Friday Church News Notes
November 6, 2026 - Volume 27, 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.
WHAT THE FOUNDING FATHERS SAID ABOUT 21ST CENTURY AMERICA (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). “This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood” (Jeremiah 13:25). George Washington, first inaugural address, 1789: “The propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.” John Adams, second president, 1798: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. ... Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” James Madison (1751-1836), fourth president: “To suppose any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without virtue in the people is a chimerical idea.” Patrick Henry (1736-1799), famous for the declaration, “Give me liberty or give me death,” post-colonial governor of Virginia: “Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.”
FALSE FRIENDS AND TRUE ENEMIES: COUNTERING MARK WARD (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - False Friends and True Enemies by Bill Fortenberry refutes Mark Ward’s misguided attack on the King James Bible. Fortenberry “demonstrates that the same words modern critics challenge as ‘false friends’ are still used in contemporary literature with the exact same meaning they had in 1611 and exposed the flawed methodology and deceitful scholarship behind the ‘false friends’ argument.” Fortenberry writes, “Ward’s ‘long game’ is to convince those who use the KJV that men who vehemently oppose and publicly ridicule their views are actually really great guys that KJV readers should listen to and follow. In other words, Ward’s primary tactic for turning people away from the TR is to distract them from the main point of conflict [the underlying Hebrew and Greek texts], convince them their opponents are really their friends, and then undermine their stand from a position of trust. ... What Ward proposes instead of discussing the differences between the TR and the critical text is the ‘strategy’ of convincing KJV readers that their Bible is full of ‘unintelligible words hiding in plain sight.’ ... To put it more plainly, Ward wants to sow doubts in the minds of KJV readers and convince them they can’t really know what God said unless they use a different translation” (False Friends and True Enemies, p. 50). Fortenberry’s book is available on Amazon.com. We also recommend “Is the King James Bible Too Difficult to Understand,” which can be found via the search engine at www.wayoflife.org.
MARY AND THE WORLD SERIES (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Two players with the Milwaukee Brewers publicly thanked Mary for blessing their baseball career and advancing them to the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Outfielder Jackson Chourio credited Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira of his hometown in Maracaibo, Venezuela. “She is always in my prayers. I ask her for so much, that she grant me good health and continue to bestow so many blessings upon me” (“World Series stars share how God and the Virgin Mary sustain their careers,” EWTN News, Oct. 27, 2026). The painting of Our Lady of the Rosary, made by a Spanish painter in 1562, depicts Mary as Queen of Heaven standing beneath a bejeweled halo, wearing a golden crown, and holding a ruling scepter. Mary and the baby Jesus hold rosaries which are used for prayers to God and Mary. Brewers’ catcher William Contreras is also a devotee of Mary. He particularly favors the Virgin of Coromoto, the patronness of Venezuela. This is so sad. The Mary of the Bible cannot hear or answer prayer. The only Queen of Heaven mentioned in the Bible is an idol that was worshipped by apostate Israel in the prophet Jeremiah’s day (Jer. 7:18; 44:17, 18, 19, 25). Nothing is more damnable than false gospels and false christs which give people an empty hope of salvation. Paul, Christ’s apostle, pronounced a curse on all gospels of works (Galatians 1:6-10). The words are strong because nothing is more awful than dying without the one true salvation in Jesus Christ.
ISRAEL TODAY SURVEY: ONLY 16% OF ISRAEL’S JEWS HAVE A POSITIVE VIEW OF JESUS (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A recent survey of Israeli Jews found that only 16% have a favorable view of Jesus, 36% are not interested, and 25% have no opinion (“What Do Israelis Think of Jesus?” Israel Today, Nov. 11, 2022). Nearly 30% of religious Jews said a Jew who believes in Jesus is not a Jew, and 44% of Israelis do not believe in a Messiah. Meno Kalisher, a Messianic Christian pastor, said, “The overall 16% that are positive [about Jesus] are mainly secular, and they measure Jesus from a social and moral standpoint--not a theological one. When they measured him that way, their conclusion is that he was a great guy, a great Jew. The 36% that are ‘not interested’ shows the nation’s general state regarding spiritual issues.” Jesus wept over unbelieving Jerusalem and prophesied, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:35). The first part of this prophecy was fulfilled to the letter when Rome destroyed the second temple, razed Jerusalem, and renamed Israel Syria Palaestina. The second part of the prophecy awaits fulfillment when a remnant of Israel will repent and receive the crucified Jesus as the Christ. This is described in Zechariah 12:10-14.
AMERICA’S AWFUL MARIJUANA ADDICTION (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “America’s awful,” Fox News, Oct. 29, 2026: “Not only is cannabis use skyrocketing in this country, with close to 70 million users every year, but parents are increasingly subjecting their children to wafting, intoxicating smoke. A new study from the University of California San Diego, a school based in a state with a big marijuana problem, shows that nationwide approximately 6 million children are living with a parent who uses cannabis most days. ... Cannabis use has more than doubled in the adult population over the past two decades (it’s now over 8%), according to data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Cannabis is highly addictive, and the THC content has increased greatly in all its forms, making it more and more dangerous. Edibles now typically contain up to 10 mg THC per serving, and concentrates and vape cartridges contain 50% to 95% THC (the psychoactive chemical in cannabis). The buds and flowers used for joints, vapes, edibles and concentrates are now 15 to 25% THC--a few decades ago, the amount was just 1 to 2%.”
BERKELEY MATH PROFESSOR STOPS GRADING HOMEWORK DUE TO AI (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “California Math Professor,” The Washington Times, Oct. 26, 2026: “A math professor at University of California, Berkeley, says there is ‘no point’ in grading his students’ homework because they all use artificial intelligence to solve the problems. Richard Borcherds told the Daily Californian that he currently grades based on completion rather than correctness, since AI is so widespread that all of his pupils have access to it. ... ‘If AI continues to improve at present rate, then, in a few years, there’ll be nothing human mathematicians can do that AI can’t do better,’ Mr. Borcherds said. Mr. Borcherds, who won the prestigious Fields Medal in 1998, said the rapid advancement of AI could mean massive disruptions for his field. ... Mr. Borcherd’s stance follows OpenAI’s announcement that its artificial intelligence solved a 90-year-old Navier-Stokes equation. The problem demands mathematicians to predict the behavior of fluids and gases under extreme conditions.”
THE MOLECULAR COMPUTER (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, September 2, 2026: “Scientists are recognizing the similarities between the workings of the DNA code and computer science. DNA is, after all, a complex information storage system. But comparing DNA as an information storage system to our largest and fastest computers is like comparing the Space Shuttle with a bow and arrow. Harvard biologists have been amazed at what they have learned about the DNA workings of a single-celled protozoan. Its DNA routinely solves mathematical problems that only a very advanced modern computer can handle. All of us have seen the complex problem of the traveling salesman. He has seven points of departure, and seven destinations. The problem is to work out the most efficient route for him to follow. By comparison, the protozoan under study solves the equivalent problem with up to 50 points of departure and 50 destinations. This little protozoan has two nuclei, with nucleus arranging the same DNA differently. The smaller nucleus stores only the DNA needed to live in small units and must be reassembled before they do anything. This means it may discard up to 95 percent of the DNA, similar to compressed computer information. When the protozoan needs to reassemble its DNA, each end of each unit needs to find the proper end of the only other unit it attaches to. This is not ‘simple’ life. Even scientists now recognize that this one-celled creature is a complex computer. And this bears witness to God, Who is the author of life, mathematics and all knowledge. Ref: Kathy Sawyer, ‘Biological Software,. Princeton Alumni Weekly.”
Ye humble souls, approach your God
With songs of sacred praise,
For he is good, immensely good,
And kind are all his ways.
-- Anne Steele, “The Goodness of God”
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).
FALSE FRIENDS AND TRUE ENEMIES: COUNTERING MARK WARD (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - False Friends and True Enemies by Bill Fortenberry refutes Mark Ward’s misguided attack on the King James Bible. Fortenberry “demonstrates that the same words modern critics challenge as ‘false friends’ are still used in contemporary literature with the exact same meaning they had in 1611 and exposed the flawed methodology and deceitful scholarship behind the ‘false friends’ argument.” Fortenberry writes, “Ward’s ‘long game’ is to convince those who use the KJV that men who vehemently oppose and publicly ridicule their views are actually really great guys that KJV readers should listen to and follow. In other words, Ward’s primary tactic for turning people away from the TR is to distract them from the main point of conflict [the underlying Hebrew and Greek texts], convince them their opponents are really their friends, and then undermine their stand from a position of trust. ... What Ward proposes instead of discussing the differences between the TR and the critical text is the ‘strategy’ of convincing KJV readers that their Bible is full of ‘unintelligible words hiding in plain sight.’ ... To put it more plainly, Ward wants to sow doubts in the minds of KJV readers and convince them they can’t really know what God said unless they use a different translation” (False Friends and True Enemies, p. 50). Fortenberry’s book is available on Amazon.com. We also recommend “Is the King James Bible Too Difficult to Understand,” which can be found via the search engine at www.wayoflife.org.
MARY AND THE WORLD SERIES (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Two players with the Milwaukee Brewers publicly thanked Mary for blessing their baseball career and advancing them to the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Outfielder Jackson Chourio credited Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira of his hometown in Maracaibo, Venezuela. “She is always in my prayers. I ask her for so much, that she grant me good health and continue to bestow so many blessings upon me” (“World Series stars share how God and the Virgin Mary sustain their careers,” EWTN News, Oct. 27, 2026). The painting of Our Lady of the Rosary, made by a Spanish painter in 1562, depicts Mary as Queen of Heaven standing beneath a bejeweled halo, wearing a golden crown, and holding a ruling scepter. Mary and the baby Jesus hold rosaries which are used for prayers to God and Mary. Brewers’ catcher William Contreras is also a devotee of Mary. He particularly favors the Virgin of Coromoto, the patronness of Venezuela. This is so sad. The Mary of the Bible cannot hear or answer prayer. The only Queen of Heaven mentioned in the Bible is an idol that was worshipped by apostate Israel in the prophet Jeremiah’s day (Jer. 7:18; 44:17, 18, 19, 25). Nothing is more damnable than false gospels and false christs which give people an empty hope of salvation. Paul, Christ’s apostle, pronounced a curse on all gospels of works (Galatians 1:6-10). The words are strong because nothing is more awful than dying without the one true salvation in Jesus Christ.
ISRAEL TODAY SURVEY: ONLY 16% OF ISRAEL’S JEWS HAVE A POSITIVE VIEW OF JESUS (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A recent survey of Israeli Jews found that only 16% have a favorable view of Jesus, 36% are not interested, and 25% have no opinion (“What Do Israelis Think of Jesus?” Israel Today, Nov. 11, 2022). Nearly 30% of religious Jews said a Jew who believes in Jesus is not a Jew, and 44% of Israelis do not believe in a Messiah. Meno Kalisher, a Messianic Christian pastor, said, “The overall 16% that are positive [about Jesus] are mainly secular, and they measure Jesus from a social and moral standpoint--not a theological one. When they measured him that way, their conclusion is that he was a great guy, a great Jew. The 36% that are ‘not interested’ shows the nation’s general state regarding spiritual issues.” Jesus wept over unbelieving Jerusalem and prophesied, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:35). The first part of this prophecy was fulfilled to the letter when Rome destroyed the second temple, razed Jerusalem, and renamed Israel Syria Palaestina. The second part of the prophecy awaits fulfillment when a remnant of Israel will repent and receive the crucified Jesus as the Christ. This is described in Zechariah 12:10-14.
AMERICA’S AWFUL MARIJUANA ADDICTION (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “America’s awful,” Fox News, Oct. 29, 2026: “Not only is cannabis use skyrocketing in this country, with close to 70 million users every year, but parents are increasingly subjecting their children to wafting, intoxicating smoke. A new study from the University of California San Diego, a school based in a state with a big marijuana problem, shows that nationwide approximately 6 million children are living with a parent who uses cannabis most days. ... Cannabis use has more than doubled in the adult population over the past two decades (it’s now over 8%), according to data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Cannabis is highly addictive, and the THC content has increased greatly in all its forms, making it more and more dangerous. Edibles now typically contain up to 10 mg THC per serving, and concentrates and vape cartridges contain 50% to 95% THC (the psychoactive chemical in cannabis). The buds and flowers used for joints, vapes, edibles and concentrates are now 15 to 25% THC--a few decades ago, the amount was just 1 to 2%.”
BERKELEY MATH PROFESSOR STOPS GRADING HOMEWORK DUE TO AI (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “California Math Professor,” The Washington Times, Oct. 26, 2026: “A math professor at University of California, Berkeley, says there is ‘no point’ in grading his students’ homework because they all use artificial intelligence to solve the problems. Richard Borcherds told the Daily Californian that he currently grades based on completion rather than correctness, since AI is so widespread that all of his pupils have access to it. ... ‘If AI continues to improve at present rate, then, in a few years, there’ll be nothing human mathematicians can do that AI can’t do better,’ Mr. Borcherds said. Mr. Borcherds, who won the prestigious Fields Medal in 1998, said the rapid advancement of AI could mean massive disruptions for his field. ... Mr. Borcherd’s stance follows OpenAI’s announcement that its artificial intelligence solved a 90-year-old Navier-Stokes equation. The problem demands mathematicians to predict the behavior of fluids and gases under extreme conditions.”
THE MOLECULAR COMPUTER (Friday Church News Notes, November 6, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, September 2, 2026: “Scientists are recognizing the similarities between the workings of the DNA code and computer science. DNA is, after all, a complex information storage system. But comparing DNA as an information storage system to our largest and fastest computers is like comparing the Space Shuttle with a bow and arrow. Harvard biologists have been amazed at what they have learned about the DNA workings of a single-celled protozoan. Its DNA routinely solves mathematical problems that only a very advanced modern computer can handle. All of us have seen the complex problem of the traveling salesman. He has seven points of departure, and seven destinations. The problem is to work out the most efficient route for him to follow. By comparison, the protozoan under study solves the equivalent problem with up to 50 points of departure and 50 destinations. This little protozoan has two nuclei, with nucleus arranging the same DNA differently. The smaller nucleus stores only the DNA needed to live in small units and must be reassembled before they do anything. This means it may discard up to 95 percent of the DNA, similar to compressed computer information. When the protozoan needs to reassemble its DNA, each end of each unit needs to find the proper end of the only other unit it attaches to. This is not ‘simple’ life. Even scientists now recognize that this one-celled creature is a complex computer. And this bears witness to God, Who is the author of life, mathematics and all knowledge. Ref: Kathy Sawyer, ‘Biological Software,. Princeton Alumni Weekly.”
Ye humble souls, approach your God
With songs of sacred praise,
For he is good, immensely good,
And kind are all his ways.
-- Anne Steele, “The Goodness of God”
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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