News from a Fundamentalist Baptist Christian perspective

FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
November 20, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 47

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 does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

LEE STROBEL’S DANGEROUS ASSOCIATIONS (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – Lee Strobel, the influential author of several widely-used apologetics books including The Case for Christ, is an “evangelical” whose associations with rank heretics sounds loud warnings. In January 2010 he is scheduled to speak at the Break Forth conference in Canada with William Paul Young, author of The Shack, and Leonard Sweet, a New Age contemplative. Lighthouse Trails observes, “[Though many have admired Strobel’s work in the past], it is really no surprise that he is attending Break Forth. With his sponsorship of his son’s very contemplative/emerging ministry Metamorpha, multiple appearances at Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral over the years, and his ongoing connections with Saddleback and Willow Creek, discernment is not something that Strobel appears to give much attention to” (“Why Are Joel Rosenberg and Frank Peretti Appearing with New Age/New Spirituality Sympathizers,” Lighthouse Trails, Nov. 9, 2009). Strobel’s fellow speaker Paul Young depicts God as a woman and claims that He/She does not judge sin or send anyone to hell. Leonard Sweet promotes a New Age universalist spirituality that he calls New Light and “the Christ consciousness.” He describes it in terms of “the union of the human with the divine” which is the “center feature of all the world’s religions” (Quantum Spirituality, p. 235). He says it was experienced by Mohammed, Moses, and Krishna. He promotes Matthew Fox, M. Scott Peck, and Ken Wilber, New Agers who believe in the divinity of man. Sweet says humanity needs to learn the truth of the words of the Buddhist-Catholic priest Thomas Merton, “We are already one” (Quantum Spirituality, p. 13). The Bible warns that it is impossible to join hands with such men in ministry without becoming partaker of their evil deeds (2 John 8-11).

RULES! LAWS! (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – When a high school gymnastics team recently lost a title competition because the coach broke the rules, the responses were telling. They ranged, in effect, from “we understand and accept the rule” to “we are special and shouldn’t be bound by such silly rules.” On the weekend of November 7-8, Northwest High School of Shawnee Mission, Kansas, slipped from first place to third after one of the coaches inappropriately questioned a scoring decision, costing the team a one-point penalty. The school’s athletic director, Richard Grinage, admitted that the coach acted contrary to the rules, saying, “It would be similar to a called ball or strike.” The coach in question, though, was unrepentant, saying, “We were the strongest team and had the highest score with 103.9 points, but, because of a ruling that has never been enforced in 30 years; we got a 102.9 and were third place” (“Sometimes It’s Better to Just Keep Your Mouth Shut,” Homeschool.rivals.com, Nov. 11, 2009). Discussing the purpose of the rule, Becky Oakes of the National Federation for State High Associations, said that “to allow a coach to always question an official could really interrupt the flow of events for the athletes and the competition.” That’s reasonable. Games must have rules. Life must have laws. And if laws are broken and there is no penalty, the law is destroyed and anarchy reigns. This is why the holy Creator God punishes infractions of His Law, and it means that we all deserve His just punishment, because we are all sinners. But in His great love He has provided a way of salvation for those who put their trust in the cross-work of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The unfathomable love of God cannot be understood without a comprehension of His inflexible holiness. The Gospel cannot be understood apart from the Law.

THE NEW IRON CURTAIN (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from “The Iron Curtain” by Paul Proctor, Nov. 10, 2009, Newswithviews.com, watchman@usa.com — “On this 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, with America deteriorating like an old and obsolete relic of our patriotic past, I’m left to wonder if the event let freedom in or tyranny out. You see, as I write, the wall is being rebuilt–not with concrete, mortar or razor wire–but instead, with satellites, cameras, computers, databases and an array of impressive and oppressive technologies that can monitor, record and analyze the movements, expressions, words and even thoughts of an unsuspecting populace now evermore willing to exchange God-given liberties and freedoms for governmental guarantees of health, safety, security and prosperity. These are the new guard towers that cast long shadows from above that to many are far more intimating than they are comforting. … I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the wall is indeed returning–and this time it extends around the world. When the powers that be are finished with it, there will be nowhere to run and hide. It won’t protect us from the evil without, but will only chain us electronically and spiritually to the wickedness within. It doesn’t matter how many guns are purchased or how much ammo one has stored away. Ultimately, this is a spiritual battle with eternal consequences and God Himself is the only One who can deliver us from what lies ahead. The sooner we fall to our knees, confess our sins, repent and cry out for a salvation that comes only by Jesus Christ, the sooner we will have ‘the peace of God which passeth all understanding’ and the wherewithal to carry on into the future, uncertain as it may be. ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13). That’s real freedom, liberty and security–the kind the Apostle Paul sang about joyously while bound and imprisoned for his faith as told in the 16th chapter of Acts. Without it, there is no hope—not in this life or in the life to come.”

AL GORE’S FINANCIAL STAKE IN CAP AND TRADE (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from “Gore’s Gravy Train,” OneNewsNow, Nov. 4, 2009: “It seems Al Gore is playing both sides of the fence on the energy front. He has made millions of dollars in private energy ventures–and now, according to the New York Times, it seems he will profit significantly from the government energy policies for which he is lobbying. Marc Morano of ClimateDepot.com says Gore stands to reap huge profits from ‘cap-and-trade’ legislation that would mandate carbon trading. … Morano notes that if Gore can get Washington to pass cap-and-trade legislation, he will be in a perfect position to become the world’s first ‘carbon billionaire.’ Currently, Gore’s net worth is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.” (For more about this see the article “Carbon Trading: The Hypocrisy and the Foolishness” at the Way of Life web site.)

IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS OBAMA MUST CHOOSE ISRAEL OR IRAN (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 11, 2009: “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the US to choose between Israel and Iran on Tuesday night, according to Iranian state media. Ahmadinejad said that for a real change in relations to take place, a choice must be made. Speaking in Istanbul at the 25th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Iranian president said that it was up to US President Barack Obama to illustrate his motto of ‘Change.’ ‘The support of both Israel and Iran can’t go hand in hand,’ he was quoted as saying by IRNA. ‘No change is made unless great choices are made.’ Addressing the same conference a day earlier, Ahmadinejad said that capitalist excesses caused the global economic meltdown and are un-Islamic. … Ahmadinejad did not mention Iran’s struggling economy.”

WORSHIP SERVICES FOR PETS (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – Some churches in the U.S. are holding worship services for animals, believing that they have souls. Covenant Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles recently started a Canines service, which features a 30-minute service with doggie beds, dog treats, hymns about dogs, and prayers for dogs (both living and dead). Pastor Tom Eggebeen hopes it will “reinvigorate the church’s connection with the community, provide solace to elderly members, and possibly attract new worshippers who are crazy about their four-legged friends” (“Gone to the Dogs,” AP, Nov. 8, 2009). Eggebeen says that “when we love a dog and a dog loves us, that’s a part of God.” Laura Hobgood-Oster, religion professor at Southwestern University, found 500 churches that have blessings for animals and about six that hold pet worship services. One in a Boston suburb is called Woof ‘n Worship. One of the attendees at Eggebeen’s Canines service said, “I don’t have any kids, so my pets have always been my children.” In fact, though animals can be a blessing, because God made them for man, they are not children and they don’t have eternal souls. They have no consciousness of God, and when they die, they die.

CLIMATE CHIEF HYPOCRITICALLY SAYS GIVE UP MEAT TO SAVE THE PLANET (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is from the Australian Independent Baptist Newsletter, <bennettdubbo@aapt.net.au>: “Lord Stern of Brentford, who is ‘the author of the influential 2006 Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming,’ told The Times, ‘People will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming’ (“Climate Chief Lord Stern,” The Times, Oct. 27, 2009). Stern also said that eating ‘meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.’ But Lord Stern had the audacity to also acknowledge that he himself ‘was not a strict vegetarian.’ These deceived folk are leading the way for the one-world system. Of course, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should always take care of God’s creation, but we should not imitate those who worship ‘and serve the creature more than the Creator’ (Romans 1:25).”

THE INDEPENDENT BAPTIST MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY OF COMPROMISE (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following warning is edited from a sermon by Pastor Terry Coomer, founder and director of For Love of the Family ministries (P.O. Box 535, Elwood, IN 46036, 765-552-1973, tlcoomer@juno.com, http://www.churchpages.org/fortheloveofthefamily). “Quite frankly, I am just amazed when I talk to Christian leaders and pastors. I recently conversed with a man who talked about a Christian college where he is the leader. He told me about wanting to turn things around. He talked about right music, right dress, and right stand on the Bible, which are very admirable things. Yet the leaders and teachers in this school do all the things that he privately admitted to be wrong. I ask you, how can a man take a stand for dress standards when he has none? How can a man take a stand against Southern Gospel music when he allows it right in his church or allows those to come to speak that promote it? How can a man take a stand for the Bible when he believes all texts are okay? The answer is that he cannot, and he allows these things in his church because it appeals to the flesh. Romans 6:12 says, ‘Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.’  Revival can never come to a church or a nation as long as the leaders’ lives are dictated by the ‘lusts of the flesh.’ …  Folks, the real need today is not for more programs, but real Christian holy living. WE HAVE A MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY OF COMPROMISE TODAY. Our church takes a stand against the things mentioned above and will not compromise them. This does not mean that people need to be enemies, yet there are things I cannot and should not participate in and just call it a difference of opinion. If a person has a real desire to change and asks for help, we help them and provide information, but the idea that I should have compromisers preach in my church to try to help them or to be a political person is utter nonsense. Many do this under the guise that the people they invite do not understand the issues yet. No, my friend, they are Biblical compromisers, and if you invite them to speak or associate with them in the ministry you are participating in their ‘living for the lusts of the flesh’ lifestyle. It is a serious flaw that is killing the spiritual fervor of our churches, church people, Bible colleges, and children. We are teaching them it is okay to live for the lusts of the flesh and to live a compromising life. It is shameful and a direct violation of the Scripture and is willful sinful disobedience. We need to remember that someday, maybe today, we will stand before God and give an account for how we have lived our lives. Titus 2:11-12 says, ‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.’”

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). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/subscribe.html.  TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click “Manage My Subscription.” Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org.