Friday Church News Notes
Volume 20, Issue 42 - October 18, 2019
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, though this does not imply an endorsement.
YOUNG MAN ESCAPES THE INFLUENCE OF C.S. LEWIS (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is a testimony we received from a reader recently: “My father pointed me to your materials, and at first I was hesitant, as you are more hard-lined in what you believe than Ravi Zacharias, Frank Turek, and others who I was listening to. With time, I jumped into your materials as well, and you have made me much more confident in my faith than anyone else. Your hard stance on God’s Word is not harsh, but simply true. Your method of citing all claims you make with Biblical references is unlike virtually anyone else I have read. And to think I was close to purchasing Mere Christianity before reading your e-book on CS Lewis! Your work is completely necessary in such a confused and Biblically illiterate world, and I just want to thank you, as a brother in Christ, for the hard work you put into what you do. I have also built up a habit of daily Bible reading, which has now developed into a daily Bible study, using commentaries, the Way of Life Encyclopedia, and Strong’s Concordance along with my reading. I also am reading strictly King James, which is something I never thought I’d be doing (your e-book, ‘Why We Hold to the King James Bible’ changed my heart in the matter). For the first time in my life, I can say that my faith in God is truly grounded in actual conviction, repentance, and a love for Him and His Word, and you are a big reason for it. So again, I sincerely love the work you continually put out, and I pray daily for your various ministries as well.”
POPE TOLD JOURNALIST JESUS NOT GOD AND THERE IS NO HELL (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Scalfari: Pope ‘Francis Told Me That Jesus Incarnate Was ‘a Man,” CNSNews.com, Oct. 9, 2019: “In the latest edition of La Repubblica, Pope Francis’ longtime atheist friend and interviewer, Eugenio Scalfari, claims that the Pope told him that once Jesus Christ became incarnate, he was a man, a ‘man of exceptional virtues’ but ‘not at all a God.’ The teaching of the Catholic Church and most Christian churches is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was incarnated as fully man and fully God. ... According to the highly respected Catholic blog, Rorate Caeli, and Radio Spada in Italy, Scalfari states in the Oct. 9 edition of La Repubblica (behind paywall) the following: ‘Those who, as it has happened many times with me, have had the luck of meeting him and speaking to him with the greatest cultural intimacy, know that Pope Francis conceives Christ as Jesus of Nazareth, man, not God incarnate. Once incarnate, Jesus stops being a God and becomes a man until his death on the cross.’ ... In a March 2018 interview with Scalfari, Pope Francis reportedly said, ‘There is no Hell, there is the disappearance of sinful souls.’ ... The Pope himself never denied what Scalfari reported and the article never ran a correction or removed the article from its website.”
MOST BIOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Christian News, July 29, 2019: “A recent five-year research study has revealed that an overwhelming majority of biologists from 1,058 academic institutions confirm that ‘a human’s life begins at fertilization.’ Steven Jacobs was a University of Chicago, PhD. candidate who recently successfully defended his dissertation, ‘Balancing Abortion Rights and Fetal Rights. A Mixed Methods Mediation of the U. S. Abortion Debate.’ For his research, Jacobs recruited 5,502 academic biologists to participate in his thesis study, ‘Biologists Consensus on When Life Begins.’ The biologists identified themselves as ‘very pro-choice, very pro-life, very liberal, very conservative, strong Democrats and strong Republicans.’ After five years, the research showed that 95% (5212 out 5502) of the biologists affirmed the biological view that a human’s life begins at fertilization, revealing that biology professors in American academia overwhelmingly agree with this pro-life position. During the survey, Jacobs asked the biologists to agree or disagree with two ‘implicit statements.’ (1) ‘The end product of mammalian fertilization is a fertilized egg (zygote), a new mammalian organism in the first stage of its species’ life cycle with its species’ genome.’ Approximately 90% agreed the development of a mammal begins at the moment of fertilization. (2) ‘The development of a mammal begins with fertilization, a process by which the spermatozoon from the male and the oocyte from the female unite to give rise to a new organism, the zygote.’ More than 75% agreed that fertilization marks the beginning of a human’s life. Then the participants were given an open-ended essay question and asked to answer, ‘From a biological perspective,’ the question ‘When does a human’s life begin?’ Ninety percent of biologists who described themselves as ‘very-pro-life’ said at the moment of fertilization. Almost 75 % of those who called themselves ‘pro-choice’ and approximately 60% of those who identified themselves as very ‘pro-choice’ answered the same.”
FRANKLIN GRAHAM MORE OUTSPOKEN THAN A GREAT MANY FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST PASTORS (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Franklin Graham, head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, is more outspoken for what he believes than a great many fundamental Baptist preachers. It doesn’t appear that he believes Romans 16:17; 2 Timothy 3:5; Jude 3; and 2 John 8-11 in any literal sense, for that would force him to renounce the ecumenical agenda, but what he does believe, he stands up for publicly. Most recently he posted the following on Facebook: “CNN hosted an ‘Equality in America’ town hall Thursday night focusing on gay & lesbian issues and asking questions of candidates running in the 2020 Democratic presidential race. Beto O’Rourke threatened that if any church, religious organization, university, etc., did not go along with their LGBTQ platform including same-sex marriage and gay/transgender rights, they should lose their tax-exempt status--the audience cheered. This gives you a clue of what the progressive, socialist-leaning Democratic Party is going to try to force on our nation if they win any election. They will create laws and ‘consequences’ that would punish those who do not agree with them. These socialists in the Democratic Party are a threat to religious freedom and free speech. This would be a step toward silencing the voice of the church and the influence of Christian universities and organizations. This is what godless socialism did in Eastern Europe, shutting down the churches and imprisoning pastors who disagreed with the Communists. As for me, I will not bow down at the altar of the LGBTQ agenda nor worship their rainbow pride flag. I’m going to stand with the Word of God, the Holy Bible, which is truth from cover to cover.”
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY COMMITTED TO HELPING HOMOSEXUALS DEVELOP THEIR SEXUALITY (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excepted from “Baylor University Says They Are Committed,” reformationcharlotte, Sept. 3, 2019: “Baylor, a private Christian university located in Waco, Texas, is known as the largest Baptist university in the world with approximately 17,200 students on its 1,000-acre campus and is affiliated with the Texas Baptist Convention, which is subsequently connected to the Southern Baptist Convention. Baylor launched a website on sexuality last week which appears to take a softening stance on homosexuality. The website states that it is ‘committed to providing a caring, loving and supportive community for students in all aspects of their lives, including the development of their sexuality.’ ... ‘We acknowledge the complexity of issues surrounding human sexuality and desire to engage in this conversation with humility, prayerfulness and convicted civility.’ One can only ask, what is so complex about it? Homosexuality is a result of the fall and homosexual desire, identity, and activity is an abomination to God. Yet, the school is intent on offering support services to those who identify as LGBTQP+. The university president, Linda Livingstone, announced in a letter to students, faculty, and staff that students would not be disciplined for identifying as LGBTQ and that the university would provide resources for LGBTQ students through the Title IX Office, Bias Response Team, Chaplain’s Office and Spiritual Life, and the Counseling Center. ... In 2015, Baylor removed language from their code of conduct that characterized homosexual acts as ‘misuses of God’s gifts.’”
GOD’S ARCHITECTURE WINS AGAIN (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from creationmoments.com, Oct. 9, 2019: “If you live in a temperate climate, you have probably heard your home pop and crack on cold days. Those sounds are caused by the different materials that make up your house contracting at different rates as the temperature falls. At some point, the growing tensions are released and you hear the result. If you live in a warm climate that is subject to hurricanes, you know that a building is likely to fail at the point where different parts of the house, like the roof and wall, meet together. Buildings are made up of a large number of things, each of which acts differently under the same conditions. That makes for weak points in any structure. British architects have looked at the structure of living things to find an answer to this problem. They noted that skeletons can work well under conditions that would cause many other building materials to fail. One researcher noted that a skeleton is more efficient than any man-made structure. One architect’s suggestion was to build structures like walls and bridges out of artificial bone that is formed to the needs of the structure. We should not be surprised that, once again, man is looking to the living world for solutions to his problems. The living world, like everything else, was designed by our all-wise God Who does all things well. Ref: New Scientist, 9/16/2000, p. 7.”
THE BIBLE IS DULL WHEN I AM DULL (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “My own experience is that the Bible is dull when I am dull. When I am really alive, and set in upon the text with a tidal pressure of living affinities, it opens, it multiplies discoveries and reveals depths even faster than I can note them. The worldly spirit shuts the Bible. The Spirit of God makes it a fire, flaming out all meanings and glorious truths” (Horace Bushnell, cited from Josiah Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, 1895, p. 39).
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).
POPE TOLD JOURNALIST JESUS NOT GOD AND THERE IS NO HELL (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Scalfari: Pope ‘Francis Told Me That Jesus Incarnate Was ‘a Man,” CNSNews.com, Oct. 9, 2019: “In the latest edition of La Repubblica, Pope Francis’ longtime atheist friend and interviewer, Eugenio Scalfari, claims that the Pope told him that once Jesus Christ became incarnate, he was a man, a ‘man of exceptional virtues’ but ‘not at all a God.’ The teaching of the Catholic Church and most Christian churches is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was incarnated as fully man and fully God. ... According to the highly respected Catholic blog, Rorate Caeli, and Radio Spada in Italy, Scalfari states in the Oct. 9 edition of La Repubblica (behind paywall) the following: ‘Those who, as it has happened many times with me, have had the luck of meeting him and speaking to him with the greatest cultural intimacy, know that Pope Francis conceives Christ as Jesus of Nazareth, man, not God incarnate. Once incarnate, Jesus stops being a God and becomes a man until his death on the cross.’ ... In a March 2018 interview with Scalfari, Pope Francis reportedly said, ‘There is no Hell, there is the disappearance of sinful souls.’ ... The Pope himself never denied what Scalfari reported and the article never ran a correction or removed the article from its website.”
MOST BIOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Christian News, July 29, 2019: “A recent five-year research study has revealed that an overwhelming majority of biologists from 1,058 academic institutions confirm that ‘a human’s life begins at fertilization.’ Steven Jacobs was a University of Chicago, PhD. candidate who recently successfully defended his dissertation, ‘Balancing Abortion Rights and Fetal Rights. A Mixed Methods Mediation of the U. S. Abortion Debate.’ For his research, Jacobs recruited 5,502 academic biologists to participate in his thesis study, ‘Biologists Consensus on When Life Begins.’ The biologists identified themselves as ‘very pro-choice, very pro-life, very liberal, very conservative, strong Democrats and strong Republicans.’ After five years, the research showed that 95% (5212 out 5502) of the biologists affirmed the biological view that a human’s life begins at fertilization, revealing that biology professors in American academia overwhelmingly agree with this pro-life position. During the survey, Jacobs asked the biologists to agree or disagree with two ‘implicit statements.’ (1) ‘The end product of mammalian fertilization is a fertilized egg (zygote), a new mammalian organism in the first stage of its species’ life cycle with its species’ genome.’ Approximately 90% agreed the development of a mammal begins at the moment of fertilization. (2) ‘The development of a mammal begins with fertilization, a process by which the spermatozoon from the male and the oocyte from the female unite to give rise to a new organism, the zygote.’ More than 75% agreed that fertilization marks the beginning of a human’s life. Then the participants were given an open-ended essay question and asked to answer, ‘From a biological perspective,’ the question ‘When does a human’s life begin?’ Ninety percent of biologists who described themselves as ‘very-pro-life’ said at the moment of fertilization. Almost 75 % of those who called themselves ‘pro-choice’ and approximately 60% of those who identified themselves as very ‘pro-choice’ answered the same.”
FRANKLIN GRAHAM MORE OUTSPOKEN THAN A GREAT MANY FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST PASTORS (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Franklin Graham, head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse, is more outspoken for what he believes than a great many fundamental Baptist preachers. It doesn’t appear that he believes Romans 16:17; 2 Timothy 3:5; Jude 3; and 2 John 8-11 in any literal sense, for that would force him to renounce the ecumenical agenda, but what he does believe, he stands up for publicly. Most recently he posted the following on Facebook: “CNN hosted an ‘Equality in America’ town hall Thursday night focusing on gay & lesbian issues and asking questions of candidates running in the 2020 Democratic presidential race. Beto O’Rourke threatened that if any church, religious organization, university, etc., did not go along with their LGBTQ platform including same-sex marriage and gay/transgender rights, they should lose their tax-exempt status--the audience cheered. This gives you a clue of what the progressive, socialist-leaning Democratic Party is going to try to force on our nation if they win any election. They will create laws and ‘consequences’ that would punish those who do not agree with them. These socialists in the Democratic Party are a threat to religious freedom and free speech. This would be a step toward silencing the voice of the church and the influence of Christian universities and organizations. This is what godless socialism did in Eastern Europe, shutting down the churches and imprisoning pastors who disagreed with the Communists. As for me, I will not bow down at the altar of the LGBTQ agenda nor worship their rainbow pride flag. I’m going to stand with the Word of God, the Holy Bible, which is truth from cover to cover.”
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY COMMITTED TO HELPING HOMOSEXUALS DEVELOP THEIR SEXUALITY (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excepted from “Baylor University Says They Are Committed,” reformationcharlotte, Sept. 3, 2019: “Baylor, a private Christian university located in Waco, Texas, is known as the largest Baptist university in the world with approximately 17,200 students on its 1,000-acre campus and is affiliated with the Texas Baptist Convention, which is subsequently connected to the Southern Baptist Convention. Baylor launched a website on sexuality last week which appears to take a softening stance on homosexuality. The website states that it is ‘committed to providing a caring, loving and supportive community for students in all aspects of their lives, including the development of their sexuality.’ ... ‘We acknowledge the complexity of issues surrounding human sexuality and desire to engage in this conversation with humility, prayerfulness and convicted civility.’ One can only ask, what is so complex about it? Homosexuality is a result of the fall and homosexual desire, identity, and activity is an abomination to God. Yet, the school is intent on offering support services to those who identify as LGBTQP+. The university president, Linda Livingstone, announced in a letter to students, faculty, and staff that students would not be disciplined for identifying as LGBTQ and that the university would provide resources for LGBTQ students through the Title IX Office, Bias Response Team, Chaplain’s Office and Spiritual Life, and the Counseling Center. ... In 2015, Baylor removed language from their code of conduct that characterized homosexual acts as ‘misuses of God’s gifts.’”
GOD’S ARCHITECTURE WINS AGAIN (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from creationmoments.com, Oct. 9, 2019: “If you live in a temperate climate, you have probably heard your home pop and crack on cold days. Those sounds are caused by the different materials that make up your house contracting at different rates as the temperature falls. At some point, the growing tensions are released and you hear the result. If you live in a warm climate that is subject to hurricanes, you know that a building is likely to fail at the point where different parts of the house, like the roof and wall, meet together. Buildings are made up of a large number of things, each of which acts differently under the same conditions. That makes for weak points in any structure. British architects have looked at the structure of living things to find an answer to this problem. They noted that skeletons can work well under conditions that would cause many other building materials to fail. One researcher noted that a skeleton is more efficient than any man-made structure. One architect’s suggestion was to build structures like walls and bridges out of artificial bone that is formed to the needs of the structure. We should not be surprised that, once again, man is looking to the living world for solutions to his problems. The living world, like everything else, was designed by our all-wise God Who does all things well. Ref: New Scientist, 9/16/2000, p. 7.”
THE BIBLE IS DULL WHEN I AM DULL (Friday Church News Notes, October 18, 2019, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “My own experience is that the Bible is dull when I am dull. When I am really alive, and set in upon the text with a tidal pressure of living affinities, it opens, it multiplies discoveries and reveals depths even faster than I can note them. The worldly spirit shuts the Bible. The Spirit of God makes it a fire, flaming out all meanings and glorious truths” (Horace Bushnell, cited from Josiah Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers, 1895, p. 39).
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).
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Distributed by Way of Life Literature., publisher of Bible Study Materials and reports for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. Brother Cloud lives in South Asia where he has been a church planting missionary since 1979. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY (REPORTS AND FRIDAY NEWS) IS NOT DEVOTIONAL. IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR.
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
The Way of Life Literature preaching and publishing ministry is based at Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. A mail stop is maintained in Port Huron, Michigan.
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