Institute For Christian Studies (ICS) Cuts Ties With The CRCNA After Denomination Bans Queer Affirmation
The Institute For Christian Studies (ICS) has voted to cut ties with the Christian Reformed Church (CRCNA) after the denomination banned queer affirmation as a matter of binding doctrine, according to a press release by the now-exposed-as liberal organization.
The ICS is a “community-supported graduate school in the Kuyperian stream of the Reformed tradition” in Toronto, Ontario, that has spent the last 50 years “promot(ing) a radically Christian approach to the scholarly task in interdisciplinary philosophy and theology, developing leaders for the academy and other areas of service, and enhancing the cultural discernment of believers.”
Founded by several prominent CRCNA pastors, their “about” page reads:
We continue to prepare new generations who will birth ideas that move the Christian community closer to the Lord of all, that breathe the air of the Holy Bible and of the Christ therein revealed.
And:
We describe our approach to scholarship as “reformational.” This means several things. First, we work as conscious heirs to the stream in the Reformed intellectual tradition that goes by this name (also described as Kuyperian or neo-Calvinist). Second, we seek to engage schools of thought and cultural movements (such as Thomism, postmodernism, liberalism, pragmatism, critical theory and feminism) with critical fairness, to learn from their insights as well as to counter their distortions of truth. Third, we subject our own assumptions to critical evaluation, as disciples committed to ongoing reformation (semper reformanda).
Apparently not.
In an open letter signed by ICS President Ronald Kuipers and Board Chairman Dan Beerens, they’ve announced that they’re abandoning their long-time partner, the CRCNA, after the CRCNA released their Human Sexuality Report (HSR), which elevated their opposition to homosexuality into becoming part of their confession.
Convicted by this spirit, we found our hearts broken as we watched and listened to the last several Synods of the CRCNA silence parishioners who oppose the CRCNA’s adoption of the Human Sexuality Report (HSR) and, by giving it doctrinal status, effectively expel all those whose Christian consciences call them to dissent from the HSR and its conclusions. Because of our concern for these persons as well as for the overall well-being of LGBTQ+ people in the church, we decided that we could not support a denominatio nthat shuts down difficult conversations. For this reason, on January 15, 2025, the ICS Board of Trustees voted to discontinue ICS’s status as a Denominationally-Related Educational Institution of the CRCNA.
For us, the inclusion of sexual minorities is part and parcel of the healing and transformation God calls us to enact. Scripture gives many examples of God’s people dramatically reforming traditional positions in their efforts to be faithful to this same ethical call. In kindred spirit, we strive to honour the image of God in LGBTQ+ persons. We believe that, in so doing, we can both help end the needless harm inflicted on persecuted sexual minorities and affirm the blessings these persons bring to the Church and wider society.”
The conclude:
While our convictions compel us to take this step in faith, we do not believe that this decision marks the end of ICS’s role serving the reformed community. For years, many reformed congregations and parishioners have walked alongside us, debated with us, listened to us, and supported us. We still consider our institution to belong to these people. For this reason, we plan to expand our lifelong learning offerings to serve all those who seek a safe place to wrestle with their most pressing moral and spiritual questions.
h/t to @WokePreacherTV for the story.
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It’s exciting to watch God weed out the apostates and tares.