WEEKLY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
Pastor Dale Morgan
December 02, 2007.
The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in churches .
*
EVANGELICALS SIGN STRANGE LETTER TO MUSLIMS*
In response to an open letter signed by 138 Muslim leaders entitled "A
Common Word Between Us and You," which was issued on October 13, 2007,
roughly 300 Christian leaders have signed "Loving God and Neighbor
Together: A Christian Response." The Muslim letter said that "Muslims
recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah" and "invited Christians to come
together with us on the common essentials of our two religions,"
claiming that "the very survival of the world itself is perhaps at
stake." There was not a word about the current jihad, and Bin Laden and
company were not among the signatories. The Christian response was
organized by professors at the extremely liberal Yale Divinity School.
It is prefaced with the words, "In the name of the Infinitely Good God
whom we should love with all our Being," which gives the idea that
Muslims and Christians worship the same God. It begins by asking
forgiveness for the Crusades and the (alleged) "excesses of the war on
terror" by which "many Christians have been guilty of sinning against
our Muslim neighbors." It goes on to say, "It is therefore no
exaggeration to say, as you have in A Common Word Between Us and You,
that 'the future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and
Christians.'" It calls for interfaith dialogue and warns that "our
eternal souls" are at stake if Muslims and Christians don't learn to
live in peace. The response was obviously written by someone who does
not believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the literal return of
Christ, but what the letter omits is just as telling. There is not a
word about the violent jihad that is rampaging around the world against
Christians which negates the idea that Islam is a peaceful religion, not
a word about the lack of religious liberty and the persecution against
Christians in every Islamic country, not a word about the Islamic
prohibition against converting to Christianity, not a word about Islam's
denial of Christ's deity, virgin birth, sacrificial death, and bodily
resurrection and the fact that Allah is not the God of the Bible. If
this response were signed only by liberals, we probably would have
ignored it, but scattered among the names of rank liberals and Roman
Catholic and Emerging Church leaders (Tony Jones and Brian McLaren) are
those of dozens of "evangelicals," including Rick Warren of Saddleback
Church; Leith Anderson and Don Argue (current and past president of the
National Association of Evangelicals); several professors from Fuller
Theological Seminary (including the president), Biola University,
Wheaton College (including the president), and Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary; Lynn Green of Youth With A Mission; Bill Hybels of
Willow Creek Community Church; various pastors of Vineyard churches
(including the National Director); David Neff, Editor in Chief of
Christianity Today; John R.W. Stott; Michael Treneer of the Navigators;
Harvey Thiessen of Operation Mobilization; and Godfrey Yogarajah,
General Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia.
*
EUROPEAN UNION HEADING TOWARD TOTAL CONTROL*
The following is excerpted from "Perfecting a System of Total Control,"
published in the influential secular magazine Der Spiegel, Nov. 23,
2007: "The European Commission in Brussels wants to protect European
citizens even more effectively against danger and disease. Soon there
will be a well-intended--but mostly completely unnecessary--regulation
for every aspect of life. ... the EU's inspectors are keeping themselves
busy coming up with more and more regulations to govern even the most
hidden corners of human existence, and that will cover the length and
breadth of the EU--from Inari in northern Finland to Limassol on the
Mediterranean island of Cyprus. ... The Europeans of the 21st century
appear to be dim-witted and unable to cope with life--and wholly
dependent on the dictates of Big Brother in Brussels. When it comes to
protecting the population from its own supposed lack of common sense,
Big Brother is enthusiastic." NOTE FROM BROTHER CLOUD: All of this is
just a bit of warm up for the coming Antichrist government which will be
headquartered in the old Roman Empire. In fact, from the perspective of
Bible prophecy the Roman Empire has not ceased to exist. The ancient
empire, with its eastern and western divisions, is described as the two
legs in the vision of Daniel chapter two, and it continues to exist in
the end times (in the form of the two feet and ten toes of the vision)
until it is destroyed at Christ's return (Daniel 2:40-45). The
Antichrist is called the Little Horn in Daniel and the Beast in
Revelation, and he will rule over the world with a strong hand,
controlling all commerce and forbidding people to buy or sell unless
they take his mark (Rev. 13:16-17). The Bible says we need to be busy in
the service of Jesus Christ and ready to leave this world at all times.
"For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his
house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work,
and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not
when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the
cockcrowing, or in the morning" (Mark 13:34-35).
*
A ROCK & ROLL YOUTH MINISTRY *
According to the seeker sensitive philosophy churches need to reach
young people with their own music, fashion, and interests. Granger
Community Church in Granger, Indiana, epitomizes this philosophy. Its
web site gives the following description of its Sunday evening youth
meetings: "Imagine stepping into a large room, the floor vibrating with
the beat of rock music. Colored lights cut through a fog-machine haze.
The stage is empty, for now. A bar across the room serves snacks,
beverages, pizza. At the back of the room, sound engineers create the
right level of loud and chat with the customers, who mingle and discuss
who's there, who's late, who's new. No, it's not a trendy nightclub.
It's GCC on a Sunday night. Welcome to Lifeline, the place to be if
you're in high school. Why do we do this? Because if you're a teenager,
chances are you avoid church like the plague. It's boring. Irrelevant.
And the music is ... face it ... lame. So what else do we offer besides
a unique environment? Here's the tip of the iceberg: your kind of
music--live and loud; leaders who talk to you, NOT AT YOU (or worse,
down to you)--about hard issues you face every day; wild extracurricular
events, typically involving water, dizzying heights and/or road trips
... people you can relate to--they've got the same problems, same
parental unit hassles, same fashion sense." NOTE FROM BROTHER CLOUD:
According to rock & roll Christianity, traditional church is boring,
traditional style hymns are lame, it is wrong to preach the Word of God
at people in a dogmatic fashion, and we should allow Christian young
people to enjoy a worldly lifestyle. They must get program this from one
of the "easy to read" Bibles, because it certainly doesn't come from the
King James! "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be
a friend of the world is the enemy of God?" (James 4:4). "And have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them" (Ephesians 5:11).
*
ANOTHER CANADIAN CHARGED WITH "HATE CRIMES" AGAINST HOMOSEXUALS *
Ron Gray, of the Christian Heritage Party, must face the charge of
exercising "hate and defamation" because of articles against
homosexuality that he posted on the Internet and distributed to party
members. Under Canadian law any citizen can level a complaint before the
Canadian Human Rights Commission, and homosexual activists are using the
law in an attempt to quench the free speech of those who oppose their
lifestyle. The Human Rights Commission is not required to exercise the
rules of evidence that protect those who are tried in regular courts.
One article that Gray posted was "Pedophila More Common among 'Gays,'"
first published by WorldNetDaily in April 2002. It cited a study that
found that child molestation and pedophilia occur far more commonly
among homosexuals.
*PAPAL PREACHER SPEAKS AT HOLY TRINITY BROMPTON*
Raniero Cantalamessa, the papal preacher, spoke at Holy Trinity
Brompton on May 6, 2007. This is the influential Anglican church where
the popular Alpha program was invented. Today there is an "Alpha for
Catholics" division. The Alpha International Newsletter, Issue 21, Dec.
2006 to May 2007, described the success of Alpha for Catholics across
Asia and in South and Central America. In May 2006, Alpha founder Nicky
Gumbel, of Holy Trinity Brompton, spoke in Rome at the Catholic
Charismatic Renewal's 40th anniversary. The Alpha program has achieved
this ecumenical acceptance because it is doctrinally weak. It refers to
salvation, the cross, Scripture, etc., in such vague terms that false
doctrine is not refuted. It says salvation is by grace, for instance,
but it does not say that salvation is by grace ALONE by faith ALONE
through the blood of Christ ALONE without works or sacraments. It refers
to the Bible as God's Word in a general sense, but it does not explain
that the Bible is God's verbally-inspired, inerrant, infallible,
supernatural Word that must be reverenced and obeyed in every detail,
that the Bible ALONE is the authority for faith and practice. It is also
important to understand that the explosion of the Alpha program
coincided with Holy Trinity Brompton's involvement in the "Toronto
Blessing" or the "Laughing Revival" in 1994. The Alpha course itself is
permeated with charismatic error. About half-way through the 10-week
program, the leaders conduct "Holy Spirit Day" or a "Holy Spirit Weekend
Away." The purpose is to bring the participants into a charismatic
experience. "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause
divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned;
and avoid them" (Romans 16:17).
*
BEWARE OF "GOLDEN COMPASS" *
The following is excerpted from "The Upside-down World of Pullman's
'Golden Compass,'" Berit Kjos, November 13, 2007: "More than 15 million
copies of Philip Pullman's trilogy have been sold. The first movie in
the series opens December 7. Flying witches, evil specters, talking
bears and evolving 'Dust' abound in The Dark Materials, Philip Pullman's
popular fantasy series for children. In this confusing cosmos of
multiple universes, humans are linked to personal daemons, and
telepathic seekers find answers to life's mysteries through divination,
Eastern meditation, ancient 'wisdom' and ritual magic. These occult
practices are essential to the battle for the 'free' Republic--against
the despised old Church. Lyra, the pre-teen heroine, is a headstrong
tomboy raised without parents at an Oxford college in a universe
parallel to ours. A proficient liar, she's first seen snooping in a
forbidden area with her daemon camouflaged as a moth. From then on, she
follows her intuition from one crisis to the next until all remnants of
Biblical truth and authority have been destroyed. By the end of the
series, God is dead. Free-spirited Lyra (still a 12-year-old) has
sexually 'come of age' and fulfilled her prophetic assignments in the
war against Christianity. As readers move from book to book, they meet
likeable God-haters, experience magical worlds, and discover the strange
forces that drive Pullman's occult cosmos. ... Pullman's crafty tale
pulls the readers' minds into an occult context where--through their
imagination--they experience life from his atheist/occult perspective."
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).