WEEKLY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
Pastor Dale Morgan
January 6, 2008
The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in churches.
*
WHEATON COLLEGE PROFESSOR CALLS ON SCHOOL TO ALLOW ROMAN CATHOLIC TEACHERS *
Wheaton College professor Alan Jacobs has called on the school to open
its doors to Roman Catholic professors. The call was motivated by the
2004 dismissal of Joshua Hochschild, who was fired after he joined the
Roman Catholic Church. Hochschild left Wheaton in 2005 and joined the
faculty of Mount Saint Mary University in Maryland. In an April 2006
article in First Things, Jacobs said: "I think it is important to avoid
the claim that the differences between Protestants and Catholics are
insignificant; they are not, and it is frivolous to think that they are.
But it may well be that sufficient common ground in the gospel exists,
and is recognized to exist, so that it makes sense for a college like
Wheaton to take a significant step toward effective Christian unity. ...
Wheaton could strike a great blow, not for insipid and vacuous 'moral
and religious influences,' but for true Christian unity, if it welcomed
into its midst Josh Hochschild and other Catholic teacher-scholars who
share his passion for Christian truth." This statement either exhibits
Jacobs' personal commitment to a false gospel or his ignorance of
Romanism or both. Rome's official proclamations, including Vatican
Council II and the New Catholic Catechism, state that salvation is not
by grace alone through faith in Christ alone but requires sacraments and
works. How can there be sufficient common ground for unity between
someone who believes in a grace-works gospel and someone who believes in
a grace-alone gospel? The apostle Paul said that anyone who teaches a
different gospel than grace is cursed of God (Galatians 1:8-10).
Further, how can there be sufficient ground for unity between someone
who prays to "saints" and someone who believes Christ is the sole
mediator, between someone who honors the pope and someone who thinks the
pope is a usurper, between someone who accepts the mass and someone who
believes the mass is a man-made tradition, between someone who believes
baptism is the new birth and someone who believes baptism is a picture
of the gospel? These are not tertiary issues! The problem with the
average evangelical today is that he doesn't care about it enough to
fight for it and doesn't hate error enough to separate from it. Jacobs
is the author of The Narnian, a biography of C. S. Lewis, and he has
imbibed Lewis's unscriptural ecumenical philosophy. On page 213 Jacobs
wrote of Lewis: "He believed that there was a core of orthodox
Christianity that Puritans, Anglicans, and Catholics all affirmed and
that should have been a source of peace among them." C. S. Lewis was
dead wrong, and so are his evangelical followers today.
*
NEW ZEALAND BANS SPANKING *
This year three more countries banned spanking of children. In May New
Zealand became the first English-speaking country to ban the practice.
Over the past two months Uruguay and Venezuela have followed suit. New
Zealand's Crimes Amendment Act of 2007 abrogates section 59 of the
Crimes Act of 1961 which allowed the "use of force" for correction of
children. Activists such as Save the Children have fought to ban
corporal punishment for decades. There are now 22 nations that ban
spanking by law. Sweden was the first in 1979. Other nations are
Austria, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Portugal,
Romania, the Netherlands, and Ukraine. Humanists are fighting throughout
the world to ban this practice, and the United Nations is pushing this
agenda. It is a direct attack on God's Word which exhorts parents,
"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction
shall drive it far from him" (Proverbs 22:15).
*
BIN LADEN THREATENS TO DRIVE JEWS FROM "PALESTINE" *
In a new taped message, mass murderer Osama Bin Laden, speaking from his
burrow probably somewhere in the desolate no man's land on the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border, threatens to carry Al-Qaeda's terror war to
Israel. He says: "We intend to liberate Palestine, the whole of
Palestine from the river [Jordan] to the sea. We will not recognize even
one inch for Jews in the land of Palestine as other Muslim leaders have"
("Bin Laden Tape Threatens Sunnis, Israelis," USA Today, Dec. 29, 2007).
Bin Laden threatens "blood for blood, destruction for destruction."
According to Bible prophecy, Israel will be driven out of her land one
more time during the reign of the Antichrist in the Great Tribulation,
but God gave her that land by eternal decree, and she will enjoy it
forever when Jesus Christ returns. "And it shall come to pass in that
day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against
Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and
they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for
him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for
him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn" (Zechariah
12:9-10). "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform
that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to
the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the
Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute
judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith
she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. ... Thus saith the
LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not
appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; then will I cast away the
seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his
seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will
cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them" (Jeremiah
33:14-16, 25-26).
*THE AMAZING NANO BIBLE *
Jewish scientists have inscribed the entire Hebrew Old Testament onto a
gold-coated silicon surface the size of a crystal of sugar. Since the
letters can only be read with a scanning electron microscope, the
practicality of the project is slight, but the objective is to arouse
public interest in nanotechnology. In the future the scientists want to
inscribe data on DNA or other bio-molecules ("Technion Released First
Ever Non-Bible," Jerusalem Post, Dec. 17, 2007). The project was carried
out at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. "But thou,
O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the
end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased"
(Daniel 12:4).
*
HINDU MOBS RAMPAGING AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN INDIA *
Hindu mobs went on a rampage against Christians in the Indian state of
Orissa on Christmas Eve. A report in the Christian Post for Dec. 27 said
the riots continued for three days, and the Global Council of Indian
Christians reported that at least 2,000 Christians had been injured, two
killed, and 20 churches damaged, including some burned to the ground.
The mobs were led by activists affiliated with the World Hindu Council
and they made no distinction between Catholics, Protestants, or
Baptists. At least one Indian preacher was forced to kneel before Hindu
idols after being beaten up. In 1999 Orissa was the scene of a horrible
attack upon an Australian missionary and his two sons. While sleeping in
their station wagon one night they were surrounded by a noisy Hindu mob
and forced to remain in the car while it was set on fire. Baptist
missionary Graham Staines and his sons Philip and Timothy were burned to
death. Staines had been exhibiting the love of Christ by working with
leprosy patients for 34 years.
*
BHUTTO WANTED TO STRENGTHEN TIES BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PAKISTAN, ALLOW U.S.
TROOPS TO SEARCH FOR BIN LADIN *
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated
last week, wanted to strengthen ties between Israel and Pakistan and
allow America to hunt for Bin Ladin on Pakistani territory. CNSNews.com
reported: "Assassinated former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
wanted her country to normalize relations with Israel and could have
acted as a bridge between Israel and the Muslim world, Israeli officials
said. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Bhutto had relayed a
message through a mutual acquaintance that she would like to 'strengthen
the ties between Israel and Pakistan' in the future. Israeli Ambassador
to the U.N. Dan Gillerman said that he and his wife had met for dinner
with Bhutto and her husband. She was interested in normalizing relations
with Israel and wanted Gillerman to relay that information to
Washington, he said ("Bhutto Wanted Ties between Muslim Pakistan,
Israel," CNSNews.com, Dec. 28, 2007). Bhutto had also stated that she
would allow U.S. troops to hunt for Osama bin Laden in Pakistani
territory ("Bhutto's Political Prominence Offended Islamic Radicals,"
CNSNews, Dec. 28, 2007). The Islamic terrorists also hated her because
she believed in democracy, was a female in leadership position, and
refused to cover her face or to refrain from shaking hands with males.
An Al Qaida-tied bombing attempt was made on Bhutto's life in 1993 and
again when she returned to Pakistan from exile in October. In February
another female Pakistani politician, Zilla Huma Usman, was murdered by a
Muslim man who was angry because she didn't cover her face and she was
involved in politics. The killer said he was obeying Allah's command
because, "Women can't become rulers in Islam."
*
THE DEATH OF THE PRAYER MEETING *
The following is by Pastor Buddy Smith, Malanda, Queensland
<smil...@bigpond.net.au> -- "We need not pretend any longer that
fundamental churches, in general, have prayer meetings. There are
exceptions, but they are increasingly rare. If there is an endangered
species we ought to be worried about, it would have to be the few
churches that still have real prayer meetings. Prayer meetings differ
from Sunday School classes, and from Sunday preaching services. Prayer
meetings are for praying. A song or two, and a short word from the Lord,
and then to prayer! Why can't we go back to holding meetings whose sole
purpose is to get down to the serious business of praying? The death of
the old fashioned prayer meeting is a great loss to the church, because
the heavy artillery of Heaven is never brought to bear upon the
strongholds of Satan. Every one of us is a forward spotter on the
battlefield, as well as a gunner. It is our business to identify the
fortresses of sin which men erect in their hearts and homes. Once we
know the coordinates for the Enemy's positions we can call on our
brethren to fire away with all their might. My dad told me after the war
how that the heavy artillery was dug in far behind the front lines. He
said that when they knew where the targets were, they would begin firing
and never stop until they had destroyed the enemy. John Ridley, who was
possibly Australia's greatest preacher, once described the campaign to
win the Holy Land back from the Turks. He said the Allies lined their
cannons up wheel to wheel for several miles, with every cannon aimed at
the same target. When the command came every cannon fired and fired and
fired until the target was completely and finally destroyed. So it must
be with the prayer ministry of the local church. Of course, there will
be people who will not attend a real prayer meeting. But some will. So
we start with those who will and then conscript some more to help us
fire away. Wheel to wheel, petition after petition, firing away hour
after hour, until the gunbarrels melt down, if need be, or all will be
lost. The Devil's citadels have never been able to stand against the
artillery of Heaven. Doubtless, the Enemy will build them again, but if
we have trained our children in the arts of prayerful gunnery, they will
pray all his strongholds to smithereens."
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).