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



CHRISTIAN FEMINISTS DEMAND APOLOGY FOR “TEACHING THAT DENIGRATES WOMEN” (Friday Church News Notes, July 30, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A group that calls itself the Freedom for Christian Women Coalition has issued a “Demand for Apology” from those who teach that women should submit to their husbands and that they are forbidden to preach. The group called out the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood in particular for its “complementarian” interpretation that says men and women “are equally in the image of God but assigns them complementary differences in role and function.” This position became part of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Baptist Faith and Message in 1998. It says in part that “the wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.” This statement enrages the shrill, in-your-face feminists associated with the Freedom for Christian Women Coalition. Assuming for themselves the divine prerogative of knowing the motives of men’s hearts, they claim that “complementarian” doctrine is “more about power and control than about love or obeying the Word of God” (Associated Baptist Press, July 26, 2010). They demand that such beliefs be renounced and “confessed as sin.” They even claim that the “complementarian” view promotes abuse. Cindy Kunsman, one of the speakers at the recent Freedom for Christian Women Coalition conference in Orlando, said, “Many women suffer as a result of the ‘evil woman theology’ perpetuated by CBMW because their sub-Christian view of the nature of women scapegoats women as the root cause of all problems within both marriage and the family.” This is a ridiculous statement. To uphold the Bible’s teaching about women has nothing to do with blaming them as the root cause of problems. In fact, the Bible lays the blame for the fall of the human race on Adam rather than Eve (Romans 5:12). When it comes to the home, God puts the greatest obligation at the feet of the husband and father. He is to love his wife as Christ loves the church, which is the highest standard of compassion conceivable (Ephesians 5:25). He is warned not to provoke his children to wrath but to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). To love and nurture is the opposite of abuse. Any man who abuses his wife and children does so in direct rebellion to the Bible and to the “complementarian” teaching based on the Bible.

PALAUS CONTINUE TO PROMOTE RADICAL, REBELLIOUS ECUMENISM (Friday Church News Notes, July 30, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Evangelist Luis Palau and his son Andrew continue to promote radical, rebellious ecumenism through their evangelistic “festivals.” The latest example was the Yakima Valley CityFest in eastern Washington state. The festival brought together more than 100 churches, including Roman Catholic, to entertain and “evangelize” the masses. The churches were “united in the goal of sharing in word and deed the positive message of Jesus Christ.” What could be wrong with that, you say? The thing that is wrong with it is that it is done in blatant disobedience to God’s Word. Have we really become so desensitized by apostasy and compromise that we think that God will overlook willful disobedience in the pursuit of “good”? He won’t, and the Billy Grahams and Luis Palaus of this age (and all the rest of us) will learn that in eternity. Has God not commanded us to mark and avoid those who teach false doctrine (Romans 16:17), to turn away from those who have only a form of godliness (2 Timothy 3:5), to be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14)? Has God not warned us of false gospels (2 Corinthians 11:3-4; Galatians 1:6-8)? How can you preach a pure gospel when you are yoked with churches that preach a false one? This is confusion of the highest degree, and only men drunk with end-time apostasy could pretend that it could work. John Ecker, bishop of St. Paul Cathedral of Yakima (Roman Catholic), enthusiastically urged his parishioners to participate, saying: “Don’t forget our ‘City Fest’ coming the weekend of July 16-17 at the Fair Grounds, a chance to join our voices and prayers with many other churches from our valley and city and to better our city as a place to live for all of our people. I encourage your participation there this month” (St. Paul Cathedral newsletter, June 24, 2010). Do you really think the bishop would do this if he thought his people and their friends would hear any warning that would make them doubt Catholicism? This is a church that “reverences” Mary, believing her to be the immaculate Queen of Heaven; a church that preaches a sacramental gospel of faith plus works; a church that defines the new birth as being baptized. Like Billy Graham before him, Luis Palau is perfectly at home with the St. Paul Cathedrals of this world, and the evangelical world at large is silent in the face of this horrible disobedience, which demonstrates evangelicalism’s unashamed apostasy. Further, the Palau festivals are 75% worldly entertainment. The Yakima CityFest was described as “a nonstop program of music, action sports, and family fun.” It was a rock & roll concert; it was a worldly party. But it was not biblical evangelism.

PROFESSOR FIRED FROM STATE UNIVERSITY FOR SAYING HOMOSEXUALITY IS A SIN (Friday Church News Notes, July 30, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from “Firing Follows Anonymous ‘Hate Speech’ Complaint,” OneNewsNow.com, July 14, 2010: “A professor in Illinois has been relieved of his duties for telling students in his Catholicism class that he agrees with the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality. The University of Illinois has fired adjunct professor Dr. Ken Howell, who taught courses on Catholicism, after a student anonymously accused the instructor of engaging in ‘hate speech’ by saying he agrees with the church’s teaching that homosexuality is immoral. Howell, who has taught at the university for nine years, says his firing violates his academic freedom. The professor is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund in his quest for reinstatement at the school. Jordan Lorence, senior counsel with ADF, explains his firm's approach in the case. ‘We have written a demand letter to the university explaining what the law on freedom of speech is for professors and urging them to restore Dr. Howell to his teaching position,’ says the attorney. ‘And if not, we will examine our options and consider filing a lawsuit against the University of Illinois.’”

GEORGIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT FORCED TO GIVE UP BIBLE FAITH (Friday Church News Notes, July 30, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Georgia School Forces Christian Student to Alter Beliefs to Graduate,” The Christian Post, July 22, 2010: “An Augusta State University student filed suit Wednesday after she was told to change her Christian beliefs or otherwise be expelled from the school's graduate counseling program. ‘A public university student shouldn’t be threatened with expulsion for being a Christian and refusing to publicly renounce her faith, but that’s exactly what’s happening here,’ said David French, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund. ‘Simply put, the university is imposing thought reform.’ Jennifer Keeton, 24, has been enrolled in the College of Education’s School Counselor masters degree program since fall 2009. She has expressed her Christian beliefs in class discussions and written assignments, but it was her views regarding gender and sexuality that irked faculty. According to the filed complaint, ‘She has stated that she believes sexual behavior is the result of accountable personal choice rather than an inevitability deriving from deterministic forces. She also has affirmed binary male-female gender, with one or the other being fixed in each person at their creation, and not a social construct or individual choice subject to alteration by the person so created. Further, she has expressed her view that homosexuality is a lifestyle, not a state of being.’ ... A Remediation Plan required that Keeton attend workshops on diversity sensitivity training toward working with GLBTQ [Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Queer] populations, work to increase exposure and interaction with gay populations by attending such events as the Gay Pride Parade in Augusta, and read more on the topic to improve counseling effectiveness with GLBTQ populations. ... When Keeton asked why her biblical ethical views would disqualify her competence as a counselor, Mary Anderson-Wiley [an associate professor who oversees student education and discipline] at one point responded, ‘Christians see this population as sinners.’”

MORE REVELATIONS OF ROME’S HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS (Friday Church News Notes, July 30, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - An Italian magazine has published an expose on “the double life of gay priests in Rome.” The magazine, Panorama, is owned by Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Using hidden cameras, the magazine captured priests visiting homosexual clubs and bars. A former Italian MP said, “If all the gays in the Catholic church were to leave it at once ... they would cause it serious operational problems” (“Catholic Church Embarrassed by Gay Priests Revelations,” The Guardian, July 24, 2010). A “member of the clergy” is quoted as saying that the proportion of homosexual priests in Rome is “98%.” A 2002 report in America concluded that between 25% and 50% of “seminarians and priests there are homosexual.”

CHRISTIANS SHOT DEAD IN PAKISTAN (Friday Church News Notes, July 30, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Pakistan City Tense after ‘Blaspheming’ Christians Shot,” BBC News, July 20, 2010: “Police reinforcements have been called in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad a day after two Christians charged with blasphemy were shot dead outside court. Clashes broke out in the city, home to a large Christian community, after the brothers were gunned down. Pastor Rashid Emmanuel, 32, and Sajid, 24, were accused of writing a pamphlet critical of the Prophet Muhammad; a rights activist said they were framed. Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law carries the death penalty. A police officer who was escorting the brothers from a district court on Monday was critically wounded when the unidentified gunmen opened fire and then escaped. ... Atif Jameel, spokesman for the Pakistan Minorities Democratic Foundation, told the BBC: ‘No-one in his right mind would issue a derogatory pamphlet against the Prophet and put his name and address on it. This appears to be a conspiracy against peace and religious harmony in Faisalabad.’ ... Although no-one has ever been executed under Pakistan's blasphemy law, about 10 accused have been murdered before the completion of their trial, according to a BBC Urdu correspondent in Lahore. Dozens more are living in exile to avoid punishment under the legislation.”

OBAMA’S FREEDOM OF WORSHIP VS. THE CONSTITUTION’S FREEDOM OF RELIGION (Friday Church News Notes, July 30, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Why Is Obama Changing ‘Freedom of Religion’?” Paul Cooper, NewsRealBlog.com, June 29, 2010: “Last month the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2010 report revealed grave concern about both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejecting the term ‘freedom of religion’ for the term ‘freedom of worship’ in public pronouncements. Why the change when the First Amendment talks specifically about our freedom of religion and not simply worship? Last November Obama used the term ‘freedom of worship’ at the memorial service for the victims of the Ft. Hood shooting. A few days later he did it again in speeches in both Japan and China. In December Hillary Clinton also used that terminology three times in a speech at Georgetown University. In January of this year Clinton used the ‘freedom of worship’ term four times while addressing senators. The response by many religious freedom advocates is fear of what this all means. Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom and member of the Religious Freedom commission, believes freedom of worship is limited to private beliefs and prayer but not public activity. She says, ‘It excludes the right to raise your children in your faith; the right to have religious literature; the right to meet with co-religionists; the right to raise funds; the right to appoint or elect your religious leaders, and to carry out charitable activities, to evangelize, [and] to have religious education or seminary training.’ World Magazine adds, ‘That’s not an inconsequential change: Freedom of worship means the ability to have church services, which is crucial, but leaves out protection for Christian schools, publications, and Christian compassionate ministries… Freedom of religion means that ministries designed to help prisoners change their lives, or to help the poor enter the workforce, can teach what the Bible teaches. Under freedom of worship, these ministries could become illegal, as they are in many parts of the world.’”

FREEDOM OF WORSHIP ISLAMIC STYLE (Friday Church News Notes, July 30, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “The New Inquisition,” The Berean Call, April 1999: “In Saudi Arabia there is a total blackout on anything Christian: one cannot carry a Bible on the street or have a Bible study in the privacy of one’s own home. Even in our embassy, over which the American flag flies, Christian church services are banned. It is officially the death penalty in Saudi Arabia and some other Muslim countries (and enforced unofficially elsewhere) for a Muslim to convert to any other religion. Only Muslims can be citizens of Saudi Arabia. Even in Arab countries where shari'a (Islamic law) is not enforced by the government, Islam’s influence prevents freedom of speech, of the press, of religion, and of conscience. In PLO territories, Christian Arabs, who once had freedom under Israel, now suffer persecution, imprisonment, and death for their faith. Yet neither the UN nor our own government protests such oppression behind the Islamic curtain. Muslims build mosques and worship freely in the West, but in their own countries they deny such freedoms to others. Instead of reporting this hypocrisy, the world media covers it up.”

ARGENTINA LEGALIZES “GAY MARRIAGE” (Friday Church News Notes, July 30, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from the Christian Post, July 15, 2010: “Argentina legalized same-sex marriage Thursday, offering gay couples all the same rights given to their heterosexual counterparts, including adopting children. In a 33 to 27 vote, with three abstentions, Argentina became the first country in Latin America to legally recognize gay marriage. While same-sex civil unions are recognized in Buenos Aires, parts of Mexico and Brazil and in Uruguay, no other Latin American country prior to Argentina had allowed gay and lesbian couples to marry. The unprecedented legislation passed despite intense opposition by the Roman Catholic Church, which is powerful in the predominantly Catholic nation. President Cristina Fernandez and her center-left government are strong advocates of gay rights and legalization of gay marriage. Fernandez has stated she will sign the legislation. ... Argentina now joins nine other countries in the world where same-sex marriage is legal, including Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden. In the United States, gay marriage is legal in five states--Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont--and federal district Washington, D.C.”

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

SPIRITUAL DANGER IN THE RIGHT TO LIFE MOVEMENT (Friday Church News Notes, July 23, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The spiritual danger in the Right to Life movement lies in its ecumenism. It is typical for Bible believers to be thrown into close association with Roman Catholics and other heretics in their pursuit of the otherwise righteous cause of fighting abortion. A prime example of what can happen is the case of Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff in the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in America. In 1994, while working in the abortion industry and living a lesbian lifestyle, McCorvey was befriended by “evangelical” minister Flip Benham of Operation Rescue. The next year she was baptized by Benham. She became an outspoken opponent of abortion and renounced homosexuality. In her book Won by Love, McCorvey described the moment when she rejected abortion. “I was sitting in O.R.’s offices when I noticed a fetal development poster. The progression was so obvious, the eyes were so sweet. It hurt my heart, just looking at them. I ran outside and finally, it dawned on me. ‘Norma,’ I said to myself, ‘They’re right.’ ... It’s as if blinders just fell off my eyes and I suddenly understood the truth--that’s a baby!” So far, so good, but the problem is that the same Right to Life movement that helped open McCorvey’s eyes to the error of abortion brought her into close association with heretics and as a result she was captured by a deceiving spirit (2 Corinthians 11:1-4, 12-15). Through the instrumentality of Priests for Life, particularly McCorvey’s “dear friend Father Edward Robinson,” she joined the Roman Catholic Church in 1998. She announced, “After many months of prayer, and many worried nights, I am making the joyous announcement today that I have decided to join the mother church of Christianity--by which I of course mean the Roman Catholic Church.” The Bible warns, “mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Rom. 16:17), and, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. 15:33). It is foolish to disobey God’s Word in the pursuit of good. God’s Word is the divinely authoritative definition of right and wrong, and if I am disobeying God’s Word I am not doing good in God’s eyes no matter how right it might feel or how it might appear before men.

LIBERAL TRANSLATOR OF THE TODAY’S ENGLISH VERSION DIES (Friday Church News Notes, July 23, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Robert Bratcher, chief translator for the Today’s English Version (Good News for Modern Man), died on July 11 at age 90. After earning a Th.D. in 1949 from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, he became a missionary to Brazil, representing the theological liberalism that was already deeply entrenched in the Convention. He taught at the SBC’s seminary in Rio de Janeiro and in 1957 became affiliated with the American Bible Society’s translation department. As early as 1953, Bratcher denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ in a paper published by the Rio de Janiero seminary. During a question and answer session on October 13, 1970, at the First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, South Carolina, Bratcher was asked, “Is Jesus Christ God, or the same as God?” He replied, “Jesus is not the same personality as God” (Donald Clarke, Bible Version Manual, 1975, p. 98). Bratcher also denied the infallible inspiration of Holy Scripture. On November 5, 1970, after a lecture at Furman University, Dr. Bratcher told the students. “IF WE BUILD OUR FAITH WHOLLY ON THE BIBLE, THEN WE ARE BUILDING OUR FAITH ON SHIFTING SAND” (The Greenville News, Greenville, South Carolina, Nov. 8, 1970). In 1981, Bratcher made the following statement at a Southern Baptist Life Commission seminar in Dallas, Texas: “ONLY WILLFUL IGNORANCE OR INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY CAN ACCOUNT FOR THE CLAIM THAT THE BIBLE IS INERRANT AND INFALLIBLE ... To invest the Bible with the qualities of inerrancy and infallibility is to idolatrize it, to transform it into a false god” (The Baptist Courier, April 2, 1981). Some claim that the Southern Baptist Convention has “been rescued from liberalism,” but it has never denounced Robert Bratcher and his vile Today’s English Version. It has been heavily promoted by the SBC, in spite of the fact that practically every passage dealing with the Divinity of Christ is corrupted and the Blood was largely removed in New Testament passages dealing with the Atonement, two mention only two of its gross errors. Beware of the Southern Baptist Convention! Even its staunchest preachers are New Evangelical compromisers, and compromise is highly contagious. (For extensive documentation of Bratcher’s apostasy and of the corruption of the Today’s English Version see The Modern Bible Version Hall of Shame, which is available from Way of Life Literature in print and e-book formats.)

HALF OF ISRAELITES WANT THE HOLY TEMPLE REBUILT (Friday Church News Notes, July 23, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - According to a new poll, half the Israeli public wants the Third Temple to be built. Only 23% are opposed. The poll was taken in advance of Tisha B’av, which is the commemoration of the destruction of the First and Second Temples on the same day of the year (Arutz Sheva, July 18, 2010). This statistic is a dramatic change from the past, when only a small percentage supported the temple’s rebuilding. In 1986, David Shipler wrote in his book Arab and Jew, “During my five years in Jerusalem [1979-84], the idea of building a Third Temple in place of Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock evolved from a wild notion held by a very few fringe militants into a goal embraced and legitimized by parts of the established right wing.” Several organizations in Israel are dedicated to this task. The Temple Institute has fashioned most of the articles necessary for the Temple’s operation, including a $2 million menorah made from 95 pounds of gold. It currently is located at the Western Wall Plaza just across from the Temple Mount. The rebuilding will probably occur when the Antichrist makes a peace covenant with Israel. Each biblical reference to the Third Temple is given in connection with the Antichrist (e.g., Daniel 8:11-12; 9:27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:2).

BOOK EXPOSING “THE SHACK” NOT ACCEPTED BY CHRISTIAN MEDIA (Friday Church News Notes, July 23, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The book “Burning Down The Shack” by James De Young is “too hot for the U.S. church establishment,” according to WorldNetDaily. “Making mega-millions off a novel seen by many as ‘heretical’ wasn’t a problem for America's Christian publishing, bookstore and broadcasting establishment, but a nonfiction book critiquing the best-seller was turned down by Christian publishers, avoided by Christian bookstores and boycotted by some of the largest Christian radio networks” (“The Book Too Hot,” WorldNetDaily, July 6, 2010). The book exposing The Shack’s heresies has been largely boycotted even though it was purposefully designed to be a soft-hitting critique. (We called the SBC’s LifeWay bookstore in Huntsville, Alabama, and they said that the book is only available as a special order item and probably won’t be available on the shelf for walk-in purchases.) De Young says that he became convinced that “if he were to write a meaningful response, he had to acknowledge chapter-by-chapter the book’s good points and then ‘bring the reader around to questioning what the chapter really is all about and the doctrinal errors in it.’” He said that he decided on this approach as opposed to “being totally confrontive” because other books that have been critical of The Shack have been “dismissed as being extreme, and, therefore, people don’t read them.” As it turns out, his soft approach hasn’t worked, either. The reason is that American Christianity has fallen in love with The Shack God and rejected the God of the Bible. The Shack God is non-judgmental and lets people live pretty much as they please. He is cool and loves rock & roll, doesn’t require repentance from sin, and doesn’t send people to hell. Evangelicalism fell in love with the cool non-judgmental god 50 years ago, and CCM is merely a noisy reflection of this apostasy. I find it interesting that evangelicals such as De Young think that they have the right to test things like The Shack with God’s Word, but they are highly critical of fundamentalists who do the same thing. They say that we go too far. It is acceptable to take a mild stand for a few of “the cardinals” of the faith, but it is “extreme” to take all of the Scripture seriously. Well, then, let me be very extreme, because God requires that we love all of the truth and not just a bit of it! Was the Psalmist an extremist when he wrote, “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false” (Psalm 119:128)?

WHY IS THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION DYING? (Friday Church News Notes, July 23, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Many signs point to the fact that that the Southern Baptist Convention is in decline. Sunday School attendance of children ages 6 to 11 dropped from 1.5 million to less than a million between 1971 and 2007. The age of the average SBC member is in the mid-to-late 50s. Since the 1990s, overall church membership has dropped, as has the number of congregations “plateaued or in decline,” which stood at 70% in 2003 (referring to churches that are either not growing are have decreased in membership by 10% or more). In 2008, NINE THOUSAND SBC congregations reported ZERO baptisms. Many of the reported statistics are, in fact, bogus. The Convention claims to have 16 million members, but that is a meaningless number in light of the fact that only 6 million have an active role (“Southern Baptists Ponder Declining Membership,” NPR, July 20, 2010). SBC membership roles are typically stuffed with inactive names, and a large percentage of the active members attend only on Sunday morning and have little to no further involvement in the life of the church. I am still probably listed as a member in the church that I grew up in, though I left it more more than four decades ago when I was a teenager. There is no doubt that the SBC is in decline, but why? Some say it is because of lack of adaptability to the times. These propose a big dose of contemporary emerging church philosophy. But that’s not what built strong Baptist churches in the past. The problem with the Southern Baptist Convention is spiritual deadness. It is that simple, and attempts to raise this dead horse through pounding music and big screen projectors and tattooed youth pastors is vain. It is not a new problem. The Southern Baptist Convention has been in decline spiritually since I was a child (born 1949) and even before that. The SBC churches I was associated with growing up were worldly, spiritually lifeless, carnal. There was no caution when receiving church members to try to make sure they were truly born again. There was no discipline of sinning members. There were no high moral and spiritual standards for teachers and deacons. There was no rejection of Billy Graham’s rebellious ecumenical evangelism. There was little to no separation from the world; little to no preaching against the filthy rock culture. Even then, the SBC had a name that it lived but it was dead. It was dead! This is why most of the young people left when they reached adolescence, and it is even worse today. No spiritual power. No deep biblical conviction. No real discipleship. No serious Bible training at the congregation level. The only hope for the SBC is a spiritual revival that is founded upon true repentance, but most SBC leaders and teachers and deacons don’t even acknowledge the seriousness of the issue, let alone own up to the root of it. I have read the analysis of many well-known SBC leaders, and none of them have acknowledged what I have said in this report. (Paige Patterson has mentioned “spiritual poverty” but he hasn’t clearly defined that poverty.) The deadness was why I didn’t go back to the SBC when I was saved at age 23. I joined an Independent Baptist church that was on fire for the Lord and was enthusiastic about the Bible and believed in separation and wasn’t afraid to take unpopular stands and preach unpopular messages; but today probably the majority of IB churches are no different in character from the SBC churches I grew up in.

THE INTERNET’S DRAMATIC NEGATIVE EFFECT ON DEEP THINKING (Friday Church News Notes, July 23, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Benjamin Wiker, “The Importance of Not Being Stupid,” Human Events, July 19, 2010: “If Nicholas Carr is right—and I’m certain he is—most people who start this article won’t finish it. In his excellent The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, Carr argues that the medium of the Internet, by its very nature, is destructive of the capacity for deep reading and deep thinking. As a result, even a slim article (let alone a thick book) lies beyond our technologically enfeebled powers of concentration. Surfing the Internet is an apt metaphor. Habitual users are masters of skimming along the surface of the web, climbing and dropping from page to page, weaving and ducking from hyperlink to hyperlink. ... Hamlet might be on the Internet, but after reading a few lines, we hit the initial hyperlink to Shakespeare’s bio and skim a couple paragraphs, hit Stratford-upon-Avon and glance at the map, hit Warwickshire out of idle curiosity, then take time out for an email check, click on the Drudge Report and scan the headlines, glide through a few stories, then sample a few blogs, back to the email... As Carr makes clear, the effect is caused by the medium itself, by the way the Internet delivers information. It may very well make available any number of literary and philosophical gems, every classic text worth conserving, but the way it delivers forms the brain in the click and skim image of the medium. We become mentally helpless, incapable of the kind of sustained attention necessary for deep reading and the deep thinking that follows upon it. ... While I’m obviously not for destroying the Internet in a Luddite frenzy (and neither is Carr), no amount of click-and-skimming can replace hours spent with Reflections on the Revolution in France or Democracy in America. Or if it does, the power to think deeply goes with it.” CONCLUDING NOTE FROM BROTHER CLOUD: This is a true observation, and the ramifications for Bible-believing Christians are serious. We, of all people, need to be spending hours each week in serious meditation on good literature, beginning with the Bible itself. I thank the Lord that the ability of many believers to so meditate has not been destroyed by the Internet. I think of a pastor in Maine I spent some time with recently, who was reading the Bible through in one month. He is a young, technologically-capable man who uses e-mail and the web extensively, but he refuses to let it destroy his mental or spiritual life or that of his large family.

THE BEE’S PASSWORD (Friday Church News Notes, July 23, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from A Closer Look at the Evidence by Richard & Tina Kleiss. This is a daily devotional, which is packed with interesting scientific facts, is available in a KJV version from Bethel Print Ministry, www.bethelbaptist.ca. “It has recently been discovered that bees communicate using scents. Beehives are full of scents, yet honeybees are constantly alert to bees who are not members of the hive. Invaders to a hive are killed if they do not have exactly the same scent as the rest of the hive. Entomologists have discovered that all members of an individual hive learn to produce exactly the same chemical password. Amazingly, all honeybees use a specific combination of only two chemicals to make the scent distinctive to their hive. Bees from each hive can instantly tell whether a bee carries that hive’s specific chemical password. When bees start a new hive, they develop a new distinctive chemical password.”

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

GRAPHICAL PDF

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

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

THEOLOGIAN SAYS JESUS WAS NOT CRUCIFIED ON A CROSS (Friday Church News Notes, July 9, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Gunnar Samuelsson, a theologian at the Gothenburg University, claims that Jesus was not crucified on a cross. According to the London Telegraph: “He claims the Bible has been misinterpreted as there are no explicit references the use of nails or to crucifixion--only that Jesus bore a ‘staurus’ towards Calvary which is not necessarily a cross but can also mean a ‘pole’. Mr. Samuelsson, who has written a 400-page thesis after studying the original texts, said: ‘The problem is descriptions of crucifixions are remarkably absent in the antique literature. The sources where you would expect to find support for the established understanding of the event really don’t say anything’” (“Jesus Did Not Die on Cross,” Telegraph June 23, 2010). The fact is that the Bible plainly states that Jesus was crucified on a cross by the piercing of his hands and his feet (John 20:20, 25, 27; Psalm 22:16). As for extra-biblical historical evidence, Josephus was an eyewitness to the crucifixion of Jews during the siege of Jerusalem between 66-70 A.D. Further, in 1968 a team of archaeologists discovered the skeleton of a man who had been crucified by the Romans in the first century A.D. The team was led by V. Tzaferis and the discovery was made at Giv’at ha-Mivtar (Ras el-Masaref), just northeast of Jerusalem near Mount Scopus (J. H. Charlesworth, “Jesus and Jehohanan,” Expository Times, Edinburgh, February 1972). The tombs, which contained the bones of 35 individuals, are dated from the late second century B.C. to 70 A.D. when Jerusalem fell to the Romans. A young man named Jehohanan (John in English) (the name is inscribed on his ossuary) died of crucifixion sometime between 7 A.D. and 66 A.D. This was confirmed by Dr. N. Haas of the Department of Anatomy at the Hadassah Medical School (Hebrew University). Nails were driven through his arms and heels. Both his legs were broken at the shins.

TEEN GIRLS DRINKING MORE THAN BOYS (Friday Church News Notes, July 9, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A report by Partnership for a Drug Free America says that teenage girls are drinking more than boys. The number of teenage girls who say they drink is 59%, where it is 52% for boys (“Report Shows Teen Girls Are Drinking More,” Newsweek, June 29, 2010). The same study found a significant increase in drug use among girls. Other studies have shown that girls are increasingly involved in pornography. This is the result of the vile do-your-own-thing pop culture philosophy that has corrupted society at every level, but the foundational reason that the pop culture has succeeded is the apostasy and compromise of the average church. People in the West do not fear God because the fear of God is not preached from the pulpits. The average professing Christian today worships the judge-not idol of The Shack rather than the thrice-holy God of the Bible. Preachers and parents who do not take a clear stand against the filthy pop culture in all of its aspects will answer to God for their spiritual blindness and/or cowardice. In the book Keeping the Kids, which is available from Way of Life Literature, there is a chapter on how to unplug kids from the pop culture so that it does not destroy them morally and spiritually.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA ELECTS PRO-HOMOSEXUAL MODERATOR (Friday Church News Notes, July 9, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from the Christian Post, July 4, 2010: “A pro-gay marriage candidate was elected Saturday to serve as moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the 219th General Assembly. Cynthia Bolbach, an elder from Arlington, Va., was the only candidate out of six to express unqualified support for same-sex marriage, as reported by the denomination. ‘Who poses the greatest threat to the institution of marriage: Larry King who has been married 8 times or a gay couple (friends of hers) in Washington, D.C., who have been together for 62 years and who got married two weeks ago?’ she said, according to The Layman. The debate over homosexuality has persisted in the PC(USA) for decades. This week, delegates who are meeting for the General Assembly in Minneapolis will consider around a dozen overtures that seek to change the definition of marriage in the PC(USA) Book of Order to be more ‘inclusive,’ allow noncelibate gay clergy to serve, and extend benefits to same-gender spouses and domestic partners. ... [Bolbach said,] ‘Those in favor of the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in our life together--and I include myself in that group--believe that we fail to satisfy the Gospel imperative of inclusiveness as we continue to exclude gays and lesbians from leadership in our church.’” CONCLUSION FROM BROTHER CLOUD: Bolbach’s question about who poses the greatest threat to marriage can be answered very simply. Both Larry King and her homosexual friends pose threats to marriage. At least Larry King has married women, which is authorized by the Bible, but when a woman “marries” a woman or a man “marries” a man there is no biblical authority whatsoever and the very concept of absolute morality is destroyed. The Presbyterian Church USA is a filthy, apostate institution, and the “evangelicals” within it are living in blatant disobedience to God’s Word by being yoked together with unbelievers (Romans 16:17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 2 Timothy 3:5).

WHEN SEPARATION IS FIRST REJECTED (Friday Church News Notes, July 9, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The rejection of separation begins softly and quietly. It is something that is difficult to put one’s finger on, something not easy to identify. And those who are at the outset of rejecting separatism are offended when someone challenges them that this might be happening. The rejection of separation begins with a mere change in mood toward a more positive emphasis, a greater tolerance of error. It is a gradual loss of militant zeal in the defense of the faith. The first step in the rejection of separation can be identified not so much by what a preacher or a church or a Bible College does or says as by what it fails to do and neglects to say. The following questions can help identify whether or not an institution is giving up on separation: Does it ever host a conference on separation? Does it invite strong separatist preachers to blow the trumpet against compromise in a plain way? Does it publicly and clearly identify itself with separatists? Does it recommend literature on separation to its members? Or is separation something that was once preached, talked about, and practiced but now, for the most part, is left out of the agenda? Is the institution affiliating with those who use Contemporary Christian Music and contemporary Southern Gospel (which is no different in character from CCM) and perhaps moving toward adopting this music itself? If so, this is a loud warning, because CCM is not just music; it is a philosophy of Christianity that is diametrically opposed to separatism and CCM and a separatist stance cannot and will not live in harmony for long.

GENETIC RESEARCH FOOLISHNESS (Friday Church News Notes, July 9, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Two items in the news last week reminded us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) and the average scientist lacks this fundamental attribute. Genetics is the cutting edge of biological science, and though the past quarter of century has witnessed an impressive leap in the knowledge of the genome we are reminded that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. The first news item is about the mapping of Ozzy Osbourne’s DNA to find out “why decades of substance abuse didn’t take down the Prince of Darkness” (“Hard Rocker Ozzy Osbourne,” CNSNews.com, July 2, 2010). In fact, the issue has nothing to do with DNA. Osbourne is alive (though crippled) only because he stopped abusing drugs and alcohol and became “something of a health nut.” In other words, he started following God’s laws in the physical realm, even while he continues to sing about breaking them! There is nothing in Ozzy’s genes that caused him to survive substance abuse. He came very near to dying on numerous occasions, and today he bears the marks of that abuse in his palsied condition and slurred speech. The second news item pertains to a study of the genetic traits of centenarians. The authors of the study claim that they can now “predict with 77 percent accuracy whether someone would live to be at least 100” (“Discovery May Lead to Test for Longevity,” Seattle Times, July 2, 2010). This is nonsense on its very face. These scientists have not demonstrated that they can predict longevity. They are guessing, and they are treating a guess as a fact, which is typical for evolutionists. This is global warming “science” at the level of genetics. The researchers found that “40 percent of supercentenarians [those over 110] had three genetic signatures in common.” That means that 60% did not! It is common knowledge that longevity has something to do with genes, because it can run in families to some extent, but in reality it is only a small part of the picture. And the fact is that everyone dies, whether at age 10 or 110, and the Bible tells us why people die. Death is the wages of sin (Romans 6:23), and science can do nothing to solve this problem. Only through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can the sin problem be healed and death overcome, and it is only by the grace of a compassionate God that such an option exists.

SCIENTISTS ARE NOT GODS (Friday Church News Notes, July 9, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Outside their narrow field of expertise, scientists are often no wiser than the drunk at the end of the bar in your local saloon. In fact the are often more foolish than this drunk, because with the power of science, commissars often become intoxicated with the notion that knowledge and intellect in one field empowers them to speak with the authority of gods in all fields” (Dr. Lowell Ponte, “Science Wars,” FrontPage Magazine, Feb. 27, 2004; Ponte is former Science & Technology editor for Reader’s Digest).

THE MOSQUITO’S TOOL KIT (Friday Church News Notes, July 9, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from A Closer Look at the Evidence by Richard & Tina Kleiss. This daily devotional, which is packed with interesting scientific facts, is available in a KJV version from Bethel Print Ministry, www.bethelbaptist.ca. “The female mosquito needs a supply of blood before fertilizing her eggs. As soon as she lands on her victim, she goes to work with a special set of tools tucked inside her proboscis (mouthpiece). This mouthpiece has a syringe for injecting numbing and anti-thickening chemicals, two tiny spears to start the drilling operation, both a coarse and fine-toothed saw for cutting through different skin thicknesses, and a syringe connected to a pump in her head through which she can suck up to four times her body weight in blood.”

HATING FATHER, MOTHER, WIFE, CHILDREN, BROTHERS, SISTERS (Friday Church News Notes, July 9, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). What did Jesus mean when He demanded that we “hate” our nearest and dearest loved ones? We understand this by comparing Scripture with Scripture. Consider a companion passage in Matthew 10:37. When Jesus said we must hate our father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, he was saying that we must not love them more than Him and His will. The Lord requires that we put Him absolutely first in our affections and that we live to please Him above all else. Family relationships are important and God’s Word instructs us to care for our loved ones (1 Timothy 5:8; Colossians 3:18-21). At the same time, the call and work of God takes precedence over any human relationship. Down through the centuries many have resisted the call of God because of family ties. There are powerful forces at work here. I am reminded of the man who led me to Christ. When God called him to preach, his wife gave him an ultimatum that she would leave him if he did not stop preaching. He pleaded with her to stay, but he refused to stop preaching. Eventually she did leave him and took their young son with her. The man was brokenhearted, but he refused to stop obeying God’s command to preach the Word of God. Many, faced with such a choice, have turned their backs on God’s call.

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

GRAPHICAL EDITION

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

ATHEIST MAYOR OF LEICESTER BANS PRAYER (Friday Church News Notes, July 2, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Colin Hall, newly elected mayor of Leicester, England, has banned prayers before meetings at Town Hall. Hall, an atheist, calls prayer “outdated, unnecessary and intrusive” (“What’s God Got to Do With It?” Daily Mail, June 23, 2010). Atheism has not destroyed Christianity in England; apostasy has destroyed it. Nothing turns people away from God faster than apostate, hypocritical Christianity, and the Church of England is all of that and more. On a visit to London around Easter 1982 I picked up a newspaper and saw an interview with Robert Runcie, the Archbishop of Canterbury. When asked, “Why did Jesus die?” his reply was, “As to that I am an agnostic.” (For more documentation of the Church of England’s apostasy see “Fifty Years of Anglican Liberalism” at the Way of Life web site.)

40% OF EVANGELICAL LEADERS DRINK ALCOHOL (Friday Church News Notes, July 2, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In a recent survey, 40% of evangelical leaders said they “socially drink alcohol” (“Poll: 2 in 5 Evangelical Leaders,” The Christian Post, June 25, 2010). The poll was based on responses from leaders associated with the National Association of Evangelicals. After doing extensive research into the Emerging Church in 2008, I was impressed with the fact that they love to drink. The Bible warns, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1).

FOUR IN TEN AMERICANS BELIEVE JESUS WILL RETURN BY 2050 (Friday Church News Notes, July 2, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - According to a new study by Pew Research, 41% of Americans believe that Jesus will return before the year 2050. This percentage has remained almost the same over the last 10 years. The Bible says that we cannot know the exact time of Jesus’ return, but it is imminent, meaning it could happen at any time. One of the marks of a true New Testament Christian is that he lives in expectation of Christ’s return. “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

CANER AXED AS DEAN OF LIBERTY UNIVERSITY (Friday Church News Notes, July 2, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from “LU Won’t Renew Caner’s Contract,” The News & Advance, Lynchburg, VA, June 25, 2010: “Liberty University said Friday that Ergun Caner would no longer be dean of its seminary, following an investigation into some of his claims about being raised as a Muslim. Caner has signed a contract to be a member of the seminary’s faculty next year, the university said in a statement Friday afternoon. Four members of Liberty’s Board of Trustees who conducted the investigation found that ‘Dr. Caner has made factual statements that are self-contradictory,’ the university said. The panel, however, basically supported Caner’s testimony of being a former Muslim who converted to Christianity. The contradictions came in ‘matters such as dates, names and places of residence,’ the LU statement said. Although LU didn’t provide any more details about the discrepancies, Caner said in several speaking engagements in 2001 and later that he was raised in Turkey before coming to the United States as a teenager. He also said he was trained in Islamic jihad, a term associated with terrorist activity, according to recordings made in 2001 of his comments at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., and Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. However, his parents’ divorce papers, on file in a Columbus, Ohio, courthouse, indicated the family moved from Stockholm, Sweden, to the U.S. when Caner was about 4 years old, and continued to live in the Columbus area. ... Christianity Today was the first mainstream news outlet to report the Caner controversy. The media raised questions after bloggers had spent several months questioning Caner’s claims about his being raised in Turkey, and about his defending Christianity in debates with Muslim scholars and other religious leaders in 13 countries and 35 states. James White, one of those bloggers and a specialist in apologetics, the practice of defending Christianity against other faiths, said Friday that he would like to know more about what the investigating committee found. ‘I think they had to act in light of the documentation that had been provided,’ White said. ‘But the many questions that have been raised really aren’t being answered. Simply removing him as dean and allowing him to continue teaching the same subjects he was teaching before really isn’t going to lead to a conclusion of the controversy,’ White said. The LU statement, White said, ‘raises all sorts of questions about what did he apologize for.’”

LIFEST: APOSTASY GONE WILD (Friday Church News Notes, July 2, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted and adapted from “They Ought to Call It ‘Deathfest,’” Ralph Ovadal, Pilgrims Covenant Church, Monroe, Wisconsin: “The carnival called Lifest, which takes place July 7-11 at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, mirrors similar ‘evangelical’ events which are increasingly being staged around the nation, primarily in the summertime. ... summed up, it is five days of comedians, rock and roll, blasphemy, and ungodly teachings. It is a demonic, spiritual freak show featuring evangelist Luis Palau and socialist, emergent Jim Wallis as keynote speakers. ... Andrew Marin will be teaching his listeners on ‘Building Bridges with Gay and Lesbian Youth’ and ‘Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community.’ The title of one of Molly Sanborn’s messages to teens will be ‘Keep Your Pants On -- God’s plan for sex and relationships.’ Somehow I don't picture Molly blushing during her talk, even if I feel like blushing just including the title of it in this article. Apart from that, the sensual, worldly nature of the five-day Lifest will be effectually preaching the perverse antidote to Sanborn's crudely-put, and no doubt more crudely-delivered, caution. The title for one of Tiffany Thompson's messages [is too raunchy for us to print]. ... Another Lifest speaker is local gal Julianne Donlon-Stanz, who directs several ‘ministries’ for the Roman Catholic diocese of nearby Green Bay. Julianne is working on a book about Celtic spirituality. The priest of that diocese, ‘Fr.’ Tom Long, will be officiating at the Sunday morning mass held for the Roman Catholic attendees at Lifest and I suppose any evangelicals who would like to attend. By the way, according to the Lifest web site, speaker and emergent leader Shane Claiborne’s claim to fame is spending time working alongside Romanist/universalist ‘Mother’ Teresa in Calcutta. ... Suffice it to say, Lifest is a deep well of corruption. We certainly have not plumbed its depths. But I close here with this warning. Events such as Lifest, Rock the River, and the Cornerstone festival not only make a mockery of the truth as it is in Jesus before a watching world and to gullible youth, but such events are also training up a generation of false converts who will be furious enemies of the true church of Jesus Christ in the coming years.”

WYCLIFFE’S “LAST LANGUAGES CAMPAIGN” TO BE COMPLETED BY 2025 (Friday Church News Notes, July 2, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Because of the expanded use of modern technology, Wycliffe Bible Translators has estimated that the the Bible or a portion thereof will be translated into each of the world’s 6909 languages by 2025. This is more than a century sooner than an earlier estimate. The previous target date for the completion of Wycliffe’s Last Languages Campaign was 2150. Currently at least a portion of the Bible is available in about 4700 languages. The problem with this picture is that the new Scripture translations are based on the corrupt Greek New Testament and incorporate the dynamic equivalency method of translation which is unfaithful in the extreme. Most of the new foreign-language versions are loose paraphrases. For more information see the following reports at the Way of Life web site: “Dynamic Equivalency,” “Wycliffe Bible Translators: Whither Bound?” and “Wycliffe Bible Translators and Rome.”

CHRISTIANS ARRESTED AT ISLAMIC FESTIVAL IN MICHIGAN (Friday Church News Notes, July 2, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “‘Allahu akbar!’ shouted as Christians Cuffed,” WorldNetDaily, June 21, 2010: “Four Christians were arrested and thrown out of a public Arab festival in Michigan--and at least two people claim a crowd cheered ‘Allahu akbar!’ while the Christians were led away in handcuffs for doing nothing more than engaging in peaceful dialogue and videotaping the event. Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, Paul Rezkalla and 18-year-old Negeen Mayel attended the 15th annual Dearborn Arab International Festival on June 18 in Dearborn, Mich., where an estimated 30,000 of the city's 98,000 residents are Muslim. The American Arab Chamber of Commerce announced the event was expected to draw ‘over 300,000 people from across the country, Canada and the Middle East.’ The festival covers 14 blocks and is free and open to the public. Qureshi and Mayel are former Muslims who are now Christians. Mayel’s parents emigrated from Afghanistan. Wood is a former atheist. All are from a Christian group called Acts 17 Apologetics. ... One witness named Steven Atkins, a resident of Toronto, Canada, said, ‘I never thought I would see this in America. When Dr. Qureshi was arrested I heard people clapping and applauding, and some said Allahu akbar,’ he said. ‘It was an intense discussion, but it was not unruly. … There was no threat of violence.’ Atkins added, ‘It's becoming more restrictive here than in Canada.’”

YOUNG FUNDAMENTALISTS VALUING DISPOSITION OVER POSITION (Friday Church News Notes, July 2, 2010, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from the sermon “Real Answers for Fundamentalists” by Jim Van Gelderen, March 2005: “[It is said that young fundamentalists ‘value disposition as much as position.’] I have heard folks say of previous generations of fundamentalists that they had the right position but the wrong disposition. An unpleasant disposition could be Word-based and Spirit-led or it could be carnal and fleshly. Let me look at some unpleasant countenances that are Spirit-led. I want to ask you a question: what is the wrong disposition? A frown? Anger? Proverbs 25:23 says, ‘The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.’ When somebody comes to you, talking about your pastor, what God wants you to do is really look mean. Just put a huge frown on your face. You will be biblical! Do you see that, folks? Look at Mark 3:5, ‘And when he had looked round about on them with anger...’ Who are we talking about there? Jesus. Look at Revelation 6, ‘And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.’ What kind of a disposition do you think His face will have that day? ‘And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away...’ Can you imagine Jesus cleansing the temple and afterwards his disciples said, ‘Man alive, that was a wonderful disposition’? Do you think He was smiling? Now folks, all I’m pointing out is that the dispositions are not the real issue. The issue is, did God lead you? Have you ever frowned at your kids? This may shock some of you, but I remember times where my father disciplined me and he wasn’t smiling. He was one of those old fundamentalists that had the right position but he had the wrong disposition. Isn’t that ridiculous thinking? When I stand in the pulpit I’m not thinking about disposition; I’m thinking, ‘Am I being led of the Spirit?’ Granted, God’s not going to give you an angry disposition for the rest of your life; it will probably be a very small percentage of your life; but there are times that an angry disposition is led of the Lord. A pleasant disposition can be compromise or it can be Word-based and Spirit-filled. The focus should be on God’s will and not on what disposition we have.”

THERE IS NO GENETIC CODE FOR THE HUMAN SOUL (Friday Church News Notes, July 2, 2010, www.wayoflife.org ,fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from Creation Moments, http://www.creationmoments.com/radio/transcript.php?t=3015: “The $250 million Human Genome Project is attempting to map all the human genes. Some observers have been saying that the human genome project will define what it means to be human. Such talk, however, is based on evolution. We are not the sum of our DNA. It is well known, for example, that two people can inherit the same weakness for alcohol. One may become an alcoholic, while the other avoids alcohol for his entire life. This does not mean that mapping the human genetic code is inherently evil. Such knowledge can lead to precisely designed drugs that do what they are supposed to do without any side effects. It may also lead to better treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases that can have a genetic cause. At the same time, dangers are beginning to appear. For example, with the knowledge of which particular genetic information produces what disease, unborn babies could be screened, and those who have a potential to develop unwanted health problems might be aborted. A British governmental agency has already recommended this course of action. Another danger is that children may be forced into certain careers simply based on their ‘genetic potential.’ One’s genetic profile may even lead insurance companies to refuse coverage to people whose genes suggest the possibility of some future disease. All our genetic information added together does not define who we are because we also have a soul that has no genetic code, and only the knowledge of Jesus Christ can bring health to the human soul.”

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