THE GREEN BIBLE (Friday Church News Notes, February 29, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Green Bible, the first environmentally-themed Bible, is scheduled for publication by HarperOne in the fall of this year. Based on the New Revised Standard Version, The Green Bible will use green ink to highlight passages that deal with the environment (which won’t require much green ink!) and will feature commentaries by environmentalists and a “green trail guide” of environmentalist-thinking Christian leaders through history. Mark Tauber, vice president of HarperOne, says: “Going green has become a top concern among many Christians as they begin to see protecting all of creation as a biblical obligation. Our Green Bible offers them a new lens to identify how caring for creation comes right out of the Scriptures” (Christian Retailing Newsletter, Dec. 3, 2007). At the New Baptist Covenant Celebration in Atlanta in January former Vice-President Al Gore was presented with a Green Bible, but it only had a green cover and even Al will have to wait until the fall to get a “real” Green Bible. The Bible does not support the modern environmentalist movement and its frenzy over “global warming.” Bible-believing Christians are not the polluters of the earth and we appreciate clean water and healthy air as much as anyone, but we also know that the earth is under God’s curse because of man’s fall and is destined to be burned up and replaced. That is the “global warming” we need to be most concerned about. We are not going to save the earth, but by God’s grace we can seek to save souls before it is too late. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:9-10).

WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES CELEBRATES 60TH ANNIVERSARY (Friday Church News Notes, February 29, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - At a meeting on February 18 at St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Council of Churches (WCC) celebrated its 60th anniversary. The Council is an international ecumenical union of roughly 340 denominations in 120 countries representing more than 500 million professing Christians. It was formed in 1948 in Amsterdam, Holland. The goal of the World Council is to “move forward towards the manifestation of the one holy church” (The Genesis and Formation of the World Council of Churches, p. 66). This supposed “one holy church” is a figment of a heretical imagination. The Bible warns repeatedly that “Christendom” will become increasingly apostate as Christ’s return draws near. “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13). They will have “a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:5), and will “turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:4). True Bible churches are commanded to remain separate from this error. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). The World Council of Churches is a hotbed of theological heresy. In 2006 the WCC moderator, Walter Altmann, said that ecumenism “extends far beyond the frontiers of the churches and embraces the whole of humankind and the whole created universe” (“Greater Communion Not Minimalist Agenda,” Christian Post, Aug. 28, 2006). The Bible says the created universe is under the curse of God because of sin and will only be set right at the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom. There will be no peace or true justice until Christ returns. As for the “whole of humankind,” it is under the condemnation of sin and every individual that dies without Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the lake of fire. Thus, the urgent task of the churches of Jesus Christ is to rescue men from the judgment to come by preaching the Gospel. The World Council of Churches has replaced Christ’s Great Commission with a humanistic program of socio-political work; the objective of saving souls has been replaced with that of saving the creation. Not surprisingly, the WCC is radically anti-fundamentalist. In 2003 the moderator of the WCC’s Central Committee meeting called fundamentalism “the greatest enemy of religion and the most dangerous force of our times” (Presbyterian Church USA News, Aug. 26, 2003). As the push for unity intensifies, more pressure and persecution will come to nonconformist biblical fundamentalists. For more about the World Council of Churches see http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/wcc.html.

COLDEST WINTER IN DECADES CASTS DOUBT ON GLOBAL WARMING (Friday Church News Notes, February 29, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Global Warming? It’s The Coldest Winter in Decades,” London Daily Express, Feb. 18, 2008: “New evidence has cast doubt on claims that the world’s ice-caps are melting, it emerged last night. Satellite data shows that concerns over the levels of sea ice may have been premature. It was feared that the polar caps were vanishing because of the effects of global warming. But figures from the respected US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that almost all the ‘lost’ ice has come back. ... Figures show that there is nearly a third more ice in Antarctica than is usual for the time of year. The data flies in the face of many current thinkers and will be seized on by climate change sceptics who deny that the world is undergoing global warming. A photograph of polar bears clinging on to a melting iceberg has become one of the most enduring images in the campaign against climate change. It was used by former US Vice President Al Gore during his Inconvenient Truth lectures about mankind’s impact on the world. But scientists say the northern hemisphere has endured its coldest winter in decades.”

CONTINUING PERSECUTION IN CHINA (Friday Church News Notes, February 29, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from China Aid Mission, Feb. 21, 2008: “China Aid has learned that the President of the Inner Mongolia Branch of the Chinese House church Alliance, Wang Dawei, was detained along with more than 40 co-workers on Wednesday, February 20, 2008. The leaders were in the 3rd day of Bible study when more than 100 Police officers from the State Security Bureau and members of the Religious Affairs Bureau disrupted the meeting and detained the ministers. Police officials also confiscated the offering collection and more than 30 boxes of Bibles and other Christian literature. Security Bureau members then searched the personal residence of Wang Dawei later on in the afternoon. The leader of the meeting, a South Korean minister, was also detained during the incident, his whereabouts remain unknown. The intensity of persecution amongst members of the Chinese House Church Alliance continues to increase as the Beijing Olympics draw near. This latest incident highlights the hypocrisy of Chinese officials who promote a ‘Harmonious Society’ while simultaneously persecuting innocent and patriotic citizens such as Wang Dawei and others. We urge the Chinese Government to release these Christians and remain consistent with its own rhetoric on Religious freedom and rule of law.”

CHURCH HOSTS RAUCOUS FASHION SHOW (Friday Church News Notes, February 29, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Victory Church in Amarillo, Texas, hosted its third annual Fashionably Loud event on February 24, featuring fashion models, rock and hip hop music, light shows, break dancing, an electric guitar battle, and other things. The fashions included very low-cut necklines, short skirts, bare midriffs, punk hair styles, tight pants, you name it. The church’s senior pastor, David Brown, said, “It helps us to suggest to people that Christians are not living in another world, but the same one everyone else lives in and that Christians can be interested in fashion. Christians can be Christians and yet trendy too” (“Victory Church Is Letter It’s Hair Down,” Amarillo.com, Feb. 23, 2008). Mike Eminger, associate pastor of student ministries, said: “We will challenge the attendees with the fact that God has fashioned us and that he wants us to live loud, full lives.” In fact, God wants His people to live meek and holy lives. Christian women are to adorn themselves in “modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety” (1 Timothy 2:9) and with “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4), which is the diametrically opposed to the worldly fashions. Christians are indeed supposed to live in another world. We are exhorted, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2), and, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (1 John 2:15), and, “be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). The “grace” preached by the contemporary churches is not the true grace of Christ, which teaches us to “deny ungodliness and worldly lusts” (Titus 2:12). The apostle warned of false teachers “whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, WHO MIND EARTHLY THINGS” (Philippians 3:19). Few things would be more out of place in the church of Jesus Christ than a modern fashion show. What carnal, blasphemous foolishness!

ISLAM AT THE BALLOT BOX (Friday Church News Notes, February 29, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Amir Taheri, “Islam at the Ballot Box,” Wall Street Journal Asian edition, Feb. 22, 2008: “Pakistan’s election has been portrayed by the Western media as a defeat for President Pervez Musharraf. The real losers were the Islamist parties. The latest analysis of the results shows that the parties linked, or at least sympathetic, to the Taliban and al Qaeda say their share of the votes slashed to about 3% from almost 11% in the last general election a few years ago. The largest coalition of the Islamist parties, the United Assembly for Action (MMA) lost control of the Northwest Frontier Province--the only one of Pakistan’s four provinces it governed. The winner in the province is the avowedly secularist National Awami Party. Despite vast sums of money spent by the Islamic Republic in Tehran and wealthy Arabs from the Persian Gulf states, the MMA failed to achieve the ‘approaching victory’ that Islamist candidates, both Shiite and Sunni, had boasted was coming. The Islamist defeat in Pakistan confirms a trend that’s been under way for years. . ... So far, no Islamist party has managed to win a majority of the popular vote in any of the Muslim countries where reasonably clean elections are held. If anything, the Islamist share of the vote has been declining across the board. [The rest of the article documents the situation in Jordan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Algeria, Kuwait, and other places.] Far from rejecting democracy because it is supposed to be ‘alien,’ or using it as a means of creating totalitarian Islamist systems, a majority of Muslims have repeatedly shown that they like elections, and would love to join the global mainstream of democratization.”

ROCK AND ROLL JESUS (Friday Church News Notes, February 29, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Kid Rock’s October 2007 CD was blasphemously titled “Rock and Roll Jesus.” The lyrics included the following: “It’s a Rock revival/ Don’t need a suit/ Ya don’t need a bible/ Get up and dance/ I’m gonna set you free yeah/ It’s all sex, drugs, rock n roll/ A soul sensation that you can’t control/ And you can see I practice what I preach/ I’m your rock n roll Jesus Yes I am.” Kid Rock is a rocker but he is also listed on the Country Music Television’s list of artists and is a close friend with Hank Williams Jr. In November 2007 Kid Rock joined others at Universal Studios Hollywood in a televised tribute to Hank, whose edifying hits include “There’s a Tear in My Beer” and “All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down.” This country music party featured a jug of moonshine liquor that “was passed around by all the good ol’ boys.” Beware of country music. It is as sorry as rock but its thin veneer of “God and country” makes it more palatable to some backslidden Christians.

THE SOVIET UNION’S BRASH CLAIM (Friday Church News Notes, February 29, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In 1982 the Soviet Union bragged that its space program had disproved the existence of God. The following statement appeared in the December 1982 edition of the Reader’s Digest: “Our rocket has bypassed the moon. It is nearing the sun. We’ve not discovered God. We’ve turned lights out in heaven that no man will be able to put on again. We’ll break the yoke of the gospel, the opium of the masses. Let us go forth and Christ shall be lowered to mythology.” Twenty-five years later, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is going strong, saving those that believe throughout the world, whereas the Soviet Union no longer exists. “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure” (Psalm 2:1-5).