The following is another installment of the Friday Church News Notes designed especially for use in churches. It is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

HOMOSEXUAL DENOMINATION GROWING. Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2003 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), which is a denomination of homosexual congregations, claims 44,000 members in 23 countries. The MCC was founded in 1968 by Troy Perry, an excommunicated Pentecostal pastor. Perry’s misguided message is that homosexuality is a natural condition and that God does not require homosexuals to change. He claims that Jesus Christ did not say anything against homosexuality, but in reality Jesus Christ is the Author of the entire Bible, and it has a lot to say against this moral perversion. In Romans 1 alone homosexuality is called “vile affections” (v. 26), “against nature” (v. 26), “unseemly” (v. 27), “error” (v. 27), “a reprobate mind” (v. 28), “not convenient” (v. 28). The very existence of the Metropolitan Community Churches is evidence that the church age is far advanced and that the hour is exceedingly late (2 Tim. 3-4; 2 Pet. 3).

ANGLICAN BISHOP QUESTIONED BY POLICE FOR SUGGESTING THAT HOMOSEXUALS SHOULD SEEK PSYCHIATRIC HELP. Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2003 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Bishop Peter Forster, Anglican Bishop of Chester, in England, was investigated by police because he suggested that some homosexuals could “reorientate themselves” with the help of psychiatry. After Forster’s statement appeared in the Chester Chronicle, a complaint was made to the police, who investigated the matter. A copy of the article was also sent to the Crown Prosecution Service “to see if any offence has been committed” (BBC News, Nov. 9, 2003). Forster is one of nine bishops who wrote to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams earlier this year to oppose the appointment of homosexual Jeffrey John as Bishop of Oxford. Forster’s statement brought vicious and angry remarks from Richard Kirker, General Secretary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. He said, “It is those who think like Dr. Forster -- not gays and lesbians -- who have a problem. Psychiatrists and doctors have long since abandoned any belief that homosexuality is an illness that could be cured. Only Christian fundamentalists devote their energies in this direction. Dr. Forster’s prejudices will not be solved by a visit to the doctor, nor will lesbian and gay people go away and get ‘cured’ to help him live with them.” It is not psychiatry that homosexuals need; it is regeneration through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

INDIA PREPARES ANTI-CONVERSION RULE. Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2003 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - India’s government, led by the radical Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has published a new national law to discourage conversion from one religion to another. The law requires that anyone desiring to change religion must apply for permission from a government official. Without written permission, the person will not be allowed to convert and could be fined 1,000 Indian rupees ($22) per day. The law appears to be aimed at limiting the conversion of Dalits, the outcaste Hindus who are converting to other religions at rapid rates these days. The new law places a great difficulty upon these people, because they are largely illiterate and therefore are easily manipulated and abused by the infamously corrupt government authorities. India’s Supreme Court ruled in September that there is no “fundamental right to convert” and that the government can impose restrictions on conversions. Instead of making such rules against conversion, the Bharatiya Janata Party should acknowledge that it is Hinduism, with its inhumane caste system, that has kept these people in bondage and squalor for centuries.

PRESIDENT BUSH PRAISES HOMOSEXUAL CHURCH. Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2003 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the founding of the homosexual Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), President George Bush sent a letter praising them. The letter stated, “By encouraging the celebration of faith and sharing of God’s love and boundless mercy, churches like yours put hope in people’s hearts and a sense of purpose in their lives.” From this, it is obvious that President Bush does not believe the Bible, which states plainly that sinners must repent before they can be saved. The MCC claims that God accepts their homosexuality as natural and that they do not have to repent of it. They are also on a campaign to change America’s laws to allow homosexual marriage.

POLL INDICATES THAT CATHOLICS IN AMERICA ACCEPT IMMORALITY. Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2003 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - According to a new poll, two-thirds of the Catholics in America approve of premarital sex. The Washington-Post-ABC News poll was based on telephone interviews conducted from October 9-13. Other findings: Six in 10 support the death penalty, 505 support homosexuality, and 30% say abortion is morally acceptable. About two-thirds said priests should be allowed to marry and women should be eligible for ordination.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND ELECTS FIRST FEMALE MODERATOR. Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2003 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Church of Scotland has elected its first female moderator since it was founded in the 1500s. Alison Elliot, who will assume the office next May, is married with two children.

PERSECUTION CONTINUES IN EGYPT. Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2003 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from the Barnabas Fund News, Oct. 28: “Some 22 Christians, many secret converts from Islam to Christianity, have been arrested by police since 21 October in a disturbing new crackdown on apostates and their supporters in Egypt. The Christians have been taken from Alexandria to police stations in Cairo and are being beaten, interrogated and tortured. The dramatic crackdown began on Tuesday 21 October with the arrests of two converts Mr. Yusuf Samuel Makari Suliman (whose former Muslim name was Muhammad Ahmad Imam al-Kurdi) and his wife Mrs. Mariam Girgis Makar (formerly Saher As-Sayid Abd al-Rani). The following day some seven others were also arrested and taken to the office of the Attorney General. Yesterday (23 October) the number rose to 22 as more and more converts and Christians who have tried to assist them were rounded up and arrested in dramatic sweeps by police. Local Christians fear the arrests will continue and many other converts from Islam, who have been living quietly as Christians may now be arrested in the next few days. The 22 are all being charged with falsifying ID papers.”

TEENS SAY VIDEO GAME INCITED THEM TO SHOOTING SPREE. Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2003 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org, http://www.wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On June 25, two teenage stepbrothers went on a shooting spree along Interstate 40 in Tennessee in imitation of the video game Grand Theft Auto III. In this strange and violent game, which has sold more than 25 million copies, players shoot at moving cars. 45-year-old Aaron Hamel was killed and 19-year-old Kimberly Bede was seriously wounded in the shootings. A group of families has filed a $246 million lawsuit against Take-Two, the maker of the popular game, plus Sony Corporation and Wal-Mart, the distributors. The Entertainment Software Association said there is no evidence to suggest that violent games lead to violent behavior, claiming that “blaming video games is misguided and counterproductive” (Baptist Press, Oct. 27). To the contrary, there is no doubt that things such as video games, rock music, and television programs have the power to modify behavior. If this were not the case, corporations would not spend millions of dollars on advertising.