THE OBAMA FRENZY (Friday Church News Notes, February 29, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The frenzy surrounding Barack Obama’s U.S. presidential campaign is a little foretaste of the mindless passion that will accompany the rise of the antichrist when he comes on the scene as a man of peace and a superman problem solver. Speaking in Omaha, Nebraska, Obama said that he and his supporters “will remake the world” (YouTube.com, Feb. 7, 2008). At Obama’s appearances women scream and faint and even hardened reporters and Hollywood movie stars are agog. After his appearance in College Park, Maryland, the newspaper said: “You can see it in their flushed-face smiles and hear it in their screams. They say the phenomenon is difficult to describe, but once they experience it they tell their friends, sisters, mothers and daughters, and they come back for more if they can. He did not flinch when women screamed as he was in mid-sentence, and even broke off once to answer a female’s cry of ‘I love you Obama!’ with a reassuring: ‘I love you back’” (“Women falling for Obama,” News24.com, February 12, 2008). The Associated Press called him “a metaphysical force in American politics” (AP, Feb. 12). Chris Matthews said: “My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don’t have that too often” (MSNBC, Feb. 12). Gary Hart said Obama is “the agent of transformation in an age of revolution” (Huffington Post, Feb. 13). Michael Sietzman says, “He empowers us with words and the authentic emotion behind them and people are rushing into the tent to drink that magic water” (Huffington Post, Feb. 14). Danny Westneat said “the Obamapalooza is a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle” (Seattle Times, Feb. 9). Stanley Crouch of the New York Daily News called the Obama campaign “a purification ritual” (Feb. 18). ABC Nightline correspondence David Wright said: “Politics doesn’t even begin to describe it. A visit to an Obama rally is a pilgrimage” (Newsbusters.org). Christena Weatherspoon said that it was like Obama was “inside her head” and “knows what I want” (Tribune-Chronicle, Youngstown, Ohio, Feb. 19). Actor George Clooney said, “He walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere,” and actress Halle Berry said, “I’ll do whatever he says to do. I’ll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear” (Lisa Lehrer, Politico, Feb. 20). When New Age billionaire Oprah Winfrey introduced Obama on December 11 in Columbia, South Carolina, she called him “an evolved leader” and said, “We’re here to evolve to a higher plane.” She said he is a “force for peace” who can break down everything that divides, including race and politics and religion. Obama’s wife said he is a leader “who’s going to touch our souls” (“Messianic Rhetoric Infuses Obama Rallies, Politico, December 11, 2007). “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

WHEATON COLLEGE FEATURES LIBERAL PRO-HOMOSEXUAL PASTOR (Friday Church News Notes, February 22, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On February 19 Jim Wallis spoke at Wheaton College’s Center for Applied Christian Ethics. In his recent book The Great Awakening (2008), Wallis says that “civil rights for gay and lesbian people and equal protection under the law for same-sex couples” is “a justice issue” (p. 229). It is difficult to understand why a professing Christian would think that it would be “just” to legalize something the Bible labels a moral abomination. Wallis also says that he supports “civil unions” and “spiritual ‘blessings’ for gay couples.” Wallis claims to be an evangelical but he is very liberal. He is a divorced and remarried pastor; his wife is an ordained Anglican priest; he is opposed to the death penalty and has the objective of ending world poverty; he believes global warming is a proven fact and supports radical environmental policies; he believes that illegal immigrants are “children of God”; he is an ecumenist who praised Pope John Paul II’s “spirituality”; he believes that people of non-Christian faiths might be saved (The Great Awakening, pp. 182, 183). He called a 2005 interfaith conference at the Washington National Cathedral--that brought together Protestants, Evangelicals, Catholics, Jews, and Muslims--“a spirit-filled moment in history” (p. 126). Wheaton College, though very influential within evangelicalism, departed from the faith of God’s Word long ago.

CHURCH ASKS SINGLE PEOPLE TO ABSTAIN FROM SEX FOR 30 DAYS (Friday Church News Notes, February 22, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Pastor Paul Wirth of Relevant Church in Tampa, Florida, is challenging the single members of his church to “abstain from sex for 30 days” and married members to have sex every day for the 30 days (“Church Says: Take the 30 Day Sex Challenge,” TampaBays10.com, Feb. 14, 2008). Wirth told television station channel 10, “When you’re single it’s like you’re always thinking about it and you’re, like, man I’d like to have it as much as possible and sometimes that prevents them from having a great really healthy relationship later on when you do get married. God invented sex and why would the church be afraid to talk about what God invented?” Each Sunday through March 16th the church will, like, deal with a different topic related to sex. The campaign features an advertisement that is very sensual and sexually suggestive. The Associated Press reported that “church member Tim Jones and his fiancée agreed to take on the challenge, though he acknowledges it’ll be a tough month” (AP, “For the Love of God,” Feb. 19). Jones added, “I think it's worth trying to find out other things about each other.” My friends, this is carnal and foolish and wicked. A Bible-believing church does not need a special campaign to teach its members to avoid fornication! That is one of the ABC’s of the Christian faith. A fornicator is not supposed to be a church member (1 Corinthians 5)! Bible-believing churches have always taught God’s people what the Bible says about sexual relations, but there is no place for this type of thing. These campaigns are not holy and are not faithful to God’s Word. The Bible never deals with this issue in a shocking or lascivious manner. “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).

EVOLUTIONISTS STIFLE FREE SPEECH (Friday Church News Notes, February 22, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Standard Makes Darwin Unassailable” by Casey Luskin, co-founder of the Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness Center, Op-Ed, The Ledger, Lakeland, Florida, Feb. 18, 2008: “[The] U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently published a booklet, ‘Science, Evolution, and Creationism,’ similarly proclaiming that ‘[t]here is no scientific controversy about the basic facts of evolution’ because ‘no new evidence is likely to alter’ it. Contrary to what the NAS asserts, there are fundamental questions among scientists about Darwinian evolution. Darwin didn’t know how the cell worked, but modern biochemists have discovered our cells contain a microworld of molecular machines that function like a factory or a miniature city. More than 700 scientists have signed a statement agreeing that the integrated, organized complexity of life is not what we would expect from a random-and-unguided process such as Darwinian evolution (see www.dissentfromdarwin.com). As biochemist Franklin Harold observed in an Oxford University Press monograph, ‘there are presently no detailed Darwinian accounts of the evolution of any biochemical or cellular system, only a variety of wishful speculations.’ Leading scientists also disagree with the NAS’s claim that evolution is "a cornerstone of modern science.’ In 2005, NAS member Philip Skell wrote in The Scientist that ‘Darwinian evolution ... does not provide a fruitful heuristic in experimental biology ... the claim that it is the cornerstone of modern experimental biology will be met with quiet skepticism from a growing number of scientists.’ … This spring, a documentary will be released featuring Ben Stein, titled ‘Expelled,’ that recounts the stories of scientists who have experienced persecution of their academic freedom because they questioned evolution. One such scientist is Dr. Richard Sternberg, a biologist formerly at the Smithsonian with two Ph.D.s in evolution, who was harassed and intimidated because he is a skeptic of neo-Darwinism. Another biologist lost her job at George Mason University because she challenged evolution in a classroom. No wonder Darwinists confidently declare there is no debate over evolution: They shut down such debate and prevent it from taking place.”

COMMUNITIES ADOPTING DRESS CODES (Friday Church News Notes, February 22, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Several communities in the United States have adopted a dress code in an attempt to stem the tide of the “anything goes” attitude of society. Auburn Hills, Michigan, might be the next community to adopt such a code. The city council has asked the city attorney to research the codes used by other communities and the legal boundaries of indecency ordinances in preparation for probable action on the matter. City councilman Otis Newkirk was recently appalled and embarrassed when he took his grandchildren to a large mall and witnessed the “low-cut tops and other revealing clothes” worn by young and old alike (“Dress Codes May Pull up the Slack in Clothing Styles,” OneNewsNow, Feb. 19, 2008). Councilman Henry Knight said they would like to “encourage some reasonable standards of dress,” because he and other council members feel that the immodest dress does not reflect well on the community. It is sad that some secular communities recognize the need for modest dress standards, while the average church could not care less about such things. The late Gordon Sears, a godly Bible evangelist and musician, observed: “When the standard of dress is lowered, then the standard of conduct is also lowered. When the standard of conduct is lowered, then the sense of value in God’s truth is lowered.” To that we say, Amen! The 203-page book Dressing for the Lord (and the two-hour DVD presentation by the same title) deals extensively with this subject. See the online catalog at the http://wayoflife.org.

ATHEIST AGAIN TRIES TO HAVE “UNDER GOD” REMOVED FROM PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (Friday Church News Notes, February 22, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Atheist Michael Newdow is again trying to have the phrase “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. His latest lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for New Hampshire. It should be obvious to anyone that America is indeed not a nation “under God,” certainly not the God of the Bible, but if atheism is true there is no meaning to this or any other issue. If atheism is true, life is mere blind chance with no significance, and Newdow and his views are of no more importance than a slug. A few years ago Newdow tried to have the Pledge overturned by California courts, but he was overruled by the Supreme Court, though only on a technicality. The court ruled that he did not have a standing in the case. The Pledge of Allegiance was first printed in 1892, and the words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954 at the request of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization.

CHRIST THE MORNING STAR (Friday Church News Notes, February 22, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is an excerpt from I.M Haldeman’s Ten Sermons on the Second Coming, 1916: “The Coming of Christ is compared to the morning star and the rising sun. He Himself says He is the bright and morning star. The prophet Malachi says He will arise as the sun of righteousness with healing in His wings. The star comes before sunrise. This year, as often before, while in the mountains I took occasion to watch the morning star, and near the hour of dawn. It hung suspended in the upper skies like a lamp of liquid light. Sometimes it seemed like a melting diamond, elongating and ready to drop. Anon, it was as though an angel's tear were ready to fall upon a world of tears. The mountains stood in dim and ghostly outline. The road slipped by white and straight. In the distance I heard the bark of a dog and the clarion note of chanticleer. Then a human figure passed swiftly on and was absorbed in the mysterious vagueness of the hour. It was a time of silence and waiting. Lower and lower sank the star as though an invisible hand were letting out installments of an unseen chain, and then, suddenly, without warning, it dropped behind the etched outline of the mountain's westernmost ridge. There remained a while of continued watching. There was fascination in it. To wait and watch, still watch and note the Coming Change. Presently in the east a lifting as though the sky itself were rising in a strip of light. Then streams of light. Then arrows shooting upward to the zenith, arrows tipped as with flame of fire. After that as though an army with banners of crimson and amethyst and purple were rushing on in an assault of riotous color. Suddenly, a great rim of glowing, scintillating red gold against the sky’s edge; and then steadily thrusting upward the wheel of the chariot of day and the sun ascending to his place to reign and rule. Now his beams were upon the eyelids and the laggards awoke-but the star was gone. Our Lord is Coming as the star comes before the hour of sunrise, before the day breaks in its fulness. He is coming quietly and softly for His Church. Those who are His will ascend to meet Him. Then with them He will disappear from the region of the earth. But star rise is prelude to sunrise. As the sun in all His glory He will break upon the view. The light of His splendor will fill the earth. He will come to reign and rule, and all the earth shall behold Him in His majesty and might. He is coming for His Church. He will come with His Church.”