T&S Revisited
Moving Forward by Looking Back.
The aim of this website is to revisit past articles from Trowel and Sword magazines which were published between 1954 and 2010. For a brief introduction including reasons for starting this blog Click here .
(Click on the title to read the full article)
Lessons From The Nineteenth Century (I)
Prof. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. August 1966 Preamble: “One of the problems of our time is that so many people have so little interest in history”. So wrote Klaas Runia in this first of two articles in 1966 (Paragraph 3). He went on to explain why this was regrettable 60 years ago, and by…
In Search Of A Christian Radicalism
(Editorial Paragraphs) J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. December 1971 Preamble: It is three years to the day that Pieter and I launched our new website, “Trowel & Sword Revisited” – (tsrevisited.com); a very basic website dedicated to republishing articles previously published in Trowel & Sword, the denominational magazine of the Christian Reformed Church of Australia,…
“Get On With It, Mate!”
Arent de Graaf. Trowel & Sword. March 1987 Preamble: Dates can be very restricting. Take Christmas for instance. In the weeks leading up to that particular day, churches, preachers and Christians tend to focus on the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. But once the celebrations are over, seldom does it rate a…
The Space Age And Our Faith
Prof. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. August 1960 Preamble: “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” All dedicated ‘Trekkies’ will immediately recognise these words as…
Compulsory Reading For English
(A Letter To The editor) Angie Rendle-Short. Trowel & Sword. October 1971 Preamble: While reading last week’s article, “The Catcher In The Rye”, it may have occurred to some of our readers to wonder why this article was written in the first place; after all, it may have appeared to come out of left field…
The Catcher In The Rye
J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. October 1971 Preamble: While searching for articles to include in T&S Revisited I came across a debate from 1971 that had a profound impact on me. It concerned the use of “Catcher in the Rye” as a high school text. At the time I was at University preparing to become…
Everybody Talkin’ ‘Bout Love Ain’t Lovin’
Olive Wilkinson. Trowel and Sword. November 1971 Preamble: What is love? There are times when I/we think we know exactly what love is and other times when I/we haven’t got the faintest idea. Case in point – a man who might say to his wife (or vice versa), “I love you but I don’t like…
The Rev Aubrey P.F. Hoffman
13 July, 1955 – 21 December, 1988 Peter G. van Dam, Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1989With contributions by Willem Schultink & Jessamine Remminga (nee Schultink) Preamble: What do you do when your best friend is killed in a traffic accident? When your daughter just survives the accident? When they are on the road to doing…
A Tale Of Sheep And Drovers
John Zylstra. Trowel & Sword. March 1987 Preamble: This poetic masterpiece was published in T&S not that long after I started a new job where, on the first day, I was advised by the Foreman not to do any more than the next bloke. It’s funny the things you remember. Has anything really changed in…
Kyrie Eleison (Lord, Have Mercy On Us) Contrition in Worship
Bill Deenick. Trowel & Sword. March 1987 Preamble: Background – When the Psalter Hymnal was no longer readily available from the U.S., the decision was made to produce a hymnal for The Australian Church. The first edition of the “Book of Worship”, produced in 1981, consisted of a brown, loose leaf folder containing three separate…
Australia – Mission Accomplished?
George Van Groningen. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1987 Preamble: The author, Dr. George Van Groningen served the R.C.A. (now C.R.C.A) and R.T.C. from 1958-1971, after which he and his family returned to the U.S. During 1986 he returned to Australia to lecture in Old Testament at the R.T.C. The following article was written by Dr.…
Ballad Of The Common Cup
Mike Vanden Bosch. Trowel & Sword. November 1988From the Magazine “Reformed Worship” Preamble: While many of the articles in Trowel & Sword tended to be weighty, theological treatises, (perhaps contributing to a common idea that T&S was mainly a magazine by ministers for ministers), we do sometimes come across an item such as the following…
The Pain of Separation: “De Afscheiding”
Rev. Henk DeWaard. Trowel & Sword. Oct. 1984 Preamble: History! What is of greater concern? That history is often re-written to conform to the narrative of the day or that history is totally ignored? Have you ever heard of ‘The Great Emu War Of Australia?’ Perhaps the greatest concern of all is that history simply…
Prophetic Gifts? (Lining Up)
Keith Warren. Trowel & Sword. November 1984 Preamble: Look again at the date of this article – 1984. For those familiar with George Orwell’s novel titled “1984” and first published in 1949, it should come as no surprise that Keith Warren chose to write an article on prophecy/prophetic gifts in that year. It’s a very…
Discussion On The Sunday
(Editorial Paragraphs) Prof. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. June 1966 Preamble: If we were able to ask Prof. Runia about it today he would probably admit that he was surprised by the depth and passion of Rev. Deenick’s response to his articles on “Sunday Observance and Sunday Labour”. Likewise, if we were able to talk…
Confusion Around The Lord’s Day (3)
THE SABBATH Made For man Rev. J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. May 1966 Jesus and the Sabbath.In Mark 2:27 we found this word of the Lord Jesus: “the sabbath was made for man” and I ventured to suggest that when the Lord Jesus said “for man” he meant “for man” and not “for the Israelites…
Confusion Around The Lord’s Day (2)
THE SABBATH AND THE JUDAISERS Rev. J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. April 1966 In our issue of March I promised to deal somewhat further with the question whether it is correct to assume, as it is assumed, that Paul teaches the cancellation of the fourth commandment (or part of it, or certain aspects of it)…
Confusion Around The Lord’s Day (1)
Rev. J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. March 1966 Preamble: Bill Deenick begins his response to Klass Runia’s articles, “Sunday Observance and Sunday Labour”. Confusion Around The Lord’s Day (1) 1. The point of tradition. Professor Runia announced that I would contribute a few articles to Trowel and Sword on the sabbath question and that I…
Life Under The Sun
The Book Of Ecclesiastes Peter Howe. Creation Magazine. October 2024 Preamble: You may recall that we foreshadowed an Easter Special Edition of T&S earlier this year and sought articles for inclusion. In anticipation, we approached Creation Ministries International for permission to include this article which I had found to be of particular value and interest.…
Sunday Observance and Sunday Labour (4)
K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1966 It will be clear to all readers of the previous articles in this series that in my opinion (based on my understanding of Scripture and in conformity with the attitude of the Early Church) the observance of the Sunday, as we are used to it, is a matter…
Sunday Observance and Sunday Labour (3)
K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. December 1965 When we turn to the OLD TESTAMENT, we immediately observe that there is a very strong emphasis on the sabbath. It does not only have a very prominent place in the Decalogue (it is the longest of all the commandments), but also in other parts of the 0.T.…
Sunday Observance and Sunday Labour (2)
K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. November 1965 When we study the NEW TESTAMENT concerning its teaching about the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Sunday, we soon discover several remarkable features. (1) There is HARDLY ANY MENTION OF THE SUNDAY in the New Testament. Twice we read of ‘the first day of the week’ (Acts 20:7…
Sunday Observance and Sunday Labour
(1) K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. October 1965 Preamble: This week we begin a series of articles dealing with the complex and weighty issue of the observance of the “Day of Rest” – the sabbath. The older generation will recall that in the 60’s, the vast majority of shops and businesses closed their doors at…
Where Are The leaders? (IV)
J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. October 1963 IS NATURALISATION COMPROMISE? Preamble: In this final instalment of “Where Are The Leaders” Rev. Deenick considers the issues of citizenship, naturalisation and of course, politics. While the nature of the debate seems somewhat mundane by today’s standards, immigration and citizenship in recent times has again become a hot…
Where Are The Leaders? (III)
Are We Compromising? J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. August 1963 Preamble: In preparing this preamble we thought about some of the colloquialisms that could be applied to Bill Deenick. Here are some examples:He not only talked the talk but also walked the walk.He didn’t beat around the bush.He called a spade a spade – or…
Where Are The leaders (II)
Rev. J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. June 1963. Preamble: Having taken a month to consider his position on the question posed in last week’s article, Bill was ready to begin giving his answer. One of our readers, Henriet, commented: “I look forward to Rev. Deenick’s next instalment – his answer to some challenging questions.” Here…
Where Are The Leaders? (Question Box)
J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. May 1963 Preamble: One of the benefits of Trowel and Sword, particularly in the early years, was that readers were able to send in questions and/or opinions to the editors about matters that were of concern to them. As a young denomination, made up mostly of immigrants from the Netherlands,…
Preface To Volume Eight
Editorial Paragraphs K Runia. Trowel & Sword, October 1961 Preamble: At the beginning of the eighth year of publication, the then editor, Prof. K. Runia gave some insight into the thought, planning and aspiration that went into the development of the still fledgling magazine, Trowel & Sword. Even then the concept of “Moving Forward By…
Good News … Bad News (Meditation)
Rev. Ben Aldridge. Trowel & Sword. March 1991 Preamble: When growing up I was as confused about Easter, and particularly Good Friday, as the older member of Ben’s congregation mentioned below. I think I can confidently say that we weren’t the only ones confused. It comes under the heading of: ‘Questions we don’t know the…
Opportunity knocks. Are You Answering The Door?
Pastor David Groenenboom. Trowel & Sword. April 2002 Preamble: The 1989 movie “Dead Poets Society” starring the late Robin Williams highlighted the catch cry “Carpe Diem – Seize the day”. This in a nutshell is the message that David brings to us in this pointed article. We are often not good at taking opportunities as…
In The U.S. – When President Kennedy Was Assassinated
Rev. G. Van Groningen. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1964 Preamble: Occasionally an event occurs so momentous that most people remember where they were and what they were doing when they first heard the news. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy was such an event. Aside from the obvious ramifications of the event itself, Pieter…
Christ Singing In The Psalms
Tim Vanderstoep. Trowel & Sword. December 2010 Preamble: This week’s article, “Christ Singing In The Psalms” is the result of a request by Rita de Waard. As mentioned each week we are grateful for any feedback we receive from our weekly posts, including requests for past T&S articles which may have had an impact on…
The Problem Of War (2)
Herman Bavink (Translated by Rev. Steven Voorwinde) Trowel & Sword. Nov. 1975 (Continued From Last Week’s Post) These utterances of Christ clearly imply that there are spiritual possessions which are of much greater value than prosperity and peace. The commands of the moral law are not all on the same level, but occupy a different…
The Problem Of War
Herman Bavinck (Translated from Dutch by Rev. Steven Voorwinde) Trowel & Sword. Oct 1975 Preamble: It has often been said that there are only two certainties in life – death and taxes. There is a third certainty that few would argue against – WAR. God’s intervention at Babel to create division among the people of…
The Church And The World
Trowel & Sword. November 1963 Preamble: “The Church and the World” was a statement issued by THE REFORMED ECUMENICAL SYNOD, which met in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A., August 7-16, 1963. In it the synod expressed its concern at the “increasing alienation of modern man from the church” in a self examination of the the Church’s…
Trowel And Sword -The Early Years
Dick Vander Pijl. Trowel & Sword. 1965 Preamble: If the title of this article and its contents sound familiar, they should be. This was the opening article of our recently published (December) Trowel & Sword – Special Edition. Why publish it again? Because like the Auckland brethren responsible for getting the ball rolling for the…
The Power Of The Written Word
Prof. A. Barkley. Trowel & Sword. March 1958 Preamble: WARNING! Do not read the first line of this article, assume that it is about television and stop reading. It’s not! And it’s not a warning about Soviet Russia and Communists. It is rather a call to arms, both in 1958 and to us in 2026.…
Addiction To Self – The Problem
David Groenenboom. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb. 1999 Preamble: In his opening statement Davis names “Addiction to Self” as the “…biggest threat to the western Church at the end of the 20th century.” He also writes that it has been a problem since Adam. It would therefore be safe to say that it is just as…
The Rights Of Your And My Children
Prof. G. van Groningen. Trowel & Sword. October 1965 Preamble: Children – They are a blessing from God, but how often do we see them as an inconvenience or, dare I say it, even a source of annoyance when it comes to church life and/or the worship service? Children misbehaving or babies crying are often…
Editorial Paragraph – March 1958
Prof K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. March 1958 Preamble: We begin this week’s edition with recent feedback received from readers of both “Trowel & Sword – Special Edition” and “Trowel & Sword Revisited”. Our reason for doing this will become evident when you read this week’s short post written way back in March 1958 by…
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