloquentword of thanks and an elder handedme a “thank you” note written in theKorean language.

2. Academic ContactsLet me tell about the mini-confer-

ence on the Reformation and especially

on Calvin in the new auditorium inChon-Ahn, September 1 - 3, 1998. TheKampen professor of church history,Dr. Frank van der Pol, lectured on thereception of the church fathers, espe-cially Hilary of Poitiers, in the Refor-mation. Dr. I. John Hesselink of West-ern Theological Seminary in Holland,Michigan, addressed the faculty of thir-teen professors and a student body ofmore than three hundred persons in alecture dealing with the topic “Calvinon Law and Freedom.”

On Tuesday, September 1, 1998, Imyself lectured under the title “Wordand Spirit in Calvin’s Institutes.” Dr. H.M. Yoo, my colleague in Dogmatol-ogy, had requested this topic. I assumedthat he wanted me to refute (neo-) pen-tecostalism. The lecture was well re-ceived and evoked a lively discussion. Itbecame clear to me that my assump-tion had been right. Not everyone – Ithink, not even my translator – agreedwith my thesis that Calvin’s strong con-junction of Word and Spirit is timelyover against the renewal of sixteenth

century spiritualism in 20th century(neo-) pentecostalism.

On the same day Dr. Frank van derPol and I were present in an ad hoc Sen-ate meeting. We had a long and impor-tant discussion about the relationshipsof our three institutions: Kampen, Chon-Ahn and Hamilton. It will be good tocontinue this oral consultation betweenChon-Ahn, Hamilton and Kampen fromtime to time, e.g. during the meeting ofthe I.C.R.C.

ConclusionMy stay in South Korea was not

only gratifying because of academicendeavours, but also because of eccle-siastical contacts. I was deeply im-pressed by the fruits of the ten years ofquite lonesome labours of Dr. N. H.Gootjes, my successor in Dogmatol-ogy at Hamilton. I now understand whyduring their stay in South Korea theGootjes family came to love not onlythe land but especially the Koreanbrothers and sisters. Let us not forgetour Korean connection!

Chon-Ahn, September 2, 1998New facilities of Kosin Theological Seminary (Korea Theological Seminary)

Chon-Ahn, September 1, 1998Faculty Kosin Theological Seminary (Korea Theological Seminary) In themidst: Dr. Hur. At left side: Mrs. Yoo and the van der Pols from Kampen.


The Winnipeg Free Press of Wed-nesday, September 16, 1998, carried anarticle by Tracy Tjaden entitled, “GodRaises Odds of Marital Bliss, StatsCansays.” The article refers to a recent studyby Statistics Canada.

This study shows that religiouspeople’s marriages last longer.Eighty-nine percent of people whoattended church weekly stayed mar-ried at least 10 years, compared to74 percent of non-church-goingcouples. People who go to churchweekly place greater importance onmarriage and family, the studyfound. Doug Koop, editor of theWinnipeg-based publication Christ-ian Week, said the findings came asno surprise. “Churches tend to teachthat you are not the highest priority.Honour others above yourself andGod above that,” he said. “One orthe other is not the boss, and youboth believe God is the boss.” If aperson hears those lessons enoughand taps into them in their everydaylife, the results will show through, hesaid. “If on a regular basis you’rehearing about perseverance, love,reconciliation and mutual submis-sion, it’s going to rub off,” Koop said.

The study comes at a time whenrecent national surveys are trackinga sharp decline in church atten-dance across the country. This studysaid between 1961 and 1996 thepercentage of Canadians who saidthey had no religion rose to 14 per-cent from one per cent. . . . Thestudy found 16 per cent of weeklychurch-goers who got married inthe 1970s were divorced in 15 years,compared to 34 per cent of coupleswho didn’t attend church regularly.

According to the study, coupleswho go to church are willing to putup with more. It found weekly at-tendees were less likely to view lackof love and respect or their part-ner’s drinking habits as grounds fordivorce. . . . The article uses data

from a 1995 general survey of10,000 people aged 15 and older,and other more recent studies.

In an insert the Winnipeg Free Pressadded that it found Manitobans to beabove the national average in churchattendance.

In Manitoba, 22 per cent ofpeople 15 and older attend churchweekly compared to the nationalaverage of 20 percent. . . . Theprovince has a greater proportionof people who belong to thehigher-attending denominations –Baptist, Pentecostal, SalvationArmy, Church of the Nazarene andMennonite. Known as Conserva-tive Protestant religions, these de-nominations have higher atten-dance rates that some others.

The percentages of church-going peo-ple ending up in divorce apparently arelower. Over a period of ten years theratio is 11% against 26% and over fif-teen years 16% over against 34%. Thisshows a more favourable picture forchurch-going people than for non-church-going people. The percentage ofchurch-going people ending up in di-vorce is still high – too high.

The Manitoba newspaper does notspecifically take into account the Cana-dian Reformed Churches. What would asurvey of all Canadian ReformedChurches show? Possibly the surveywould show a considerable higher per-centage of people attending churchtwice every Lord’s Day and a muchlower divorce rate over ten or fifteenyears. Whatever the outcome of such asurvey would be, one thing is sure.However low and favourable the di-vorce rate might be for Canadian Re-formed couples, the number would stillbe too high. An important factor in theCanadian Reformed Churches is thestrong bond between the church andmarriage. Though solemnization of mar-riages no longer takes place in a regularworship service, the minister, eldersand congregation are nevertheless fully

involved. The banns are announced, notonly because of government require-ment but also by congregational re-quirement. The solemnization of mar-riages takes place with the consent ofthe elders and the congregation. Thechurch is teaching the members of thechurch the duties toward God and theneighbour. This includes the teachingconcerning marriage.

The most effective prevention of di-vorce is preparing for marriage in holi-ness and with knowledge of what Godrequires from husband and wife in mar-riage. During marriage preparation ses-sions the minister leads the couple tothe commitment they are making toeach other before the Lord. In this man-ner the couple learns not just to be“willing to put up with more.” Prepara-tion for marriage in the Lord by thechurch teaches us the way of repen-tance and forgiveness by two livingChristians bound together as long a theylive. Instead of boasting in a low di-vorce rate in the Reformed Churcheslet us aim for an ever lower rate by en-tering into marriage well prepared inthe bond of Christ.

Observation DeckChurch Membership and Divorce

By J. VanRietschoten


PRESS RELEASES

The Westminster Standards: An Origi-nal Facsimile. Audubon, New Jersey:Old Paths’ Publications, 1997; hard-cover, 250 pages, $ 49.95 US and TheWestminster Standards: An OriginalFacsimile on CD-ROM, Audubon, NewJersey: Old Paths’ Publications, 1997$29.95 US

Many important confessions andcatechisms were made during the 16thand 17th Century. Among these, theWestminster Confession and Cate-chisms have a special place. It couldbe argued that these confessions formthe end of the confessional develop-ment in the Reformed Churches, world-wide. Particularly the Westminster Con-fession and the Larger Catechism aremore comprehensive than almost allconfessions produced previously.

These confessional statements weremade at an Assembly consisting of themost learned theologians in Englandand Scotland at the time. Many monthsof theological discussions and debatesare reflected in the carefully wordedstatements.1 Due to the peculiar situa-tion of the church in England, the gov-ernment determined the direction of thenational church. Both the WestminsterConfession and the two catechismswere intended as an advice to the Par-liament of England for the reformationof the church in England. As such, they

almost failed completely. As a result ofa turnabout in the political situation in1652, these confessional statementsnever gained official status in the Eng-lish churches. They never really func-tioned in the churches for which theywere made.

They were, however, adopted in thePresbyterian church of Scotland. Fromthere they were exported to the USA,and many USA missionaries carriedthese confessional statements with themto their mission fields. As a result, theWestminster Confession and the ShorterCatechism may well be the most widelyused confessional statements in the Re-formed world.

Of course, there are many editions ofthese confessions available, and thequestion must be asked why yet anotheredition was published. How does thisedition distinguish itself from other avail-able editions? This edition is valuablefor its originality and comprehensive-ness. It is original, since it is a facsimileedition of the first edition containing theScripture proofs. No one can afford tobuy an original edition, but now thisedition can be consulted. According toa note in the front of the book, the text ismore easily legible than in the slightlydamaged original. Moreover, the bookcontains not only the well known LargerCatechism, the Shorter Catechism and

the Westminster Confession, but alsothe Westminster Directory for PublicWorship. It also includes the revision ofthe first 15 articles of the Thirty Nine Ar-ticles, on which the Westminster As-sembly worked before it was decided tomake a new confession.

The whole is preceded by a briefForeword by Dr. W.S. Barker. I, forone, would have liked him to say moreabout the history of the making of thisconfession, rather than elaborate onthe history following the WestminsterAssembly. This lack, however, is partlyalleviated by the chronological chartprinted on the back of the cover.

All in all, this is a valuable reprintof the Westminster Standards, splen-didly bound.

Also available is an interactive,multi-media CD-ROM of the same ma-terial. It comes complete with AdobeAcrobat Reader installer software forWindows, Windows 95, Windows NT,Macintosh, Power Macintosh and Unixplatforms. Printer drivers and installa-tion instructions are included.

1See for a recent study that takes into ac-count the history behind the WestminsterConfession, R.D. Anderson, ‘Of the Church:An Historical Overview of the WestminsterConfession of Faith, Chapter 25’ in West-minster Theological Journal 59, 2 (1997),177-199.

BOOK NOTICES

By N.H. Gootjes

Press Release, Classis Pacific-East October 1st, 19981. Opening: The chairman of the con-

vening church at Aldergrove calledthe meeting to order, requestedsinging of Psalm 147:1, 4, read Eph-esians 1 and led in prayer. He wel-comed the brothers. After the cre-dentials were checked, the classiswas constituted. As moderamenwere appointed Rev. M. VanLuik(chairman), Rev. R. Schouten (vice-chairman) and Rev. C. VanderVelde(clerk). Following some words fromthe Rev. VanLuik about recent

events in the life of the churches inthis classical area, an agenda forthe meeting was adopted.

2. Correspondence: a) A letter was received from the

church at Aldergrove informingclassis of the resignation andwithdrawal of the Rev. H.Boersma and his family.

b) A letter was received from thechurch at Aldergrove request-ing Classis to appoint Rev. R.Schouten as counselor and togrant monthly pulpit supply.These requests were granted.

c) A letter was received from thechurch at Vernon requestingclassical financial support. Thisrequest was granted.

d) Four appeals from church mem-bers against actions of their con-sistory were dealt with in closedsession.

3. Reports: a) A report was received from the

Classis Pacific East Needy Fund. b) A report was received from the

Classis Pacific East Fund. c) Visitation reports was read re-

garding the churches at Alder-grove, Lynden and Yarrow.


d) A report was read from the au-ditor of the previous Classis Pa-cific Fund for the period Jan.01, 1997 - Dec. 31st, 1997 in-forming classis that the bookswere found to be in good order.

4. Question Period according to Arti-cle 44, Church Order. During ques-tion period, a church sought andreceived advice in a matter ofchurch discipline.

5. Appointments: a) Chilliwack was appointed as

convening church for the nextclassis to take place, Lord will-ing on Dec. 10, 1998 (alternatedate is March 25th ,1999).

b) Suggested officers for the nextclassis: R. Schouten (chairman),C. VanderVelde (vice-chairman)and W. Wielenga (clerk).

c) The committee for examinationswas reappointed as were the ex-aminers in various subjects. Rev.D. Moes was appointed as ex-aminer in Doctrine and Creeds(to replace Rev. H. Boersma).

d) Church visitors were reap-pointed (D. Moes, M. VanLuik,R. Schouten with W. Wielengaand C. Vandervelde as alter-nates).

e) Abbotsford was reappointed asarchive church with Yarrow asArchive Inspection church.

f) R. Leyenhorst was reappointedas classis treasurer

g) Vernon was reappointed aschurch to audit the books of theclassis treasurer.

h) The committee for financial aidto students of the ministry wasreappointed.

i) The committee for needychurches was reappointed.

j) Classis appointed the followingbrothers as delegates to RegionalSynod West, Dec. 01, 1998:Ministers: R. Schouten, M. Van-Luik, W. Wielenga (alternates: C.Vandervelde, D. Moes – in thatorder). Elders: J. Bareman, B.Vane, P. VanSpronsen (alter-nates: G. Boeve, H. DeLeeuw,D. Doesburg - in that order).

6. Closing matters: Question Periodwas held. Censure according to Art.34, C.O., was not necessary. TheActs were read and adopted, thePress Release approved. Aftersinging of Hymn 63, the chairmanled the delegates in closing prayer.

For Classis,R. Schouten, Vice-chairman e.t.

Press Release of Classis PacificWest held on October 6, 1998in Houston, B.C.

Article 1: OpeningOn behalf of the convening Church,

Rev. J. Louwerse requested the dele-gates to sing Ps. 122:2,3. After thesinging he read the same Psalm and ledin prayer. All were welcomed to themeeting. All Churches were properlyrepresents. Classis was constituted. Rev.J. Visscher was appointed as chairman,Rev. E. Kampen as vice-chairman, andRev. J. Louwerse as clerk. The chair-man complimented the Church atHouston on their beautiful new facili-ties. The agenda was adopted.

Article 2: Instructions from theChurchesa. In closed session Classis dealt with

requests from the Churches atCloverdale, Houston and Smithersfor advice in matters of discipline.

b. Since no objections were receivedregarding the Classical Regulationsprovisionally adopted at the Classisheld on March 31, 1998, they wereformally adopted.

Article 3: Reportsa. The Church at Smithers reported that

the books of the treasurer had beenaudited and found in good order.

b. A letter was received from Classis Pa-cific East held on Oct. 1, 1998 re-garding support for Needy Churches.

c. A letter was received from the Com-mittee for Aid to Needy Churcheswith a suggestion for revision oftheir mandate. Classis did not seethe need to take over the suggestion.

Article 4: Question PeriodQuestion period according to Arti-

cle 44 C.O. was held.

Article 5: Appointmentsa. The Church at Langley was ap-

pointed to convene the next Classison Dec. 8, 1998, with the alternatedate of April 13, 1999. Suggestedas officers for that classis were: Rev.E. Kampen as chairman, Rev. J.Louwerse as vice-chairman andRev. J. Huijgen as clerk.

b. Classis delegated the following el-ders and ministers to the RegionalSynod West scheduled for Dec. 1,1998 in Taber, AB.Elders: H. Hoogstra, F. Kleine-De-ters, J. VanVeen.

(Alternates: F. Hofsink, P. DeBoer, J. Knol.) Ministers: E. Kampen,C. Van Spronsen, J. Visscher. (Alternates: J. Huijgen, J. Louwerse)

Article 6: Personal QuestionPeriod, Censure, Acts, PressRelease

Personal question was held. Thechairman noted with thankfulness thatcensure was not necessary. The Actswere read and adopted. The Press Re-lease was approved.

Article 7: ClosingThe chairman requested the mem-

bers of classis to sing Hymn 40:1,5. Af-ter the singing he led in prayer. Classiswas closed.

On behalf of Classis Pacific West, Oct. 6, 1998

Rev. E. Kampen

Press Release of ClassisOntario-South, Oct. 7, 1998held in Attercliffe

The delegates of the church atHamilton called the meeting to order.We sang Ps. 121:1,2, read the samePsalm, and called on the Name of theLord asking for His blessing upon themeeting. Classis was constituted. Aspecial welcome was extended to Rev.A. DeGraaf and his wife. The Rev. G.Van Popta served as chairman, Rev. J.Ludwig as vice-chairman, and Rev. C.Stam as clerk. After some additions theagenda was adopted. The documentsfor the approbation of the call extendedto Rev. A. DeGraaf and for his collo-quium were submitted and found to bein good order. A discussion was heldwith Rev. A. DeGraaf on Reformeddoctrine and polity. In closed sessionClassis expressed its positive assess-ment of the colloquium and grantedapprobation of the call. Rev. A. De-Graaf, his wife, and visitors were in-vited back into the meeting and in-formed of the decision of Classis.

After thanking the Lord in praiseand prayer, the delegates received op-portunity to congratulate Rev. and Mrs.DeGraaf and wish them the Lord’sblessing.

In closed session Classis dealt withthe appeal of a brother. This appeal wasdeclared inadmissible. Still in closedsession the request of the Church atRockway to approbate their decision todepose Rev. T. Hoogsteen was read anddiscussed. Classis, with the concurring


advice of the deputies of regional synod,approbated their request. Followingthis decision Classis sang Ps. 102: 1,6and sought the Lord in prayer.

Classis approved the following re-ports: Fund for Needy churches ($12.00/communicant member); Classical Trea-surer ($3.00/communicant member);Fund for Needy Students ($5.00/com-municant member).

These appointments were made:

1. Delegates to Regional Synod EastNov. 11, 1998

2. Convening church of next classis:Lincoln

3. Place: Hamilton4. Date: Dec. 9, 1998 at 9:00 a.m.5. Suggested officers:

Chairman – Rev. J. VanVlietVice – Rev. C. StamClerk – Rev. G. VanPoptaThe delegates were given opportu-

nity to reply to the questions ad article

44 of the CO. The chairman judgesthat everything was done decently andin good order (ad Art. 34). Questionperiod was made use of. The Acts ofClassis were read and adopted. ThePress Release was read and approved.The chairman requested that we singPs. 121: 3,4 and Rev. J. Ludwig closedin thanksgiving and prayer.

Vice-chairman at that time,Rev. J. Ludwig

OUR LITTLE MAGAZINE

By Aunt Betty

Dear Busy BeaversDon’t you think that having a birthday is wonderful fun?

You usually get lots of presents, have a party with all yourbrothers, sisters, cousins, friends, and lots of other people,and there’s always lots to eat and do. Oh yes, I have alwaysloved having a birthday, and I still do. There are severalbirthdays in November. I wish you all a happy birthday,and hope you have a wonderful time. May God grant youeverything you need, both now and in the future.

FROM THE MAILBOXWelcome to the Busy Beaver Club, Amber

Aasman. It’s nice to have friends who are also inthe Busy Beaver Club, don’t you think. I’m gladyou like school sometimes. History is fun to do

though, isn’t it? It tells you all about what happened manyyears ago, even when your parents and grandparents wereyounger. You do have a nice big family don’t you, Amber.Thank you for your puzzle, Amber. I’ll put it into the next Lit-tle Magazine, okay? Have a wonderful birthday on the27th, won’t you.

Thank you, Jaclyn Nobel, for your letter and the puzzleyou and Kathryn sent. It was great. I did get your last letter,and I wrote back to you, but I guess you didn’t see it. I’m gladyou had fun going camping. Was that over the school holi-days? Write again, Jaclyn.

Welcome to the Busy Beaver Club, Kathryn Nobel. Ofcourse you can join the Busy Beaver Club. Thanks for yourpuzzle you made with Jaclyn. You have a great family – threeboys and three girls. And the three oldest are the girls, andthe three youngest are the boys! Have you made lots of newfriends at your new school? It won’t take you long, I’m sure.Bye for now.

Hello again, Melissa Brouwer. Thank you for your littleletter. I’m glad you enjoyed your school holidays and theswimming lessons. Swimming lessons are very important,don’t you think. And I can imagine how fun it is to have ababy sister. Bye, Melissa.

Thank you Nelene Brouwer, for your letter and puzzle.It must be wonderful to have a penpal, much less two. And

one all the way from Australia! Jessica must be able to tellyou lots of stories about Australia. You must have had a greattime during the holidays too, from the things you did. Boy,you were busy. It must be quite exciting to have a weddinganniversary and a wedding in your family. Have fun, won’tyou, and write to tell me about it.

Thank also to Sophia Brouwer for your letter. You’ll haveto practice for your swimming lessons, but keep them up.You must have had a lot of fun at the choralfest. And I’m gladyour Dad is getting much better now. And Rosalyn must befun to have around. Don’t forget that needles from the doc-tor are to keep her healthy and to stop her from getting verysick. Write again, will you Sophia.

bible namesby Jaclyn and Kathryn Nobel

A B R A H A M Z K I S H GB A A B H D R S A E F M AE N R K M A E L I S H A BL M O O O P G B D A V T YL D S J N K T A O U E L IE E L I J A H J R R Z W ES T P J R J E S U S A T LT U A A Q S I D Y C X H BH N V C N B E N J A M I NE O I O E I P I O E N B FR E D B D C E Y N S W O XF D Q H C H A L A A D A MG I S A A C V B H R G Z EC G O L I A T H P E S O JFind:AaronAbrahamAdamAbelBenjamin

BoazCaesarDavidDanielDeborahElisha

ElijahEsauEstherGabrielGideonHagar

IsaacJacobJesusJonahJosephKish


Animal Wordsearchby Busy Beaver Nelene Brouwer

S B F G M P Q W Z A H B A G M S

T H E B A B C O H D O E F Y E L

M L E A O C I L O M R D O S O W

E O M E C O T F A B S C F M N D

E F H M P I W J S K E L E M R N

O P Q S T D O G U W Y X S Z A N

A R B S S K C C D M N E U F B G

T H G R O U N D H O G I O J B K

N B L S S T M N D O Q P M N I T

A M R S T U V R T A C A F J T B

H A C K D E I F G H M I J K F T

P L M N O B Q R T W P U V M N P

E B A N O E B D Q M N I B C F G

L H I K J A K I Q J K L G O P X

E Q R T M R V U B O X X L T F O

M Q Y S R A C O O N P R R W M F

Find:CowDogCatPig

SheepLambRabbitRacoonHorse

BirdWolfFoxBearElephant

Ground HogMouseSkunk

AUNT BETTY

c/o Premier Printing Ltd.One Beghin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R2J 3X5

TWO IN ONETo each of the groups below, add a Bible name to form an-other Bible name. The name added is placed unchangedat the beginning or end of the group of letters given.

1 JAH ______________________________________2 B ______________________________________3 IEL ______________________________________4 JO ______________________________________5 IAS ______________________________________6 AB ______________________________________7 PERG ______________________________________8 AS ______________________________________9 US ______________________________________

10 AH ______________________________________11 JOT ______________________________________12 HIB ______________________________________13 AM ______________________________________14 IAH ______________________________________15 AEL ______________________________________16 PI ______________________________________17 AN ______________________________________18 JOR ______________________________________19 JERU ______________________________________20 EB ______________________________________

Loving Shepherd, ever near, teach Thy lambs Thy voice to hear; suffer nottheir steps to stray, from the straight and narrow way.With great thankfulness to our heavenly Father, who has created andentrusted to us another covenant child, a daughterKATHRYN MICHELLE (KATIE)Born August 26th, 1998Phil and Karen Bandstra (nee Wiegers)Steven, Danielle, and ErinBox 3175, Smithers, BC V0J 2N0

We are again thankful to our heavenly Father who has blessed uswith the birth of our second child, a sonRYAN JEFFREY Born August 31, 1998A brother for StephanieJeff and Tricia DeBoer7999 Canboro Road, Dunnville, ON N1A 2W1

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works arewonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14 With great thankfulness to our heavenly Father, we announce the birthof our daughterELSA YVONNE SCHOUTEN Born July 31, 1998. A sister for Ian, Eric, Christopher, Philip, BradleyEarl and Sylvia Schouten (nee Kampen) 374 5th Concession EastWaterdown, ON L0R 2H1

With thankfulness to our heavenly Father for his precious gift, weannounce the birth of our fourth child, a sonKYLE ROBERTBorn October 12, 1998A baby brother for Melissa, Andrew and KristenGerald and Wendy Oosterhoff13 Wallis AvenueSmithville, ON L0R 2A0

CLARION ADVERTISEMENTS

Births


With thanks to the Lord for blessing our family once again with themiracle of new life, we are proud to announce the safe arrival ofBRETT DYLAN Born October 5, 1998 Welcomed by parents James and Sharon Komdeur and proud siblings Chevon, Rianna and Jesse.13 Debora Drive, Grimsby, ON L3M 4J1

We give thanks to our heavenly Father who has richly blessed us withthe birth of a daughter ANGELA JANELLE Born October 5, 1998 A sister for CalebEd and Diane Kos (nee Wierenga) Box 224, Neerlandia, AB T0G 1R0

Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride oftheir children. Proverbs 17:6December 4, 1998On Friday, December 4,1998, D.V., we hope to celebrate the 90thbirthday of our dear father, grandfather, and great-grandfatherCORNELIS LINDHOUT (Opa)We thank the Lord for granting him good health and keeping him inHis care throughout these 90 years.Our love and best wishes from all your children, grandchildren, andgreat-grandchildren. #810 -875 Wonderland Road, London, ON N6K 3N1

For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?Psalm 18:31With God as our Rock, weGERALDINE LANTING and PAUL DEBOER announce our engagement.October 3, 19988899 Skinner Drive, Strathroy, ON N7G 3H3

This is the day that the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.Psalm 118:24Knowing that our lives are in God’s hands, weESTHER LEYENHORST and NICK GUNNINKthank Him on the occasion of our engagement.October 4, 19984487 Boundary Road, Abbotsford, BC V3G 2N3

HEATHER FRANCINE HOLWERDA and JOHN ANDREW BROERSMA together with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Holwerda and Mr.and Mrs. Gerry Broersma joyfully announce their forthcomingmarriage. The ceremony will take place, the Lord willing, on Friday,December 4, 1998 at 7 p.m. Rev. A. J. Pol officiating.Philippians 2:1-2Future address: 111-255 Belsyde Avenue E., Fergus, ON N1M 2Y2

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19With thankfulness to our heavenly Father, Mr. and Mrs. H.H.V.Scholtens would like to announce the marriage of their daughterJENNIEFER CARLA SCHOLTENS to ROBERT JOHN OOSTDYKSon of Mr. and Mrs. J. Oostdyk. The ceremony will take place theLord willing, on November 7, 1998 at 2:30 in the Rehoboth CanadianReformed Church of Burlington, Ontario.Rev. D.G.J. Agema officiating.Future Address: 82 Pleasant Avenue, Dundas, ON L9H 3T4

1973 – August 31 – 1998Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16In gratitude to our heavenly Father, we announce our parents 25thWedding Anniversary.GARY and CORA VAN IPEREN

SophiaJohannaHendrikPeterGerritCalvinaJanelleAlissaWilhelmina

3353 Crosby Road, Beamsville, ON L0R 1B2

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. Psalm 136:1With much praise and thanksgiving, the children ofJOHN and ERNA MOEDT (nee Van Beek)are pleased to announce the 25th Wedding Anniversary of theirparents, which took place November 3, 1998 at Taber, AB.Coaldale, AB: Jonathan amd Monica Moedt

KatieCalgary, AB: Ed and Christina deKoning (nee Moedt)Taber, AB: Daniel, Michael and Steven Moedt

1958 – November 22 – 1998Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD for He is good; for his stead-fast love endures for ever! Psalm 106:1With thankfulness to our heavenly Father who has richly blessed ourfamily, we celebrate, the Lord willing, the 40th anniversary of ourdear parents and grandparentsCHUCK and CATHERINE ZIETSMA (nee VanSydenborgh)Their thankful children and grandchildren:St. Albert, AB: Linda and Ralph Smeding

Michael, Jonathan, Shaun, David,Rachelle, Melissa and Caleb

Markdale, ON: Caroline and Pete VanGrootheestDanielle, Katie, Vicki and Kara

Burlington, ON: Sandra and Art SmedingJodi, Kristen, Joshua and Lisa

Abbotsford, BC: John ZietsmaAttedale, W.A.: Rita ZietsmaBurlington, ON: David Zietsma

James Zietsma2310 Headon Road, Burlington, ON L7M 4E2

Weddings

Engagements

Birthday

Anniversaries


1953 – December 9 – 1998It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praise to Thy name, O MostHigh. Psalm 92:1 The Lord has blessed our parents and grandparents JOHN and CORNELIA VANDERLINDE (nee Barendregt) with 45 years of marriage. We thank Him for all the blessings He hasbestowed upon them.Winnipeg, MB: William and Bonita VanderLinde

John, James, David, Michelle, Deborah,Kenneth, Mark and Daniel

Abbotsford, BC: John and Jane StamJennifer and Ken SchoutenKen, Kimberley, Carrie and Leonard

Fort Langley, BC: Dick and Freda VanderLindeJeffrey, Michael, Chandra, Laurie, Lisa and Krista, and Colin

Box 146, Parker Cove, Westside Road, RR 7, Vernon, BC V1T 7Z3

1958 – December 13 – 1998My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:2With thankfulness to the Lord for His daily blessings, we wish to an-nounce the 40th Wedding Anniversary of our dear parents andgrandparents CASE and JANNY VAN ANDEL (nee Hayema)Ancaster, ON: Roland and Janice Van Andel

Michelle, Brittany, Heather, RyanJohn and Irene Van Andel

David, Matthew, Nicholas, Nathan, MelissaLaura

Audrey and Rick GritterJaron, Rachel, Joel, Kevin, Katrina

Byford, Bernice and Ed EikelboomWestern Australia Duane, Shauna, Lorette, KaitlynTo celebrate this occasion we invite all friends, relatives and acquain-tances to an Open House on Saturday, December 5, 1998 2 - 4 p.m.at the Canadian Reformed Church of Chatham. Best wishes only.117 William Street N., Chatham, ON N7M 4L6

1973 – November 30 – 1998By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.Proverbs 24:3,4With thankfulness to our heavenly Father, who so graciously grantedus loving and God-fearing parents, we joyfully announce the 25thWedding Anniversary of our parentsBERT and HARMINA BOERSEMA (nee Schutten)It is our prayer that God will continue to strengthen and sustain themin the coming years.Much love from their childrenBrampton, ON: Leslie

RyanDarrylBradleyAshleyKyle

Open house to be held D.V. on Saturday, December 5 from 2-4 p.m.in Harmony Hall, Holland Christian Homes, 7900 McLaughlin Road,Brampton.13763 Chinguacousy Road, RR 1, Cheltenham, ON L0P 1C0

1973 – December 6 – 1998The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:3With thankfulness to our heavenly Father who has directed our par-ents by His Word, we announce the 25th Wedding Anniversary ofour parents HANS and COBY BARTELS (nee Slomp)Hamilton, ON: Michael and Brenda Bartels

Anita BartelsMount Hope, ON: Karen Bartels

Matthew Bartels and Sarah BouwmanRichard BartelsRobert Bartels

Open House will be held D.V., on Monday, December 7, 1998 attheir residence from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. Address: 6335 Airport Road, Mount Hope, ON L0R 1W0

1973 – December 14 – 1998My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust. Psalm 91:2With thankfulness to our heavenly Father who has kept them in His care,we joyfully announce the 25th Wedding Anniversary of our parentsJOHN and HILDA SPANNINGA (nee Kamphuis)

Garth and Alida SpanningaDerekMelissa Spanninga and Brian KottelenbergMichelle MelanieMandy

We invite you to celebrate with us at an Open House to be held D.V.Saturday, December 19 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the CanadianReformed Church at Orangeville, C-Line.53 Dawson Road, Orangeville, ON L9W 2W4

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, becausehe trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3July 20, 1910 – October 24, 1998On October 24, 1998, the Lord at His time took unto Himself Hischild; our dear wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmotherMARGARETHA SMOUTER (nee Mak)Beloved wife of Bastiaan SmouterWaterloo, ON: Johanna and Adrian PeetoomAncaster, ON: Bill and Freda SmouterBloomfield, ON: Janny and Henk StassenKingston, ON: Toinette and Fred StassenRipley, ON: Meg and Will VanRooyenLondon, ON: Marianne and Bart HenstraAncaster, ON: Hanna and Ben Harsevoort29 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren#228 - 12 Bartlett Avenue, Grimsby, ON L3M 4N5

Obituaries

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The Lord willing, within a year, we hope to havea house congregation in place. If you would like tojoin us or if you have any questions or need a place

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The Canadian Reformed Society of Burlington, Inc.,operating John Calvin Christian Schoolinvites applications for the position ofPRINCIPALfor the 1999-2000 school year.For information about this position, contact the Board Chairman, Mr. Koos Torenvliet at school, (905) 634-8015, Fax: (905) 634-9772, or at home (905) 528-0453Applications may be addressed to: Education Committee, c/o John Calvin Christian School607 Dynes Road, Burlington, ON L7N 2V4Tel: (250) 545-9270 Fax: (250) 542-474

The Canadian Reformed School SocietyVernon, BC, CanadaInvites applications for the position ofTEACHERTeaching multiple gradesStarting January 1999Vernon, B.C. is an attractive city located in the beautiful Okanagan Val-ley and home of Okanagan University College. Our school presentlyhas 26 students with 2 teachers.Applicants must be certifiable by the Independent Schools Branch ofthe Ministry of Education in British Columbia.For more information contact: Henry van der Molen – Principal5151 Alain Rd, Box 20043, Vernon, BC Canada V1T 9L4Tel: (250) 549-3789 e-mail [email protected] send applications to the Secretary of the school board:Nancy van Delft, 5720 Heritage Drive, Vernon, BC Canada V1H 1A5

The Attercliffe Canadian Reformed Elementary School (A.C.R.E.S.)invites applications for TEACHING positions at the primary grade level.Grade 1 – Commencing March, 1999Grade 2 – Commencing January, 1999For more information, contact the principal: Mr. A. Kingma905-774-1336 – home; 905-774-9009 – school; 905-774-3318 – faxApplications should be submitted to: Mrs. E. Jager, Secretary of the Education CommitteeRR 1, Dunnville, ON N1A 2W1

The Board of Dufferin Christian School Carman, Manitoba is inviting applications for a TEACHER AT THE KINDERGARTEN AND/OR PRIMARY LEVELApplicant must be certified or able to obtain Manitobacertification. Duties to commence January 1, 1999. For more information contact the principal: Mr. S.F. Nap, Phone 745-2278 (school) or 745-3688 (home).Resumes stating the applicant’s faith commitment, academic creden-tials, experience, extra curricular interests and other relevant informa-tion should be sent to the Secretary of the School Board on or beforeDecember 10, 1998. Mr. Herro Koster, Box 1450, Carman, MB R0G 0J0 Fax: (204) 745-3441 Applications considered will be notified by telephone forinterview date.

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Documents

Clarion · 2013. 9. 24. · 542 CLARION, NOVEMBER 13, 1998 This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the famous Stone Lectures on Calvinism which Abraham Kuyper gave at Princeton