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The top legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted Thursday to redefine Christian marriage in the church constitution as the union of "two people" instead of only "a man and a woman." The amendment requires approval from a majority of the 172 regional presbyteries, which will vote on the change over the next year. But in a separate vote that will take effect immediately, the Presbyterian General Assembly allowed ministers to preside at gay weddings in states where gay marriage is legal. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage. Alex McNeill, executive director of More Light...

The largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S. will allow pastors to preside at gay weddings in states that recognize same-sex marriage. The Presbyterian General Assembly voted 61 percent to 39 percent in favor of allowing ministers to decide whether to perform the ceremonies. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia recognize gay marriage.

Yesterday marked the 450th anniversary of the death of John Calvin. Here are nine things you should know about the French theologian and Reformer. 1. From an early age, Calvin was a precocious student who excelled at Latin and philosophy. He was prepared to go to study of theology in Paris, when his father decided he should become a lawyer. Calvin spend half a decade at the University of Orleans studying law, a subject he did not love. 2. Calvin wrote his magnum opus, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, at the age of 27 (though he updated the work...

Full Title: Predestination: Should We Even Talk About It? Is the doctrine of predestination an obstacle to the usefulness of preaching? I’d like to begin a series on—get ready—predestination. Yes, I said that word. I know this is not the most popular topic to bring up among polite company; in fact, it’s downright divisive, isn’t it? In the fifth century, Augustine recounted in his letters that some said, “The doctrine of predestination is an obstacle to the usefulness of preaching.” And who wants an obstacle? In the sixteenth century, John Calvin had to go out of his way to state...

For whom did Jesus die? For the sins of the entire humanity or only for the elect? This was the topic of a live debate between Messianic Jewish apologist Dr. Michael L. Brown and Alpha and Omega Ministries Director Dr. James White on RevelationTV.com Friday evening. The issue boils down to what the intention of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit was in Christ going to the cross, said White, who heads the Phoenix, Ariz.-based evangelical Reformed Christian apologetics organization, as the debate began Friday at 9 p.m. EST. "Jesus' death on the cross was a covenantal death,"...

Advocates say it isn't enough for churches to enact policies to prevent child sexual abuse, but churches where abuse has already occured must be more vocal in helping police catch predators. A victim support group held signs outside a Houston megachurch Jan. 9 calling for greater transparency about the reporting of child sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches. A former youth pastor... A former youth minister... ...

While Calvisnism looks good on paper --- in real time and in the here and now it comes up short: A person can be heard accepting Christ as savior, can be seen bearing good fruit, living for the Lord for years, etc, and then later on they start acting in such a way that causes some to think that they were either "falsely saved" (and thus seemingly somehow duped those around them for some time) or at best they are "out of fellowship" with Christ, but nonetheless still saved. A.) Two people can be bearing bad fruit, committing sin, etc,...

GENEVA (AP) -- The Vatican came under blistering criticism from a U.N. committee Thursday for its handling of the global priest sex abuse scandal, facing its most intense public grilling to date over allegations that it protected pedophile priests at the expense of victims.

Thursday, March 18, 2010 The "Catholic" John Calvin: 50 Areas Where His Views Are Harmonious With Catholic Teaching The Young Calvin, by Oliver Crisp [ source ] All sources with Roman numerals (example: IV, 4:20) are from The Institutes of the Christian Religion (translated by Henry Beveridge for the Calvin Translation Society in 1845, from the 1559 edition in Latin; reprinted by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1995): available online. Note: I don't intend to imply that Calvin agrees with Catholics in every jot and tittle of all the following categories. What is agreed-upon is what...

Few people engaged in the "War on Christmas" are aware that at one time it was a crime in Massachusetts to celebrate Christmas. Oh sure, some will say, count on liberal Massachusetts to pass a law against Christmas. But it was Calvinist Massachusetts, in the days of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, the Pilgrims and Puritans, that established penalties for the observance of Christmas Day "by abstinence from labor, feasting, or any other way." The noisiest opposition to public celebration of Christmas today comes from professed agnostics and atheists, particularly those seeking "freedom from religion." But there are still...

Guest Jason Stellman, a former Presbyterian minister, tells Marcus what convinced him that the Catholic Church is the true Church.

Did God provide for the salvation of sinners that he chose to be saved, or did God provide a way of salvation and then it is up to sinners to choose it? Wrong question that has been asked... The question that SHOULD be asked: Did God know which choice we would make (as to salvation) when He created this universe and bring into existence that choice to be saved, or did He bring into existence His choice for whom He would save when He brought this universe into existence? Is the ultimate, final answer to this either/or, neither/nor, or both/and?...

Thursday, November 14, 2013 The Fallible Prophets of New Calvinism by Michael John Beasley From the website: This book examines Dr. Wayne Grudem's controversial teaching on fallible prophecy in view of various lexical, exegetical, and historical points of analysis. It also addresses the teaching's popularity and continuing advancement through many charismatics within the "New Calvinism" movement. The doctrine of fallible prophecy is neither benign nor harmless, rather it constitutes a troubling strange fire for the body of Christ and continues to spread through the advocacy of popular continuationists like Wayne Grudem, D.A. Carson, John Piper, and Mark Driscoll: 1. Chapter...

While Joe Carter is yet again telling me what I should do, this time how to think about October 31st, Protestants (and others) in Hillsdale will be observing Reformation Day with a book talk by (all about) me on Calvinism. What follows is an excerpt: Calvinism (Why not Lutheranism?) One of the stranger features of religion in the United States is the level of comfort that Americans seem to have with Calvinism even though it is a version of Christianity that many, along with H. L. Mencken, place in their “cabinet of horrors” – the Baltimore journalist put it on...

The thread that I posted yesterday was lively, energetic and, sadly, punctuated with a little too much Ad Hominem. For instance, and an example - I would never say that any topic is above another person's "pay grade," which was what was tossed at me. And in the asking, I never received any scripture(s) that show the dividing line - the place that unequivocally shows the total difference - between the one who was never saved & the one who had merely "fallen out of fellowship w/Christ," but was nonetheless still saved. I was asked why I didn't provide scriptures....

Can John F. MacArthur - or any other Calvinist - please differentiate between (or what constitutes the difference between) those who were truly never saved, and those who are saved, but are now living "out of fellowship" with Christ? I have read in the MacArthur Bible where he seems to boil it down to... by their fruits shall ye know them. But how much bad fruit or lack of good fruit does one have to show to give evidence that they were never saved, or that they are still saved, but have merely fallen out of fellowship with Christ? Example:...

(This is the second part of my series on TULIP. The first part, based on the writings of the Church Fathers, is available here.) Calvinists often claim that "T.U.L.I.P." -- an acronym that summarizes their core beliefs -- has been supported by many of the great historical Protestant leaders, but below are some quotes that seem to disprove this assertion. This list is not comprehensive. Total Depravity - "..as a consequence of the Fall of man, every person born into the world is morally corrupt, enslaved to sin and is, apart from the grace of God, utterly unable to choose...

Calvinists occasionally claim that their beliefs -- commonly expressed with the acronym "T.U.L.I.P" -- are totally in line with historical Christianity, but below are some quotes from the Church Fathers that disprove the claim. This list is certainly not comprehensive, but I think it best summarizes the Church's points. Total Depravity - "..as a consequence of the Fall of man, every person born into the world is morally corrupt, enslaved to sin and is, apart from the grace of God, utterly unable to choose to follow God or choose to turn to Christ in faith for salvation." (NOTE: Catholics believe...

CALVINISM’S FALSE DOCTRINE Posted on September 14, 2007 by Cathy “Calvinism” is very popular and many Christians, though they would not identify themselves as Calvinists, may have embraced some of Calvin’s doctrine without realizing it. The doctrine is named after a man named John Calvin, a reformer, who lived in the 1500′s. Calvinism propagates error. Knowledge of error helps us to be discerning when listening to or reading Christian material. If a teacher is a Calvinist, all that they teach will be taught through the lens of Calvinism. The result of this Calvinistic “bent” will be teachings that are dangerously...

Hear Dr. Peter Kreeft tell his fascinating story of his conversion from Evangelical Protestantism to Catholicism.     Dr. Peter Kreeft's conversion to Catholicism from Protestantism (Full)