Cracking the Code
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Cracking the Code

This article isn’t ultimately about conversations inside the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) right now, but that’s where we’ll start. Weighing in on the recent decision of the Synod of the CRC to elevate the condemnation of “homosexual sex” to confessional status, Rod Dreher focused on the consequences for Calvin University in a recent article for…

Did anyone ask the hard questions?
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Did anyone ask the hard questions?

On May 6, the Hesed Project CRC published an open letter by Dr. Mary Stewart VanLeeuwen that gives new information about her role as promotor fidei, or “Devil’s Advocate,” on the Synodical Committee to Articulate a Foundation-laying Biblical Theology of Human Sexuality for the Christian Reformed Church of North American (CRCNA). The committee’s report (commonly…

A boy’s lot and luck
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A boy’s lot and luck

As we rattle and rush across the icy surface of Lake Simcoe, I look out the porthole window of the Bombardier R12, watching the snowy world blow by. It’s like being transported in a school bus, really – the same dull roar and smell of exhaust and uncomfortable seats – except with dual tracks and…

Faithful friends are good medicine
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Faithful friends are good medicine

My wife sometimes compliments me as a husband. “I’m strictly average,” I remind her. I don’t want expectations to rise. Marriages today are emotionally overloaded. We want someone who will be a lover, spouse, soulmate and friend – someone who “completes us,” as Hollywood suggests. This is much more than the biblical “suitable partner.” High…

Engaging the Global Polylogue
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Engaging the Global Polylogue

When it comes to matters of sexual ethics, no one can quickly iron out the deep differences in the church today. So why should Christian Courier publish an article on same-sex marriage from distant Uganda? Well, I figure if we are truly part of a catholic church, we ought to hear the voices of our…

A Ugandan perspective
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A Ugandan perspective

Sytsma: As difficult as it is to discuss homosexuality today, I appreciate how Christians with different perspectives all emphasize the importance of listening. Most importantly we listen to those who experience same-sex attraction themselves. But I am sensing a new desire among North American churches to listen to Christians around the world. Emmanuel, please tell…

Can We Stay Together?
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Can We Stay Together?

I was recently involved in discussions among evangelical church leaders as to whether our churches could continue to work together. The focus was same-sex marriage, which seemed to us a convenient peg on which to hang broader questions of sexuality. The jury has not yet returned a verdict. When I say these leaders were “evangelical,”…

‘Don’t leave your faith behind’
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‘Don’t leave your faith behind’

CC: You describe yourselves as “two white, American, millennial, gay and bi Christian women.” Yet your first Car Chats video is about vegetarian tacos, your favourite Harry Potter characters, music, pet peeves, personal quirks. Why did you begin your channel like that?Joey: I really wanted to bring it down to the most basic human level….

Reformed gifts for today
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Reformed gifts for today

Public discourse in North America is especially turbulent. I often want to call “time out.” The responses to Jim Joosse’s recent article on human rights pushed me to dive in with this call for our reflection. The topic of human sexuality is only the most recent “issue” in a long list of important questions. It…

A plea for unity in the Church during COVID
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A plea for unity in the Church during COVID

The first Liberation began in Utrecht. It was August 1944, after the Synod of Reformed Churches in the Netherlands kicked Klaas Schilder out of the denomination. It was a disagreement over common grace. This decision triggered one of the largest Dutch church splits since the Reformation. Over the next two years, 80,000 people followed Schilder…

Spent
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Spent

Having grown up in church, I’ve lost count of how often I’ve heard the announcement for the latest iteration of that series on sex or marriage or something like it. It’s always for married people, but in the name of inclusivity, one segment will be awkwardly reserved “for the singles.”

Love Before Law
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Love Before Law

Human sexuality, the issue is tearing up churches and our society. As I write this, I plan to participate in a discussion of a report on this topic at the Christian Reformed Synod in June. This report has excellent stories that reflect the concerns and issues in real personal terms