In 2017, the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation,
please pray with the Faculté Jean Calvin for...
the return to the Word of God
the reformation of hearts
the vocation of new pastors
exam week (January 9-13), and
following month of practical training.
Kim Tran, Director of Faculté Jean Calvin, is a talented singer and musician, as well as, administrator. He graciously provided a link to a YouTube video (click here) of his moving performance of "Minuit, Chrétiens" ("O Holy Night").
Take note that our English version of this classic Christmas carol is somewhat different than a literal translation of the French lyrics, which begin...
Midnight, Christians, is the solemn hour,
When God as man descended unto us
To erase the stain of original sin
And to end the wrath of His Father.
The entire world thrills with hope
On this night that gives it a Savior.
Using the Wikipedia article "O Holy Night" (click here), you may be interested to follow-along and to compare the French lyrics, based on a poem by wine merchant and poet Placide Cappeau (love that name); a literal English translation; and the more familiar version by Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight.
May we hear and truly take to heart the words...
People, stand up! Sing of your deliverance,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!
In coming to teach Christian Dogmatics (i.e. the doctrines taught in the Bible) at the Faculté Jean Calvin I fully identify with its clear vision of teaching Reformed Theology in faithfulness and obedience to the God-given Word. I deeply appreciate the Reformed approach which gives due credit to the theological input of John Calvin and all his spiritual and theological heirs over the last five centuries, right down to … Paul Wells!
I was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island and raised in a Roman Catholic milieu. I rejected the Roman traditions and began searching for the Truth in life when I was sixteen. After graduation from high school in 1971, I spent the summer hitchhiking around Western Europe and met two people who were to influence him greatly; Francis Schaeffer and Timothy Leary.
Protestantism is a very marginal minority in France, numerically less than 2% of the total population. France Mission estimates there are 1.700.000 protestants in France and 600.000 evangelicals. The first figure seems generous as people can say they are protestant when they are not catholic.
In the second half of the 20th century, the Roman Catholic church “lost” France, with religious practice and christenings plummeting. In spite of that, it is still a cultural heavyweight in society, and if you say you are “christian” that will be understood as Roman catholic.
The mainline Protestant churches suffered a comparable decline, undermined by secularism and ecumenism. In this sense the Protestant minority in France adapted too well to the majority, both social and religious, and in so doing lost its soul through compromise with humanism or catholicism.
Loss of doctrinal identity and the absence of a clear message constitute a menace to the survival of traditional churches...
We are overwhelmed by current events. A new American President has been elected; Bob Dylan is a Nobel Prize laureate; Brexit is on slow-down; ISIS is still fighting; major earthquakes roil central Italy; Jakartans riot over the governor’s alleged blasphemy; 6500 refugees are evicted from Calais…
It is good at this time to remember two great truths.
