Friday Church News Notes
November 7, 2025 - Volume 26, Issue 45
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.
President Trump - Bill Gates
BILL GATES BACKS AWAY FROM CLIMATE CHANGE DOOMSDAY (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Trump celebrates win against climate hoax,” Washington Times, Oct. 30, 2025: “Mr. Bill Gates, who has devoted billions to climate-change initiatives, stunned the world with his Tuesday memo calling for shifting resources from reducing global temperatures to improving human health and prosperity ahead of next month’s U.N. Climate Change Conference, known as COP30. ‘Although climate change will have serious consequence--particularly for people in the poorest countries--it will not lead to humanity’s demise,’ said Mr. Gates in his post, ‘Three Tough Truths About Climate.’ ‘People will be able to live and thrive in most places on Earth for the foreseeable future.’ His call for a pivot from the ‘doomsday outlook’ met with a mixed reaction on the right. Some prominent climate skeptics joined Mr. Trump in cheering Mr. Gates’ new approach, while others decried the trillions spent on efforts to lower fossil-fuel emissions in the name of reducing global temperatures. ‘That shift to common sense is welcome, but it comes after decades of fearmongering that harmed young people, stalled development, and punished dissenting scientists,’ said former climate activist Lucy Biggers in The Free Press.”
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: DANCING WITH IDOLATRY (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The World Council of Churches (WCC) is an international ecumenical union of roughly 350 denominations in 120 countries representing more than 500 million professing Christians (including the millions whose only Christian testimony is that they were baptized as infants). It is a major part of the apostate, end-time, global “church.” Its godless character was evident at the Sixth General Assembly in Vancouver, British Columbia, in July 1983, attended by more than 4,000 people. In the opening ceremony, North American pagan Indians were invited to build an altar and light a “sacred flame.” They tossed offerings of fish and tobacco into a fire for their nature gods and danced around the altar. Candles that were used in the worship services of this conference were lit from that pagan fire which was kept burning throughout the Assembly. A Native Indian Sweat Lodge, used in their heathen ‘purification’ rites, was also featured; and one of the evening worship services consisted of Native Indian dancing, chanting, singing and drum beating (Foundation, Vol. IV, Issue III, 1983). There were readings from Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim scriptures. In the General Secretary’s report to the Assembly, Philip Potter said that it is God’s will “to unite all nations in their diversity into one house.” Pauline Webb, who served on the WCC executive committee, welcomed the visitors from “other faiths” and said, “Let us meet as those who have nothing to defend and everything to share.” The World Council has nothing to defend because it has no truth. Dirk Mulder, moderator of the WCC interfaith dialogue program, said that he “does not believe people are lost forever if they are not evangelized.” M.H. Reynolds, late editor of Foundation magazine, attended the Assembly with press credentials. In an interview with Mulder, he asked, “Would you feel that a Buddhist or Hindu could be saved without believing in Christ?” His answer was, “Sure, sure!” (Foundation, Ibid.). The 1983 WCC Assembly also featured a pagan dance by a Hindu woman from South India. It was a “classical Bharathanatyam dance” that is performed to the Hindu “earth mother goddess.” (For more on this subject see the free eBook The World Council of Churches, www.wayoflife.org.)
NEW TECHNOLOGY LETS ARCHAEOLOGISTS SEE UNDERGROUND (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “New technology,” World Israel News, Sept. 29, 2025: “A team of Israeli researchers has developed a breakthrough that could transform archaeology: the ability to map underground spaces without digging, Tel Aviv University announced on Monday. The university’s scientists demonstrated that cosmic radiation detectors, which measure muons--subatomic particles produced when cosmic rays collide with Earth’s atmosphere--can reveal hidden voids beneath ancient sites, offering a way to explore subterranean structures safely and efficiently. ... The research team, led by Prof. Erez Etzion of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, demonstrated the technology at Jeremiah’s Cistern at the City of David archaeological site in Jerusalem. Using muon detectors, the team produced detailed images of underground features, including tunnels and cisterns, based on how soil absorbs cosmic radiation. The team’s study was recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Applied Physics. ... ‘The muon shower hits the ground at a fixed and known rate,’ explained Prof. Etzion. ‘Muons can penetrate much deeper than other particles, losing energy slowly as they pass through rock. Empty cavities allow more muons through, so by monitoring the muons, we can pinpoint voids. It’s like X-ray imaging: the muons are the X-ray beam, the underground voids are the bones, and our detectors act as the camera.’”
AI CHATBOTS BLAMED FOR TEEN SUICIDES (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Parents blame AI chatbots,” Fox News, Oct. 28, 2025: “Heartbroken parents are demanding justice after artificial intelligence (AI) ‘companion’ chatbots allegedly groomed, manipulated and encouraged their children to take their own lives --prompting bipartisan outrage in Congress and a new bill that could potentially hold big tech accountable for minors’ safety on their platforms. ... Lawmakers were joined Tuesday by parents who said their teenage children suffered trauma or died after inappropriate conversations involving sex and suicide with chatbots from AI companies, including Character.AI and OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT. One mother, Megan Garcia, said her eldest son, Sewell Setzer III, 14, died by suicide last year at their home in Orlando, Florida, after being groomed by an AI chatbot for months. Garcia said Sewell became withdrawn and isolated in the months prior to his death, as they would later find out he was speaking with a Character.AI bot modeled after fictional Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen. ‘[The AI bot] initiated romantic and sexual conversations with Sewell over several months and expressed a desire for him to be with her. On the day Sewell took his life, his last interaction was not with his mother, not with his father, but with an AI chatbot on Character.AI.’ ... Similarly, Maria Raine, the mother of Adam Raine, 16, who died by suicide in April, alleges in a lawsuit that her son ended his life after ChatGPT ‘coached him to suicide.’ ... Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a former prosecutor, said that if the companies were human beings conducting the same kind of activity, which he described as ‘grooming,’ he would prosecute them. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., added he believes big tech is ‘using our children as guinea pigs in a high-tech, high-stakes experiment to make their industry more profitable.’”
BEWARE OF ROOTED PILOT COURSE (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Lighthouse Trails, Oct. 21, 2025: “Lighthouse Trails identified Mariner’s Church, the creators of the Rooted Pilot Course, as an ‘emergent/contemplative’ church as far back as 2009. With current teaching pastors such as Christine Caine, Ed Stetzer [Southern Baptist], and Doug Fields, and with their Rooted program, they remain in that category. This letter to the editor from one of our readers is an important warning because of the popularity of Rooted: ‘... a careful look shows that Rooted introduces and emphasizes contemplative concepts and practices. Participants are tutored in 7 Rhythms to practice in community and on an ongoing basis after the course concludes. A Rooted Covenant on page 15 is to be signed by participants, giving their agreement to attend all group meetings and keep things shared therein confidential. ... Page 55 continues: Listening to God can be a bit mysterious. ... By slowing down, emptying our minds, and praying, God can communicate directly to us through thoughts and ideas. Further tutoring in prayer techniques states: To yield means to be quiet after you have spoken to God and to listen for what He might say to you. If you regularly take time to listen, you will begin to hear God’s voice. Journal use is encouraged to record these thoughts and promptings as keeping record of what God says to you (pg. 61). Articles on Rooted Network’s website refer to Spiritual Formation, Ignatian exercises, and the use of experiential prayer practices including lectio divina and prayer labyrinths. ... There are other pitfalls with Rooted, but an identification of its contemplative elements alone shows it should be marked and avoided.’” (For more on this see the free eBook Evangelicals and Contemplative Prayer, www.wayoflife.org.)
THE HELPFUL HONEYGUIDE (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, August 2, 2025: “It has long been known that an African bird known as the honeyguide leads badgers to bees’ nests, where the badger tears the nest apart to eat the honey. The badger always leaves more than enough for the honeyguide. Now it has been learned that the honeyguide has a similar relationship with the Boran people of Kenya. When the bird has found a bees’ nest, it will alert the Boran, bidding them to follow it to the honey site. On the other hand, if the Boran want to know where honey is, they know how to whistle and call for a honeyguide. The honeyguide also calls to the people so that they know which way to go. When the Boran reach the honey, they always make sure that they leave some for the honeyguide. Researchers also reported that they saw honeyguides scouting out bees’ nests at night so that they had good sites to lead the Boran to the next day. While the honeyguide does get its reward of honey in return for its help, the intelligence of the honeyguide in establishing these relationships with human beings is impressive. But while the honeyguide can help teach us that the creation is the work of an intelligent Creator, it cannot teach us how to have a relationship with Him. For that we must go to the Bible. Ref: ‘Honey Hunters Follow Bird to Reach Bees,’ Science News.”
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; Mt. 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” (Ro. 13:11-14).
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: DANCING WITH IDOLATRY (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The World Council of Churches (WCC) is an international ecumenical union of roughly 350 denominations in 120 countries representing more than 500 million professing Christians (including the millions whose only Christian testimony is that they were baptized as infants). It is a major part of the apostate, end-time, global “church.” Its godless character was evident at the Sixth General Assembly in Vancouver, British Columbia, in July 1983, attended by more than 4,000 people. In the opening ceremony, North American pagan Indians were invited to build an altar and light a “sacred flame.” They tossed offerings of fish and tobacco into a fire for their nature gods and danced around the altar. Candles that were used in the worship services of this conference were lit from that pagan fire which was kept burning throughout the Assembly. A Native Indian Sweat Lodge, used in their heathen ‘purification’ rites, was also featured; and one of the evening worship services consisted of Native Indian dancing, chanting, singing and drum beating (Foundation, Vol. IV, Issue III, 1983). There were readings from Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim scriptures. In the General Secretary’s report to the Assembly, Philip Potter said that it is God’s will “to unite all nations in their diversity into one house.” Pauline Webb, who served on the WCC executive committee, welcomed the visitors from “other faiths” and said, “Let us meet as those who have nothing to defend and everything to share.” The World Council has nothing to defend because it has no truth. Dirk Mulder, moderator of the WCC interfaith dialogue program, said that he “does not believe people are lost forever if they are not evangelized.” M.H. Reynolds, late editor of Foundation magazine, attended the Assembly with press credentials. In an interview with Mulder, he asked, “Would you feel that a Buddhist or Hindu could be saved without believing in Christ?” His answer was, “Sure, sure!” (Foundation, Ibid.). The 1983 WCC Assembly also featured a pagan dance by a Hindu woman from South India. It was a “classical Bharathanatyam dance” that is performed to the Hindu “earth mother goddess.” (For more on this subject see the free eBook The World Council of Churches, www.wayoflife.org.)
NEW TECHNOLOGY LETS ARCHAEOLOGISTS SEE UNDERGROUND (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “New technology,” World Israel News, Sept. 29, 2025: “A team of Israeli researchers has developed a breakthrough that could transform archaeology: the ability to map underground spaces without digging, Tel Aviv University announced on Monday. The university’s scientists demonstrated that cosmic radiation detectors, which measure muons--subatomic particles produced when cosmic rays collide with Earth’s atmosphere--can reveal hidden voids beneath ancient sites, offering a way to explore subterranean structures safely and efficiently. ... The research team, led by Prof. Erez Etzion of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, demonstrated the technology at Jeremiah’s Cistern at the City of David archaeological site in Jerusalem. Using muon detectors, the team produced detailed images of underground features, including tunnels and cisterns, based on how soil absorbs cosmic radiation. The team’s study was recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Applied Physics. ... ‘The muon shower hits the ground at a fixed and known rate,’ explained Prof. Etzion. ‘Muons can penetrate much deeper than other particles, losing energy slowly as they pass through rock. Empty cavities allow more muons through, so by monitoring the muons, we can pinpoint voids. It’s like X-ray imaging: the muons are the X-ray beam, the underground voids are the bones, and our detectors act as the camera.’”
AI CHATBOTS BLAMED FOR TEEN SUICIDES (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Parents blame AI chatbots,” Fox News, Oct. 28, 2025: “Heartbroken parents are demanding justice after artificial intelligence (AI) ‘companion’ chatbots allegedly groomed, manipulated and encouraged their children to take their own lives --prompting bipartisan outrage in Congress and a new bill that could potentially hold big tech accountable for minors’ safety on their platforms. ... Lawmakers were joined Tuesday by parents who said their teenage children suffered trauma or died after inappropriate conversations involving sex and suicide with chatbots from AI companies, including Character.AI and OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT. One mother, Megan Garcia, said her eldest son, Sewell Setzer III, 14, died by suicide last year at their home in Orlando, Florida, after being groomed by an AI chatbot for months. Garcia said Sewell became withdrawn and isolated in the months prior to his death, as they would later find out he was speaking with a Character.AI bot modeled after fictional Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen. ‘[The AI bot] initiated romantic and sexual conversations with Sewell over several months and expressed a desire for him to be with her. On the day Sewell took his life, his last interaction was not with his mother, not with his father, but with an AI chatbot on Character.AI.’ ... Similarly, Maria Raine, the mother of Adam Raine, 16, who died by suicide in April, alleges in a lawsuit that her son ended his life after ChatGPT ‘coached him to suicide.’ ... Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a former prosecutor, said that if the companies were human beings conducting the same kind of activity, which he described as ‘grooming,’ he would prosecute them. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., added he believes big tech is ‘using our children as guinea pigs in a high-tech, high-stakes experiment to make their industry more profitable.’”
BEWARE OF ROOTED PILOT COURSE (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Lighthouse Trails, Oct. 21, 2025: “Lighthouse Trails identified Mariner’s Church, the creators of the Rooted Pilot Course, as an ‘emergent/contemplative’ church as far back as 2009. With current teaching pastors such as Christine Caine, Ed Stetzer [Southern Baptist], and Doug Fields, and with their Rooted program, they remain in that category. This letter to the editor from one of our readers is an important warning because of the popularity of Rooted: ‘... a careful look shows that Rooted introduces and emphasizes contemplative concepts and practices. Participants are tutored in 7 Rhythms to practice in community and on an ongoing basis after the course concludes. A Rooted Covenant on page 15 is to be signed by participants, giving their agreement to attend all group meetings and keep things shared therein confidential. ... Page 55 continues: Listening to God can be a bit mysterious. ... By slowing down, emptying our minds, and praying, God can communicate directly to us through thoughts and ideas. Further tutoring in prayer techniques states: To yield means to be quiet after you have spoken to God and to listen for what He might say to you. If you regularly take time to listen, you will begin to hear God’s voice. Journal use is encouraged to record these thoughts and promptings as keeping record of what God says to you (pg. 61). Articles on Rooted Network’s website refer to Spiritual Formation, Ignatian exercises, and the use of experiential prayer practices including lectio divina and prayer labyrinths. ... There are other pitfalls with Rooted, but an identification of its contemplative elements alone shows it should be marked and avoided.’” (For more on this see the free eBook Evangelicals and Contemplative Prayer, www.wayoflife.org.)
THE HELPFUL HONEYGUIDE (Friday Church News Notes, November 7, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, August 2, 2025: “It has long been known that an African bird known as the honeyguide leads badgers to bees’ nests, where the badger tears the nest apart to eat the honey. The badger always leaves more than enough for the honeyguide. Now it has been learned that the honeyguide has a similar relationship with the Boran people of Kenya. When the bird has found a bees’ nest, it will alert the Boran, bidding them to follow it to the honey site. On the other hand, if the Boran want to know where honey is, they know how to whistle and call for a honeyguide. The honeyguide also calls to the people so that they know which way to go. When the Boran reach the honey, they always make sure that they leave some for the honeyguide. Researchers also reported that they saw honeyguides scouting out bees’ nests at night so that they had good sites to lead the Boran to the next day. While the honeyguide does get its reward of honey in return for its help, the intelligence of the honeyguide in establishing these relationships with human beings is impressive. But while the honeyguide can help teach us that the creation is the work of an intelligent Creator, it cannot teach us how to have a relationship with Him. For that we must go to the Bible. Ref: ‘Honey Hunters Follow Bird to Reach Bees,’ Science News.”
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; Mt. 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” (Ro. 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, BUT 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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