Two stories in the news today are interesting. The first comes from Maine:

Pending doom: Global warming crisis: "A small group of students at our school has been researching and studying the effects of global warming. The evidence and data we collected is so overwhelming that we have decided to write about this issue."

The second comes from the New York Times and Senator Trent Lott. Talk Radio

Senator Lott thinks that talk radio is running America, and that something needs to be done about. And what does that mean? Ought to scare you that a politician wants to do something about free speech. Senator Lott, do you know the First Amendment? I think that Justice Alito would disagree with you, thank God.

It seems that we ought to listen to the children in the fourth grade in Maine and turn our radios off. There may be good a sufficient reasons to turn the radios and the televisions off and to cancel our subscriptions to the foolishness that is in the public press, but turn our minds over to fourth graders?

Jesus said that we enter the kingdom of God as little children [not on the basis of our works, intelligence, or moral sense], but having entered the kingdom we are expected to grow up and exercise our senses in order to understand good and evil. It is true that a "little child shall lead them," but we better make pretty well certain whom that little child is being led by. We shouldn't follow some dumb little kid whose mind is being shaped by some fuzzy-headed liberal of the teachers union, any more than we should take our example from the suicide bombers of the Middle East.

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. --Hebrews 5:12-14

FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment - Freedom, not climate, is at risk: "The author Michael Crichton stated it clearly: 'the greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda'. I feel the same way, because global warming hysteria has become a prime example of the truth versus propaganda problem. It requires courage to oppose the 'established' truth, although a lot of people - including top-class scientists - see the issue of climate change entirely differently. They protest against the arrogance of those who advocate the global warming hypothesis and relate it to human activities. "

Exactly. It was the same in the days of the apostles: the task is to distinguish truth from cleverly designed fables. Aesop didn't write any more clever fables than Algore. 2Peter 1:16

Hurrah for the PCA!!!!

35th PCA GA Approves Recommendations of Federal Vision Study Report MEMPHIS, TENN

The 35TH General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, meeting in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, June 13, approved the recommendations of its Interim Committee on Federal Vision. After the committee made its report, a motion was made to postpone taking action on the recommendations at this GA, to add two new members to the committee, and to direct the committee to include more exegesis of relevant biblical passages in its report. This motion failed. After further debate the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to approve the recommendations. The recommendations included the following:

1. That the General Assembly commends to Ruling and Teaching Elders and their congregations this report of the Ad Interim Committee on NPP, AAT and FV for careful consideration and study.

2. That the General Assembly reminds the Church, its officers and congregations of the provisions of BCO 29-1 and 39-3 which assert that the Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly, while "subordinate to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the inerrant Word of God," have been adopted by the PCA "as standard expositions of the teachings of Scripture in relation to both faith and practice."

3. That the General Assembly recommends the declarations in this report as a faithful exposition of the Westminster Standards, and further reminds those ruling and teaching elders whose views are out of accord with our Standards of their obligation to make known to their courts any differences in their views.

4. That the General Assembly reminds the Sessions and Presbyteries of the PCA that it is their duty "to exercise care over those subject to their authority" and "to condemn erroneous opinions which injure the purity or peace of the Church" (BCO 31-2; 13-9f).

Recommendation 3 dealt with nine declarations proposed by the study committee. It asked the General Assembly to recommend that the declarations in the report be considered a faithful exposition of the Westminster Standards. The declarations are:

In light of the controversy surrounding the NPP and FV, and after many months of careful study, the committee unanimously makes the following declarations:

1. The view that rejects the bi-covenantal structure of Scripture as represented in the Westminster Standards (i.e., views which do not merely take issue with the terminology, but the essence of the first/second covenant framework) is contrary to those Standards.

2. The view that an individual is "elect" by virtue of his membership in the visible church; and that this "election" includes justification, adoption and sanctification; but that this individual could lose his "election" if he forsakes the visible church, is contrary to the Westminster Standards.

3. The view that Christ does not stand as a representative head whose perfect obedience and satisfaction is imputed to individuals who believe in him is contrary to the Westminster Standards.

4. The view that strikes the language of "merit" from our theological vocabulary so that the claim is made that Christ’s merits are not imputed to his people is contrary to the Westminster Standards.

5. The view that "union with Christ" renders imputation redundant because it subsumes all of Christ’s benefits (including justification) under this doctrinal heading is contrary to the Westminster Standards.

6. The view that water baptism effects a "covenantal union" with Christ through which each baptized person receives the saving benefits of Christ’s mediation, including regeneration, justification, and sanctification, thus creating a parallel soteriological system to the decretal system of the Westminster Standards, is contrary to the Westminster Standards.

7. The view that one can be "united to Christ" and not receive all the benefits of Christ’s mediation, including perseverance, in that effectual union is contrary to the Westminster Standards.

8. The view that some can receive saving benefits of Christ’s mediation, such as regeneration and justification, and yet not persevere in those benefits is contrary to the Westminster Standards.

9. The view that justification is in any way based on our works, or that the so-called "final verdict of justification" is based on anything other than the perfect obedience and satisfaction of Christ received through faith alone, is contrary to the Westminster Standards.

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