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.

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.

The Great Commission is a name for the work of world evangelism that Christ preached after He rose from the dead. It is called Great because it is repeated five times in the New Testament (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:44-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). Repetition in the Bible has two very important purposes. First, repetition is for emphasis. By repeating this command so many times, God is saying it is important. Second, repetition is for instruction. Each mention of the Great Commission adds more instruction. We will examine four of the passages:

MATTHEW 28:18-20

1. We see the authority for the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18). Jesus has all authority, and when we preach the gospel we do so in His authority. Thus, we have the authority to go to any nation and to speak to any person in His name. Many people have the idea that “religion” is a private matter, but Jesus has made it our business to proclaim the gospel. The Bible says that every born again person is an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). We go in His name and authority.

2. We also see the work that is involved in doing the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

Republished July 21, 2010 (first published October 22, 2009) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article)-

New Evangelicals have long divided doctrine into “cardinal” and “secondary” categories, and the “secondary,” we are told, can be overlooked for the sake of unity.

In Grace Awaking, Chuck Swindoll says, “My encouragement for you today is that each one of us pursue what unites us with others rather than the few things that separate us. ... There was a time in my life when I had answers to questions no one was asking. I had a position that life was so rigid I would fight for every jot and tittle. I mean, I couldn’t list enough things that I’d die for. The older I get, the shorter that list gets, frankly” (Grace Awakening, p. 189).

Even the most conservative evangelicals, such as Iain Murray, fall into this trap. Condemning fundamentalism in America Murray stated, “In its tendency to add stipulations not foundational to Christian believing, fundamentalism was prone to make the boundaries of Christ’s kingdom too small” (Iain Murray, Evangelicalism Divided, p. 298).

This is the working philosophy of Southern Baptists. Consider the book Building Bridges (Convention Press, 2007). It was written by David Dockery and Timothy George and prefaced by Thom Rainer, three prominent Southern Baptist leaders.

“Though I may disagree with some on secondary and tertiary issues, I will not let those points of disagreement tear down bridges of relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ. ... We need a new spirit of mutual respect and humility to serve together with those with whom we have differences of conviction and opinion. It is possible to hold hands with brothers and sisters who disagree on secondary and tertiary matters of theology...” (pp. 11, 34).

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THE NEW AGE’S VAIN DREAM

With the turn of the twenty-first century there has been a dramatic increase in the popularity and influence of New Age thought. It is also called Human Potential, New Spirituality, Self Spirituality, Self Empowerment, Alternative Spirituality, and Global Transformation.

Two decades ago the New Age seemed to be more the doctrine of Hollywood movie stars (Shirley MacLaine’s “I am God”) and Star Wars enthusiasts (“may the force be with you”) and the magic-crystal pop culture of rock & roll hippies than the philosophy of the average person or something to be taken seriously in churches.

As we will see, this wasn’t true then, and it definitely isn’t true today. The New Age is on the move!

The New Age 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).

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.

Updated July 6, 2010 (first published March 6, 2006) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

Pentecostals and Charismatics often teach that there are two types of tongues described in the New Testament: the “public language tongues” of Pentecost and the “private prayer” tongues of 1 Corinthians 14:4 -- “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.” Some call this distinction “ministry tongues” and “devotional tongues.”

Early Pentecostal leaders understood that biblical tongues were real earthly languages. They even thought they would be able to go to foreign mission fields and witness through miraculous tongues without having to learn the languages. Those who attempted this, though, returned bitterly disappointed!

“Alfred G. Garr and his wife went to the Far East with the conviction that they could preach the gospel in 'the Indian and Chinese languages.’ Lucy Farrow went to Africa and returned after seven months during which she was alleged to have preached to the natives in their own 'Kru language.’ The German pastor and analyst Oskar Pfister reported the case of a Pentecostal... ‘Simon,’ who had planned to go to China using tongues for preaching. Numerous other Pentecostal missionaries went abroad believing they had the miraculous ability to speak in the languages of those to whom they were sent. These Pentecostal claims were well known at the time. S.C. Todd of the Bible Missionary Society investigated eighteen Pentecostals who went to Japan, China, and India ‘expecting to preach to the natives in those countries in their own tongue,’ and found that by their own admission ‘in no single instance have [they] been able to do so.’ As these and other missionaries returned in disappointment and failure, Pentecostals were compelled to rethink their original view of speaking in tongues” (Robert Mapes Anderson, Vision of the Disinherited: The Making of American Pentecostalism).

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.)