Friday Church News Notes
May 22, 2026 - Volume 27, Issue 21
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.
GLOBAL EXTREME CLIMATE CHANGE MODEL REJECTED BY THE UN (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In a major development, the United Nations has rejected its climate change model that predicted catastrophic scenarios, that was used to brainwash generations of children, and upon which governments enforced draconian laws to “save the earth.” The following is excerpted from “Global Extreme,” Western Standard News, May 13, 2026: “A new scientific paper has debunked one of the most widely used predicted climate change scenarios. The recently published paper in Geoscientific Model Development, says the ‘RCP 8.5’ (or SSP5-8.5) climate scenario, a globally used model for predicting climate warming, contains extreme outcomes which are ‘implausible,’ based on climate trends already observed [beginning in 2020]. The international committee of climate scientists will now refer to the new model, used as the basis for assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations’ body for assessing climate change. ... Dr. Sylvain Charlebois highlights some of the world’s leading climate scientists are now acknowledging ‘humanity is unlikely to follow the catastrophic path that dominated climate communication for much of the last decade.’”
MINECRAFT AND “END POEM” (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Video gaming is sucking the spiritual life from large numbers of young people in fundamental Baptist churches, or we could say that video gaming is merely a reflection of their lack of spiritual life. Take Minecraft, for example, the best-selling video game of all time, “with over 350 million copies sold.” It can be played solo or as an online multiplayer game. There is a very dark side to Minecraft. We were recently informed about the “End Poem” associated with the game. “Given that your warnings on various matters have been quite useful to me and others, I wanted to suggest an important topic if you ever revisit your article on video games. I believe it would be very profitable to make a warning on the ‘End Poem’ from the game Minecraft. Many children in Baptist churches (as in many others) play this game with the parents having no knowledge of what is in it. The impact of this poem has been sizable and has been quite commented on. It is held in high esteem among the playerbase.” “End Poem” is presented to the player who defeats Minecraft’s final boss, the Ender Dragon. The poem has been in the public domain since 2022. It is utterly demonic. Claiming to be the mind of the universe, it says thoughts come from the universe and can create reality. “Sometimes when they are deep in dreams, I want to tell them, they are building true worlds in reality.” It says the truth should be told “safely, in a cage of words. Not the naked truth.” It promotes pantheism (“we are the universe”), warlocks, witches, Father sun, mother moon, ancestral spirits, animal spirits, demons, poltergeists, aliens, and extraterrestrials. The poem ends with these lies: “the universe says everything you need is within you ... the universe says the light you seek is within you ... the universe said you are the universe tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code ... the universe said I love you because you are love.” Minecraft is permeated with the demonic, potentially carrying the gamer ever deeper into the occult. “Minecraft is composed of three worlds: The Overworld, The Nether, and The End. Players must first gather resources in the Overworld by gathering wood, farming, mining, crafting equipment, enchanting their gear, and trading/robbing villagers so that they are prepared to enter the Nether and End. The Nether is Minecraft’s version of hell, but it is made childish and not overt. There are mobs that are analogous to evil spirits and the dead, such as blazes, ghasts, and wither skeletons. There the player must slay several blazes to craft an ‘eye of ender’ to lead them to a portal where they will go into The End. There they will defeat the Ender Dragon and the game ends.”
U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONSECRATE AMERICA TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has voted to consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the nation’s 250th anniversary in July 2026. The decision was made at the fall plenary assembly on Nov. 11, 2025. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is an image of a wounded, fiery heart crowned with thorns and topped with a crucifix. A heretical practice with no support in Scripture, it is founded on 17th century visions of the nun Margaret Mary Alacoque at a convent in France. In these alleged visions Christ promised great blessings for those who pay homage to the image, including having their names written on his heart, being “their secure refuge during life, and, above all, in death,” and “blessing every place where a picture of my Heart shall be set up and honored.” For those who participate in the mass on the first Friday of nine consecutive months, the Sacred Heart Jesus promised “the grace of final repentance.” This was obviously a demon masquerading as Christ, for the true Christ has already promised in Scripture full eternal salvation to those who trust Him (John 3:16, 18, 36). The Sacred Heart of Jesus preaches Rome’s false works gospel. Further, God’s Word forbids the veneration of images pertaining to God (Ex. 20:4-5). There is no support in the entire New Testament for candles, incense, bells, images, icons, rosaries, scapulars, holy water, and other such things that supposedly aid in faith but actually turn the pure faith of Jesus Christ into an idolatrous false religion. “... for whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).
ROME SAYS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT “INADMISSIBLE” (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In another example of Rome’s audacity to put its own thinking above God’s Word, Pope Francis revised the Catholic Catechism to oppose capital punishment. In 2018, he called the death penalty “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” In April of this year, Pope Leo XIV said, “I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people--from conception to natural [death]--their lives should be respected and protected” (EWTN News, Eternal Word Television Network, May 15, 2026). After Noah’s Flood, God commanded the death penalty for murder. “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:5-6). That has never been rescinded. It was confirmed in the law of Moses (Exodus 21:12; Leviticus 24:17). The New Testament grants civil government the right to bear the sword against evil doers (Romans 13:4).
NETWORK OF FAKE “AI RABBIS” ON TIKTOK (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “New Report Exposes,” Israel365News, May 8, 2026: “The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) has released a major new report uncovering a coordinated network of fake, AI-generated ‘rabbis’ flooding TikTok with antisemitic content, in what experts warn is a dangerous escalation in the weaponization of artificial intelligence to spread hate. The study, conducted by CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center (ARC), identified at least 49 TikTok accounts posing as Jewish religious figures while disseminating conspiracy theories and classic antisemitic narratives to a vast global audience. Collectively, these accounts have amassed more than 950,000 followers and generated over 10 million likes, demonstrating both the scale and effectiveness of the operation. ... Among the accounts identified were profiles such as @rabbirothstein and @rabbi_silverstein, which presented themselves as authentic rabbis while promoting harmful and misleading claims about Jews. ... The findings also underscore the vulnerability of TikTok, particularly given its predominantly young user base.”
SIXTIES LEFTIST MENTALITY CAPTURED THE UNIVERSITIES (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Leftist” refers to Marxist, revolutionary, atheistic, agnostic, anti-American, anti-Bible, anti-nuclear family thinking. The following is excerpted from Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts about the Sixties by Peter Collier and David Horowitz, 2005 edition, Preface: “But nowhere is the entrenchment of the Sixties mentality more complete or more destructive than in the university. That the Left should now dominate the academy involves a savage irony, of course. It was only after failing in their intent to burn down the university in the Sixties that radicals decided to get on the tenure track in the Seventies. Unimpeded in their long march through these institutions by fair-minded centrists of the sort they themselves now refuse to hire, these Leftists have brought a postmodern Dark Age to higher education--‘deconstructing’ objective truths to pave the way for chic academic nihilism; creating a curriculum of contempt for America history and culture; and transforming many classrooms into chambers of inquisition and indoctrination.”
WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAMS DEFEATED BY BOYS (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Women’s soccer teams consistently lose to boy’s teams. On April 30 this year, the University of Washington’s women’s team lost 2-1 to Crossfire’s U14 (under 14-year-old) boys team. In 2025, the Swiss women’s national soccer team lost 7-1 to a U15 boys team. In 2025, an Australian U18 (under 18-year-old) female soccer team in Australia lost to a team of U13 boys. In 2024, Australia’s national women’s soccer team lost 3-0 to a U16 boys team. In 2017, the U.S. women’s national soccer team lost a training match 5-2 to a U15 boys team from FC Dallas Academy. These are 14-year-old boys! In 2016, Australia’s national women’s soccer team lost 7-0 to a team of U16 boys. “Keep in mind that these boys aren’t even old enough to drive a car--or even get a driver’s permit in some states--and faced little challenge in taking on the best, most well-trained female soccer players in the world. If that doesn’t torpedo trans nonsense in sports, nothing will” (“Footage deleted,” Western Journal, June 26, 2025).
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).
MINECRAFT AND “END POEM” (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Video gaming is sucking the spiritual life from large numbers of young people in fundamental Baptist churches, or we could say that video gaming is merely a reflection of their lack of spiritual life. Take Minecraft, for example, the best-selling video game of all time, “with over 350 million copies sold.” It can be played solo or as an online multiplayer game. There is a very dark side to Minecraft. We were recently informed about the “End Poem” associated with the game. “Given that your warnings on various matters have been quite useful to me and others, I wanted to suggest an important topic if you ever revisit your article on video games. I believe it would be very profitable to make a warning on the ‘End Poem’ from the game Minecraft. Many children in Baptist churches (as in many others) play this game with the parents having no knowledge of what is in it. The impact of this poem has been sizable and has been quite commented on. It is held in high esteem among the playerbase.” “End Poem” is presented to the player who defeats Minecraft’s final boss, the Ender Dragon. The poem has been in the public domain since 2022. It is utterly demonic. Claiming to be the mind of the universe, it says thoughts come from the universe and can create reality. “Sometimes when they are deep in dreams, I want to tell them, they are building true worlds in reality.” It says the truth should be told “safely, in a cage of words. Not the naked truth.” It promotes pantheism (“we are the universe”), warlocks, witches, Father sun, mother moon, ancestral spirits, animal spirits, demons, poltergeists, aliens, and extraterrestrials. The poem ends with these lies: “the universe says everything you need is within you ... the universe says the light you seek is within you ... the universe said you are the universe tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code ... the universe said I love you because you are love.” Minecraft is permeated with the demonic, potentially carrying the gamer ever deeper into the occult. “Minecraft is composed of three worlds: The Overworld, The Nether, and The End. Players must first gather resources in the Overworld by gathering wood, farming, mining, crafting equipment, enchanting their gear, and trading/robbing villagers so that they are prepared to enter the Nether and End. The Nether is Minecraft’s version of hell, but it is made childish and not overt. There are mobs that are analogous to evil spirits and the dead, such as blazes, ghasts, and wither skeletons. There the player must slay several blazes to craft an ‘eye of ender’ to lead them to a portal where they will go into The End. There they will defeat the Ender Dragon and the game ends.”
U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONSECRATE AMERICA TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has voted to consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the nation’s 250th anniversary in July 2026. The decision was made at the fall plenary assembly on Nov. 11, 2025. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is an image of a wounded, fiery heart crowned with thorns and topped with a crucifix. A heretical practice with no support in Scripture, it is founded on 17th century visions of the nun Margaret Mary Alacoque at a convent in France. In these alleged visions Christ promised great blessings for those who pay homage to the image, including having their names written on his heart, being “their secure refuge during life, and, above all, in death,” and “blessing every place where a picture of my Heart shall be set up and honored.” For those who participate in the mass on the first Friday of nine consecutive months, the Sacred Heart Jesus promised “the grace of final repentance.” This was obviously a demon masquerading as Christ, for the true Christ has already promised in Scripture full eternal salvation to those who trust Him (John 3:16, 18, 36). The Sacred Heart of Jesus preaches Rome’s false works gospel. Further, God’s Word forbids the veneration of images pertaining to God (Ex. 20:4-5). There is no support in the entire New Testament for candles, incense, bells, images, icons, rosaries, scapulars, holy water, and other such things that supposedly aid in faith but actually turn the pure faith of Jesus Christ into an idolatrous false religion. “... for whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).
ROME SAYS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT “INADMISSIBLE” (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In another example of Rome’s audacity to put its own thinking above God’s Word, Pope Francis revised the Catholic Catechism to oppose capital punishment. In 2018, he called the death penalty “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” In April of this year, Pope Leo XIV said, “I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people--from conception to natural [death]--their lives should be respected and protected” (EWTN News, Eternal Word Television Network, May 15, 2026). After Noah’s Flood, God commanded the death penalty for murder. “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:5-6). That has never been rescinded. It was confirmed in the law of Moses (Exodus 21:12; Leviticus 24:17). The New Testament grants civil government the right to bear the sword against evil doers (Romans 13:4).
NETWORK OF FAKE “AI RABBIS” ON TIKTOK (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “New Report Exposes,” Israel365News, May 8, 2026: “The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) has released a major new report uncovering a coordinated network of fake, AI-generated ‘rabbis’ flooding TikTok with antisemitic content, in what experts warn is a dangerous escalation in the weaponization of artificial intelligence to spread hate. The study, conducted by CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center (ARC), identified at least 49 TikTok accounts posing as Jewish religious figures while disseminating conspiracy theories and classic antisemitic narratives to a vast global audience. Collectively, these accounts have amassed more than 950,000 followers and generated over 10 million likes, demonstrating both the scale and effectiveness of the operation. ... Among the accounts identified were profiles such as @rabbirothstein and @rabbi_silverstein, which presented themselves as authentic rabbis while promoting harmful and misleading claims about Jews. ... The findings also underscore the vulnerability of TikTok, particularly given its predominantly young user base.”
SIXTIES LEFTIST MENTALITY CAPTURED THE UNIVERSITIES (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Leftist” refers to Marxist, revolutionary, atheistic, agnostic, anti-American, anti-Bible, anti-nuclear family thinking. The following is excerpted from Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts about the Sixties by Peter Collier and David Horowitz, 2005 edition, Preface: “But nowhere is the entrenchment of the Sixties mentality more complete or more destructive than in the university. That the Left should now dominate the academy involves a savage irony, of course. It was only after failing in their intent to burn down the university in the Sixties that radicals decided to get on the tenure track in the Seventies. Unimpeded in their long march through these institutions by fair-minded centrists of the sort they themselves now refuse to hire, these Leftists have brought a postmodern Dark Age to higher education--‘deconstructing’ objective truths to pave the way for chic academic nihilism; creating a curriculum of contempt for America history and culture; and transforming many classrooms into chambers of inquisition and indoctrination.”
WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAMS DEFEATED BY BOYS (Friday Church News Notes, May 22, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Women’s soccer teams consistently lose to boy’s teams. On April 30 this year, the University of Washington’s women’s team lost 2-1 to Crossfire’s U14 (under 14-year-old) boys team. In 2025, the Swiss women’s national soccer team lost 7-1 to a U15 boys team. In 2025, an Australian U18 (under 18-year-old) female soccer team in Australia lost to a team of U13 boys. In 2024, Australia’s national women’s soccer team lost 3-0 to a U16 boys team. In 2017, the U.S. women’s national soccer team lost a training match 5-2 to a U15 boys team from FC Dallas Academy. These are 14-year-old boys! In 2016, Australia’s national women’s soccer team lost 7-0 to a team of U16 boys. “Keep in mind that these boys aren’t even old enough to drive a car--or even get a driver’s permit in some states--and faced little challenge in taking on the best, most well-trained female soccer players in the world. If that doesn’t torpedo trans nonsense in sports, nothing will” (“Footage deleted,” Western Journal, June 26, 2025).
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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