DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

NEW TECHNOLOGY TO ALLOW MOTHERS TO HOLD MODELS OF UNBORN BABIES (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A new technology being tested in Brazil allows mothers to hold a life-sized model of their unborn children. The invention uses 3D printing technology to create plaster models with data converted from high-tech ultrasound and MRI scans. The technology is on exhibition at the Royal College of Art in London (“Invention Allows Pregnant Women,” London Times, June 26, 2009). Brazilian designer Jorge Lopes is developing simple software that doctors can use. By the 12th week of pregnancy, the baby’s arms and legs are formed and its vital organs are functioning. It can swallow, bend its arms, twist its wrists and elbows, clench and open its fists, and it tiny face is animated.

DAWKINS SPONSORS FIRST SUMMER CAMP FOR ATHEISM (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Richard Dawkins, author of “The God Delusion,” sponsored England’s first summer camp to promote atheism among children. The “It’s Beyond Belief” camp, which ran this week, was for children aged eight to 17, featured lessons in evolution and a sing-along to John Lennon’s song “Imagine,” which envisions no religion, no heaven, and no hell (“Dawkins Sets up Kids’ Camp to Groom Atheists,” The Sunday Times, June 28, 2009). Though most of the doctrine and practice that flies under the banner of religion in this world is mythical, there is a Creator God and there is a heaven and a hell. The Bible makes no attempt to prove the existence of God for the very reason that man knows instinctively that He exists. It is a fact that is written in nature and upon man’s very heart. The Bible says, further, that it is the fool that says there is no God (Psalm 14:1; 53:1).

FORMER GITMO DETAINEE ACCUSED OF KILLING THREE MISSIONARIES (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from OneNewsNow, June 23, 2009: “A best-selling author and critic of Islam says he can't understand why U.S. President Barack Obama and the United Nations are not expressing more outrage over the execution-style murder of three Christian missionaries in Yemen, apparently by al Qaeda. According to a spokesman from the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, nine foreign nationals--four German adults, three small German children, a British man, and a South Korean woman--were abducted on June 12 after they ventured outside the city of Saada without their required police escorts. Days later the bodies of German nurses Rita Stumpp and Anita Gruenwald, and Eom Young-sun of South Korea were found shot execution style in an area known to be a hotbed of Al Qaeda activity. The fate of the remaining six abducted people remains a mystery. Terrorism experts say the crimes bear the mark of Al Qaeda, and they fear they are the handiwork of the international terror organization's number two man in the Arabian Peninsula--Said Ali al-Shihri, an Islamic terrorist who once was in American custody but who was released from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Robert Spencer is, director of Jihad Watch, says this illustrates the folly of Obama’s plan to close GITMO and release potentially dangerous prisoners. ‘Freeing some of them is unconscionable, and essentially criminal.’”

“FEEL LIKE GOD” ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Bajaj motorcycle company in India has launched an advertising campaign to encourage riders that they can “Feel Like God” if they purchase the 200cc Avenger. (Motorcycles in India are typically 100-125cc.). The blasphemy of the campaign is obvious, but what a pathetically small idea these people have of God! Well does the Bible prophesy, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy ... heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-2, 4).

CHRISTIAN WOMAN REPORTEDLY EXECUTED IN NORTH KOREA (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Activists Claim Christian Woman Executed,” Associated Press, July 24, 2009: “North Korea publicly executed a Christian woman last month for distributing the Bible, which is banned in the communist nation, South Korean activists said Friday. Ri Hyon Ok, 33, was also accused of spying for South Korea and the United States and organizing dissidents. She was executed in the northwestern city of Ryongchon near the border with China on June 16, according to a report from an alliance of several dozen anti-North Korea groups. Ri’s parents, husband and three children were sent to a political prison camp in the northeastern city of Hoeryong the following day, the report said, citing unidentified documents it says were obtained from North Korea. ... ‘North Korea appears to have judged that Christian forces could pose a threat to its regime,’ Do Hee-youn, a leading activist, told reporters, claiming public executions, arrest and detention of North Koreans are prevalent. The Investigative Commission On Crime Against Humanity also alleged in its report that in March, North Korean security agents arrested Seo Kum Ok, 30, another Christian, in a city near Ryongchon and tortured her. The agents alleged she was attempting to spy on a nuclear site and hand over the evidence to South Korea and the U.S. The report said it remains unclear whether she survived. Her husband was also arrested and their two children disappeared, it said.”

TEN CHRISTIANS MURDERED THIS YEAR IN SOMALIA (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from The Baptist Press, July 22, 2009: “Islamic militants in Somalia have killed eight Christians this year, along with two sons of a Christian leader, according to reports by Reuters Africa and Compass Direct News. Nine of the 10 victims were beheaded, according to the reports. The killings stem from the push by extremist al Shabaab insurgents to topple Somalia’s West-leaning transitional government and to enforce sharia (Islamic) law in areas they control in the African nation’s capital, Mogadishu, and in southern Somalia, according to the reports. ... Compass [stated] that al Shabaab, buttressed by foreign fighters reportedly with ties to al-Qaida, is monitoring converts from Islam and is intent on ‘cleansing’ Christians ‘especially [from areas] where Christian workers had provided medical aid’ through a former Christian-operated hospital.”

CHINA SLIGHTLY MODIFYING ITS ONE-CHILD POLICY (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - For residents of Shanghai and other large cities, the government of China is slightly relaxing its one-child policy and is urging couples to have two children “if the husband and wife are themselves only children” (Agence France-Press, July 24, 2009). The objective is to “reduce the proportion of the ageing people and alleviate a workforce shortage in the future.” People over 60 make up 22% of the Shanghai’s population today and that is expected to grow to 34% in ten years. China estimates that its one-child policy, which was implemented in 1979, has resulted in 400 million fewer births. As a result of parents choosing to abort girls in favor of boys, there is a shortage of wives.

CNN REJECTS AD FEATURING U.S. ASTRONAUTS OPPOSING ABORTION (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Astronauts Launch New Pro-Life Commercial,” LifeNews.com, July 16, 2009: “A pro-life group whose first two television commercials were rejected by NBC and CNN has unveiled a new ad that promote the potential of human life. The ads feature clips of astronaut Neil Armstrong and they have the support of top astronauts Dr. Joseph Kerwin and Gene Krantz. Featuring video images of a 3-D ultrasound of an unborn baby, a message shows saying, ‘At 5 weeks, his heart will beat, at 9 weeks his feet will form, at 80 weeks he will take his first step.’ The images move to a scene of Armstrong landing on the moon and audio of his famous words saying it was ‘one giant leap for mankind.’ The message concludes, ‘at 2,024 weeks ... Life, Imagine the Potential.’ Dr. Joseph Kerwin, the first American doctor in outer space, joined other former NASA greats yesterday at a press conference sponsored by the Catholic pro-life group Fidelis ... The event commemorated ... the fortieth anniversary of Apollo 11’s historic landing on the moon.”

PARENTS, DEMAND OBEDIENCE (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “Let me suggest to you three major, absolute, axiomatic rules for your family. Do not tolerate any deviation from these basic rules. Each is based in biblical precept and each goes to the very heart of doing right. (1) We always obey. Few things in family life are more fundamental than teaching children to obey. We positively, absolutely always expected our children to obey when they were given clear instructions (Ephesians 6:1). ... If children are consistently disobedient, it means that the parents, at some point, have not trained them to be obedient. ... We positively demanded that our children obey us. If they did not obey, there were immediate and consistent consequences. Every time. Every single time! Obedience is critically important. Not only is obedience important to maintain order in a child’s life, but it also has a profound spiritual implication. ... when children become accustomed to disobeying their parents and getting away with it, they are likely to adopt the same attitude toward doing God’s will. ... Parents, you will do your children a great spiritual favor by insisting on obedience. You are establishing a precedent in their lives for them to obey God as they mature and become independent. ... Insisting on obedience is a basic way of training a child to subordinate his or her old nature to standards of right. ... In our home, when one of the children was directly and overtly disobedient, it was dealt with immediately. There were no ifs, ands, or buts. ... There was no debate. ... If one of the children was punished for having been disobedient, we always made very sure that she understood her punishment was became she disobeyed” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, pp. 62-64).

THOSE ASTONISHING BEE ENGINEERS (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from Creation Moments, http://www.creationmoments.net/radio/transcript.php?t=2179: “The amazing structure of the honeycomb has fascinated scientists for thousands of years. In the third century, the astronomer and geometer, Pappus of Alexandria, became the first to offer an explanation for why the honeycomb has a hexagonal shape. Pappus explained that only three shapes could serve as candidates for a honeycomb cell--the triangle, the square, and the hexagon. Any other shape would leave wasteful open spaces between each cell. Pappus noted that the hexagon holds more honey in the same space than either a square or a triangle. It also takes less wax to build, and the shared sides of the hexagonal cells cut wax usage even further. But it was not until the development of modern calculus that scientists could fully appreciate the shape of the caps at the end of the honeycomb cells. Each cell is capped with a pyramid composed of three rhombuses. Complex mathematics shows that this shape too, requires the least amount of wax for construction and that it allows honeycomb cells to be butted up against each other without wasting space. Modern scientists who accept evolution talk about the design of the honeycomb as a great accomplishment by bees. But the more sensible conclusion is obvious. The twelve-sided prism, that is, six sides plus two ends of the honeycomb, is magnificent testimony to the mathematical wisdom of the Creator Himself!”

CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

FAMOUS ATHEIST SAYS THE WORLD MIGHT HAVE BEEN DESIGNED BY ALIENS (Friday Church News Notes, July 25, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In an interview with Ben Stein in the documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, the self-proclaimed atheist Richard Dawkins admits that there might be “intelligent design.” Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, is an atheist on a ridiculous rampage against the Almighty. He calls the God of the Bible “the most unpleasant character in all fiction” and a “capriciously malevolent bully.” Ben Stein asked Dawkins, “Who did create the heavens and the earth? How did it start?” Dawkins replied, “No one knows how it started. We know the kind of event it must have been for the origin of life. It was the origin of the first self-replicating molecule.” Stein asked, “What do you think is the possibility that intelligent design might turn out to be the answer to some issues in genetics?” To this Dawkins gave the following amazing reply: “It could be that at some earlier time somewhere in the universe a civilization evolved by, probably some kind of Darwinian means, to a very, very high level of technology and designed the form of life they seeded on to this planet. That is a possibility and an intriguing possibility, and I suppose it is possible that you might find evidence for that if you look at the details of biochemistry and molecular biology you might find a signature of some sort of designer. And that designer could well be a higher intelligence from elsewhere in the universe. That higher intelligence would itself have had to have come about by some ultimately explicable process. It couldn’t have just jumped into existence spontaneously.” So Richard Dawkins admits that life couldn’t have just jumped into existence, that there is evidence for an intelligent designer, but since he has rejected the God of the Bible, he launches out into the never-never land of “aliens.” And this is the same man that mocks those who believe in God. No man is blinder than he who will not see. “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts” (2 Peter 3:3).

WALTER CRONKITE WAS GLAD TO SIT AT THE RIGHT HAND OF SATAN (Friday Church News Notes, July 25, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Walter Cronkite, who died on July 17, wielded a vast influence as “the most trusted newsman” in America in his position as CBS News anchor from 1962 to 1981. I recall watching him with my parents and grandparents when I was in junior and senior high school in the 1960s. He covered such dramatic events as the assassination of President John Kennedy in 1963, the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in 1968, and the first landing on the moon in 1969. On his final broadcast he signed off with his signature conclusion: “And that’s the way it is: Friday, March 6, 1981.” After his retirement as news anchor he continued to operate as a special correspondent on CBS and CNN until recent years. What is not commonly known is that Cronkite was a radical one-worlder who believed that America should give up her power to the United Nations. He wanted the UN to have an executive to make law and “the military forces to enforce that law,” but he did not explain how a sorry institution such as the UN, with its history of rabid anti-Semitism and deep-seated greed and corruption, could be trusted to rule over the world. In his speech at the United Nations in 1999, when he accepted the Norman Cousins Global Governance Award from the World Federalists Association, Cronkite even said he was glad to sit at the right hand of Satan if it meant the establishment of one-world government. He said, “Pat Robertson has written in a book a few years ago that we should have a world government, but only when the Messiah arrives. He wrote, literally, any attempt to achieve world order before that time must be the work of the devil. Well, join me. I'm glad to sit here at the right hand of Satan” (“Meet the Real Walter Cronkite,” WorldNetDaily, July 18, 2009). In “For Many Shall Come in My Name,” Ray Yungen reveals that Cronkite joined New Ager Marianne Williamson in pushing for a cabinet-level Department of Peace in the U.S. government. In her book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, Williamson says, “Jesus and the other enlightened masters are our evolutionary elder brothers” (p. 42), and, “To remember that you are part of God, that you are loved and loveable, is not arrogant” (p. 30). Cronkite was an Episcopalian, but it is obvious that he lacked spiritual discernment and did not take the Bible literally. Sadly, this is par for the course for the mainstream media that supplies the average person with “trusted news.” Wise people do not depend on such entities as CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, AP, Time, Newsweek, etc. If these love someone or something, you can almost bet that it is ungodly by Biblical standards.

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SEEK “NEW WORLD ORDER” (Friday Church News Notes, July 25, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Meeting in Egypt July 11-16, the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement called for a new world order. The organization represents 118 countries, including India, Pakistan, Cuba, Egypt, and most African nations. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said the summit “aimed for a new international order” (AFP, July 16, 2009). The conference symbol was a dove with a fig leaf in its mouth. The Bible says that a “new world order” is definitely coming, and its head will be the antichrist. He will come to power through a deceptive peace program, but afterward he will set himself up as God (1 Thess. 5:3; 2 Thess. 2:3-4). He will control the global economy with an iron fist (Rev. 13:16-17).

CHRISTIAN STUDENT WINS FREE SPEECH CASE AGAINST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE (Friday Church News Notes, July 25, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Christian Students Fights Prof, Wins Big,” WorldNetDaily, July 14, 2009: “A California court has ruled in favor of a student who was insulted for defending traditional marriage and has ordered the college to strike from its website a sexual harassment policy that censors speech deemed ‘offensive’ to homosexual people. As WND reported, Jonathan Lopez, a student at Los Angeles City College, was delivering a speech on his Christian faith in speech class when professor John Matteson interrupted him, called him a ‘fascist -------’ for mentioning a moral conviction against homosexual marriage and later told him to ‘ask God what your grade is.’ The professor also warned on his evaluation of Lopez's speech, ‘Proselytizing is inappropriate in public school,’ and later threatened to have Lopez expelled. Represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund, Lopez sued the Los Angeles City College District, the largest community college system in the U.S., with over 135,000 students. The lawsuit not only targeted the school over the professor's comments, however, but also sought removal of a campus sexual harassment and speech policy that court documents allege ‘systematically prohibits and punishes political and religious speech by students that is outside the campus political mainstream.’ ... In a ruling handed down last week, U.S. District Judge George H. King [called] the campus policy ‘unconstitutionally overbroad’ and ordered it to be stricken from the college's website. ... Judge King ruled, ‘By using subjective words such as ‘hostile’ and ‘offensive,’ the policy is so subjective and broad that it applies to protected speech.” He further quoted court precedent, stating, “It is firmly settled that under our Constitution the public expression of ideas may not be prohibited merely because the ideas are themselves offensive to some of their hearers. ... While it may be desirable to promote harmony and civility, these values cannot be enforced at the expense of protected speech under the First Amendment.”

AL-QAIDA MURDERS U.S. CHRISTIAN AID WORKER IN MAURITANIA (Friday Church News Notes, July 25, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from WorthyNews.com, June 26, 2009: “An American aid worker has been shot and killed in Mauritania by suspected Islamic militants of the Al-Qaida network because he was involved in spreading Christianity in the African nation, several Christian groups confirmed Friday, June 26. Christopher Leggett ‘was confronted’ Tuesday, June 23,
‘outside the language and computer school that he ran’ in the capital Nouakchott, said Middle East Concern (MEC), which has contacts with Christians in the region. ‘He resisted what appeared to be an attempt to kidnap him and was then shot in the head several times by his two assailants,’ MEC told BosNewsLife. Al-Jazeera Television, the Arabic news channel, said Al-Qaida’s North Africa branch claimed responsibility Thursday, June 24 for the killing. The network added that it had received an audio statement from al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb in which the group claimed it killed 39-year-old Christopher Ervin Leggett for allegedly trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. ... Reverend Jim Gibson, co-pastor of First Baptist Church of Cleveland, said in published remarks that Leggett was a church member and attended on return trips, but worked independently in Mauritania. Gibson said Leggett had lived for six years in Africa with his wife and four children.”

BAPTISTS IN AMERICA OPPOSED SLAVERY IN THE 18TH CENTURY (Friday Church News Notes, July 25, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In 1789, at the dawn of America’s history as an independent nation (the first president was elected in 1788), the Baptists of Virginia adopted the following resolution. “Resolved, That slavery is a violent deprivation of the rights of nature, and inconsistent with a republican government, and therefore recommend it to our brethren, to make use of every legal measure to extirpate this horrid evil from the land; and pray Almighty God that our honorable legislature may have it in their power to proclaim the great Jubilee, consistent with the principles of good policy” (Robert Semple, History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia, 1810, p. 62).

THE EVOLUTIONIST’S DILEMMA: ORDER AND DESIGN (Friday Church News Notes, July 25, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A National Geographic documentary on the disappearance of honeybees reminds us of the evolutionist’s dilemma, which is order and design. Called “The Silence of the Bee,” the documentary describes the dramatic disappearance of bees in America and some other countries since 2006. It begins with a look at the bee itself. After stating that the bee evolved, the documentary contradicts this by showing how perfectly the bee is designed for its work of pollinating flowers and making honey. Scientists who study bees even speak of their “design,” but this is contrary to blind evolution. Notice the following language from the documentary: “The bees are doing a job they’ve done for 100 million years, since they evolved along with flowering plants and FORMED A PERFECT PARTNERSHIP. Bees forage for high protein pollen in the flowers and the plants reward them with a sugary liquid called nectar. Some bees developed SPECIALIZED ANATOMIES to efficiently harvest nectar. Chief among them was Apis mellifera, the honeybee. AN ARCHITECTURAL MARVEL, the honeybee’s DESIGN is AN ELEGANT FUSION OF FORM AND FUNCTION. A proboscis for ferreting out nectar stored deep in a flower’s folds and powerful mandibles for eating, feeding young, and manipulating wax. Two compound eyes are each comprised of 6900 lenses and covered with sensory hairs for detecting wind speed. Three additional eyes [on top of the bee’s head] receive light signals for orientation. Four wings clasped together with tiny hooks beat over 200 times per second. For defense, [the bee has] a double-edged serrated sting which she can use only once at the cost of her own life. Hind legs are broadened into special baskets for carrying a heavy cargo of pollen to the hive. Feathery hairs coat the body and build up a static charge as the bee flies. When the bee lands on a flower, pollen literally jumps onto her body. They’re just this MAGNIFICENTLY ENGINEERED THING, JUST PERFECT FOR ALL THE THINGS THEY CAN DO, and as they go through life and change their tasks, these different anatomies come into play” (“Silence of the Bee,” National Geographic Channel, 2007). Observe that the bee could not possibly be the product of blind chance. It is far too complicated and it operates in synergy with the flower. The bee would have had to have “evolved” fully formed at precisely the same time as the flower arrived, also fully formed. There is “irreducible complexity” here. A honeybee without a perfectly formed anatomy would not be able to pollinate flowers, and imperfectly formed flowers would not be able to provide the material required by the bee. Further, both the flower and the bee are able to reproduce through an incredibly elaborate genetic code. None of this speaks of evolution, but it does speak loudly of divine creation for those who have eyes to see.

THE PRACTICE OF LOVE IN CHILD TRAINING (Friday Church News Notes, July 25, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “Another concept endemic to godliness is the matter of love. ... The New Testament fairly overflows with references to God’s people being people of love. Curiously, the Bible has little to say about parents loving their children. I believe the reason for this is that God has created within us a natural instinct to love our children. ... Nevertheless, it is important that our homes be an aquarium of love. In all your teaching, discipling, and admonishing of your children, always season it liberally with love. See that your children have no doubt whatsoever that you love them. Tell them you love them. Show physical affection in an appropriate fashion such as hugs and discreet kisses. Always be there when they need you. Never be too busy for their school functions or programs. Love them even more than you love yourself. Not only is it right to love your children, it will enable you to most effectively teach and train them. When they unquestionably know you love them, they know that you have their best interests at heart” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, p. 136).

THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST (Friday Church News Notes, July 25, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

RICK WARREN’S TRAITOROUS ECUMENISM (Friday Church News Notes, July 10, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in southern California, recently took his radical ecumenical agenda before the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America. He urged Muslims to join him in “interfaith projects.” Though Warren told his church that he was imitating Jesus by speaking to the Muslim convention, in fact he became a traitor to Jesus. In a letter to the “Saddleback family,” Warren said, “If you want to have a Christ-like ministry, you have to associate with the people Jesus did--unbelievers!” It is true that Jesus associated with unbelievers, for He “came to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus ate with sinners and dinned with Pharisees, but He didn’t appear before a conference of Pharisees and Sadducees or pagan religionists and call upon them to join Him and His followers in a joint ministry of social works. Rather, Christ proclaimed that He is the only way of salvation and warned that those who tried to come to God by another way are thieves and robbers (John 14:6; 10:1-11). He preached repentance and reproved men for not repenting (Mark 1:15; Luke 13:1-5; 10:13; 11:32). He warned constantly of eternal hellfire (e.g. Mat. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 11:23; 13:40-42; 23:33; 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 10:15; 16:23). Rick Warren is not following in Christ’s footsteps, because he refrains to preach like Christ preached. If Warren were walking in Jesus’ shoes, he would not be invited repeatedly to speak at major world forums. Jesus was only popular with the crowds until they heard His message (John 6:60-66); after that they called for His crucifixion! Rick Warren complains frequently that he is persecuted by “fundamentalists” who oppose his contemporary, ecumenical philosophy, but like compromisers everywhere, he confuses godly reproof with persecution. In the recent pastoral letter, Warren said, “Every time I speak to any non-Christian group, I get criticized by well-meaning believers who don’t really understand how much Jesus loves lost people. They are more concerned with their own perceived purity than the salvation of those Jesus died for.” This is slanderous. Warren’s conservative Christian critics understand how much Jesus loves lost people, but they also understand that lost people are not going to be saved by an ecumenical social agenda but by the preaching of the gospel, and the fact is that Rick Warren did not preach the gospel to the Islamic Society of North America.

AL SHARPTON SAYS MICHAEL JACKSON NOT STRANGE (Friday Church News Notes, July 10, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - At the Michael Jackson Memorial on July 7 the entertainment industry paid tribute to the late “King of Pop.” The weirdest remark of all at this very weird event was made by racial pot-stirrer Al Sharpton, who told Jackson’s children, “There wasn’t nothing strange about your daddy” (“The Most Memorable Moments from the Michael Jackson Memorial,” Yahoo.com, July 7, 2009). We wonder whether the double negative was spoken out of purpose or ignorance? As it stands, Sharpton is on record as saying that Michael Jackson was strange, but it appears that he was trying to say emphatically that he wasn’t. Be that as it may, the fact is that Jackson’s legacy was to redefine strange and push the moral envelope farther than ever, and the wicked entertainment industry applauds him for it. Beware of the pop culture and its rebellion. It is a God-hating machine that seduces people, drugs them with its sensual pleasures, devours whatever faith they might have, and leads them giddily to eternal hell. As Brian Snider commented to me, rock & roll destroyed Michael Jackson.

INDIA COURT RULES THAT ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL LAW IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL (Friday Church News Notes, July 10, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On July 2 the Delhi High Court in India ruled that the city’s law against homosexuality “is a violation of basic human rights safeguarded under the Indian Constitution” (“India Gays Win Landmark Ruling,” Los Angeles Times, July 3, 2009). The court called for decriminalizing all “sexual relations between consenting adults” and urged the government to strike down a British-era anti-sodomy law that forbids “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and includes homosexuality in the same category as pedophilia. Homosexual activists expect the decision to influence courts across the country, and major newspapers hailed the ruling. The Hindustan Times ran a banner headline “It’s O.K. to Be Gay,” and The Asian Age welcomed “a sexual revolution in India.” This revolution began in modern times with a multi-front attack upon the Bible--by theological modernism, by evolution, by humanistic philosophy, by Freudian and Jungian psychology, and many other godless isms. Since the 1950s, sexual freedom was been at the forefront of the rock & roll culture. As Debra Harry of Blondie said in 1979, “The main ingredients in rock are … sex and sass” (Hit Parader, Sept. 1979, p. 31). The sexual revolution is a revolt against God and His holy laws and was prophesied in Scripture 3,000 years ago. “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 [Christ], 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” (Psalms 2:1-5). God will have the last laugh at man’s folly, but there is still time to be saved from eternal destruction through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

A CHURCH WHERE DOGS ARE WELCOME (Friday Church News Notes, July 10, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - City Community Church in Austin, Texas, welcomes literally “everyone and his dog” to its services. Jamie Patterson, a church member, says, “It’s fun to be able to have a church that incorporates your lifestyle and what’s important to you” (“Church Opens Doors to Furry Creatures,” KXAN.com, July 6, 2009). Contemporary churches let people keep the modern idols of fashion, pop music, sports, and an unnatural affection for pets. When the Lord Jesus Christ commanded that the gospel be preached to “every creature,” He wasn’t referring to animals. Man is set apart from the animals in that he alone is made in God’s image and he alone has a living soul that will exist eternally either in heaven or hell (Genesis 1:26; 2:7). When animals die, they are simply dead. As for dogs in particular, the Bible has nothing good to say. Though dogs were worshipped along with cats in idolatrous Egypt, the Jews did not value them. “Among the Jews, to compare a person to a dog was the most degrading expression possible, 1 Sa. 17:43; 24:14; 2 Sa. 9:8. The state of dogs among the Jews was the same that now prevails in the East, where, having no owners, they run about the streets in troops, and are fed by charity or caprice, or live on such offal as they can pick up. As they are often on the point of starvation, they devour corpses, and in the night even attack living men, Ex. 22:31; Ps. 59:6, 14-15; 1 Ki. 14:11” (American Tract Society Dictionary). The term “dog” is often used in the most derogatory sense in Scripture (e.g., for male prostitutes in Deuteronomy 28:18, for Christ’s crucifiers in Psalm 22:16, and for false teachers in Philippians 3:2). Twice the Bible emphasizes the dog’s folly by its habit of returning to its own vomit (Prov. 26:11; 2 Pet. 2:22). A dog is unacceptable as an offering to God (Isa. 66:3). Jesus said that dogs have no capacity to appreciate that which is holy (Mat. 7:6). Dogs will not be in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:15).

ANGLICAN BISHOP SAYS HOMOSEXUALS SHOULD REPENT (Friday Church News Notes, July 10, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Michael Nazir-Ali, Anglican bishop of Rochester, England, told the Sunday Telegraph that the Bible defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman and that homosexuals must “repent and be changed” (“Church of England Bishop Says Gays Should Repent,” USA Today, July 6, 2009). Nazir-Ali supports the new Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, a coalition of conservative parishes from around the world that reject the theological liberalism of mainstream Anglicanism. Nazir-Ali said that those who depart from Biblical teaching “don’t share the same faith.”

JEWISH PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN ISRAEL (Friday Church News Notes, July 10, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Watch Out, Missionaries,” The Jerusalem Post, July 2, 2009: “The word ‘nigger’ features prominently in the videos taken by Eddie Beckford and his wife Lura, a Messianic Christian couple living in the desert town of Arad. The videos, going back to 2005, show anywhere from a handful to a mob of local Gur Hassidim harassing them and other Messianics in town. Eddie Beckford, 61, is a black American, hence the racial slur. ‘Nigger, go back to Harlem!’ chants one gleeful man in the midst of hundreds of shouting, singing, fired-up hassidim who surrounded Beckford’s storefront chess-club-cum-Christian-mission on Shabbat, June 17, 2005. ... They curse in English, usually accented. The police keep the crowd a short distance away from the club; otherwise they do nothing. The term ‘bastard’ is also popular with the Gur Hassidim seen in the videos, but it’s usually in reference to Jesus. ... About two months after the video was taken, the club, near the entrance to the town’s market, was burned down in the middle of the night. ... Members of the Arad congregation, which numbers about 50, say they’ve had their tires slashed dozens of times. They’ve been surrounded, threatened and cursed by Gur Hassidim in the market, on the streets or in their homes for about five years. In all this time they can only recall one arrest of a suspect, and he was released immediately. ... [One Jew who has participated in the protests] said he wasn’t against Christians, just against missionaries who proselytize Jews, insisting that this was against the law. (In fact, it isn’t. Israeli law only forbids proselytizing minors or ‘bribing’ potential converts with money or material favors.) ‘This is not their land, this is the land of the Jews,’ he said. ‘All these missionaries have to be removed.’ From Arad? I asked. ‘From Israel,’ he replied.”

CODEX SINAITICUS DIGITIZED (Friday Church News Notes, July 10, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest extant near-complete copy of the New Testament, has been digitized and placed on the internet. The fourth-century Bible gets its name from the Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai, where it was discovered in the 19th century by German textual critic Constantine Tischendorf. Today the surviving pages of the codex are located in four places, the British Library (347 pages), the University Library in Leipzig, Germany (43 pages), the National Library of Russia (six fragments), and the Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai (12 pages and 40 fragments). For the past 150 years modern textual criticism has favored the Sinaiticus and its bed-fellow, Codex Vaticanus of the Vatican Library, and a small number of other manuscripts of similar character over the vast majority of the roughly 5,500 Greek manuscripts and lectionaries extant. Writing in 1883, John Burgon observed, “...especially B [Vaticanus] and Aleph [Sinaiticus], have within the last twenty years established a tyrannical ascendancy over the imagination of the Critics, which can only be fitly spoken of as a blind superstition” (The Revision Revised, p. 11). This handful of Egyptian manuscripts preferred by modern textual critics was called by John Owen in the 17th century “the spurious brood” and by John Burgon in the 19th century the “little handful of suspicious documents” (The Revision Revised, p. 78) and the “little handful of singularly licentious documents” (Ibid.) and “those eccentric exemplars” (The Traditional Text of the Gospels, p. 31). Since the discovery of the Egyptian papyri in the 20th century, the number of Alexandrian manuscripts has increased; but compared to the vast number that support the Traditional text represented by the old Protestant versions such as the King James in English, they still represent a very tiny and “eccentric” minority, that not only disagree with the majority but also with one another. Codex Sinaiticus includes two heretical writings, the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. The Epistle of Barnabas is filled with heresies and fanciful allegorizing, claiming, for example, that Abraham was familiar with the Greek alphabet and that water baptism saves the soul. The Shepherd of Hermas is a gnostic writing that presents the Adoptionist heresy that the Christ Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism. Sinaiticus also exhibits gnostic influence in John 1:18, where “the only begotten Son” is changed to “the only begotten God,” thus perpetuating the ancient Arian heresy that disassociates the Son Jesus Christ with God Himself by breaking the clear connection between God of John 1:1 with the Son of John 1:18. We know that God was not begotten; it was the Son Who was begotten in the incarnation. (For more about the Sinaiticus and modern textual criticism, see the book “Faith vs. the Modern Bible Versions,” which is available from Way of Life Literature.)

CHINA’S ONE-CHILD POLICY AND THE ELDERLY PROBLEM (Friday Church News Notes, July 10, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “China’s Elderly Will Overwhelm the Nation,” The Los Angeles Times, July 6, 2009: “The one-child rule imposed 30 years ago has created too few young people to support the quickly expanding aging population. China’s working-age population--the engine behind its prolific growth--will start shrinking within a few years. Meanwhile, the ranks of elderly are projected to soar. By the middle of this century, fully a third of China’s population will be age 60 or older, compared with 26% in the United States. China's projected 438 million senior citizens will outnumber the entire U.S. population. ... Shanghai provides a window into China's demographic future. Already China's largest city, it’s also its grayest. More than one-fifth of its population is at least 60 years old. That percentage is projected to nearly double to 40% by 2030. ... So many residents have reached retirement age that city officials are urging local companies to persuade their aging staffs to stay on the job longer. The government has injected $618 million into the public pension system over the last two years to keep it solvent. ... Despite its dazzling economic growth, China is still a low-income country. Its per-capita GDP in 2008 was just over $5,000, one-ninth that of the United States. Only about a third of China’s workforce is covered by a pension system; most of those covered are urbanites. ... Introduced in 1979 by China’s paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, China’s one-child policy aimed to slow the nation’s population growth and boost living standards. ... The policy is estimated to have prevented between 300 million and 400 million births to date. From the beginning the program was controversial, criticized for boosting abortions, sterilizations and infanticide. It is also blamed for China's gender gap. The cultural preference for boys has resulted in 32 million more males than females under the age of 20, according to one study.”

CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.

The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

MICHAEL JACKSON’S LEGACY (Friday Church News Notes, July 3, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop,” died last week of a probable drug-induced heart attack at age 50. Like Elvis Presley and many other rock gods, Jackson was addicted to a variety of drugs and his narcissism would not allow him to submit to any authority outside of himself. Jackson’s influence was great. His music videos helped vault MTV into popularity in the early 1980s. His 1982 hit “Thriller” is either the first or second best-selling U.S. album of all time. His quirky and often filthy dance moves helped spawn hop-hop and have been imitated endlessly in contemporary dance. Choreographer Kenny Ortega called him “the world’s greatest performer.” Guinness World Records dubbed him “the most successful entertainer of all time.” The incredible fascination with Jackson’s life and death is indicative of the moral downfall of Western culture. Major websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Google, and Twitter, slowed following the announcement of his death because of the dramatic increase in traffic. USA Today, America’s largest daily newspaper, dedicated nearly the entire front page to the pop icon’s death. Major news media outlets ran 24-hour coverage on every aspect of the man’s life and death. Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble and other major distributers sold out of Jackson music CDs and videos within an hour of the announcement of his passing. In an attempt to explain this, Bill Carr, vice president for music and video at Amazon, said, “They love him, he’s a legend, and they’re anxious to make sure they have his music in their collections.” Jackson is an icon of the rock & roll culture, and his legacy was to carry modern society to a new level of debauchery and vanity. He was self-centered, lacked self-control, had no moral boundaries, was enslaved to fashion, and consumed with appearance. He squandered a fortune. Though he sold 750 million albums, he reportedly died with a debt of $400 million, because he lived so far beyond his means. Jackson’s life further normalized weirdness and perversion in modern society. As Jane Fonda said in an interview with CNN about Jackson’s life, “Who are we to judge?” The rebellion against God and His Word grows apace, but it will come to a shocking end (Psalm 2). The ranch that the King of Pop purchased in the 1980s was called Neverland; and that was not only the place where Michael Jackson lived, it is also the place where the modern pop culture dwells.

FORMER GITMO DETAINEE ACCUSED OF KILLING THREE MISSIONARIES (Friday Church News Notes, July 3, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from OneNewsNow, June 23, 2009: “A best-selling author and critic of Islam says he can't understand why U.S. President Barack Obama and the United Nations are not expressing more outrage over the execution-style murder of three Christian missionaries in Yemen, apparently by al Qaeda. According to a spokesman from the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, nine foreign nationals--four German adults, three small German children, a British man, and a South Korean woman--were abducted on June 12 after they ventured outside the city of Saada without their required police escorts. Days later the bodies of German nurses Rita Stumpp and Anita Gruenwald, and Eom Young-sun of South Korea were found shot execution style in an area known to be a hotbed of Al Qaeda activity. The fate of the remaining six abducted people remains a mystery. Terrorism experts say the crimes bear the mark of Al Qaeda, and they fear they are the handiwork of the international terror organization’s number two man in the Arabian Peninsula--Said Ali al-Shihri, an Islamic terrorist who once was in American custody but who was released from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch, says this illustrates the folly of Obama's plan to close GITMO and release potentially dangerous prisoners.”

OBAMA AND CREATION SCIENCE (Friday Church News Notes, July 3, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from Answers, a quarterly magazine published by Answers in Genesis. “With the U.S. presidential election now over, the world is closely watching Barack Obama’s new agenda for ‘change.’ One subject not likely to receive much media attention, however, is the Creator’s place in policy debates. Like so many other world leaders in politics and the media, the new president believes that science and education hold the key to a better life. Views about God may be important for individuals, but keep Him out of the science classroom and politics. Obama told an interviewer, when asked during the election campaign about teaching intelligent design: ‘I’m a Christian, and I believe in parents being able to provide children with religious instruction without interference from the state. But I also believe our schools are there to teach worldly knowledge and science. I believe in evolution, and I believe there’s a difference between science and faith. That doesn’t make faith any less important than science. It just means they’re two different things. And I think it’s a mistake to try to cloud the teaching of science with theories that frankly don’t hold up to scientific inquiry’ (Tom Joyce, ‘Obama Talks about York,’ York Daily Record, March 30, 2008). The newly elected vice president, Joe Biden, is even more open about his views. Asked about intelligent design, he said, ‘I refuse to believe the majority of people believe this malarkey!’ (HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, episode 74, April 7, 2006). During the campaign, only one candidate’s views on origins came under scrutiny. Hours after Alaska’s governor, Sarah Palin, was announced as the Republican vice presidential candidate, the media blasted her for once suggesting that creationism be taught alongside evolution. The media and politicians may attempt to sideline the Creator by simply ignoring Him or scorning Bible-believers. But the Creator still sits on His throne and weighs every nation in the balances” (“No Room for the Creator?” Answers, January-March 2009).

THE MONNET METHOD: GLOBALISM’S WINNING TICKET (Friday Church News Notes, July 3, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from the excellent book The European Union and the Supra-Religion by Robert Congdon (Congdon Ministries, 2007, http://www.internetbibleinstitute.com, robertcongdon@bellsouth.net). “No man did more to achieve the European Dream than [Jean Monnett, 1888-1979] did. With time, Monnet’s method of ongoing, relentless pressure to expand and increase supranational powers became known as the ‘Monnet method,’ engrenage (gearing up), as he called it. Engrenage was ‘a blanket word to describe all those various techniques whereby the ‘project’ could advance what was really its only underlying agenda: a steady, relentless pressure to extend the Commission’s supranational powers. It got this name because ‘each new advance it [supranationalism] made would merely be regarded as a means of gearing up for the next.’ Monnet’s method was to propose a seemingly minor treaty or agreement. Within that treaty was hidden a principal or precedent, which once made law, opened the door to a much larger application and expansion of the granted power. ‘Thus, brick by brick ... the great supranational structure [would] be assembled. Above all, it would be vital never to define too clearly what was the ‘project’s’ ultimate goal, for fear this would arouse the countervailing forces which might seek to sabotage it before it was complete. ... Monnet’s ‘gearing up’ method has been so effective that today the EU controls sovereignty over legal, economic, environmental, and policy decisions of twenty-seven nations. ... Once introduced, integration into the EU progresses along a predictable path. It begins with a proposal for an economic relationships that is established upon a free trade treaty between the EU and a non-member nation. An independent authority usually administers the treaty. Once this new governing authority has become firmly established and effectively operative, it then suggests that the treaty expand to include open borders, common passports, and a shared monetary system (the Euro). Those involved usually find that the convenience of these shared community benefits outweighs what appears to be only a slight loss of national sovereignty. ... In time the community judiciary supersedes the national judiciary through community laws, community policing, and community courts” (Robert Congdon, The European Union and the Supra-Religion, pp. 132, 133, 137).

YOU CANNOT PRESERVE A POSITION WITHOUT CRUSADING FOR IT (Friday Church News Notes, July 3, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from John Ashbrook, Axioms of Separation (Mentor, OH: Here I Stand Books, n.d.): “Thirty years ago, as a young man, I was elected to the Executive Committee of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America [IFCA]. A new president was elected at the same time. The new president, a godly man, professed to believe in separation. He said that he wanted to keep the group clean, but that there had been too much talk about apostasy and separation. He declared that the group should take a stand quietly, without being offensive. Under that leadership the IFCA ceased to be an outspoken fundamentalist group in the front rank of the battle. ‘Be positive’ is one of the world's watchwords. Trying to take a stand, while remaining all positive, is the halfway house between fundamentalism and new evangelicalism. It always leads to the weaker position, not the stronger one. Thousands of churches have fallen to new evangelicalism while trying to be silent fundamentalists. People and groups like Billy Graham, Christianity Today, the National Association of Evangelicals, the World Evangelical Fellowship, the Evangelical Foreign Missions Association, the Interdenominational Foreign Missions Association, Wheaton College, and Fuller Seminary have put on a massive blitz to sell the Christian world on new evangelicalism. Fundamentalism met this blitz with a great silence. Some voices were raised; but the majority of fundamentalists tried to maintain their position by standing silently. The Bible-believing church was stolen by vocal new evangelicalism. You cannot preserve a position without crusading for it.”

SASSING NOT ALLOWED (Friday Church News Notes, July 3, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, a truly excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “[Another] basic rule in our house was that disrespect, defiance, sassing or any other form of overt rebellion toward us as parents absolutely was not tolerated. Nothing would bring judgment more swiftly than for me to hear our children sassing their mother. They were taught ahead of time that defiance or disrespect was not allowed, period! ... 1 Samuel 15:23 says, ‘For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft...’ It is Satanic in its origins. And rebellion begins with a smart mouth. ... Children are born with a rebellious, sassy spirit, and the sooner it is nipped in the bud the better. ... One of our children would, at times, fight the spanking. She was informed that if she fought and resisted, whatever the original punishment was, it would be doubled. Now, that may seem harsh. However, it did not take too long for it to soak in that rebellion, even during punishment, would not be allowed. ... As a result of dealing with it as soon as it raised its ugly head, it had pretty well been purged by the time the girls were of school age. ... Do not believe the foolishness that if you deal directly with rebellion, you will only cause a child to be more rebellious. Rebellion and defiance will grow like an ugly, malignant cancer. The earlier it is dealt with, the better. ... One might think that our home was a rigid, authoritarian, Spartan environment. To the contrary, it was a warm, fun, loving place; and one of the things that made it such a sweet place was that there was so little conflict” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, pp. 66-68).

THE MOST COMPLEX STRUCTURE IN THE UNIVERSE (Friday Church News Notes, July 3, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from Creation Moments, http://www.creationmoments.com/radio/transcript.php?t=2438: “Whether you know it or not, you are the proud owner of the most complex arrangement of matter in the universe. I am speaking of your brain. Even though it weighs only three pounds, the brain's structure is so complex that it defies all explanation except to admit that a higher intelligence created it. The average brain has ten billion neurons and multiple billions of connections. It has been estimated that the brain is able to hold one million times more information than anyone could possibly learn in a lifetime. If true, this suggests that man was smarter in the past or meant to live much longer. Thanks to the brain, you can listen to someone talk and begin to put your reply together for him while your brain is also directing a number of other projects--like your heart beat, breathing, and blood chemistry--without your conscious attention. Your brain, through its extended sensory system, allows your finger to feel a vibration of less than eight-one-thousandths of an inch and lets you see 10 million different colors. The brain is so marvelously complex that even scientists who deny the soul and believe that the material stuff is all that exists have admitted that the brain leads them to wonder if there is not more to reality.”

CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.