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The Caleb Foundation, created in 1998,〔(''The News Letter'' ), interview with Wallace Thompson, 4 February 2011〕 is one of the leading creationist pressure groups in Northern Ireland. It also lobbies on a range of social policy issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage from an evangelical Protestant perspective, and has been particularly influential with Democratic Unionist Party ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive.〔("Creationist Bible group and its web of influence at Stormont" ), Liam Clarke, ''Belfast Telegraph'' 1 September 2012〕 The Foundation describes its mission as "promoting the fundamentals of the historic evangelical Protestant faith".〔(Caleb Foundation ) website〕 ==Structure, leadership and influence== The Foundation was launched at a meeting held in the Park Avenue Hotel, Belfast on 16 October 1998,〔(''News from the Front'' ), Take Heed Ministries, December 1998〕 following an initial meeting in Ballymoney in February 1998 attended by delegates from a number of small evangelical Protestant churches. It is not a membership organisation.〔 The Foundation is led by a "Council of Reference" including ministers, pastors and other activists from a variety of small Protestant sects. The largest single denomination represented is the Free Presbyterian Church founded by Rev. Ian Paisley,〔〔 with others including the Congregational Union of Ireland, the Evangelical Presbyterian, Independent Methodist, Baptist, Reformed Presbyterian, Congregational Reformed and Elim Pentecostal churches, the Church of the Nazarene and the Evangelical Protestant Society. Prominent members of the Council (in 2012) include Ron Johnstone, who succeeded Paisley as leader of the Free Presbyterian Church; DUP MLA Mervyn Storey, also a Free Presbyterian; Philip Campbell, Convenor of the Public Morals Committee of the Congregational Union, and Free Presbyterian minister Alan Smylie,〔 who conducted the funeral service for Shankill Butcher Robert Bates.〔Steve Bruce, ''Paisley: Religion and Politics in Northern Ireland'', Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 221〕 Its first chairman, until his death in 2007, was George Dawson, an activist in Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and subsequently a DUP MLA. Dawson was Grand Master of the Independent Orange Order and Treasurer of the Evangelical Protestant Society.〔 On his death, Rev. William Park became acting chairman.〔 Its secretary for some time after the launch in 1998, David McConaghie (then an Elim pastor, subsequently a Free Presbyterian minister), acted until late 2012 as its press spokesman, and held other offices in the Foundation's Council of Reference. Wallace Thompson of the Evangelical Protestant Society, who had been the Foundation's treasurer since 1998,〔 succeeded as chairman of the Foundation in September 2009,〔(''Belfast Telegraph'' ) news report, 28 September 2009〕 Park becoming vice-chairman.〔 Thompson, who was a founding member of the DUP, is also an Orangeman, a former Northern Ireland Office civil servant, and a former ministerial adviser to Nigel Dodds. It was while employed in the last role, in 2008, that Thompson in a radio interview denounced the Pope as the Antichrist.〔 Thompson is a member of the Public Morals Committee of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.〔 The secretary of the Foundation is Rev. Philip Campbell, Congregational minister in Coleraine. who replaced Rev Robert McEvoy in June 2013. This change formed part of an organisational re-structuring of the Foundation with the establishment of a steering committee which is empowered to make decisions and respond to events. Documenting the influence of the Foundation within Northern Ireland unionist politics, and particularly the DUP, the ''Belfast Telegraph'' noted in 2012 that politicians close to it included Northern Ireland health minister Edwin Poots, Minister for Social Development Nelson McCausland, junior minister Jonathan Bell, Diane Dodds MEP, Gregory Campbell MP, David Simpson MP, Paul Givan MLA, Stephen Moutray MLA (and mayor of Craigavon), Jim Allister, leader of Traditional Unionist Voice and TUV press officer and East Antrim parliamentary candidate Sammy Morrison.〔 A leading ''Belfast Telegraph'' journalist wrote on another occasion that "Caleb plays a role within the DUP analogous to the old Militant tendency within the Labour party."〔() Liam Clarke, "Why Good Book could be bad news for DUP", ''Belfast Telegraph'', 7 June 2010〕Also in 2012, the ''Irish Daily Star'' noted that Caleb "claims a support base of 200,000 evangelicals" and asked whether it had "overtaken the Orange Order as the most influential pressure group within Unionism".〔("Caleb Foundation is on a mission" ), John Coulter, ''Irish Daily Star'', n.d. 2012〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Caleb Foundation」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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