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Fredrick T. Greco
Senior Pastor, Christ Church PCA (Katy, TX)
Christ Church Blog

"The heart is the main thing in true religion...It is the hinge and turning-point in the condition of man's soul. If the heart is alive to God and quickened by the Spirit, the man is a living Christian. If the heart is dead and has not the Spirit, the man is dead before God." (J.C. Ryle)

Nice!

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The man who is disposed to think of his sin as a great calamity, rather than as a heinous crime, is not likely either to reverence God or to respect His law. - John Kennedy, 1873
Meg
Blog
Member, Intown Presbyterian Church,PCA, Portland, OR

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Good. Glad to see Paige Paterson had the cajones to stand by his convictions.

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Benjamin P. Glaser
Pittsburgh, PA
Fairmount ARP Church

Student of Theology
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary
My Blog

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Sterling Harmon
Coventry, CT
PCA
Deacon
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"Whatever is laudable in our works proceeds from the grace of God."
-- John Calvin, Institutes III:xv.3.

"Our Lord God must be a good man, to be fond of worthless fellows. I cannot like them, and yet I, myself, am one."
-- Martin Luther, Table Talk

And furthermore, why is it the Court's/State's/Government's business to meddle with anyway? I'm glad for the ruling, I suppose, but I'm very disappointed that the courts, et al have any jurisdiction over at all.

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Josh Hicks, Chloë's Daddy
Member of TRBC. My Blog
The Puritan Pub (Team Blog)
Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

It revolved around an employment lawsuit. The court basically ruled that it did not have jurisdiction in a seminary/church employment matter.

I understand, but shouldn't seminaries, nay, all non-government entities have the right to fire and hire who they so desire? (nice rhyme, eh?)

Joshua,

Our law doesn't function that way. Fortunately, the law protects the Church, for now, from being forced to violate it's own religious views and adopt the secular, which is what would happen were this court to hold otherwise. They would force the Seminary to abandon religious conviction and adopt secular religious views regarding women in teaching positions.

It's comming folks. Most assuredly.

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Andrew DeShazo, Deacon, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"All of us stumble in many ways, but if anyone is never at fault in what he says, then he is mature, able to control his whole body."(James 3:2)

Thanks. I actually have a similar case heading for summary judgment hearing in a couple of weeks. This decision applies the same argument I'm using. I'll bring it up in oral argument.

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R.Vic Bottomly
Providence Reformed Baptist Church, Tacoma, WA

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

I think you may be missing my point. The Law should protect the Church, as it should also protect the citizen. What I'm saying is that a person who is fired by a non-government entity (i.e. sovereign), according to my naive opinion, should not have redress by taking it to the courts, since the courts ought not be bringing jurisdiction over a sovereign entity that has not broken any government laws. I dunno...I'm just an Arkansan.

No, I'm not missing the point. I know the law should protect the church, but the fact that it does now is only a fleeting remant of the true meaning behind the laws of our land. Just as every other piece of jurisprudence considered archaic by our liberalized judicial and legislative systems has been replaced with garbage that fits their agenda to enslave the public to governmental power, this too will be swept away to enslave the church to the will of the National government.

Umm...thanks, but I'm not sure where I implied otherwise.

I wanna help.

Yes, I hear you are a star at oral argument. It would be fun to have you. But it's already been briefed and I think it will be hard to get you admitted to the Washington bar by Friday after next, even pro hace vice.

Awwww shucks!

C'mon, Vic! Surely you have some photocopies that could be made, or memos to be proofread!

After all, what are young associates for?

Zenas,

Would this apply even in a case where the seminary / church under question were not a creature of the state? For example, if the seminary weren't organized under state law, would they be under the jurisdiction which they often find themselves under?

Adam

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Adam Brink, Grace Church of Pleasanton, PCA, Pleasanton, California

"Mark you this, Bassanio, The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart: O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!"

Antonio - The Merchant of Venice (Act 1, Scene 3)

Incorporation has nothing to do with control. That is something espoused by "the church must never incorporate" types. Think about it. Can the courts rule on partnerships? Of course. How about a foreign entity? Of course.

Law are applied outside of direct jurisdiction. The protection of the Church is to be found in the 1st Amendment, not in incorporation or jurisdictional theory.

This brings up another question.
If accreditors can accept and decline who they wish based on criteria that would be acceptable to the government (like a quota for women), would the seminary have the same "cajones" when faced with losing accreditation?

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Larry Bray
Training for Elder - Reformed Presbyterian Church of Boothwyn, PCA
Boothwyn, PA - http://www.rpcb.org/

Free Online Reformed Seminary - http://www.tnars.net

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"The best Christian is still a poor Christian" - R.B. Kuiper