WEEKLY CHURCH NEWS NOTES - Bible Prophecy News

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*WEEKLY CHURCH NEWS NOTES*

May 20, 2007.

The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in churches

*HEAD OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY JOINS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH *

 Francis Beckwith, a professor at Baylor University (a Baptist 
institution) and president of the
Evangelical Theological Society, was received into the Roman Catholic
Church on April 29. In his blog Beckwith said his departure from
"Protestantism" was prompted by his study of the early church fathers
("ETS President Resigns," Baptist Press, May 9, 2007). I have often
warned that the so-called "church fathers" of the early centuries
were deeply influenced by heresy and are not dependable teachers.
They should be looked upon as fathers of the Roman Catholic Church,
in fact, for they developed heresies such as infant baptism,
baptismal regeneration, sovereign election, inquisitionism,
hierarchicalism, and priestcraft. Our absolute doctrinal standard is
not the uninspired writings of the "church fathers" but the
infallible Bible itself. Beckwith was also doubtless influenced by
his unwise decision to study at Roman Catholic institutions,
including Fordham University, a Jesuit school in New York. The Bible
solemnly warns that "evil communication corrupt good manners" (1 Cor.
15:33). Protestantism has never been far enough removed from the
Roman Catholic Church. Bible-believing Baptists are not Protestants
and have never traced their heritage through Rome.

*STARBUCKS PRINTING ANTI-BIBLE SLOGANS ON CUPS *

As part of its "The Way I See It" campaign to collect
different viewpoints, the Starbucks coffee chain is printing
anti-Bible slogans on coffee cups. A quote written by Bill Schell, a
Starbucks customer in London, Ontario, says: "Why in moments of
crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why
would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations
for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to
overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the
catastrophes we need to endure." Another quote, written by Joel
Stein, columnist for the Los Angeles Times, says: "Heaven is totally
overrated. It seems boring. Clouds, listening to people play the
harp. It should be somewhere you can't wait to go, like a luxury
hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in
line in the 17th century, but Heaven has to step it up a bit. They're
basically getting by because they only have to be better than Hell."
Starbucks argues that the slogans are printed on the cups merely to
"spur discussion," but they are giving people a large forum for
spouting anti-Bible views and the company is accountable for what is
printed on their cups. Tricia Moriarty, Starbucks communications
manager, said: "We are committed to this program. ... Certainly, we
have no plans to remove any of them" ("Starbucks Markets More
'Anti-God' Coffee Cups, WorldNetDaily, May 9, 2007). Starbucks is
based in Seattle, Washington, a lovely city that is a bastion of
Humanistic, New Age philosophy.
*
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUPS PLAY IN BRUCE ALMIGHTY SEQUEL *

Four Contemporary Christian and "crossover" bands are scheduled to play 
at the premier to the sequel
to the blasphemous Bruce Almighty movie. The sequel, Evan Almighty,
is based loosely on the biblical Noah and depicts a congressman who
is charged by God with building an ark. The Hollywood comedy makes a
mockery of the fear of God. Bruce Almighty, which starred Jim Carrey,
was about a man who was given divine powers after he cursed God for
the difficulties in his life. The groups that are playing at the
movie's premier on June 11 are Switchfoot, Relient K, Jeremy Camp,
and DecembeRadio. The gross worldliness of Contemporary Christian
Music is evident on every hand for those who have an eye to see and a
heart a care.
*
RICK WARREN QUESTIONED FOR HIS TIES WITH PORNO DISTRIBUTOR*

The following is excerpted from
"Murdoch Pastor Gets Heat for Mogul's Porn Channels," WorldNetDaily,
May 10, 2007: "Mega-pastor Rick Warren is being challenged by other
Christian leaders for not disciplining a prominent member of his
California Saddleback Church flock for being one of the world's
leading pornographers. That would be Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News
Corp., which, in addition to building a media empire on the chests of
topless models and edgy, pushing-the-envelope Fox TV network shows,
recently began building a stable of hard-core porn channels for its
BSkyB subsidiary. 'Rupert Murdoch [claims to be] a born-again
Christian and Rick Warren claims to be his pastor,' says Chris
Rosebrough, head of the Christian Accountability Network. 'As a
Christian, Murdoch is committing an egregious sin by owning,
expanding and profiting from pornographic channels, and Rick Warren,
his pastor, has a biblical duty to call Murdoch to repentance and/or
put him out of the church.' ... Murdoch also owns Zondervan, the
company that published Warren's explosive bestseller The Purpose
Driven Life. ... Warren, who did not respond to WND's email requests
to address the controversy, has at least twice publicly claimed
Murdoch as a member of his church. ... In a Nov. 12, 2006, Orange
County Register story, Warren was asked about pastoring a man who
publishes tabloids featuring topless women. He responded: 'I don't
have to agree with 100 percent of what another person does in order
to work with them on the 20 percent that we do agree on.' The article
also points out Murdoch was among the first patrons to support
Warren's PEACE plan, contributing $2 million. ... even before the
BSkyB venture into hard-core porn, Murdoch's News Corp. was steeped
in the business. 'News Corp. is a major owner of DirecTV, which sells
more pornographic films than (Hustler magazine founder and porn film
producer Larry) Flynt,' says porn fighter Gail Dines, professor of
American Studies at Boston's Wheelock College. 'In 2000, the New York
Times reported that nearly $200 million a year is spent by the 8.7
million subscribers to DirecTV. Among News Corp.'s other media
holdings are the Fox Broadcasting and cable TV networks, 20th Century
Fox, the New York Post and TV Guide. Welcome to synergy. Murdoch also
owns Harper Collins, which published pornography star Jenna Jameson's
best-selling book, How to Make Love like a Porn Star."
*
U.S. ARMY BASE BROADCASTING MUSLIM PRAYERS
*
The U.S. Army base at Fort Riley, Kansas, is broadcasting Muslim
prayers five times a day over its loud speaker system. When
challenged about the practice, which began about two months ago, the
Army said it is preparing troops heading to Iraq and Afghanistan. Dub
Skidmore, of the Public Affairs Office at the post, says that the
soldiers must be immersed in Islamic culture (OneNewsNow, May 9,
2007). In fact, Islamic prayers are purely religious, and Baptist
prayers would doubtless not be allowed. Sarah Holler, whose husband
has been stationed at Fort Riley for about five years, protests: "My
kids are subjected to it, I'm subjected to it, and spouses and
soldiers that aren't getting deployed are being subjected to it. And
one of my concerns is actually that soldiers who have already been
deployed to Iraq are coming home and hearing it in their own
country." For an American Army base to broadcast Islamic prayers is
certainly ridiculous and probably unconstitutional.
*
SOUTHERN BAPTIST PROFESSOR CALLS FOR REGENERATE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP *

John Hammett, professor of theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological 
Seminary, is exhorting
Southern Baptists to return to the practice of a regenerate church
membership. He recently told seminary students that the most pressing
problem facing the Southern Baptist Convention is not decadent,
post-modern culture but the "Southern Baptist culture," which has
lost sight of regenerate church membership and "allows anyone to join
the church and maintain their membership without any interview
process or accountability" ("Prof. Promotes Regenerate Membership,"
Baptist Press, May 8, 2007). He could have mentioned the worldliness
that is rampant in SBC congregations, but he is absolutely right in
this warning. I grew up in the Southern Baptist Convention and it was
customary for young people to join churches without any biblical
evidence of salvation. Further, people remain on the membership rolls
in Southern Baptist churches even when they are not active, and any
attempt to discipline sinning members is exceedingly rare. According
to a 1997 study by the Strategic Information and Planning department
of the Sunday School Board only 32.8% of the 16 million SBC church
members even bother to show up on a given Sunday morning and only
12.3% participate in any further aspect of church life. In 1998 Dean
Register, president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention, testified:
"It's very unusual for Southern Baptist churches to take disciplinary
action against an individual" (The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Mississippi,
Sept. 13, 1998). John Hammett also said that pastors must be
committed to staying with a congregation long enough to institute
regenerate membership and church discipline, but the fact is that
Southern Baptist Churches are typically run by deacon boards, and
when a pastor tries to institute such "unprecedented" biblical
practices he is given the boot! I was once invited to preach a Bible
conference in a Southern Baptist church by a pastor who wanted to
strengthen the church in these very matters, and I accepted the
meeting and went not knowing that the church was associated with the
SBC. After I preached on taking the Bible seriously in all matters,
the church fired the pastor!

*ENVIRONMENTALIST LIKENS MANKIND TO A VIRUS
*
Paul Watson, president of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, says
mankind is "acting like a virus" and "killing our host the planet
Earth" ("Sea Shepherd Founder," BusinessMedia.org, May 6, 2007). He
wants to see the world's population reduced from 5.5 billion to one
billion and cities and individual communities reduced to no more than
20,000 people. He calls on humans to "stop flying, stop driving cars,
and stop jetting around on marine recreational vehicles" and wants to
see a return to sailing ships. According to Watson, "We need vast
areas of the planet where humans do not live at all and where other
species are free to evolve without human interference." We wonder why
Watson doesn't lead the way in the population reduction program. If
he merely evolved, it makes absolutely no difference whether he lives
or dies, since blind evolution means that life is mere chance and
death is nothing. In fact, if Watson's evolutionary tale is true it
makes no difference in the large scheme of things if every species
perishes and the earth itself is destroyed. "In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

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).