Jun 2008
27/06/08 13:11
HUSBAND/WIFE FATHER/MOTHER ON THE ROPES (Friday Church News Notes, June 27, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The legalization of homosexuality is already beginning to destroy the biblical concept of father and mother, husband and wife. The new marriage licenses in California replace “husband and wife” with “Party A and Party B.” In Scotland, teachers in some major cities have banned Father’s Day cards this year so as not to offend students who live with single mothers and lesbians. The London Telegraph reports, “The politically correct policy was quietly adopted at schools ‘in the interests of sensitivity’ over the growing number of lone-parent and same-sex households” (“Father’s Day Cards Banned,” June 20, 2008). Last year Scotland’s National Health Service approved a policy for hospital workers mis-titled “Fair For All.” In fact, the policy is “fair” for no one, because it destroys the right of free speech and forbids the use of historic and biblical terms such as “mother” and “father” (some patients might have two mothers or two fathers) and “husband” and “wife,” labeling this “homophobic language.” Such terms must be replaced with “partner” or “they/them” (“There is only one acceptable way to talk about homosexuality -- SILENCE!” OneNewsNow.com, May 31, 2007). The policy is to be strictly enforced. In May 2007 the California state senate passed bill SB 777. If approved by the state assembly and signed by the governor, it will ban any speech in the public school system that “reflects or promotes bias against” homosexuality, transgenders, bisexuals, or those who “perceived” gender issues. The ban would apply even to discussions. Randy Thomasson of the Campaign for Children and Families warns that references to “mother” and “father” would probably be banned if this idiotic policy becomes law (“Lawmakers Pass Redefinition of ‘Sex,” The Berean Call, June 8, 2007).
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU LAUGH AT (Friday Church News Notes, June 27, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is by Brian Snider of Huntsville, Alabama: “Be careful what you laugh at. Laughter can make you do things, and accept things, you would not normally accept. George Carlin’s death this week is a good reminder of how much damage can be done through inappropriate laughter. Carlin was an American comedian and entertainer whose routines were filthy and blasphemous. Carlin made the kinds of statements that very few people would tolerate from a politician or teacher or television personality. But because he was a comedian and delivered his statements with a dose of laughter, people who would not normally enjoy a tirade against God would sit still and listen. Carlin was raised in a liberal Roman Catholic environment in New York and at a young age was a determined, anti-authoritarian misfit. He dropped out of high school and was kicked out of the Air Force after facing court-martial three times. He began his entertainment career as a straight comedian, appearing on mainstream programs in the 60s, but later adopted a hippy look and lifestyle and sought a new audience. He was already on the rise professionally when he released the album Class Clown in 1972 which contained the routine, ‘Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.’ The language was filthy, but it was delivered in a comical manner and was therefore more palatable to large groups of people. That routine caused a stink with the FCC and was eventually reviewed by the US Supreme Court to determine whether or not the words were obscene, which they clearly were. The high court ruled that they were only ‘indecent.’ That incident brought Carlin more fame, or notoriety, and helped in a major way toward lowering the the standards for what is allowed on television and radio. While Americans were laughing at him, he was ripping apart the fabric of decent language and faith in God. Carlin took every opportunity to mock and degrade the name of God. The Bible says that the fool has said that there is no God. Not surprisingly, Carlin concocted a comedy routine entitled ‘There is No God.’ How many people became atheistic in their thinking after attending one of his comedy shows and laughing at him as he derided the name of God? God only knows. Be careful what you laugh at. It is a certainty that George Carlin is not laughing now. ‘Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness’ (2 Peter 3:17).”
COOPERATIVE BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP SPEAKER DENIES CHRIST’S DEITY (Friday Church News Notes, June 27, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A speaker at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s annual conference in Memphis denied the deity of Christ. John Killinger, in a workshop entitled “The Changing Shape of Our Salvation” (which is also the title of his 2007 book), said that Jesus did not conceive of Himself as the Saviour of the world and was probably not God incarnate. “Now we are reevaluating and we’re approaching everything with a humbler perspective and seeing God’s hand working in Christ, but not necessarily as the incarnate God in our midst” (“CBF Presenter Questions Christ’s Deity,” Baptist Press, June 19, 2008). Killinger, the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, said that modern scholarship has taught us that Jesus did not actually say and do many of the things that are written in the Bible. This again demonstrates the apostasy of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The CBF’s 2001 conference in Atlanta featured prayers to “Mother God.” At their annual breakfast that year, the leaders of the Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM, an auxiliary of the CBF), stated their discomfort at calling God “Father,” “Lord,” and “King.” Sally Burgess, BWIM treasurer, said she believed that more Southern Baptist women would be ordained to the pastorate “because I believe God is good, and She knows what She’s doing” (“Women Celebrate ‘Mother God’ as Moderate Baptists Gather,” Religion Today, July 2, 2001). In 2000, CFB coordinator Daniel Vestal told the press that there are congregations that support the CBF that ordain homosexuals and that he does not want anyone to leave over this issue (“CBF ‘welcoming but not affirming’ of homosexuals,” Associated Baptist Press, Oct. 23, 2000). CBF council member Dixie Lee Petrey said, “I don’t think we should limit the Spirit of God in the way that it moves. Do we really want to sit here and say God’s Spirit cannot call a homosexual to follow God’s call?”
CHRISTIANITY TODAY’S POSITIVE REVIEW OF SEX AND THE CITY (Friday Church News Notes, June 27, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Christianity Today recently published a positive review of the filthy Sex and the City movie based on the HBO television series. The reviewer admits that the movie contains filthy language, nudity, homosexual kissing, and “several graphic sex scenes,” but goes on to say that it “offers much that will resonate with singles--and yes, even Christians” and has “smart dialogue, interesting plots, and a ton of heart.” Our friend Jeff Royal got it right with this comment: “It’s unbelievable that C.T. would not try to steer Christians far away from this thrash, and that they would choose to review it in the first place. I can understand its popularity with the world, but for it to appeal to Bible-believing Christians must bring great reproach to an all holy God. ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people’ (Proverbs 14:34). ‘Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death’ (James 1:15). ‘For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world’ (1 John 2:16).”
DISAPPEARING DAUGHTERS (Friday Church News Notes, June 27, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Disappearing Daughters: The Tragedy of Female Feoticide is the name of a 2007 book documenting the continuing decline in the ratio of girls to boys in India. Author Gita Aravamudan says: “Female infanticide is akin to serial killing. But female foeticide was more like a holocaust. A whole gender is getting exterminated.” The average worldwide ratio of girl births to boy births is 1050 to 1000, but in India it is about 925 to 1000 overall and in some places the ratio is as low as 300 to 1000. And it is steadily declining. In an interview with The Hindu magazine Aravamudan said: “I realised that infanticide happened not in pockets, [only] among the poor and disempowered but foeticide happened among the rich, the powerful, the educated; those who were aware of family planning” (“Targeting the Girl,” The Hindu, May 27, 2007). Though sex selection testing is illegal in India, it is widely practiced and attempts to stop it have been ineffectual. A UNICEF report says that 7,000 females are aborted EACH DAY in India. It is also not uncommon for females to be killed after they are born. In an interview with Agence France-Presse on July 20, 2007, Aravamudan said: “One of the most disturbing revelations came from a midwife who said she had killed hundreds of newborns. She had lost count.” In a Hindu society, parents typically must pay a dowry to marry off a female, who then becomes the servant to the husband’s family and is often abused.
SOUTHERN BAPTIST EMERGENT CONTRASTS HUMILITY WITH JUDGMENTAL PREACHING (Friday Church News Notes, June 27, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - J.D. Greear is a Southern Baptist preacher associated with the Acts 29 network. In 2002 Greear became senior pastor of Homestead Heights Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina. He led it to adopt the emergent philosophy, changed the name to Summit Church, and attendance has grown from 400 to 2,400. Mark Driscoll, head of Acts 29, claims to be “theologically conservative and culturally liberal.” Driscoll’s church in Seattle, Mars Hill, sponsors secular rock concerts, reviews R-rated movies, and hosts a New Years Eve dance party complete with a champagne bar. Greear says he strives for “humble orthodoxy” and contrasts this with the image of the Baptist preacher as “the angry guy with coifed hair and an out-of-style suit who likes to pick at things” (“Young Baptist Preachers Chart Different Courses,” Christian Post, June 20, 2008). Jesus Christ was humility incarnate, yet He was very bold and “judgmental” in his preaching. He preached more about hell than heaven, at least 14 times in the four Gospels, and He preached it red hot and terrible (e.g., Mark 9:42-48). Christ rebuked error in the severest terms (Mat. 23:13-33). He scalded the Pharisees because they perverted the way of the truth and corrupted the gospel of grace, calling them hypocrites, blind guides, fools and blind, serpents, generation of vipers. Roman Catholic priests and theologically liberal Protestant ministers corrupt the truth at least as much as the Pharisees did, yet the emerging church does not speak out against them after the fashion of Christ. He told the Pharisees that they were of their father the devil (John 8:44), and a more “judgmental” statement has never been made! After forgiving and healing people Christ warned them, “... sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee” (John 5:14). That is the type of thing that people in the “emerging culture” do not want to hear. They want to be forgiven and healed and encouraged, but they do not want to be told how to live and warned about what will happen if they don’t. Christ’s message cut against the grain of society in His day, and it still cuts against the grain of society, and the apostles preached after exactly the same fashion. One thing is certain. Christ’s type of preaching would not be at home in any branch of the emerging church.
CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. 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. These things remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ day by day? “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).
20/06/08 13:11
SOUTHERN BAPTISTS APPROVE STATEMENT ON REGENERATE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (Friday Church News Notes, June 20, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting approved a resolution urging congregations to maintain a regeneration membership and accurate membership rolls.” The resolution, “On Regenerative Church Membership and Church Member Restoration,” stated that “only 6.1 million of the reported 16.2 million Southern Baptist church members attend the primary worship service of their church in a typical week.” Thus, only a third of SBC church members show up on Sunday morning, but the picture is even much worse than that. Only a little more than one-tenth of the members on SBC rolls show up for anything other than a Sunday morning service. “These figures suggest that nearly 90% of Southern Baptist church members appear to be little different from the ‘cultural Christians’ who populate mainline denominations” (Jim Elliff, Founder’s Journal, Feb. 7, 1999). After the new resolution was approved, Tom Ascol, executive director of Founders Ministries, said: “The problem is that we are in bad shape, and a lot of our churches are in bad shape. It’s hard to admit and once you admit it, it’s hard to know what to do. This resolution won’t solve anything but I’ve had many pastors tell me they have wanted a resolution like this passed so they can go back to their churches and use it, saying, Look, this is not just your pastor’s idea. The whole convention is on record now. This is a problem we need to look at and address” (“SBC Adopts Regenerate Membership,” Baptist Press, June 11, 2008). That is no doubt a true statement, but it is so very sad to think that pastors could be so cowardly that they would draw back from something as basic as maintaining a regenerate membership roll. Perhaps Sister Complain-a-Lot and Brother Half-Backslidden would get upset if the pastor tried to remove their dear relatives from the membership roll just because they live like the devil and never come to church. Well, so be it. Each and every day we preachers need to take a long hard look back at the cross of Christ and forward to the judgment seat of Christ, and fearing God more than man go out and do those things that are required of us by Holy Scripture.
WIFE OF NORTHERN IRELAND’S FIRST MINISTER ACCUSED OF HATE CRIME (Friday Church News Notes, June 20, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from WorldNetDaily, June 12, 2008: “Iris Robinson, considered Northern Ireland's first lady as the wife of First Minister Peter Robinson, has been accused of ‘hate crimes’ and is facing both a police investigation and the possibility of a civil complaint, according to reports. A report in An Phoblacht, an online political weekly in Ireland, said Robinson had been invited onto the BBC Radio Ulster’s ‘The Stephen Nolan Show’ to talk about a recent physical assault on a homosexual by a team of thugs described by the reporter as ‘gay-bashing.’ She condemned the violence, then described homosexuality as ‘disgusting, nauseous, shamefully wicked and vile.’ Now, the report said, a government agency has confirmed it is investigating complaints that have been filed against her, and one homosexual activist said he's contacted a lawyer about the situation. The reports said complaints against Robinson have been lodged by Andrew Muir, vice-chair of the Gay and Lesbian Across Down, as well as John O’Doherty, a member of the South Belfast District Policing Partnership. ... On the radio program, Robinson said, ‘Homosexuality is not natural. My Christian beliefs tell me that it is an abomination and that is very clear. It is an offense to God, and offensive act and something God abhors.’ ... She went on to urge homosexuals to seek psychiatric counseling, because of the success of various programs that offer to help them re-focus their sexual lifestyles. ‘I have a lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my office trying to turn homosexuals away from what they are engaged in,’ she said. ‘I’m happy to put any homosexuals in touch with this gentleman. I have met people who have turned around and become heterosexual. They are married and having families.’ The report said she was describing one of her health policy advisers, Paul Miller. ... The comments from both Robinson and Miller were condemned immediately by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which holds ‘lesbian, gay and bisexual people should be regarded as valued members of society who have exactly the same rights and responsibilities as others.’”
DOLLY PARTON’S NEW ALBUM MIXES JESUS WITH MORAL TRASH (Friday Church News Notes, June 20, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In a fashion that is typical for country music, Dolly Parton’s new album, Backwoods Barbie, mixes a vague Jesus with moral debauchery. The song “Jesus and Gravity” says, “Jesus, I’ve got Jesus/ He’s my everything ... He gives me hope and He gives me strength/ And that’s all I’ll ever need...” Yet the same album has songs about drinking, carousing, breaking one’s sacred marital vows, and sleeping with someone outside of marriage, all from a very “non-judgmental” perspective. This is 2 Timothy 4:3 Christianity. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” Parson dresses immodestly and has played the madam in an R-rated movie about a house of prostitution. She has covered Led Zeppelin’s occultic song “Stairway to Heaven” and John Lennon’s atheist song “Imagine.” She joined the Dixie Chicks, Carole King, Yoko Ono, and others to record a benefit album in support of the Human Rights Campaign, a radical homosexual rights organization. Parton’s Jesus is not the one revealed in Scripture. She says, “God isn’t the monster in the sky that I grew up with [in the Church of God]. He’s a feelin’ within you” (Parade, Nov. 2, 1980). For the stage production for her song “Go to Hell,” she used 12 dancers. She said, “We do this with six dancers on the devil’s side and six on the Lord’s side. At the end of the song, they all merge and we all go into the light” (“Dolly’s Flame Worthy Streak Continues,” Country Music Television, April 21, 2004). This would appear to depict the New Age-Hindu concept that everything is one, that good is evil and evil is good, that everything is evolving and merging into one. In spite of this, Dolly is popular with the Southern Gospel crowd. The Southern Gospel Hall of Fame is located at the Dollywood entertainment center and they host a 30-day Southern Gospel Jubilee each year. This is another example of the worldliness and unscriptural “judge not” philosophy that permeates much of Southern Gospel today.
THE EMERGING CHURCH’S ENVIRONMENTALIST AGENDA (Friday Church News Notes, June 20, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The emerging church’s agenda is not just to keep the air clean and the streams pure; it goes far beyond that to a position that is akin to earth worship. In May 2008 Pastor Jeffrey Whittaker attended Brian McLaren’s Everything Must Change tour at Goshen College in Indiana, and he witnessed the environmental frenzy first hand (“A Pastor Reports on McLaren’s Everything Must Change Tour,” June 2, 2008, http://herescope.blogspot.com/). The very first session was titled “Focusing on the Wounds of Our Planet.” They sang a song based on Francis of Assisi’s poem “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” and watched a DVD by the Sierra Club “exposing the immoral mining techniques used by energy companies in West Virginia.” Then they were treated to a song that cried out against “our rape of Mother Earth.” The second day’s session began with another environmentalist song that said mining is a “scar cut across the face of Mother Earth.” They were constantly reminded that “catastrophic consequences due to global warming are upon us.” Another session opened with the “Hymn of Remorse,” which bewailed the supposed desecration of the earth. “We repent for covering your colorful earth with gray cement ... for cutting down trees ... for scarring your earth ... Lord, have mercy, can we be restored?” By no stretch of the imagination can such a position be supported by the Bible. From the very beginning God gave man the right to use the earth. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Man has a divine right to subdue the earth and use its resources, to cut its trees and mine its ore and pump its oil. This does not mean he has the right to destroy the earth and turn it into a filthy cesspool; no one in his right mind is in support of polluting the air and water and wiping out the animal species. But God has given man the right to use the earth’s resources in a responsible manner. The environmentalist movement is not based on proven science; it is not merely the push for reasonable conservation; it is a blind religious faith. Its most zealous proponents are gullible tools in the hands of one-worlders who intend to use the environmentalist cause to increase their authority at a local, national, and global level. When Marxist globalists jump on the environmentalist bandwagon, you have to know that something other than love for a clean earth is driving the agenda. Jonah Goldberg has wisely observed: “At its core, environmentalism is a kind of nature worship. It’s a holistic ideology, shot through with religious sentiment. ... Environmentalism’s most renewable resources are fear, guilt and moral bullying” (“The Church of Green,” Los Angeles Times, Op-Ed, May 20, 2008).
DISCIPLINE OR DISORDERS? (Friday Church News Notes, June 20, 2008, 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, http://www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “I make no pretense of being a psychologist. However, I am convinced that much of what is diagnosed by modern child psychologists is just a figment of their professional imagination. It seems that decade by decade and almost year by year new ‘psychological’ disorders are ‘discovered’ in children. ... I am convinced that some of these ‘disorders’ are things that psychologists have invented to describe children who are just lacking in self-discipline. ... My wife, particularly, has worked with children for over 27 years and in my estimation is a master in working with them. ... In later years as the nature of our ministry changed, Pam has continued to work with children. Though the group size she has worked with in more recent years is smaller, parents still come to her and tell her that ‘Johnny’ is hyperactive, or ‘Susie’ has an attention deficit disorder, or little ‘Billy’ is learning disabled. Our experience usually has been that these children have had very little encouragement in self-discipline. ... I have watched Pam work with children who are ‘hyperactive.’ The psychologist’s solution to the problem was to prescribe behavior modification drugs to essentially sedate the children. Their parents would come to Pam and warn her that little Susie had this disorder and that they could not do anything with her. ... Pam would work with these children in junior church or in some other children’s program and would let little Susie know in no uncertain terms that her word was law, and that she was going to obey, period. There was kindness, a positive incentive to cooperate, and a fun atmosphere about the program, but above all she demanded and taught behavioral discipline. And she got it. I have watched many of these children over the years. Even though they were a terror at home and diagnosed as hyperactive at school, they would sit up straight, pay attention, behave, and learn the lesson or story in junior church. ... Pam teaches discipline and she demands it. Yet the children love her. And the Sunday School bus kids, who for the most part come of their own volition, come back week after week” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, pp. 38, 39).
THE PARABLE OF THE WOMAN AND THE MEAL (Friday Church News Notes, June 20, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened” (Matthew 13:33). The leaven that Jesus described in this parable is not peace; it refers to the apostasy that will increase throughout the church age and leaven the whole “visible church.” Compare 2 Timothy 3:13. Leaven in the Bible is always a symbol of sin or error. The woman of the parable “hid” the leaven in the meal, indicating deception. The first time we see leaven mentioned in Scripture is in Exodus 12:15. Beginning on the day of the Passover, which signified salvation through faith in the blood of Christ, there was to be no leaven in the Jewish homes for a full week. This signified the putting away of sin after salvation. The only offerings that had leaven were the two loaves of the feast of 50 days or Pentecost (Lev. 23:17), and this is because those loaves signified the Jews and Gentiles united in one body in the church and the fact that they are not sinlessly perfect in this present world. On the other hand, the other offerings signified the sinless Christ and were thus made without leaven (Ex. 29:2; Lev. 6:17). Jesus warned the disciples to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees,” referring to their hypocrisy and heresies (Mat. 16:11-12; Luke 12:1). Paul warned the churches that “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” referring to the leaven of sin (1 Cor. 5:6-8) and the leaven of doctrinal error (Gal. 5:9).
CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. 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. These things remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ day by day? “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).
13/06/08 13:11
INVENTOR OF WOMAN’S PANTSUIT DIES (Friday Church News Notes, June 13, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Yves Saint Laurent, who invented the woman’s pantsuit, died on June 1 at age 71. He lived a morally debauched life, which is typical for the fashion industry. He was a homosexual, spent time in psychiatric institutions, and was addicted to drugs. His long-time homosexual partner, Pierre Berge, said that Saint Laurent “played a part” in the liberation of women. In fact, he helped to enslave them to fashion and tempt them into rejecting their God-given femininity. He invented the pantsuit in 1966, as part of the rebellious rock & roll culture. British journalist Linda Grant observes that the pantsuit “put women on an equal sartorial footing with men and “is what fashion gave to feminism” (“Feminism Was Built on the Trouser Suit,” The Guardian, June 3, 2008). Pastor David Kidd warns: “Of all the cultural wolves that prey upon Christian principles, none has been more merciless toward virtuous, modest womanhood than modern fashion. … From short shirts to tight tops, high-rise hem lines to low-rise jeans, each new craze dares women to cast aside their inhibitions and reveal themselves in a new and bolder way. Tragically, many Christian women have sacrificed the precious virtues of modesty, decency, and discretion to the ruthless determination of the cultural wolf whose appetite for them is never satisfied” (David Kidd, The Fall and Rise of Christian Standards, pp. 87, 88).
INDIAN BUSINESS SCHOOL NAMES MONKEY GOD CHAIRMAN (Friday Church News Notes, June 13, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management in Lucknow, India, has named the Hindu god Hanuman the chairman. He even has his own office, complete with a desk and laptop computer, and all visitors must enter the office barefoot as a sign of honor. Hanuman is the Hindu monkey god. Vivek Kangdi, the school’s vice chairman, said: “When we were looking for a chairman for our institution, we scanned many big names in the field of technology and management. Ultimately, we settled for Lord Hanuman, as none was bigger than him” (“Indian School Names,” AP, June 7, 2008). The Sardar Bhagat Singh College, which opened last year, awards degrees in engineering and management. Surely, these Hindus knew that their action would cause some to ridicule, but they were willing to bear the reproach. Bible-believing Christians should be as courageous for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator and Saviour of the world, as these Hindus are for Hanuman. “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach” (Hebrews 13:13).
NEW AGE INVADING HEALTH CARE (Friday Church News Notes, June 13, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The New Age is invading the field of health care. A study done by David Eisenberg of Beth Israel Hospital in 1990 found that Americans were spending $14 billion a year on alternative health care, including practices such as meditation, touch therapy (including reiki), positive confession, guided imagery, polarity therapy, aromatherapy, sound therapy, gemstone healing, magnetic therapy, spiritual healing, biofeedback, reflexology, iridology, urotherapy, homeopathy, emotional freedom techniques (EFT), hypnosis, and acupuncture. That figure has grown dramatically since then. According to a report in the U.S. News & World Report for January 21, 2008, alternative medicine has gone “mainstream.” In 1992 only 2% of U.S. medical schools offered courses in alternative medicines, but by 2004 that figure had risen to 67% (“More Medical Schools Teaching Spirituality in Medicine,” Lighthouse Trails newsletter, March 4, 2008). Dr. Christina Puchalski, founder of the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the George Washington School of Medicine, was the recipient of the John Templeton Spirituality and Medicine Award in 1996. The famous Mayo Clinic has a section at its web site on “complementary and alternative medicine” dealing with touch therapy, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, cupping, biofeedback, and hypnosis. A friend who read a pre-publication edition of our book The New Age Tower of Babel observed, “Going into a health food store is like going into a New Age chapel.” God’s people need to be careful. It is certainly not wrong to want to live in a healthy manner and some “natural” remedies are effective and legitimate, but when a practice enters into the realm of the occult, it is forbidden by God’s Word. One example is the idea that there is a metaphysical life force energy that permeates everything and that flows through and/or around the body and affects the health. This is foundational to the Eastern approach, which aims to manipulate the flow or balance of life energy to restore and maintain health. Hindus call it prana; Chinese call it chi (pronounced chee); Japanese call it ki. Terms with similar meaning are kia, huna, mana, ordic, and orgone. It is purely occultic, with no biblical or biological basis, and lies at the heart of yoga, eastern massage, reiki, feng shui, tai chi, qi gong, acupuncture, acupressure, polarity therapy, magnetic therapy, biofeedback, reflexology, iridology, ayurveda, and homeopathy. Another example is the idea of humors. It is based on the ancient Greek cosmology that there are four elements--fire, air, water, and earth--and these have four corresponding humors in the body: choler (yellow bile), blood, phlegm, and melancholy (black bile). An imbalance of the humors supposedly results in sickness, and humor practitioners prescribe remedies to control and balance the humors, but it is pure hocus pocus! The book The New Age Tower of Babel deals extensively with this subject.
MACLEAN’S MAGAZINE’S HATE CRIMES TRIAL IN CANADA (Friday Church News Notes, June 13, 2007, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Mark Steyn Human Rights Tribunal ‘Show Trial’ Opens in Vancouver,” LifeSiteNews, June 3, 2008: “The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has had its first day of hearings in the case being brought against syndicated columnist and author Mark Steyn, and Maclean’s Magazine that published an excerpt from his book, ‘America Alone’. The lawyer for the complainants, Faisal Joseph, opened his statements yesterday saying that the article depicted Muslims as ‘a violent people’ who hold traditional Canadian values ‘in contempt’. ... The complainant, Mohamed Elmasry, has a reputation in Canada as an Islamic extremist after appearing on the Michael Coren Show in Toronto in 2004 and stating that anyone in Israel over the age of 18 was a justifiable target of Palestinian attacks. He later apologized for his remarks calling them his ‘biggest mistake’ in 30 years of public life. The opposition to the entire proceeding, however, is growing and the tribunal today and yesterday has attracted enormous media attention in Canada and the US for its attack on freedom of speech and a free press. ... Ezra Levant writes, ‘In a real court, Joseph and his bigoted client would be laughed out of court, and have to pay Maclean’s costs. But this isn’t a real court. This is a kangaroo court, with three leftist activists as panellists.’ The chairman of the Tribunal panel hearing the Steyn/Maclean’s case is Heather MacNaughton, the same commissioner who levied a $7500 fine, the largest in the history of the Human Rights Tribunal. That fine was against Vancouver Rape Relief when that organisation refused to allow a male-to-female ‘transsexual’ to train as a rape and abuse hotline counsellor. MacNaughton is notorious as the adjudicator of decisions against Christian plaintiffs, including a branch of the Knights of Columbus who ‘hurt the feelings’ of two lesbians when they refused to rent their facilities for the women’s ‘wedding’. She also fined Christian printer Scott Brockie and denied an appeal by Christian teacher Chris Kempling for their religious opposition to homosexuality. ... Late last week, Liberal MP Dr. Keith Martin introduced a motion to Parliament proposing to investigate the practises of the Canadian Human Rights Commission...”
PASTOR PERSECUTED BY “HATE CRIMES” LAWS IN CANADA (Friday Church News Notes, June 13, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Government to Pastor: Renounce Your Faith,” WorldNetDaily, June 9, 2008: “The Canadian government has ordered a Christian pastor to renounce his faith and never again express moral opposition to homosexuality, according to a new report. In a decision handed down just days ago in the penalty phase of the quasi-judicial proceedings run by the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal, evangelical pastor Stephen Boisson was banned from expressing his biblical perspective of homosexuality and ordered to pay [$7,000] for ‘damages for pain and suffering’ as well as apologize to the activist who complained of being hurt. ... Boisson had written a letter to the editor of his local Red Deer newspaper in 2002 denouncing the advance of homosexual activism as ‘wicked’ and stating: ‘Children as young as five and six years of age are being subjected to psychologically and physiologically damaging pro-homosexual literature and guidance in the public school system; all under the fraudulent guise of equal rights.’ The activist, local teacher Darren Lund, filed a complaint and the guilty verdict from Lori G. Andreachuk, a lawyer, was handed down some weeks ago. The latest decision involved the penalty phase of the trial. ... And as for the future, Andreachuk wrote: ‘Mr. Boissoin and The Concerned Christian Coalition Inc. shall cease publishing in newspapers, by e-mail, on the radio, in public speeches, or on the Internet, in future, disparaging remarks about gays and homosexuals. ... Further, all disparaging remarks versus homosexuals are directed to be removed from current Web sites and publications of Mr. Boissoin and The Concerned Christian Coalition Inc,’ the lawyer opined. ... Ezra Levant, an author and lawyer who himself was targeted by an HRC attack, said at his blog: ‘[The] government now believes that if it can’t convince a Christian pastor that he's wrong, it will just order him to condemn himself? Other than tribunals in Stalin’s Soviet Union and Mao’s China, where is this Orwellian order considered to be justice? ... In essence, the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal is ordering the minister to renounce his Christian faith, since his opposition to homosexuality is based upon the Judeo-Christian Bible.’”
PLASTIC BAGS AND POLAR BEARS (Friday Church News Notes, June 13, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The radical environmentalist agenda is not based on proven science. Take the frenzy to ban plastic shopping bags. “Scientists are attacking the global campaign to ban plastic shopping bags, saying the activists’ claim that the modern conveniences are responsible for the deaths of 100,000 animals and one million seabirds is based on a ‘typo’ in a 2002 report [by the Australian government] and there is no scientific evidence showing the bags pose a direct threat to marine mammals. [The report was derived from a Canadian study in Newfoundland that sited the death of marine mammals by discarded fishing nets and made no mention of plastic bags!] Researchers and marine biologists have told the London Times that plastic bags pose, at best, a minimal threat to most marine species, including seals, whales, dolphins and seabirds” (“Anti-plastic Crusaders Stuck Holding the Bag,” WorldNetDaily, March 9, 2008). It takes more energy to make and recycle paper shopping bags than plastic ones, but banning plastic bags makes the environmental activists felt better and that is what is really important. And what about the frenzy to save the polar bears? “The U.S. government just put polar bears on the threatened species list because climate change is shrinking the Arctic ice where they live. Never mind that polar bears are in fact thriving--their numbers have quadrupled in the last 50 years. Never mind that full implementation of the Kyoto protocols on greenhouse gases would save exactly one polar bear, according to Danish social scientist Bjorn Lomborg, author of the 2007 book Cool It! Yet about 300 to 500 polar bears could be saved every year, starting right now, Lomborg says, if there were a ban on hunting them in Canada. What’s cheaper, trillions to trim carbon emissions or paying off the Canadians to stop killing polar bears?” (“The Church of Green,” Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2008).
CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. 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. These things remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ day by day? “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).
06/06/08 13:11
GIRLS’ FASHIONS AND DOLLS (Friday Church News Notes, June 6, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). This verse reminds us that training in modest attire best begins in childhood. The best time to teach a girl how to dress modestly is when she is a toddler. When she reaches teenage years she will be habituated to dressing in a feminine and modest manner and will not feel strange wearing a nice dress. Of course, the key is not merely dressing a child properly but teaching her why she is dressed that way, instilling in her biblical principles of modesty throughout her childhood, and praying that she will be saved and take these principles to heart because she wants to please the Lord. BEWARE OF THE GIRLS’ FASHION INDUSTRY. It is seeking to sexualize children from very early ages. The following warning is very timely: “It was a hot summer’s day in 2002 when I decided to buy sandals for our 4- and 6-year-old daughters. I never anticipated our retail excursion would prove to be so educational. ... But after going to eleven different stores I still couldn’t find anything even remotely suitable. Why? Because every pair of sandals I found--every single pair--had high heels. High heels for a 4-year-old? ... Apparently, girls’ sandals aren’t meant for running and jumping and playing. They’re meant to make little girls look like tarts. ... It amazes me that 40 years after the sexual revolution that was supposed to ‘free’ women from the ‘oppression’ of men, we find ourselves teaching our daughters that their only worth is in looking slutty. Boys don’t respect girls anymore because girls don’t require and demand it. And it all starts by buying 4-year-olds high-heeled sandals and Bratz dolls. ... I’ve heard some parents say they can’t stop pre-sexualization because kids will learn it in school or from peers. ... Hogwash. It’s parents who are permitting inappropriate clothing, toys, posters and music into their homes” (“Sexy Six Year Olds,” WorldNetDaily, May 31, 2008). IT IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT FOR PARENTS TO BEWARE OF THE TOY INDUSTRY. When our kids were growing up we never allowed Barbie Dolls or any other such thing in our house. Now there are Bratz Dolls (franchised by MGM) and a slew of other sexualized children’s toys. The following timely warning is from a concerned grandmother: “I attend a fundamental church but have noticed that some parents don’t seem to have any qualms about allowing their young daughters to play with Barbie dolls. And even Polly Pocket dolls are becoming more immodest in their clothing. Also the accessories for both Barbie and Polly Pocket dolls promote a worldly look and a worldly lifestyle. ... I believe that these kinds of dolls are too immodest for girls of any age to play with, much less little girls around the ages of 4 and 5. They definitely promote the wrong message and wrong focus in a young girl’s life.”
THOUSANDS OF EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS NOW CHILDLESS, THANKS TO CHINA’S ONE-CHILD POLICY (Friday Church News Notes, June 6, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Thousands of children are among the dead from the earthquake that struck central China last month, and most of the parents of those children are now childless, the victims of the communist government’s one-child policy. Many other parents have been left with a child that is crippled for life. “In Sichuan where the deadly force of nature killed thousands of children, the tragedy is amplified by the limitations imposed by the state policy. ... In response, the Chinese government announced that families that have lost a child are eligible to obtain a certificate granting permission for them to have another child (Antoaneta Bezlova, “Quake Shakes One-child Policy,” The Himalayan Times, May 30, 2008). The giving of children is God’s domain, and no government has the right to play God. “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalm 127:3).
PREACHERS THREATENED BY POLICE FOR PREACHING IN ISLAMIC AREA IN ENGLAND (Friday Church News Notes, June 6, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Christian Preachers Face Arrest in Birmingham,” London Telegraph, June 1, 2008: “A police community support officer ordered two Christian preachers to stop handing out gospel leaflets in a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham. Evangelists Arthur Cunningham and Jospeh Abraham say they were threatened with arrest for committing a ‘hate crime’ and were told they risked being beaten up if they returned. The incident will fuel fears that ‘no-go areas’ for Christians are emerging in British towns and cities, as the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester, claimed in The Sunday Telegraph this year. ... The preachers, both ministers in Birmingham, were handing out leaflets on Alum Rock Road in February when they started talking to four Asian youths. A police community support officer (PCSO) interrupted the conversation and began questioning the ministers about their beliefs. ‘He said we were in a Muslim area and were not allowed to spread our Christian message. He said we were committing a hate crime by telling the youths to leave Islam and said that he was going to take us to the police station.’ ... The ministers claim he also advised them not to return to the area. As he walked away, the PCSO said: ‘You have been warned. If you come back here and get beaten up, well, you have been warned.’”
TONY BLAIR WANTS TO BUILD NEW WORLD THROUGH INTERFAITH HARMONY (Friday Church News Notes, June 6, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, has launched a new organization to help build a better world. It is called the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, and one of its tools is promoting interfaith harmony. Blair, who joined the Roman Catholic Church last December, says: “In an era of globalization, there is nothing more important than getting people of different faiths and cultures to understand each other better and live in peace and mutual respect; and to give faith itself its proper place in the future. ... By stressing the values of respect, justice and compassion which the great religions hold in common, he believes faith can help unite the world and shape its direction for the better” (Christian Post, May 30, 2008). Blair warns about religious people who are divisive, which would apply not only to Islamic terrorists but also to Bible-believing Christians who preach an exclusive faith through Jesus Christ. In the minds of New Agers, one of the greatest obstacles to world harmony is the Bible and those who take it seriously, and hate crimes laws are shaping up as an excellent tool to silence them.
WEATHER SCIENTISTS CAN’T PREDICT HURRICANES (Friday Church News Notes, June 6, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Associated Press reports that hurricane forecasts are “a lot like Groundhog Day--and the results are worth just about as much” (“Hurricane Season Outlooks of Little Use,” AP, June 1, 2008). In 2005 the forecast was for 8 hurricanes but in fact there were 15. In 2006 the forecast was for 9 but the actual number was 5. The question I have is this: If scientists can’t forecast major weather patterns five months ahead how can they forecast global warming patterns years ahead? They cannot. Their “computer models” can’t factor in every variable for the simple reason that they don’t know every variable.
GOSPEL OF JUDAS PROJECT MISLEADING (Friday Church News Notes, June 6, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Gospel of Judas Project May Have Misled Millions,” Baptist Press, May 29, 2008: “More than two years after National Geographic released a book and aired a documentary about the gospel of Judas asserting that the biblical traitor really was a hero, an increasing number of scholars are now casting doubts on the controversial claim. The latest criticism comes in the most recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education's magazine The Chronicle Review, where a lengthy 5,000-word story tells how the National Geographic project has divided longtime scholarly friends and co-workers, with dissenters saying the National Geographic team -- led by Marvin Meyer, a professor of religious studies at Chapman University--mistranslated the gospel of Judas so badly that it ended up saying the opposite of what a proper translation would have rendered. ... For instance, instead of Jesus saying to Judas, ‘O 13th spirit, why do you try so hard’ -- as National Geographic had it saying -- it should instead have read, ‘O 13th demon, why do you try so hard?’ ... One passage, according to National Geographic, says Judas ‘would ascend to the holy generation.’ Instead, it should include a negative and say he would not ascend to the holy generation. Another passage, according to National Geographic, says Judas was ‘set apart for the holy generation.’ It should, though, say ‘from.’ Both sides of the debate agree that the events in the gospel of Judas did not literally take place and are instead fiction, the magazine said.”
MARINE REMOVED FROM DUTY FOR DISTRIBUTING BIBLE COINS (Friday Church News Notes, June 6, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A U.S. Marine in Iraq was removed from duty for distributing coins imprinted with Bible verses at a military checkpoint. One had the question, “Where will you spend eternity?” on one side and John 3:16 on the other. Col. James Welsh, chief of staff of the Multi-National Force in Iraq said: “This has our full attention. We deeply value our relationship with the local citizens and share their concerns over this serious incident” (“Marine Removed,” CNN, May 29, 2008). Col. Bill Buckner added, “Regulations prohibit members of the coalition force from proselytizing any religion, faith or practices. Our troops are trained on those guidelines before they deploy.” That sounds like an unconstitutional regulation. While a soldier should keep his mind on his work when he is on duty, there should be no regulations preventing evangelism on his own time. Middle Eastern nations don’t hesitate to pour billions of dollars into building mosques in America and making every effort to win American citizens to Islam.
THE LION OF TRUTH (Friday Church News Notes, June 6, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is by Pastor Buddy Smith of Malenda, Queensland, Australia
CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. 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. These things remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ day by day? “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).