February 27, 2009 Volume 10, Issue 9
FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
February 27, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 9
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. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.
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HOLLYWOOD’S MORAL PERVERSION (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Oscars were a blatant homosexual-fest, which is not surprising in light of Hollywood’s prominent role in the moral downfall of modern society. The pro-homosexual film “Milk,” which glorified Harvey Milk, the first openly homosexual to be elected to a major public office in America, was awarded for best original screenplay and for best actor. The screenwriter, Dustin Black, said: “if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he'd want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours” (“Oscars Turn into Blatant Homosex-fest,” WorldNetDaily, Feb. 22, 2009). In his pride, Black thinks he knows more about God than the authors of the Bible and all of this nation’s godly forebears. Sean Penn, who played Harvey Milk in the movie, greeted the audience (correctly) as “you Commie, homo-loving sons of guns,” and said, “We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone.” But for homosexuals to gain their “rights,” Bible-believing Christians must lose theirs. (See the article “What Will Be Illegal when Homosexuality Is Legal” at the Way of Life web site.)
OBAMA’S RHETORIC IS THE REAL CATASTROPE (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Bradley Schiller, “Obama’s Rhetoric,” The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 13, 2009: “President Barack Obama has turned fearmongering into an art form. ... As he tells it, today’s economy is the worst since the Great Depression. Without his Recovery and Reinvestment Act, he says, the economy will fall back into that abyss and may never recover. This fearmongering may be good politics, but it is bad history and bad economics. It is bad history because our current economic woes don’t come close to those of the 1930s. At worst, a comparison to the 1981-82 recession might be appropriate. Consider the job losses that Mr. Obama always cites. In the last year, the U.S. economy shed 3.4 million jobs. That’s a grim statistic for sure, but represents just 2.2% of the labor force. ... 1981-82 job losses totaled 2.2% of the labor force, the same as now. ... In 1930, the economy shed 4.8% of the labor force. In 1931, 6.5%. And then in 1932, another 7.1%. ... The latest survey pegs U.S. unemployment at 7.6%. That’s more than three percentage points below the 1982 peak (10.8%) and not even a third of the peak in 1932 (25.2%). ... Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose in 2008, despite a bad fourth quarter. The Congressional Budget Office projects a GDP decline of 2% in 2009. ... It is nothing like 1930, when GDP fell by 9%, or 1931, when GDP contracted by another 8%, or 1932, when it fell yet another 13%. Auto production last year declined by roughly 25%. That looks good compared to 1932, when production shriveled by 90%. The failure of a couple of dozen banks in 2008 just doesn’t compare to over 10,000 bank failures in 1933, or even the 3,000-plus bank (Savings & Loan) failures in 1987-88. Stockholders can take some solace from the fact that the recent stock market debacle doesn’t come close to the 90% devaluation of the early 1930s. ... A more cool-headed assessment of the economy's woes might produce better policies.”
HILLARY CLINTON VOWS TO SUPPORT CHINA IN SPITE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Activists Shocked at Clinton Stance,” AFP, Feb. 20, 2009: “Amnesty International and a pro-Tibet group voiced shock Friday after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed not to let human rights concerns hinder cooperation with China. Paying her first visit to Asia as the top US diplomat, Clinton said the United States would continue to press China on long-standing US concerns over human rights such as its rule over Tibet. ‘But our pressing on those issues can't interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis,’ Clinton told reporters in Seoul just before leaving for Beijing. ... T. Kumar of Amnesty International USA said the global rights lobby was ‘shocked and extremely disappointed’ by Clinton’s remarks. ‘The United States is one of the only countries that can meaningfully stand up to China on human rights issues,’ he said. ‘But by commenting that human rights will not interfere with other priorities, Secretary Clinton damages future US initiatives to protect those rights in China,’ he said. Students for a Free Tibet said Clinton's remarks sent the wrong signal to China at a sensitive time.”
RUSSIA’S PRIME MINISTER WARNS AMERICA ABOUT SOCIALISM (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin has advised America against socialism. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Putin said: “In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated. Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of business people, investors, and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state” (“Putin Warns US about Socialism,” Therightperspective.org, Feb. 11, 2009).
SECOND BAPTIST PASTOR CONVICTED ON TRUMPED-UP CHARGES IN AZERBAIJAN (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from the Associated Baptist Press, Feb. 20, 2009: “A Baptist pastor in the South Caucasus country of Azerbaijan has been found guilty of what supporters say are bogus weapons charges and given ‘a two-year corrective labor sentence,’ according to a worldwide Baptist group. The Virginia-based Baptist World Alliance announced Feb. 20 that Hamid Shabanov, who pastors a house church of approximately 60 members in the town of Aliabad, had been convicted. He was arrested on June 20, 2008, after police claimed to have found an illegal weapon in his home after a raid. Denying the allegations against Shabanov, and claiming that the weapon was planted by the police, Baptist Union of Azerbaijan General Secretary Elnur Jabiyev said the arrest ‘was a provocation by the police’ and that it was ‘a deliberately targeted action,’ according to a BWA press release. Jabiyev claimed ‘the police’s aim is to halt Baptist activity and close the church in Aliabad.’ ... Shabanov is the second Baptist pastor in Aliabad to be convicted of a crime. Zaur Balaev was arrested in May 2007 and given a two-year sentence after being convicted in August of that year for beating up five policemen and damaging a police car door. Members of Balaev’s church and residents in the town also disputed the charges against Balaev, who was released in March 2008 after protests from officials of the BWA, the European Baptist Federation and former United States President Jimmy Carter.”
FORMER ASTRONAUT SCOFFS AT GLOBAL WARMING (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from The New Mexican, Santa Fe, Feb. 14, 2009: “Harrison ‘Jack’ Schmitt, one of the last men to walk on the moon and a former U.S. senator from New Mexico, doesn’t buy the idea that humans are causing global warming. ‘I don't think the human effect is significant compared to the natural effect,’ he said. ... Scientists who disagree with this scenario ‘are being intimidated,’ Schmitt said. ‘They've seen too many of their colleagues lose grant funding when they haven't gone along with the so-called political consensus that we're in a human-caused global warming.’ The 74-year-old geologist recently resigned from The Planetary Society, a nonprofit dedicated to space exploration, after the group blamed global warming on human activity. ... ‘As a geologist, I love Earth observations,’ he wrote in his Nov. 14 resignation letter. ‘But, it is ridiculous to tie this objective to a “consensus” that humans are causing global warming when human experience, geologic data and history, and current cooling can argue otherwise. “Consensus,” as many have said, merely represents the absence of definitive science. You know as well as I, the global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making. It has no place in the Society's activities.’ ... Schmitt grew up in Silver City, graduated with a science degree from the California Institute of Technology in 1957, studied geology at the University of Oslo in Norway and took a doctorate in geology from Harvard University in 1964. In 1965, he joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a member of the first group of scientist-astronauts and the only geologist among them. In 1972, he flew to the moon on the last lunar mission, Apollo 17.”
PASTOR SENTENCED TO JAIL FOR PEACEFUL PROTEST AGAINST ABORTION (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from OneNewsNow.com, Feb. 20, 2009: “California pro-life counselor and pastor Walter Hoye has received a jail term for peaceful work outside an abortion clinic to try to save the lives of unborn babies. Hoye was found guilty of violating a local ordinance that dictates that he must stay at least eight feet away from anyone entering the clinic. He was found guilty, even though video demonstrated that he did not violate the law. Dana Cody of Life Legal Defense Foundation says Hoye was ordered to jail for 30 days, fined $1,130, and placed on probation for three years. ... Hoye next appears before the judge in March. Cody is challenging the ordinance in federal court. ... His approach was simply to carry a sign that said ‘Jesus Loves You; Can We Help?’ and offering those who wanted it some information about alternatives to abortion.”
LUTHERAN TASK FORCE SUPPORTS HOMOSEXUAL PASTORS (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A task force for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has proposed that the denomination allow homosexual pastors who are “in committed same-sex relationships” to be called by churches. The panel, called the Task Force for ELCA Studies on Sexuality, noted that there are various “conscience-bound” views held by its members on the subject of sexuality and these should be authenticated (“Lutheran Task Force Proposes Process,” Associated Baptist Press, Feb. 20, 2009). Thus, the standard for truth has become man’s conscience. That is a perfect definition of anarchy and apostasy. The acceptance of homosexuality in churches is a sign of the end times. Sodom is mentioned three times in the New Testament in the context of prophecies of the end of the age (Luke 17:28-30; 2 Peter 2:4-6; Jude 7-8).
GOD USES ALL KINDS OF MUSIC (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is by Brian Snider
HE BROUGHT ME UP OUT OF A HORRIBLE PIT (Friday Church News Notes, February 27, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD” (Psalms 40:1-3).
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, UNSUBSCRIBE, or CHANGE ADDRESSES go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.
February 20, 2009 Volume 10, Issue 8
church in
PDF format:
http://wayoflife.worthyofpraise.org/fridaynews/pdf/2009/20090220.pdf
EMERGING CHURCH ON THE MARCH AT THE NATIONAL PASTORS CONFERENCE
(Friday Church News Notes, February 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org
fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In February 2009, Brian Snider
and I covered the 2009 National Pastor's Convention with media
credentials. Attended by 1,500 pastors and Christian leaders, the
conference was sponsored by Zondervan and InterVarsity Press and
featured influential voices such as Leighton Ford, Bill Hybels, Brian
McLaren, and Rob Bell. It represents what is being called the emerging
church, and it is all about change. Society is changing, so the
churches must change, and these publishers are major change agents.
Their objective is to move traditional Bible churches into the new
emerging model. They have many tactics, and they are willing to be
patient. In his 2008 book Finding Our Way Again, Brian McLaren
described the plan to infiltrate churches and Christian institutions
that are currently rejecting the emerging church. They are targeting
our grandchildren. The Christian book publishing industry is a lot
like the Christian music industry. Doctrine does not matter and there
are a lot of rock stars being made through the use of slick marketing
materials, but when you strip away the slick packaging and cool
marketing gimmicks, what you find is the continual disintegration of
evangelicalism as it is pulled further and further into the emergent
church movement. The attendees represented a bewildering range of
views, including Methodist, United Church of Christ, Lutheran,
Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Pentecostal. The speaker
lineup included an agnostic Jew (A.J. Jacobs), a Roman Catholic
priest (Emmanuel Katongole), and a man who depicts God as a woman
(William Young). The first half hour of every general session started
out with a 30-minute comedy routine by a stand-up comic, some of it
pretty crude. One comedian, Michael, Jr., did a mocking send up of
people who were oversaved, or those who were zealous for the Lord.
One of the standards for being oversaved was that you were not
willing to laugh at off-color jokes. The apostasy of this day is
astonishing, when you consider the wickedness that faces our nation
and world on every hand and then you have a gathering of Christian
leaders beginning their meeting with stand-up comedy; surely the Lord
is at hand. The comedy routines were followed by rock concerts. On
display at this meeting was the blending that has been at the heart
of the evangelical movement since the early days of Billy Graham. Old
school evangelicals like Leighton Ford, Grahams brother-in-law, were
on hand, and on the far left were men like Brian McLaren who are
willing to reject the doctrines of the infallibility of Scripture,
substitutionary atonement, and an eternal fiery hell. There seem to
be no limits as to how far Christian book publishers will go in being
agents of change and moving churches away from the Bible into
dangerous and uncharted waters. We have posted a brief video overview
of the conference at the Way of Life web site, and soon we plan to
publish an extensive written report. Our new book What Is the
Emerging Church deals with this subject in depth. Our purpose in
doing this research is to warn Bible-believing churches that might be
tempted to move in a more contemporary direction and to adopt the
judge not philosophy. This is exactly what the New Evangelicals did
50 years ago, and we see where they are today. The Bible says, Be not
deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners.
THE SHACK PROMOTED AT THE NATIONAL PASTORS CONFERENCE (Friday
Church News Notes, February 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org
fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - At the National Pastors
Conference in San Diego, William Young, author of The Shack, was a
featured speaker. He had his own break-out session and was
interviewed in one of the general sessions by Andy Crouch, senior
editor of Christianity Today. It was said that 57% of the attendees
had read The Shack, and Young was enthusiastically received. The
Shack is a fictional account of a man who is bitter against God for
allowing his youngest daughter to be murdered and who returns to the
scene of the murder, an old shack in the woods, to have a
life-changing encounter. The God that he encounters, though, is not
the God of the Bible. Young depicts the triune God as a young Asian
woman named Sarayu (supposedly the Holy Spirit), an oriental
carpenter who loves to have a good time (supposedly Jesus), and an
older black woman named Elousia (supposedly God the Father). God
the Father is also depicted as a guy with a ponytail and a goatee.
Youngs god is the god of the emerging church. He is cool, loves rock
& roll, is non-judgmental, does not exercise wrath toward sin, does
not send unbelievers to an eternal fiery hell, does not require the
new birth, puts no obligations on people, doesnt like traditional
Bible churches, does not accept the Bible as the infallible Word of
God, and does not mind if the early chapters of the Bible are
interpreted as myth. Note the following quotes from Youngs god: I
dont need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment,
devouring you from the inside. Its not my purpose to punish it...
( The Shack, p. 120). Contrast Isaiah 13:11. Those who love me come
from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons,
Baptists or Muslims ... and many who are not part of any Sunday
morning or religious institutions. ... I have no desire to make them
Christian (p. 182). Contrast Acts 4:12; 26:28. The Shacks god is
suspiciously similar to the one described in the books of the more
liberal branch of the emerging church. Youngs god also has a strong
kinship to the New Age god promoted by Oprah Winfrey. The Shack is
another building stone of the end-times Tower of Babel.
SOCIAL WORK AND ENVIRONMENTALISM DRAWING BAPTISTS AND ORTHODOX
TOGETHER IN EASTERN EUROPE (Friday Church News Notes, February 20,
2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Earlier
this month the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague,
Czech Republic, hosted a four-day dialogue between Baptists and
Orthodox. The basis for the ecumenical rapport is social work and
environmental concern or creation care. The Baptists and Orthodox
exchanged gifts as a sign of the continuing partnership ( Baptist,
Orthodox Leaders Hold Groundbreaking Conference, Associated Baptist
Press, Feb. 13, 2009). Baptist World Alliance head Neville Callam
called for ecumenical cooperation between Baptists and Orthodox on
visits to Russia and the Republic of Georgia in 2008. According to
the Bible, the only basis for unity between Christians is spiritual
reality (e.g., the new birth) and doctrinal purity. Those who preach
a sacramental gospel that begins with infant baptism do not hold the
faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). They have a form of
godliness but deny the power thereof, and should therefore be
rejected (2 Timothy 3:5).
HINDUS TO LAUNCH COW URINE SOFT DRINK (Friday Church News Notes,
February 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org,
866-295-4143) - The same Hindu organization that is behind the
persecution of Christians in India is preparing to launch a new soft
drink made from cow urine. Called Gau Jal (Sanskrit for cow water),
the drink is undergoing laboratory tests by the Cow Protection
Department of the RSS, Indians biggest Hindu nationalist group. It
will be launched very soon, maybe by the end of this year ( India
to Launch Cow Urine, London Times, Feb. 11, 2009). Om Prakash, head
of the department, says, Dont worry, it wont smell like urine and
will be tasty, too. The Times observes that the drink is the latest
attempt by the RSS--which was founded in 1925 and now claims eight
million members--to cleanse India of foreign influence and promote
its ideology of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness. Many Christians were
slaughtered by Hindus in Orissa and other Indian states last year,
and hundreds of homes and churches were destroyed. The new cow water
will be mixed with Ayurvedic herbs. Ayurvedic is an alternative
health care practice based on the Hindu scriptures that is becoming
popular in North America. We have written about it extensively in the
book The New Age Tower of Babel, available from Way of Life
Literature.
STIMULUS BILL CREATES GOVERNMENT DATABASE OF MEDICAL RECORDS (Friday
Church News Notes, February 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org
fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from
Final Stimulus Bill, CNSNews.com, Feb. 12, 2009: The final version
of the stimulus bill, negotiated by the Democratic leaders of the
House and Senate, includes a provision creating a federal database
that will hold the personal medical records of every American, Katie
Grant, spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told
CNSNews.com Thursday. ... the bills that passed both the House and
Senate created an Office of the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology and called for the coordinator to create a
national database and a plan for the utilization of an electronic
health record (EHR) for each person in the United States by 2014.
GOOGLE’S WATCHING YOU (Friday Church News Notes, February 20, 2009,
www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following
is excerpted from Googles G1 Phone Makes It Easy to Track Surfing
Habits, USA Today, Feb. 8, 2009: The new Google phone, dubbed the
G1, has been touted as a working man's smartphone--a cheap,
Web-friendly wireless device that can make life easier for millions
of consumers. The G1, as it turns out, also stands to make life a
whole lot easier for Google--by making it a snap to track your
movements on the mobile Web and send you ads as it does on the
desktop. The device, sold exclusively by T-Mobile, gives Google
access to your e-mail, instant messages, contact lists, Web-search
history and geographic location. By keeping tabs on your mobile life,
Google can quickly figure out what sort of ads to send your way, and
when. It's like a walking surveillance device, says Jeffrey
Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a
consumer watchdog group. It's never been easier to get information on
the run. Smart devices such as the G1 and Apple iPhone let you put the
Internet in your pocket and go--down the block or across the country.
But this convenience could cost plenty in lost privacy, consumer
advocates and tech analysts say. Once data have been collected and
warehoused, you lose control of it forever. ... the sheer size and
scope of Google's data-mining operation--the Web giant performs more
than 80% of all desktop searches worldwide--makes it a uniquely
pervasive presence, says Chester. ... One thing everybody agrees on:
The mobile Web is exploding. ... Total number of wireless devices
worldwide: about 3 billion. ... Once your information has been
collected and stored, theres no way to get rid of it. You cant see
whats been collected or have it expunged. Its Googles for as long
as it wants to hold onto it.
YOGA PRACTICE INCREASES IN AMERICA (Friday Church News Notes,
February 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org,
866-295-4143) - According to the Yoga Journal, the number of
Americans trying yoga has tripled since 2004, to 18 million. Yoga is
a Hindu practice and its growth is evidence of the spread of the New
Age. This philosophy has permeated the self-help, personal
transformation field; it has leavened education and reached deeply
into business, health care, psychological counseling, drug and
alcohol rehabilitation, politics, government, sports, even the
military. Neil Anderson says: It is safe to say that the prevailing
religion in America ... is no longer Christianity but is instead New
Age (Christ Centered Therapy, 2000, p. 61). A trip to the average
national-chain book store will verify this. New Age philosophy is
found not just in the religious, spiritual, and metaphysical
sections, but in the self-help, business, and other sections.
HIGH ROLLERS COMMITTING SUICIDE (Friday Church News Notes, February
20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - An
MSNBC report dated February 14, 2009, was titled ruined financiers
committing desperate acts. In the past year, more than 10 high
rollers have committed suicide and others have tried to fake their
own death in order to avoid creditors and get a new start. German
billionaire Adlof Merckle jumped in front of a train. Patrick Rocca
of Ireland and Steven Good of Chicago, real estate investors, shot
themselves. At least two men who lost fortunes to Bernie Madoffs
schemes, which have swallowed as much as $50 billion in investments,
have killed themselves. In 1933, at the height of the Great
Depression, the suicide rate of Americans stood at 17 per 100,000,
the highest in history. Many others today are in despair over lost
life savings. Robert Chew, who lost $1.2 million to Madoff, says, My
life is over. Im 56. We find ourselves at night, with the lights out,
crying, asking, What are we going to do? The answer is repent of
your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ, and reject greed and
the pursuit of wealth. God has promised to take care of His own. The
Psalmist David said, I have been young, and now am old; yet have I
not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread (Psalm
37:25). That was one of my maternal grandmothers favorite verses,
because it encouraged her during the Great Depression when she waited
on the Lord and He faithfully provided for her large family. The Bible
also warns, For the love of money is the root of all evil: which
while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee
these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
patience, meekness (1 Timothy 6:10-11).
CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in
churches and is published by Way of Life Literatures 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 Gods 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 Lords 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, UNSUBSCRIBE, or
CHANGE ADDRESSES go to HYPERLINK
"http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html"
http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. Way of Life
Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143,
fbns@wayoflife.org.
February 13, 2009 Volume 10, Issue 7
http://wayoflife.worthyofpraise.org/fridaynews/pdf/2009/20090213.pdf
CREATOR OF BIRTH CONTROL PILL REGRETS POPULATION DECLINE (Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Carl Djerassi, one of the three chemists whose formulation of synthetic hormones paved the way for the birth control pill, laments its consequences. In an opinion piece in the Austrian newspaper “Der Standard,” Djerassi warned that his country is committing “national suicide” because women are not producing enough children to maintain the population.
GODDESS WORSHIPING CATHOLIC NUN (Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - An example of the new pagan influx into the Roman Catholic Church is the nun Miriam MacGillis, who worships goddesses and the earth. This theology is called “eco-spirituality” or “earth spirituality.” In late February she is scheduled to present a lecture, “Cosmology, Faith and Sustainability,” at Saint Thomas University in Miami, Florida (“‘Gay-Friendly’ Miami Archdiocese Features Goddess-Worshipping Nun at Diocesan University,” LifeSiteNews.com, Feb. 5, 2009). Pioneered by Thomas Berry, a Passionist priest, eco-spirituality holds to a pantheistic view that the entire universe is the “body of God” and that it is evolving. It is a synthesis of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Native Americanism and it has permeated many of the Catholic orders, including the Dominican, Cistercian, Jesuit, Paulist, and Benedictine. Other influential names in this new Catholic paganism are Teihard de Chardin, Thomas Merton, Thomas Ryan, Thomas Keating, Kevin Hunt, Alan Griffiths, Wayne Teasdale, Willigis Jager, Basil Pennington, John Main, and Anthony de Mello. At the heart of this movement is the contemplative mysticism that has spread widely among evangelicals through the influence of men such as Richard Foster and Brennan Manning. For more about this see the book “Contemplative Mysticism: A Powerful Ecumenical Bond,” which is available from Way of Life Literature.
BRITISH ADVISER SAYS ABORTIONS NECESSARY TO COMBAT GLOBAL WARMING (Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Abortions to Stop Global Warming,” Worthy News, Feb. 4, 2009: “Britain's government adviser on the environment says abortions should be part of a policy against global warming and that couples who have more than two children are being ‘irresponsible.’ In comments monitored by Worthy News, Wednesday, February 4, Jonathon Porritt, who chairs the government’s Sustainable Development Commission, said curbing population growth through contraception and abortion must be at the heart of policies to fight global warming. He said political leaders and green campaigners should stop dodging the issue of environmental harm caused by an expanding population. ‘I am unapologetic about asking people to connect up their own responsibility for their total environmental footprint and how they decide to procreate and how many children they think are appropriate,’ Porritt told ‘The Sunday Times’ newspaper. ... Porritt said, ‘I think we will work our way towards a position that says that having more than two children is irresponsible. It is the ghost at the table...’” CONCLUDING NOTE FROM BROTHER CLOUD: It is humorous how that the population control crowd always wants to volunteer others, particularly unborn children, rather than stepping up to the plate and volunteering to do away with themselves to help save the earth.
EPISCOPALIAN BISHOP NOMINEE IS ALSO A BUDDHIST (Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Kevin Forrester, who has been nominated for the position of bishop of the diocese of northern Michigan, is an ordained Buddhist (Institute on Religion and Democracy, Feb. 5, 2009). Currently he is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Marquette, Michigan. Forrester must be confirmed by a special convention to be held on February 21. The Episcopal Church in America is filled with confused people who practice paganism. Bill Melnyk, a former priest, claims to be a Druid. Episcopal priest Matthew Fox promotes “creation spirituality,” which is pure New Age. He believes in evolution, denies the fall of man, rejects the unique Deity, substitutionary atonement, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, and calls God “Mother.” He promotes astrology, Wicca, shamanism, goddess worship, and the “intelligent” use of drugs.
ENGLAND’S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FORBIDS “PREACHING” (Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Last month Britain’s Department of Health published a new rule forbidding doctors or nurses to preach to staff or patients and warning that such will be treated as harassment or intimidation under disciplinary procedures (“NHS Staff Face Sack if They Discuss Religion,” London Telegraph, Feb. 5, 2009). Caroline Petrie, a Christian nurse who attends a Baptist church, was suspended after she offered to pray for an elderly patient who was offended and reported the matter to the authorities. Petrie was reinstated after a public outcry that reached the House of Commons (one Tory MP said the case highlighted the “utter absurdities” of political correctness), but the new rule is still on the books and Christian medical practitioners are now in constant danger of being disciplined simply for practicing their religion and offering spiritual help to their patients.
BARACK OBAMA WILL SEEK TO RATIFY DANGEROUS UNITED NATIONS TREATY (Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “United Nations’ Threat: No More Parental Rights,” WorldNetDaily, Feb. 5, 2009: “A United Nations human rights treaty that could prohibit children from being spanked or homeschooled, ban youngsters from facing the death penalty and forbid parents from deciding their families' religion is on America's doorstep, a legal expert warns. Michael Farris of Purcellville, Va., is president of ParentalRights.org, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association and chancellor of Patrick Henry College. He told WND that under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, or CRC, every decision a parent makes can be reviewed by the government to determine whether it is in the child's best interest. ‘It's definitely on our doorstep,’ he said. ‘The left wants to make the Obama-Clinton era permanent. Treaties are a way to make it as permanent as stuff gets. It is very difficult to extract yourself from a treaty once you begin it. If they can put all of their left-wing socialist policies into treaty form, we're stuck with it even if they lose the next election.’ The 1990s-era document was ratified quickly by 193 nations worldwide, but not the United States or Somalia. In Somalia, there was then no recognized government to do the formal recognition, and in the United States there's been opposition to its power. Countries that ratify the treaty are bound to it by international law. Although signed by Madeleine Albright, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., on Feb. 16, 1995, the U.S. Senate never ratified the treaty, largely because of conservatives' efforts to point out it would create that list of rights which primarily would be enforced against parents. ... According to the Parental Rights website, the substance of the CRC dictates the following: Parents would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings to their children. ... Children would have the ability to choose their own religion. ... Children would acquire a legally enforceable right to leisure. Teaching children about Christianity in schools has been held to be out of compliance. ... Children would have the right to reproductive health information and services, including abortions, without parental knowledge or consent. ... At a Walden University presidential debate last October, Obama indicated he may take action. ‘It's embarrassing to find ourselves in the company of Somalia, a lawless land,’ Obama said. ‘I will review this and other treaties to ensure the United States resumes its global leadership in human rights.’ Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been a strong supporter of the CRC, and she now has direct control over the treaty's submission to the Senate for ratification. The process requires a two-thirds vote.”
INCREASED PERSECUTION OF FORMER MUSLIMS (Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Increased Persecution of Former Muslims,” Worthy News, Feb. 3, 2009: “The ‘persecution of Christians with a Muslim background’ has ‘drastically’ increased around the world, according to a report released Tuesday, February 3, by a leading Christian rights group. Netherlands-based Open Doors, which supports Christians ‘persecuted for their faith,’ said Communist-run North Korea still tops the top 10 of its annual World Watch List (WWL) of 50 countries with the worst cases of religious persecution. ‘However number two through seven are occupied by countries where people who converted from Islam to Christianity are in life danger,’ the group told Worthy News. ‘Christians with a Muslim background are a vulnerable group within the Muslim world,’ said Open Doors Director Tjalling Schotanus speaking from Open Doors’ headquarters in the Dutch town of Ermelo. ‘A Muslim who abandons Islam is seen as someone who offends his family, his country and his religion,’ he added. Saudi Arabia is mentioned at WWL's number two as ‘only Muslims are allowed to openly express their religion,’ Open Doors said. Iran was mentioned at number three amid reports that ‘many Christians with a Muslim background have been detained and tortured,’ the group said. ‘In addition the country wants to introduce a law which will force judges to impose the death penalty on those abandoning Islam.’ Afghanistan also had the dubious honor of rising three places compared to a year ago, from number seven to four, due to what Open Doors described as mainly the ‘growing pressure from the Taliban and other Muslim extremist groups in the country,’ despite the presence of an international peacekeeping force. Other countries mentioned as worst violators of religious freedom are Iraq, Eritrea and India.”
WHAT IS A TRILLION? (Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Numb and Number: Is Trillion the New Billion?” CNN, Feb. 4, 2009: “In that strange intersection of economics and politics, there is a new fashion: Trillion is the new billion. One trillion $1 bills stacked one on top of the other would reach nearly 68,000 miles (about 109,400 kilometers) into the sky, or about a third of the way from the earth to the moon. A billion is a thousand million, and a trillion is a thousand billion. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said this week that Americans have become desensitized to just how much money that is. ‘To put a trillion dollars in context, if you spend a million dollars every day since Jesus was born, you still wouldn't have spent a trillion,’ McConnell said. ... [Math professor John Paulos] says, ‘A million seconds is about 11.5 days. A billion seconds is about 32 years, and a trillion seconds is 32,000 years. People tend to lump them together, perhaps because they rhyme, but if you think of it in terms of a jail sentence, do you want to go to jail for 11.5 days or 32 years or maybe 32,000 years? So, they're vastly different, and people generally don't really have a real visceral grasp of the differences among them.’”
THE HEATHEN WILL RAGE, BUT GOD WILL LAUGH (Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him” (Psalms 2:1-12).
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, UNSUBSCRIBE, or CHANGE ADDRESSES go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.
February 6, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 6
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. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.
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EMERGING CHURCH LEADER DENIES ORIGINAL SIN (Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In his “New Christians” blog for January 26, emerging church leader Tony Jones calls the doctrine of original sin “a depraved idea.” He says, “I have come to reject the notion of Original Sin. I consider it neither biblically, philosophically, nor scientifically tenable.” Jones testifies that he first began to doubt this doctrine while studying the “church father” Augustine. Jones calls him “the great father of Western theology,” but in reality Augustine was the great heretical father of apostate Roman Catholic theology. Many have been led into the steps of unbelief and even into the arms of Rome herself through studying the so-called church fathers. They are the ones that presumptuously introduced such heresies as infant baptism, veneration of relics, priestcraft, hierarchicalism, sacramentalism, and Mariolatry. As for the doctrine of original sin, philosophy and science are irrelevant. The only question is what saith the Scripture, and Scripture plainly teaches that mankind fell through Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12-19) and that all men are therefore born in sin (Psalm 51:5), spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-2), unrighteous (Romans 3:10), with a darkened and deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9). For more about the emerging church see What Is the Emerging Church, which is available from Way of Life Literature.
CHUCK COLSON PRAISES CATHOLIC PRIEST (Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In a recent issue of his publication, Chuck Colson praised the late Catholic priest John Neuhaus and restated support for his ecumenical ventures. Colson said, “... one of his most important legacies will be the way he brought together orthodox believers--particularly evangelicals and Catholics--in order to begin to seek common ground” (“Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant,” BreakPoint, Jan. 22, 2009). Neuhaus and Colson were the movers and shakers behind Evangelicals and Catholics Together of 1994, which stated, “We together, Evangelicals and Catholics, confess our sins against the unity that Christ intends for all his disciples.” Neuhaus and Colson also led the team of ecumenists that published “The Gift of Salvation” in 1997, which pretended that Roman Catholics now agree that salvation is by grace alone. At the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the declarations of which are still in force and were quoted extensively by the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s, the Roman Catholic Church formally condemned the biblical doctrine of salvation through the grace of Christ alone. “If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ’s sake, or that it is this confidence alone that justifies us, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA” (Sixth Session, “Canons Concerning Justification,” Canon 12). Colson became affiliated with Neuhaus through ecumenical anti-abortion endeavors.
ATHEIST AD CAMPAIGN SPREADS (Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The advertisement campaign promoting atheism on city buses is spreading. It began in England with advertisements stating: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” The Atheist Bus Campaign raised $190,000, enabling them to put ads on 800 buses throughout Britain, plus posters in London’s Underground. In Washington, D.C., the American Humanist Association placed ads proclaiming, “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.” Similar campaigns have appeared in Barcelona, Spain, and in Genoa, Italy. In Genoa the signs read, “The bad news is that God does not exist; the good news is that we do not need him.” The Bible, on the other hand, says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good” (Psalm 14:1; 53:1). If the atheist is right, it matters not what one believes or how one lives, because we are the product of blind chance and there is nothing beyond the grave. Therefore, if the atheist is right, the Bible-believer has lost nothing, because he at least pursues a wholesome, compassionate way of life in this present world that is superior to the path of dissipation and lawlessness in many practical and measurable ways. If, though, the Bible is right, the atheist who dies without Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour will wake up in eternal hell fire and have all eternity to reflect on his ridiculous atheistic campaign.
SARAH PALIN’S CHURCH SET TO RESUME SERVICES AFTER DANGEROUS ARSON FIRE (Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Wasilla Bible Church in Anchorage, Alaska, has recovered after an arson set a fire to its auditorium on December 12, 2008, causing one million dollars in damage (“Wasilla Bible Church Received Overwhelming Support,” KTUU-TV, Jan. 22, 2009). The church was possibly targeted because of Sarah Palin’s attendance there. It had also hosted a conference for ex-homosexuals not long before the fire. According to The Collins Report, the fire was set when five adult women and a teenage girl were inside the church building. Accelerant was spread across all the exits in an apparent attempt to create a wall of fire between the victims and escape, and the wires were cut to the phones, fire alarm, and water sprinkler system (Kevin Collins, “Exclusive interview reveals: Palin’s church fire was attempted murder by a professional,” Jan. 29, 2009). The evidence, therefore, points to attempted murder. Palin, the governor of Alaska, was John McCain’s vice presidential running mate. Her politically conservative stand and opposition to abortion and homosexual marriage produced a fierce onslaught from the liberals who control the mainstream media.
PERSECUTION REPORT (Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In Burma, authorities are clamping down on churches in the capital city and surrounding areas. In January, the government ordered churches meeting in “unauthorized facilities” to close, even though it has not issued permits for new churches since the late 1990s (Compass Direct News, Jan. 21, 2009). In China, an elderly preacher who is near death was denied a final meeting with his imprisoned Christian wife (Worthy News, Jan. 29, 2009). In Bangladesh, a pastor’s wife was gang raped by a group of eight Muslims. There have been several other violent incidents of persecution in Bangladesh in recent weeks. In Minsk, the capital of Belarus (bordering Russia), authorities have ordered New Life Church to vacate its building. “Baptists running street libraries have reportedly had literature confiscated and received court warnings for ‘singing songs of a Christian nature without permission’” (Worthy News, Jan. 30, 2009). In Eritrea, three Christians have died in military confinement camps since October. All three were tortured (Mission Network News, Jan. 30, 2009). In Saudi Arabia, 28-year-old Hamoud Bin Saleh was arrested after he posted the testimony of his conversion from Christ to Islam on a blog. The Saudi government also blocked Hamoud’s blog, which is hosted by Google’s Blogger (Voice of the Martyrs, Jan. 30, 2009). In Sudan, the U.S. aid group Thirst No More, which drills and repairs water wells, was ordered to leave the country after officials found thousands of Arabic-language Bibles stacked in its office (Yahoo News, Jan. 31, 2009).
UNITED METHODISTS TRYING TO INCREASE PRESENCE OF WOMEN IN PULPITS OF LARGEST CHURCHES (Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The United Methodist Church has always ordained female pastors, but it is concerned that only a tiny percentage of women pastor the denomination’s largest churches. Roughly 25% of its 44,000 “clergy” are females, but only 85 women lead churches with more than 1,000 members, as opposed to 1,082 men in such positions. The liberal denomination has launched a program called “Lead Women Pastor Project” in an attempt to correct this (“Methodist Women Seek to Pastor Large Churches,” Christian Post, Jan. 21, 2009). Feminists and their male disciples are destined to be perpetually frustrated, because they refuse to acknowledge that the differences between men and women are divinely-ordained and innately ingrained in mankind and no amount of social engineering and handwringing can change this. “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths” (Isaiah 3:12).
FORMER AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER SAYS GLOBAL GOVERNMENT THE ONLY WAY OUT OF CRISIS (Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In a recent interview, former Australian prime minister and treasurer Paul Keating said that a one-world government is the only way out of the present financial crisis. He said: “It’s way worse than it appears. The top 200 financial institutions in the world have suffered an average loss of value of 74%. What we need is a completely new global political and economic settlement. ... If this goes on for a couple of years, there will be the serious question of an American default, a default by the United States treasury. This is what we are dealing with. ... Until we get to a representative world structure of power that is a global political power and global financial power, that’s the only way, I think, that confidence will return” (“Paul Keating Joins Lateline,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Feb. 2, 2009). Our friend Hughie Seaborn comments: “If I didn’t know better I would say he must have learned his ideas straight from the pages of the Book of Revelation. Although he didn’t recommend a one world religious system, he certainly did recommend that a one world money system and a one world government was needed to fix the problem.”
RAPPER VIOLENCE (Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Earlier this month four men were stabbed at a nightclub in New York during the “official” after-party of the film premiere of “Notorious” about rapper Notorious B.I.G. (Associated Press, Jan. 17, 2009). One 21-year-old was stabbed numerous times and was in critical condition. Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls; real name Christopher Wallace) was shot to death in 1997 at age 24, only three years after the release of his debut album “Ready to Die.” Filled with cursing, violence, and immorality, the album featured a cut entitled “Suicidal Thoughts,” in which the rapper sang, “When I die, -----, I wanna go to hell.” Other rappers that died violently and/or young in the last 20 years include Scot La Rock, King Tubby, The Mac, MC Rock, Trouble T-Roy, Brandon Mitchell, Michael Robinson, Charizma, Deah Dame, Eazy-E, Mr. Cee, Hitman, Stretch, 2Pac, Yaki Kadafi, Seagram Miller, Rappin’ Ron, JoJo White, DJ Caravan, Dion Stewart, Fat Pat, Crazy Rak, Papo Deschamps, Malcolm Howard, MC Big L, MC Ant, Bugz, Freaky Tah, Matthew Roberts, Q-Don, Yusef Afloat, Big Pun, Johnny Burns, Chip Banks, DJ Screw, Eclipse, Hussein Fatal, Mooseman Roberts, Prince Ital Joe, Tonnie Sheppard, Coughnut, Left Eye Lopes, Jam Master Jay, Sabotage, Camoflauge, Speedy Loc, B Brazy, Double D, Lil Bo, Soulja Slim, Freako, Holy Quran, Russell Jones, Dr. Dre, Fat Tone, Proof, Big Hawk, Stack Bundles, Skee 64, Woodie, G Spider, Big Moe, Pimp C, Karizma, Plan B, Black Cee, Black C, DJ Co V C of Funxsouljaz, 4-1-So-Sicc-Ass-Rell of Cold World Hustlers, Lil’ Bo, and Billboard of Black Wall Street. Rap music has done incalculable moral and spiritual harm to the black community as well as to society at large, and its influence is worldwide. “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. 15:33). “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. ... My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood” (Proverbs 1:10, 15, 16).
ANT GENIUS (Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Creation Moments, http://www.creationmoments.net/radio/transcript.php?t=2177: “Picture this: The setting was the scientist’s weekend cottage. The scientist had placed a saucer of chocolate on a wooden stool inside a bowl partially filled with water because ants hate water. And to further hinder the ants, the scientist painted the outside of the bowl with a coat of very slow drying glue. He was sure that when he returned to his cottage the next weekend, the chocolate would be untouched. When he returned, six days later, ants were swarming all over the chocolate. How did they do it? Well, the ants had crossed the glue because of the sacrifices of some of their heroes. It seems that a few ants had given their lives to form a single-file bridge of their bodies across the glue. Then they used pieces of grass and tiny pieces of wood to build a floating bridge to a leg of the stool, where it was an easy climb to the chocolate. The scientist also noticed that other daredevil ants were crossing the ceiling, stopping over the saucer of chocolate, and then dropping right into their prize! Proverbs 6:6 and 30:25 mention ants as examples of wisdom suggesting that those who are wise will learn from them. Wisdom is a gift of our Creator. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom while Jesus Christ is the depth of His wisdom!”
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 list. To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE ADDRESSES go to http://www.wayoflife.org/fbis/subscribe.html. Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.