HIGH POTENCY MARIJUANA “STRONGLY LINKED” TO PSYCHOSIS (Friday Church News Notes, March 29, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “High potency marijuana,” UPI, Mar. 20, 2019. It is the latest in a long line of evidence that marijuana is not an innocent relaxation drug. “Smoking high-potency cannabis, used daily, has been linked to diagnosis of conditions like schizophrenia, paranoia and other psychosis disorders, new findings say. About 50 percent of new cases of psychosis disorders diagnosed in Amsterdam were linked to use of high-potency cannabis, according to a study published Tuesday in The Lancet. Additionally, 30 percent of new psychosis cases diagnosed in London were also associated with high strains of the drug. … Overall, daily cannabis users were three times more likely to suffer a psychotic episode than those who never used the drug. That risk increased to five times for high-potency users. … ‘As the legal status of cannabis changes in many countries and states, and as we consider the medicinal properties of some types of cannabis, it is of vital public health importance to consider the potential adverse effects that are associated with daily cannabis use, especially high potency varieties,’ said Marta Di Forti, researcher at King’s College London.”

DEMOCRATS IN THE U.S. CONTINUE TO TRY TO DESTROY FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH (Friday Church News Notes, March 29, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Rep. Cicilline,” CNSNews.com, Mar. 15, 2019: “On March 13, House and Senate Democrats introduced H.R. 5, the Equality Act, a proposal to expand protections in the 1964 Civil Rights Act to people based on their sex, sexual preference or gender identity. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who is openly gay, said conservatives would ‘use fear’ to stop the legislation and asserted, ‘we cannot allow claims of religious freedom to be used to discriminate against an LGBT individual.’ At a Capitol Hill press conference alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Cicilline said, ‘We know that in the weeks ahead conservatives will do everything they can to kill this bill and block progress once again.’ … The bill states that it is designed ‘to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and for other purposes.’ … Democrats previously introduced the legislation in 2015 and 2017, with the initiative dying in committee both times.”

U.S. SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH LOWER COURT AGAINST RELIGIOUS LIBERTY (Friday Church News Notes, March 29, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Christian B&B Owner Forced to Serve Gay Couples,” CBNNews.com, Mar. 19, 2019: “The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from a Christian bed and breakfast owner who was ordered by a lower court to serve a lesbian couple despite it being a violation of her religious beliefs.  The Supreme Court rejected the appeal Monday, thus upholding the lower court’s ruling in favor of the lesbian couple. Now, litigation will continue to determine what penalty the Christian business owner must face. Phyllis Young, the owner of Aloha Bed & Breakfast in Honolulu, Hawaii, refused to rent a room in her home to Diane Cervili and Taeko Bufford in 2007 due to her religious beliefs about marriage. Cervili and Bufford sued Young over her actions and accused her of discriminating against them because of their sexuality. Alliance Defending Freedom represented Young and argued that because she ‘only rented 1-3 rooms in her personal home she did not fall under the Hawaii public accommodations law that makes sexual-orientation discrimination unlawful.’ The conservative law firm also pointed out that the Constitution protects Young's right to not promote behavior that violates her faith or associate with people unwilling to respect her convictions. However, a state court found Young in violation of Hawaii's Civil Rights Commissions' public accommodation law. The law applies to hospitality, entertainment, and transportation services. The law makes it ‘illegal to deny a person access to or to treat them unequally in a place of public accommodation’ because of a person’s ‘religion,’ ‘sexual orientation,’ and ‘gender identity or expression.’”

JOURNALIST FACES POSSIBLE JAIL TIME IN BRITAIN FOR “MISGENDERING” (Friday Church News Notes, March 29, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Can you go to jail for ‘misgendering’?” Spectator, Mar. 19, 2019: “Another woman in Britain is facing a police investigation—and potentially, a jail sentence—because she wrote things online about sex, gender and a person who changed gender. So far, so familiar, but this tale has a significant feature. The woman is a journalist. A British police force is investigating a journalist over words that she published. Caroline Farrow, 44, is the subject of an investigation by Surrey Police over tweets she sent referring to the adult child of Susie Green, head of Mermaids, a charity concerned with transgender children.  Farrow says the investigation arises because she ‘misgendered’ the child, who was born male but now identifies as female. Farrow is a columnist and occasional TV commentator. She writes and speaks from a Catholic perspective about a number of issues including education, family policy, euthanasia and gender. … Farrow told me that on Monday this week an officer from a police station in Guildford had contacted her to tell her she was to be interviewed under caution in relation to tweets she sent last year some time after September, when she appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain with Susie Green of Mermaids, a charity. Farrow said: ‘I am being interviewed under caution for misgendering Susie Green’s daughter. It’s all rather Orwellian and rather scary.’ … Susie Green said, ‘At four years old, my child told me that God had made a mistake, and that he should have been a girl.’” [Concluding comment from Friday News Notes editor: Susie Green’s son, Jack, underwent sex change surgery in Thailand at age 16 and he and his mom insist that the boy is now a girl named Jackie, and it is Susie’s position that anyone calling her “daughter” a “son,” or “her” a “him,” they are “misgendering” and should be punished.]

IRANIAN CONVERT FROM ISLAM REFUSED ASYLUM BY UK BECAUSE BIBLE IS TOO VIOLENT (Friday Church News Notes, March 29, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Iranian Convert Refused,” The Daily Caller, Mar. 21, 2019: “An Iranian man applying for asylum to the U.K. had his application denied because he converted from Islam to Christianity. According to a report from The Times, U.K. immigration officials wrote back to the man after he sent in his applications, explaining why they were discriminating against him. Immigration officials cited biblical passages from the books of Revelation and Leviticus. The Times reports: Immigration officials wrote to the man citing violent passages from the Bible to prove their point. They said that the Book of Revelation was ‘filled with imagery of revenge, destruction, death and violence.’ According to the report, the immigration officials were condemned by the Church of England for their ‘lack of religious literacy.’ Iran is one of the most hostile countries in the world toward Christians. Last year, Iran arrested more than 100 Christians shortly before Christmas as the faithful were celebrating the birth of Jesus. Iran has also made a point to target pro-Israel Christians. In 2017, four Iranian Christians were arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison for ‘promoting Zionist Christianity.’ Arrests for vague crimes such as ‘blasphemy’ are also frequently used by the theocratic state to target Christians.” In conclusion, John Zmirak made the following comments about this report: “Whoever made the decision to send back that helpless, harmless Iranian Christian to a regime that executes apostates from Islam? He did it out of malice, and spite. He did it to make a political point. To mock the legitimate worries of Westerners at the influx of Islamists. I’m sure when he signed the order, he snickered to himself all the way home. He’s lucky there was no jihadist on his tram” (“Iranian Christian Barred,” The Stream, Mar. 22, 2019).

CHINA’S CITIZEN MONITORING CONTINUES TO RISE TO NEW LEVELS (Friday Church News Notes, March 29, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Not Paying Attention in Class?” Futurism.com, May 17, 2018: “China’s mass surveillance operation has a new target: distracted high school students. In March, Hangzhou Number 11 High School in east China installed a ‘smart classroom behavior management system’ (or ‘smart eye’) in one of its classrooms. The smart eye uses facial recognition technology to monitor students, and by this summer, administrators plan to install the Big Brother-esque system in every classroom. Here’s how it works. Every 30 seconds, three cameras installed in the front of the room scan each student’s face to determine their expression: surprised, sad, antipathy, angry, happy, afraid, or neutral. The cameras also record each student’s actions throughout the class, noting whether they are reading, listening, writing, standing up, raising hands, or leaning on the desk. Smart eye then notifies the teacher in real-time if it notices that a student appears distracted. The teacher can also view a report at the end of the class that provides an average of each student’s expressions.”

BEHOLD, I COME QUICKLY (Friday Church News Notes, March 29, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Christ’s quick coming is repeated three times in the last chapter of Revelation (Re. 22:10, 12, 20), and once in Revelation 3:11. Twice in Revelation we are told that these things will “shortly come to pass” (Re. 1:1; 20:7). And twice we are told that “the time is at hand” (Re. 1:3; Re. 22:10). The eight-fold repetition is divine emphasis. Christ is coming! Christ is coming! The words “quickly” and “shortly” and “at hand” emphasize the imminency of Christ’s coming. It is an emphasis on the importance of ever watching. The Bible is saying, “Wake up! Be ready! Look up!” This is a major theme of the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. It must be a major theme in every believer’s life, and it must be a major theme of every church. It must be a major theme of preaching. Any preaching ministry that lacks the theme of the imminent coming of Christ is not a biblical ministry. The fading away of imminent Second Coming preaching is evidence of a slide toward apostasy.

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).