Belhar Resources: J. Todd Billings on the Belhar

Again, I want to refer you to material on the Belhar Confession found on Kevin DeYoung's blog. This time he interacts with the work of J. Todd Billings of Western Theological Seminary. Billings' recent book on believers' union with Christ criticizes the Belhar's phrasing that "God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged.”

Belhar Resources: Kevin DeYoung (of the Reformed Church in America) on the Belhar Confession

Since the Belhar Confession is up for approval as a fourth confession in the Christian Reformed Church at the denominational Synod in Ancaster, Ontario, I thought it was fitting to put our ear to several voices objecting to the adoption of the Belhar as a confessional document. Stay tuned through out this week for more resources related to the Belhar. 

The Belhar Confession: Yea or Nay? By Kevin DeYoung.

Written in May 2009 prior to the Reformed Church in America’s adoption of the Belhar Confession. While affirming the theme that God’s people should not be divided by race or ethnicity, DeYoung probes the problematic language of the Belhar:

“…there are a few lines that cannot be supported by Scripture. Here’s just one example: We believe that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged. To be sure, the Bible is full of examples of God’s heart for the poor and the oppressed. But it goes too far to say he is in a special way a God to them. The covenant promise—I will be your God and you will be my people (language Belhar echoes here)—is for those who put their faith in God, not simply those who are poor or oppressed. In fact, Abraham, the man of faith and the model for all covenantal blessing (Gal. 3:5-9), was especially rich (Gen. 13:5-6). Is God less of God to him than to the poor man who rejects Christ? Was God a God to Job, Zacchaeus, Mary and Martha in a less special way because they were well-to-do? There are plenty of verses to support the contention that God cares for the poor and oppressed, but are there any verses to suggest that he is their covenantal God apart from faith? Or any verses to suggest that God looks on the believing poor with more favor than the believing non-poor? God does not show partiality to the poor, nor does he defer to the great (Lev. 19:15).”

DeYoung also points to the plurality of applications that have been seen to emerge out of the Belhar as a confusion-creating problem.

Belhar Debate

Dr. John Cooper (Calvin Theological Seminary) and Rev. Peter Borgdoff (former director of the Christian Reformed Church) debate the Belhar Confession at a denominational event in Illinois.

Belhar Confession

In one week the Christian Reformed Church will gather in Ancaster, Ontario for Synod. This Synod is anticipated (or dreaded) because the CRC will dash itself upon the rocks of the Belhar Confession. The Belhar Confession was written in response to the horror of South African apartheid. While the church stood, amidst the racial chaos with blood on its hands, the Belhar was penned. Now, the Christian Reformed Church will decide whether the Belhar should be adopted as the denomination's fourth confessional document.

The Belhar is intended to be a statement of Christian unity, but the grim reality is that it threatens to tear the CRC apart. I will be posting (or referring to) a number of resources this week that speak to the Belhar Confession. In the meanwhile, please pray fervently that God will guide the discussions of Synod and that He will provide a way to maintain both the unity and the doctrinal integrity of the denomination.

Here is the text of the Belhar Confession. Be sure to read it.

Kevin DeYoung: The Reformed Church in America and Homosexuality

Kevin DeYoung is someone that you would do well to read. He is one of the sharpest, smartest, and most articulate voices in the Church today. He is a pastor and an author. Matt Chandler also said of him at April 2011's Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago, "You are perhaps the smartest person in the world. I am too dumb to talk to you."

DeYoung is a pastor in the Reformed Church in America (RCA). The denomination that I belong to, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), split from the RCA in 1857. Yet, in the words of the RCA's website, "The Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America can be considered as either close cousins or separated siblings, having once been one denomination (the Dutch Reformed Church)". Close ties remain between the CRC and RCA and, as such, what occurs in one denomination has consequence for the other (for instance, RCA's adoption of the Belhar Confession).  

Therefore, it is of great importance that members of the CRC pay close attention to how the RCA is addressing the issue of homosexuality. While the CRC struggles to find the voice of biblical faithfulness and courage, CRC members (and the Church of Jesus Christ as a whole) would be foolish to turn a blind-eye to the response that will come-- either by action or non-action-- in the RCA. 

I strongly encourage you to read the week-long series that Kevin DeYoung will be posting on his blog concerning the RCA and Homosexuality. 

Monday- A Series on the RCA and Homosexuality 
Tuesday – Homosexuality and the RCA: A Call for Action, Consistency, and Faithfulness (Part 1)
Wednesday – Homosexuality and the RCA: A Call for Action, Consistency, and Faithfulness (Part 2)
Thursday – An Overture Regarding Homosexuality and the RCA
Friday – Does the Heidelberg Catechism Have Anything to Say About Homosexuality?

Most importantly, be in prayer for the RCA and CRC. Pray that they may be given wisdom, love, and courage in its address of homosexuality.