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Is encouraging the adoption of papist prayers official policy of the Free Presbyterian Church?

Thomas Aquinas By Sandro Botticelli

An email sent to some Presbytery officers on the subject:

Is encouraging the adoption of papist prayers official policy of the Free Presbyterian Church?

Brethren,

At the close of an article on prayer in the present ‘Vision’ magazine, the writer, Jonathan Story, minister of Mt Merrion Free Presbyterian Church, recommends that we adopt the prayer of the Romanist ‘saint’ Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Dominican friar and priest.

Is it now the accepted and established position of the Free Presbyterian Church that the prayers of mass-mongers and blasphemous bachelor priests of Rome are models to be followed and emanated?

If it has the sanction of the Ulster Presbytery then a line has been crossed that brings the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster into the camp of liberalism and apostasy.

As published in the current “Vision” magazine published by the Free Presbyterian Church

I have no doubt many members of our denomination will find that intolerable!

Should not the prayers of such an idolatrous priest be rejected as did the Saviour with the devil’s quotation and misapplying of Holy Scripture?

“Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God,” Matthew 4:5-7.

I consider this a most serious and unacceptable breach in our denomination’s adherence to the Word of God and to the Reformed Faith and it is time to call a halt to such violations of our God-ordained stand and witness and deal with those guilty of such.

If the sentiments of this article are not the official position of the Free Presbyterian Church, then how was it sanctioned for publication in an official magazine?

Are we to expect exhortations to attend Corrymeela Ecumenical Centre published in the ‘Vision’ next?

I will be circulating a copy of this letter since the sinful error of promoting popery has also been circulated amongst our church members.

Sincere regards,

Ivan Foster
15th July 2024

Britain has elected the most godless parliament in its history

Never was there a truer headline printed in a newspaper than the one reproduced below from ‘The Times’ newspaper, sent to me by a friend!

We cannot agree with every comment, especially the one claiming that Tony Blair is a ‘Christian’ when he, is in fact, a convert to Romanism!

There is just cause for thinking that such a headline should have been used of recent Stormont Assemblies but there is no newspaper here of a mind to see Stormont as such or courage to print an article as this even if they did!

Sincerely in Christ’s name,

Ivan Foster


Britain has elected the most godless parliament in its history

Half the cabinet, including Sir Keir Starmer, chose the non-religious option to profess allegiance to the King

July 05 2024, 11.00am

When Alastair Campbell said “we don’t do God”, it was because he knew that Tony Blair very much did. But as Sir Keir Starmer becomes the first atheist prime minister for decades, Britain has elected the most irreligious parliament in history.

There were 14 Muslim MPs, who swore on the Quran, and Rishi Sunak was one of three MPs to swear on the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu holy book. There are also likely to be a handful of religious MPs, including Tim Farron, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and a Christian, who affirmed because their beliefs prohibit oaths.

The big jump in irreligious MPs was the result of the Labour landslide in which Starmer’s party won 412 MPs. Almost half of Labour MPs — 47 per cent — affirmed, compared with only 9 per cent of Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats, who won a record 72 seats, also had 47 per cent of their MPs make an affirmation. (more…)

The only answer to a distressing situation

I send out this article, centred upon a text which is most suitable when Ulster is marking that day when God in His mercy granted a victory to the forces of William of Orange which providentially, secured for Ulster Protestants the freedom to worship in accordance with the Word of God.

I have to say that sadly, the day will be marked by many Orangemen crowding into public houses, many of which are owned by Irish republicans, in total ignorance of what it was happened on July 12th 1690 or the true significance of that event! They will have carried banners with Scripture texts and some lodges  are even led by one of its members carrying a copy of the Bible as they march in the procession.

But grievingly such symbolism is meaningless to so many Orangemen!

We have surely witnessed the the foundations of our gospel heritage being eroded and destroyed by a departure within the main Protestant denominations

Sincerely in Christ’s name,

Ivan Foster


Polished granite stones, photo by L R on Unsplash

The only answer to a distressing situation

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3.

The circumstances in which “the foundations” of true religion are deemed to be destroyed in a land is set forth in the Psalm.

1. When the believer is as a helpless bird being hunted, as was David in the days of this Psalm. In a day of apostasy the Christian is counted of little value, afforded little honour and deemed an easy target. David’s words to Saul as the king hunted him, are worth repeating. “Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains,” 1 Samuel 26:20.

Nothing is more despised than is the witness of the gospel today. It is for this reason political organisations such as the Democratic Unionist Party seek to cast off the cloak of ‘the old-time religion’ it once was happy to wear because it is now deemed a liability and costing them votes!

2. When the wicked feel that they are free to target the upright. “For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart,” verse 2.

Sadly it is not just the wicked but foolish and blinded professing Christians who ‘shoot’ lies and false criticisms at those who are ‘correct’ in their denunciations of the sins of this age. They whisper and seek to conceal their false and defamatory statements from those they target for they know in their hearts that there is no substance to their allegations!

It is in such circumstances that it may be seen that the ‘foundation, support, stay’ (Hebrew) of true and holy religion has come under attack and ‘been pulled down’.

Is that not the state of affairs today? (more…)