Friday Church News Notes
Volume 24, Issue 19 - May 12, 2023
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.
Britain's King Charles III poses for a portrait in Buckingham Palace's Throne Room dressed in full regalia. He is wearing the Robe of Estate and the Imperial State Crown while holding the Sovereign's Orb and the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross.
CORONATION OF KING OF ENGLAND FEATURES BUDDHIST, HINDU, JEWISH, MUSLIM, AND SIKH LEADERS (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Charles III, newly crowned king of England, is the well-fitted head of the apostate Church of England. He makes no profession of personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. He is a radical environmentalist who serves the creature more than the Creator. He holds to the myth of man-made climate change (including pushing global depopulation) while rejecting the Bible as the infallible Word of God. His coronation on May 6 featured a Roman Catholic cardinal, plus Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh leaders, not as guests but as participants (“The Last Christian King?” Religion News Service, May 5, 2023). “It is the first time in nearly 500 years that Catholic prelates were present at a Coronation, in marked contrast to 70 years ago, when Catholics were not permitted to attend any services in a Protestant church” (“Catholic Cardinal,” Zenit.org, May 6, 2023). Hindu Prime Minister Rishi Sunak read a Scripture passage. The sovereigns of the Church of England claimed that the British Empire was the kingdom of Christ. Even today, when the empire is a nonentity, the king was handed an orb (globe) and scepter with the words from the Archbishop of Canterbury, “Receive this orb, set under the cross, and remember always the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” It has been a very long time since an Archbishop of Canterbury has believed the gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1953, William Temple, in his book Nature and God, said, “... there is no such thing as revealed truth.” In 1961, Michael Ramsey said, “[H]eaven is not a place for Christians only. ... I expect to see many present day atheists there” (London Daily Mail, Oct. 2, 1961). In 1982, Robert Runcie said he was an agnostic as to why Jesus suffered on the cross (Sunday Times Weekly Review, London, April 11, 1982). In 1996, George Carey lashed out at “fundamentalists” who place the Bible “above and beyond human inquiry” (Christian News, Dec. 9, 1996). A YouGov poll conducted in August-September 2014 found that 17% of Anglican clergy in England do not believe in a personal God. In January 2020, Justin Welby apologized for a decree published by his own House of Bishops stating that sex should be limited to heterosexual marriage. Britannia did not convert the world; the world converted Britannia.
FRANKLIN GRAHAM’S EDENTON CRUSADE (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Franklin Graham held an evangelistic crusade in Edenton, North Carolina, on May 7, attended by 7,600. It featured Christian rockers Newsboys and others. Graham preached on biblical marriage and warned against transgenderism. He said, “Our nation has turned its back on God. We have taken God out of the schools, we have taken the Bible out of schools. The (U.S.) Department of Education has destroyed our country. We spend millions of dollars on program after program after program and we take God out of everything. Are we better for it? No. It’s the human heart and only God can change the human heart” (“Graham’s ‘God Loves You’ Tour,” Newsbreak, May 8, 2023). Instead of blaming the Department of Education for America’s apostasy, he should first blame the very churches that support his crusades, for their lukewarmness, worldliness, Biblical shallowness, and spiritual powerlessness. More than 135 churches joined hands with the crusade. Franklin is more outspoken than his dad, Billy, but he is just as ecumenical. One man wrote the following: Franklin Graham had his ‘God loves you’ tour event here in Edenton on Sunday. My pastor refused to participate even though they received several visits from members of the Graham Evangelistic Organization. Pastor said that someone else in the community called him a ‘dinosaur’ for not participating. The pressure to be involved was intense.” Back in 1999, Franklin told the Indianapolis Star that his father’s ecumenical alliance with the Catholic Church and all other denominations “was one of the smartest things” his father ever did. He said, “In the early years, up in Boston, the Catholic church got behind my father’s crusade. That was a first. It took back many Protestants. They didn’t know how to handle it. But it set the example. ‘If Billy Graham is willing to work with everybody, then maybe we should too’” (“Keeping it simple, safe keeps Graham on high,” The Indianapolis Star, Thurs., June 3, 1999, p. H2). The vice-chairman for the Franklin Graham Festival in Lubbock, Texas, April 28-30, 2000, was Paul Key, evangelism director for the Catholic Diocese of Lubbock. Roman Catholics participated in Franklin Graham Festivals in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 2005, and in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2004. Many Roman Catholics were trained as counsellors for the Franklin Graham Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, July 7-9, 2006. The Graham organization delivered the names of 300 people to the Roman Catholic churches for “follow up,” where they are taught, among other heresies, that it is acceptable to pray to Mary. In fact, some of the counsellors were from the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. Roman Catholics also participated in the Franklin Graham Festival in Winnipeg, Canada, in October 2006. Many more examples could be given. On one hand, it is encouraging to see well-attended evangelistic crusades in this day and time, and we are glad for the biblical truth that Graham stands for, but it must be understood that the Graham crusades are very shallow: the preaching is shallow, the gospel is shallow (just “receive Jesus into your heart”), the follow-up is shallow, the supporting churches are shallow. Thus, the power is shallow.
ATHEIST SAYS HUMAN SEXUALITY IS BINARY (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Is Human Sexuality Binary,” Creation.com, May 2, 2023: “In a recent interview with British broadcaster and journalist Piers Morgan, well-known author and atheist Professor Richard Dawkins argued for a traditional understanding of human sexuality: ‘As a biologist, there are two sexes and that’s all there is to it.’ Of course, this is precisely what the Bible has always taught. Dawkins’ response was in the context of claims by transgender campaigners who wish to abolish terms such as ‘man, woman, mother and father.’ Morgan agreed with Dawkins, commenting that it is ‘from a completely false pretext that you can somehow pretend biology doesn’t exist, particularly when it comes to someone’s sex. It’s incontrovertible, there’s no scientific doubt about this, and yet a small group of people have been quite successful actually in reshaping vast sways [sic] of the way society talks and is allowed to talk.’ During the interview, Dawkins referred to attempts to silence some women, such as J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter books) and philosopher Kathleen Stock, as a form of bullying. He has also previously supported campaigns to end the practice of dispensing puberty blockers to children, which we would agree with. ... Dawkins, ought to ask himself whether he shares part of the blame for the rise of a confused moral perspective, especially when we consider comments such as this: ‘The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference’ (River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life). Such sentiments by this influential evolutionist and author may have certainly resulted in many people’s rejection of the Bible and Christian morality. Dawkins’ dogmatic atheism was especially evident in his book The God Delusion ... Is it any wonder that some consumers of his writings, especially children, experience crises of identity and purpose, which leads to confusion?”
KING JAMES BIBLE STILL THE MOST POPULAR ENGLISH VERSION (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The King James Bible has withstood the onslaught of modern Bible versions (beginning with the American Standard Version of 1901) and multi-million dollar advertising campaigns to remain the most popular version in America. “Though there are hundreds of versions and translations of the Bible, the KJV is the most popular. According to market research firm Statistica” (“Why Is the King James Bible So Popular?” Live Science, May 16, 2021). Statista Oct. 10, 2018: KJV - 31%, NIV - 13%, ESV - 9%, NKJV - 7%, Amplified - 7%, NAS - 3%, New Living - 2%, RSV - 2%, Contemporary English Version - 2%.
TEN MILLION UNBORN BABIES MURDERED IN THE U.K. (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “55 Years of Abortion,” Premier Christian News, Apr. 27, 2023: “On the anniversary of the passage of the Abortion Act, right to life activists say they estimate there have been over ten million procedures to terminate unborn lives in the 55 years since the law came into force. ‘The UK’s abortion law is failing both women and unborn babies’, commented Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson. ... According to Right to Life UK, more than one baby was lost to abortion every two and a half minutes across England, Wales, and Scotland in 2021; 26 lives were ended every hour. The group say the number of abortions in England and Wales reached a record high with 214,869 taking place in 2021, while 13,758 terminations were performed in Scotland in the same year. Right to Life UK link this significant rise in abortions to the first full year that ‘DIY’ home abortion services have been operating in England and Wales.”
WHO TAUGHT THE BIRD SCIENTIFIC FLIGHT? (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com: “You are the pilot of a Boeing 767 airliner, bringing the great ship in for a landing. Approaching the airport, you extend the slat on the leading edge of each wing so that you have more lift as your speed slows. As the runway nears, you raise the nose of the plane to catch more air. In the final moments of landing, you bring the feathers, which act as air brakes, out of the wing to reduce your lift and settle easily onto the runway. Yet, without any training, young birds do this very same thing every day. High-speed photography has revealed that birds follow each one of these sequences as they approach and land. First, as they prepare to land, they slow their speed and increase their lift by extending and lowering the front part of the wing. Then, to slow even more, they angle their body from a horizontal flying position to a more upright angle. Finally, they drop the feathers on the back of their wing--after which the plane's feathers are named--to settle nicely on a tree branch, with virtually no effort at all. Yes, the principles of flight, refined by over 80 years of man's experience, were simply taught to the birds by our loving Creator. What a wonderful testimony birds offer to the work of our Creator! Notes: ‘A Lesson in Landing,’ Time-Life, Flight.”
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).
FRANKLIN GRAHAM’S EDENTON CRUSADE (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Franklin Graham held an evangelistic crusade in Edenton, North Carolina, on May 7, attended by 7,600. It featured Christian rockers Newsboys and others. Graham preached on biblical marriage and warned against transgenderism. He said, “Our nation has turned its back on God. We have taken God out of the schools, we have taken the Bible out of schools. The (U.S.) Department of Education has destroyed our country. We spend millions of dollars on program after program after program and we take God out of everything. Are we better for it? No. It’s the human heart and only God can change the human heart” (“Graham’s ‘God Loves You’ Tour,” Newsbreak, May 8, 2023). Instead of blaming the Department of Education for America’s apostasy, he should first blame the very churches that support his crusades, for their lukewarmness, worldliness, Biblical shallowness, and spiritual powerlessness. More than 135 churches joined hands with the crusade. Franklin is more outspoken than his dad, Billy, but he is just as ecumenical. One man wrote the following: Franklin Graham had his ‘God loves you’ tour event here in Edenton on Sunday. My pastor refused to participate even though they received several visits from members of the Graham Evangelistic Organization. Pastor said that someone else in the community called him a ‘dinosaur’ for not participating. The pressure to be involved was intense.” Back in 1999, Franklin told the Indianapolis Star that his father’s ecumenical alliance with the Catholic Church and all other denominations “was one of the smartest things” his father ever did. He said, “In the early years, up in Boston, the Catholic church got behind my father’s crusade. That was a first. It took back many Protestants. They didn’t know how to handle it. But it set the example. ‘If Billy Graham is willing to work with everybody, then maybe we should too’” (“Keeping it simple, safe keeps Graham on high,” The Indianapolis Star, Thurs., June 3, 1999, p. H2). The vice-chairman for the Franklin Graham Festival in Lubbock, Texas, April 28-30, 2000, was Paul Key, evangelism director for the Catholic Diocese of Lubbock. Roman Catholics participated in Franklin Graham Festivals in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 2005, and in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2004. Many Roman Catholics were trained as counsellors for the Franklin Graham Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, July 7-9, 2006. The Graham organization delivered the names of 300 people to the Roman Catholic churches for “follow up,” where they are taught, among other heresies, that it is acceptable to pray to Mary. In fact, some of the counsellors were from the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. Roman Catholics also participated in the Franklin Graham Festival in Winnipeg, Canada, in October 2006. Many more examples could be given. On one hand, it is encouraging to see well-attended evangelistic crusades in this day and time, and we are glad for the biblical truth that Graham stands for, but it must be understood that the Graham crusades are very shallow: the preaching is shallow, the gospel is shallow (just “receive Jesus into your heart”), the follow-up is shallow, the supporting churches are shallow. Thus, the power is shallow.
ATHEIST SAYS HUMAN SEXUALITY IS BINARY (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Is Human Sexuality Binary,” Creation.com, May 2, 2023: “In a recent interview with British broadcaster and journalist Piers Morgan, well-known author and atheist Professor Richard Dawkins argued for a traditional understanding of human sexuality: ‘As a biologist, there are two sexes and that’s all there is to it.’ Of course, this is precisely what the Bible has always taught. Dawkins’ response was in the context of claims by transgender campaigners who wish to abolish terms such as ‘man, woman, mother and father.’ Morgan agreed with Dawkins, commenting that it is ‘from a completely false pretext that you can somehow pretend biology doesn’t exist, particularly when it comes to someone’s sex. It’s incontrovertible, there’s no scientific doubt about this, and yet a small group of people have been quite successful actually in reshaping vast sways [sic] of the way society talks and is allowed to talk.’ During the interview, Dawkins referred to attempts to silence some women, such as J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter books) and philosopher Kathleen Stock, as a form of bullying. He has also previously supported campaigns to end the practice of dispensing puberty blockers to children, which we would agree with. ... Dawkins, ought to ask himself whether he shares part of the blame for the rise of a confused moral perspective, especially when we consider comments such as this: ‘The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference’ (River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life). Such sentiments by this influential evolutionist and author may have certainly resulted in many people’s rejection of the Bible and Christian morality. Dawkins’ dogmatic atheism was especially evident in his book The God Delusion ... Is it any wonder that some consumers of his writings, especially children, experience crises of identity and purpose, which leads to confusion?”
KING JAMES BIBLE STILL THE MOST POPULAR ENGLISH VERSION (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The King James Bible has withstood the onslaught of modern Bible versions (beginning with the American Standard Version of 1901) and multi-million dollar advertising campaigns to remain the most popular version in America. “Though there are hundreds of versions and translations of the Bible, the KJV is the most popular. According to market research firm Statistica” (“Why Is the King James Bible So Popular?” Live Science, May 16, 2021). Statista Oct. 10, 2018: KJV - 31%, NIV - 13%, ESV - 9%, NKJV - 7%, Amplified - 7%, NAS - 3%, New Living - 2%, RSV - 2%, Contemporary English Version - 2%.
TEN MILLION UNBORN BABIES MURDERED IN THE U.K. (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “55 Years of Abortion,” Premier Christian News, Apr. 27, 2023: “On the anniversary of the passage of the Abortion Act, right to life activists say they estimate there have been over ten million procedures to terminate unborn lives in the 55 years since the law came into force. ‘The UK’s abortion law is failing both women and unborn babies’, commented Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson. ... According to Right to Life UK, more than one baby was lost to abortion every two and a half minutes across England, Wales, and Scotland in 2021; 26 lives were ended every hour. The group say the number of abortions in England and Wales reached a record high with 214,869 taking place in 2021, while 13,758 terminations were performed in Scotland in the same year. Right to Life UK link this significant rise in abortions to the first full year that ‘DIY’ home abortion services have been operating in England and Wales.”
WHO TAUGHT THE BIRD SCIENTIFIC FLIGHT? (Friday Church News Notes, May 12, 2023, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com: “You are the pilot of a Boeing 767 airliner, bringing the great ship in for a landing. Approaching the airport, you extend the slat on the leading edge of each wing so that you have more lift as your speed slows. As the runway nears, you raise the nose of the plane to catch more air. In the final moments of landing, you bring the feathers, which act as air brakes, out of the wing to reduce your lift and settle easily onto the runway. Yet, without any training, young birds do this very same thing every day. High-speed photography has revealed that birds follow each one of these sequences as they approach and land. First, as they prepare to land, they slow their speed and increase their lift by extending and lowering the front part of the wing. Then, to slow even more, they angle their body from a horizontal flying position to a more upright angle. Finally, they drop the feathers on the back of their wing--after which the plane's feathers are named--to settle nicely on a tree branch, with virtually no effort at all. Yes, the principles of flight, refined by over 80 years of man's experience, were simply taught to the birds by our loving Creator. What a wonderful testimony birds offer to the work of our Creator! Notes: ‘A Lesson in Landing,’ Time-Life, Flight.”
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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