August 12, 2007.

The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in churches.

*MOST AMERICAN YOUTH INVOLVED IN VIRTUAL VIOLENCE *

A new study shows that 90% of children ages 8-18 have played violent
video games. This was reported in "Video Games: General and Pathological
Use," Trends and Tudes, March 2007. The study found that the average
8-12 year-old boy plays video games 16 hours per week, while the average
13-18 year-old boy plays 18 hours. Only about one-half of parents
restrict the use of the games. One-third of the boys surveyed said they
felt addicted to them. The survey indicated that the amount of time
spent playing video games is related to "several important negative
outcomes for youth including poorer performance, increased physical
aggression, and increased risk of obesity." Video game sales in the U.S.
(equipment and software) in 2006 was $12.6 billion. That is a lot of
money and a lot of influence upon society. Many of the games are immoral
and violent, and most of them feature background rock music. Some of the
top selling games are Grand Theft Auto, Star Wars Knights, Warcraft,
Final Fantasy, and Mortal Kombat. The Bible warns, "For as he thinketh
in his heart, so is he..." (Proverbs 23:7), and, "Keep thy heart with
all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23).
Violent video games are not innocent entertainment. The multi-billion
dollar advertising industry knows that people are powerfully affected by
what they see and hear. At best the popular video games are an addictive
waste of this life's fleeting hours. "Hell and destruction are never
full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied" (Proverbs 27:20). "I will
set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn
aside; it shall not cleave to me" (Psalm 101:3). "See then that ye walk
circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because
the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what
the will of the Lord is" (Ephesians 5:15-17).

*EVANGELICAL YOUTH LEAVING CHURCH IN LARGE NUMBERS *

A new survey by LifeWay Research, the publishing arm of the Southern
Baptist Convention, found that "seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 --
both evangelical and mainline -- who went to church regularly in high
school said they quit attending by age 23" ("Young Adults Aren't
Sticking with Church," USA Today, Aug. 7, 2007). Some 35% of those said
they had resumed attending church regularly by age 30, so that would
mean that about 7 in 10 drop out temporarily while 3 in 10 drop out more
permanently. This tallies with my own experience in and knowledge of the
Southern Baptist Convention and probably would be true of independent
Baptists, as well. In the Southern Baptist churches in which I grew up
it was almost expected that young people would leave church for awhile
to "sow their wild oats." One of the many problems with this is that
even if these young people do get saved and return to church later in
life they bear massive spiritual scars that follow them to the end of
their lives and that weaken the cause of Jesus Christ. Further, as the
survey indicates, a large percentage of those who leave church do not
return. "Sowing wild oats" becomes a permanent way of life. The very
best time to get saved and to get serious about serving Christ is in
one's youth. A much smaller percentage of people get saved later in
life, and when they do their lives are deeply scared and it is not
uncommon that they have tarnished their marital status with divorce and
remarriage so that they are limited in their ability to serve in the
church. Interestingly, the aforementioned survey found that those who
stayed with or returned to church "grew up with both parents committed,
pastors whose sermons were relevant and engaging, and church members who
invested in their spiritual development." This demonstrates that it is
largely the quality of the Christian home and church that determines how
children turn out. Godliness and spiritual consistency are necessary.
Hypocrisy and worldliness in the home and church tend to drive young
people away from Christ and the Bible. "Train up a child in the way he
should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).
*
RESPONSE TO "MORE COUNTRY MUSIC TRASH" *

I received the following interesting response to the article in the
August 3 issue of Weekly Church News Notes entitled "More Country Music
Trash." In that article I warned about the spiritual and moral danger of
America's country music. I said, "It is as wicked as rock & roll, pop,
or rap, but it is often considered safer because of its thin veneer of
God and country, and it is therefore not uncommon for professing
Christians, even those who claim to take the Bible seriously, to listen
to it." We illustrated this warning with a new song by Brad Paisley that
talks about a man who drinks and carouses and cusses and laughs at dirty
jokes and other "minor vices" but won't go to hell because the "devil
has got bigger fish to fry." The response to this article is as follows,
and it demonstrates how that many professing Christians love the world
too much to heed clear biblical warnings. "GREAT piece of writing! Very
well examined and explained. I have long told my wife and sons that
Country music is perhaps more dangerous than all the open and blatant
Rock and devil worshipping stuff because of this layer of supposed God
and country. It promotes and glorifies an uneducated backward 'simple'
lifestyle, and you are right on the money when you discuss the
acceptance of it by so many 'country church Christians.' I tried to
bring this up when I spoke with folks that attended a country church
when we lived in North Florida, but let me tell you, it was like hitting
them in the toe with a hammer. That stuff is engrained in their lives
and they will NOT give it up. I do NOT understand how they either CANnot
or WILL not see it for what it really is!"

*POPE SAYS EVOLUTION IS TRUE *

Speaking to a group of 400 priests, Pope Benedict XVI said evolution is
backed by "strong scientific proof," though it does not answer life's
"great philosophical question." He says it is wrong to present
creationism and evolution as contradictory, and that you can believe in
God while being an evolutionist. The pope claims that "there are many
scientific tests in favor of evolution, which appears as a reality that
we must see and enriches our understanding of life and being"
("Evolution and God Do Mix," New York Post, July 26, 2007). In fact, the
Bible cannot be reconciled with the theory of evolution. Following are
just a few of the Bible facts that cannot be reconciled with the theory
of evolution: (1) Genesis says God created the world and everything in
it in six days. (2) Genesis says all creation was made to reproduce
after its kind. (3) Genesis says man and animals are distinctively
different creations. (4) Genesis says the world was created in six days
and then the process of creation was finished. (5) Genesis says the
world was created perfect then fell under sin and God's curse and has
been deteriorating ever since.

*CAMBODIA BANS DOOR-TO-DOOR EVANGELISM AND LITERATURE DISTRIBUTION *

Cambodia has banned door-to-door evangelism and the distribution of
Christian literature except inside church buildings. The government says
such activities "disrupt society" and "cause other insecurities" in this
largely Buddhist nation (WorldNetDaily, July 31, 2007). Officials
admitted that the ruling is aimed at reducing Christian evangelism. The
vast majority of Christians in Cambodia were among the 3 million people
who died in the 1970s under the brutal communist regime of the Khmer
Rouge led by Pot Pol, but the number of churches has grown rapidly since
the collapse of communism in the early 1990s.

*RIPPED JEANS, THE FASHION INDUSTRY, AND THE COOL FACTOR *

What is it about the world that Christians are to separate from? When
God's Word says to love not the world it is referring to the evil things
of the world rather than to the things that God created. It is referring
to "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life" (1 John 2:15-16). This is a perfect description of the modern
fashion industry. It is geared to showing off the body in a sensual way
and fulfilling the lust of the flesh and the eyes and the pride of life.
The very concept of BEING "COOL," which is so important to young people,
has to do with something that excites the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life. One web site says that ripped jeans are
"cool" and then goes on to describe why they are cool. It is because
they "sport the 'I don't care' look" and are "a mark of rebellion."
Further, they were made popular by rock stars (Brittney Spears, we are
told, wore them to her wedding) and are thus hip. Ripped jeans also
"make the wearer stand out in the crowd and get noticed." Thus this
youthful web site teaches us that "cool" refers to something that
appeals to the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. One of the most
powerful things in human society is the lust of the eyes, and the most
powerful lust is that of sexuality. Men, in particular, have an endless
propensity to lust, and this is why Jesus said: "Ye have heard that it
was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say
unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath
committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Mat. 5:27-28). The
fashion industry appeals directly and continually to this powerful lust
by enticing women to dress in a skimpy, revealing, tight, tantalizing
manner that attracts the man's lust.

*THE EVIL BUSINESS OF PRIDE *

The following is from David Thomas's commentary on Proverbs, 1885:
"These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto
him: a proud look... Haughtiness is an abomination, because it implies
self-ignorance, unkindness, and irreverence. How true is the language of
old Quarles concerning pride. 'As thou desirest the love of God and man,
beware of pride. It is a tumour in the mind that breaks and poisons all
thy actions: it is a worm in thy treasure, which eats and ruins thy
estate; it loves no man--is beloved of no man; it disparages virtue in
another by detraction; it disrewards goodness in itself by vain-glory:
the friend of the flatterer, the mother of envy, the nurse of fury, the
sin of devils, and the devil of mankind: it hates superiors, it scorns
inferiors, it owns no equals;--in short, till thou hate it, God hates
thee.'"

*REBELLION AND MODESTY *

The following is excerpted from the book The Fall and Rise of Christian
Standards by David Kidd (Xulonpress.com or 866-909-2665): "It is most
curious then why dress and other appearance issues are so often a point
of contention for Christians. Many who see the connection of the
biblical principle of identity to other areas of life, somehow cannot
see it in this one. The same person who would never use the world's
profane speech will wear its equally profane clothes. Š It is no
coincidence that one of the first evidences of rebellion against
God-ordained authority is a pushing of the limits of modesty and decency
in clothing. When was the last time you saw a rebellious teen-age girl
insist on wearing long, loose-fitting dresses? The heart attitude of
rebellion is manifested by resistance to a boundary which is identified
with obedience to headship authority, and will always move away from
restraint and modesty, and toward permissiveness and sensuality."

CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. 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. These things remind us
that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of
the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for
Christ day by day? "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).