Calvin Synod Herald, 2005 (106. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2005-01-01 / 1-2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 5 Dr. Gatis Speaks at Christ College Dr. George J. Gatis was the featured speaker at a Conference on Biblical Law and Jurisprudence in Lynchburg, Virginia in October, 2004. A Presbyterian minister and practicing attorney, Gatis frequently represents churches and denominations and is an expert on religious and constitutional issues. Dr. Gatis has served as legal representative, for instance, for the Hungarian Reformed churches of the Calvin Synod. Dr. Gatis spoke on the topics of “Puritan Jurisprudence,” “A Law for the Nations,” and “The Dereliction of the U.S. Supreme Court” and stressed the Biblical origins of constitutional government and the authority of Scripture over all areas of life. The overflow crowd included students from Christ College, Liberty University, and the new School of Law at Liberty University. Gatis has a unique training in religion and law. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary (S.T.M.), University of South Carolina School of Law (J.D.), Harvard University (Th.M.), and Whitefield Theological Seminary (Th.D., Ph.D.), and has done post-doctoral studies at Westminster Theological Seminary and Harvard University’s School of Law and Kennedy School of Government. His writings in the area of jurisprudence and religion are extensive. Articles on the Puritans, Biblical Law, and Jurisprudence have appeared in Contra Mundum (http://www.contra-mundum. org/essays.html), Churchman, and Bibliotheca Sacra. He also holds ministerial credentials in the Bible Presbyterian Church and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Hanover Presbytery (RPCH). Seven of Gatis’s titles are scheduled to be released by the University Press of America in the Spring of 2005, including Calvin the Magistrate: The Political and Legal Legacy of the Great Genevan Reformer. Gatis’s most memorable remarks were those directed at liberal activist judges who arrogantly overstep constitutional limitations in order to promote a culture of secular humanism. As a former post-doctoral student under noted atheist and Harvard University Law professor Alan Derschowitz, Dr. Gatis is well aware of the growing movement to secularize the American civil sphere. During the course of his lectures, he challenged those in attendance to search the Scriptures diligently in order to construct a sound, God-honoring alternative to humanistic civil ethics. According to Dr. Gatis, the relevant Biblical data requires the formation of a constitutional republic governed according to the principles of God’s law. Such an approach, he argued, acknowledges the kingship and ethical Lordship of Christ as the only basis for maintaining a free and orderly society. He also noted that the God-ordained means of achieving this end is widespread evangelism and instruction in the Christian faith. The conference was sponsored by Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCH) in Lynchburg. (The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Hanover Presbytery is a conservative, confessional and Reformed body with warm regard for the Hungarian Refonned legacy.) Dr. Roger Schultz, the pastor of the church and the chairman of the History Department at Liberty University, is well-known in Reformed circles. The conference host was Christ College, a small, conservative Presbyterian school committed to the scriptures and the Westminster standards (www.christ-college.edu). Christ College students come from a variety of Reformed church backgrounds but they share a commitment to the whole counsel of the Word of God and its application to all of life. Though only fifteen years old, Christ College graduates are serving as pastors, elders and missionaries in many Reformed communions. By: Adam Kuehner Adam Kuehner is a senior at Christ College and a Ministerial student at Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg New Bethlen Home Chaplain Called to Serve It is our joy and privilege to announce that the Rev. Csilla Lucskay has been called to serve the Bethlen Communities at Ligonier (Bethlen Home, Ligonier Gardens, Retirement Village) as its Chaplain and Director of Pastoral Care, beginning January 1,2005. Rev. Lucskay received her Master of Divinity degree in 1995 from the Theological Seminary at Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic. Further studies were completed at the Theological Seminaries of Geneva Switzerland and New Brunswick, New Jersey. Rev. Lucskay served as part-time Pastor of the Hungarian Presbyterian Church, Wharton, New Jersey, from 1997 to 2000, as full-time pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church, Carteret, New Jersey, from 2000 to the present, and as supply pastor of the Free Hungarian Reformed Church, Staten Island, New York, from 2001 to the present. From 2002 to 2004, Rev. Lucskay served as a Chaplain in the JFK Hospital, Edison, New Jersey, while being enrolled in the Clinical Pastoral Education program sponsored by the hospital. Even as the Bethlen Home and Ligonier Gardens communities welcome Rev. Lucskay, the residents and staff thank the Rev. Dr. Joseph Posta and the Rev. Levente Molnár for their many months of faithful service as co-part-time chaplains of our facilities. We ask that God continue to bless these pastors in their ongoing ministries within Christ’s Kingdom. We ask that God guide and bless the new pastorate of Rev. Csilla Lucskay as she comes in grace and in love to the people of Ligonier. I close, asking that our Lord continue to bless all of you and our very supportive congregations in the coming year. Rev. Imre A. Bertalan, Executive Director The Bethlen Home CORRECTION - In our Nov/Dec’04 issue The New Synod Treasurer, Lisa Toth’s phone number was incorrect. Please note the correct phone number is: 412-461-5688
