Jan 2010

Fundamental Baptist Publishing Ministry of David Cloud | Feb 2010 | Dec 2009

Friday Church News Notes

Jan/29/10 08:13

January 29, 2010, Volume 11, Issue 5

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The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

AVERAGE AGE OF CHURCH OF ENGLAND ATTENDEES IS 61 (Friday Church News Notes, January 29, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - According to a new study, the average age of attendees in the Church of England is 61. That’s the average! Lyda Barley, head of research and statistics for the Anglican Church, blamed the situation on general societal trends (“Average age of churchgoer now 61,” The Telegraph, Jan. 22, 2010). The real problem is wretched apostasy. Why should people attend “church” when even the leaders don’t believe their own Scriptures and are confused about the most basic tenets of the Christian faith? When I was in London in 1982, I read an interview by John Mortiner of the Sunday Times with Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie. It was Easter, and the interviewer asked Runcie if he understood why Christ had to suffer. The Archbishop replied, “As to that I am an agnostic.” He did not know why Christ died on the cross! The interviewer asked, “Is God a judge?” Runcie was more dogmatic on that one. He replied, “No.” The interviewer then said, “So you don’t see God as celestial Lord Chief Justice?” Runcie answered, “Not at all. I had an old landlady when we were at Oxford. And when we got into any sort of trouble, she’d say: ‘There’s one above who seeth all’. I can’t think of God like that.” Runcie’s wretched unbelief is typical of the Church of England today. (For evidence see “Fifty Years of Anglican Liberalism” at the Way of Life web site. There is a search engine.)

New Video Release: Why We Hold to the King James Bible

Jan/28/10 10:38

We have just released a brand new version of "Why We Hold to the King James Bible."
7 Messages on 3 DVDs, $29.95

ALSO AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

Southern Gospel Music

Jan/28/10 10:22 Filed in: Music

Updated January 28, 2009 (first published December 10, 1998) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

Southern gospel is not a single style of music, but is a classification for a broad range of harmonizing, country-tinged Christian music that originated in the southeastern part of the United States. Some Southern gospel is lovely and spiritual and seeks not to entertain the flesh but to edify the spirit. (There are also quartets that are not Southern gospel in style; an example is the Old Fashioned Revival Hour Quartet that was featured on Charles Fuller’s radio program.) We praise the Lord for all Christian music, Southern or otherwise, which doesn’t sound like the world, which has scriptural lyrics, which seeks solely to glorify Jesus Christ and edify the saints, and which is produced by faithful Christians. Sadly, though, much of the Southern gospel incorporates worldly pop, country, ragtime, jazz, boogie-woogie, and rock rhythms, and is oriented toward entertainment. It is the latter that is closely akin to Contemporary Christian Music. As a matter of fact, commercial Southern gospel today is one of the branches of the larger CCM world.

I grew up with Southern gospel. The Southern Baptist churches my mom and dad attended in Florida would have all-day sings on some Sundays. Following the morning service, we would have a glorious “dinner on the ground,” featuring tables piled high with the tastiest dishes the church ladies could concoct. The kids would romp around as the tables were prepared, then the pastor would pray and everyone would gorge himself on whichever foods suited their fancy. The variety was incredible. When the meal was finished and the tables cleared, everyone gathered back in the church auditorium for the sing. There would be some congregational singing and then the quartets would start up. Usually these were local groups, but sometimes a professional group would be available. I always liked the congregational singing best.

(above, Elvis sings with the Statesmen Quartet at a Gospel Music Concert) Read More...

Using Creation Science Materials

Jan/27/10 08:25 Filed in: Evolution

January 27, 2010 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The field of creation science has grown by leaps since the publication of The Genesis Flood in 1962 by Henry Morris and John Whitcomb. There are many organizations and publishers that have promoted the creationist viewpoint, including the Creation Research Society (1963), The Institute for Creation Research (1970), and Answers in Genesis (founded in Australia in the 1970s as the Creation Science Foundation).

Since the 1990s, the Intelligent Design (ID) movement has broadened the attack on Darwinism. Though ID proponents typically are not Bible believers and might even claim to be agnostic in regard to the identity of the Designer, they demonstrate that the Darwinian mechanisms of natural selection and random mutations are insufficient to explain the facts that exist in life. William Dembski says that the basic claim of ID is that “there are natural systems that cannot be adequately explained in terms of undirected natural forces and that exhibit features which in any other circumstance we would attribute to intelligence” (The Design Revolution, p. 27). Intelligent Design proponents point to the intricate design that we see everywhere, from the DNA molecule and the living cell to the perfectly balanced conditions on earth that allow life to exist. Influential ID books include Michael Behe’s Darwin’s Black Box (1996), which argues the concept of “irreducible complexity,” Phillip Johnson’s Darwin on Trial (1991), William Dembski’s The Design Inference (1998), and Stephen Myer’s Signature in the Cell (2009).

Seven Principles in Training Godly Children

Jan/26/10 07:23 Filed in: Family

January 26, 2010 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following article by Pastor David Sorenson is based on his book TRAINING YOUR CHILDREN TO TURN OUT RIGHT. Churches should order carton loads of copies of this excellent book. It can be ordered from Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net.

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORD OF GOD

If there is a basic truth that is universal in training children to be godly, it is the necessity of building a foundation of the Word of God in their lives. This is true for any born-again Christian and that includes the children of God’s people. I fear that Christian parents come to rely on Christian media, Sunday School teachers, church youth programs, and Christian schools to see their youth turn out right. All of these are potentially good and can be a great help; however, the foundation for godly living is often missing in the lives of the children and youth of God’s people. That foundation is a daily absorption of the Word of God.

A young person from a Christian home can go to a Christian school or be home-schooled with a godly curriculum, be faithful to Sunday School and church programs, go to church camp, and be carnal, rebellious, and worldly. Or more frequently, they are just lukewarm and go with the flow, but there are not true spiritual convictions in their hearts. The reason is as simple as it is singular. They are not in the Word of God on a daily basis.

Friday Church News Notes

Jan/22/10 08:25

January 22, 2010, Volume 11, Issue 4

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The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.

NEANDERTHAL JEWELRY (Friday Church News Notes, January 22, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Neanderthal fossils have long been used to bolster the evolutionary myth, but a new discovery should finally put the lid on the idea that Neanderthals were sub-human half-wits. Painted, perforated shells have been found in Neanderthal sites in southern Spain. The jewelry, which likely adorned the necks of Neanderthals, features red, yellow, orange, and black pigments composed of “complex recipes.” The expedition, which was led by Professor Joao Zilhao of Bristol University in the UK, concluded that the find buries “the view of Neanderthals as half-wits” (“Neanderthal ‘Make-up’ Containers,” BBC News, Jan. 9, 2010). Some of the shells are also thought to have been containers for make-up. An editorial in The Guardian said, “It seems we have all been guilty of defaming Neanderthal man” (“In Praise of ... Neanderthal Man,” Jan. 13, 2010). That is an understatement. After the discovery in 1908 of a nearly complete Neanderthal skeleton in La Chapell-aux-Saints in France, French paleontologist Marcellin Boule declared it Homo neanderthalensis, a supposed ancestor to modern man. Boule reported to the Academy of Sciences that Neanderthal was ape-like in many characteristics, including the skull and “a divergent great toe.” He believed that Neanderthal did not walk erect but pigeon-toed like an ape and with a bent-knee gait. It was also supposed that the Neanderthal Man couldn’t speak, but only grunted. In 1930, Frederick Blaschke modeled a Neanderthal family in a cave setting based on Boule’s interpretation. They were stooped, half-clothed, clutching bones, and had very unintelligent expressions. This was set up as a permanent display in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and was copied in countless textbooks, encyclopedias, journals, popular magazines and newspapers, and museums. In 1919 H.G. Wells wrote, “[Neanderthal] was, indeed, not quite of the human species” (The Outline of History). This is the myth that prevailed for nearly half a century and was disseminated to the ends of the earth by the evolutionary propaganda machine. It has since been admitted that Neanderthals made tools and weapons, buried their dead, used fire, constructed complex shelters, skinned animals, made musical instruments, talked, and left other evidence of being “real” human beings. It should have been obvious from the beginning that these were not dumb ape-men, because there were “stone age” tribes during the first half of the twentieth century that lived primitive lives but were obviously fully human, and there were living humans that looked like Neanderthals in stature and in the structure of the skull. The fact is that the paleoanthropologists involved were blinded by their evolutionary zeal. They saw what they wanted to see.

God's Commendation of a Father

Jan/21/10 13:48 Filed in: Family

January 21, 2010 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following is by Pastor Buddy Smith of Malanda, Queensland, Australia --

In Genesis 18, God told Abraham his secrets. Not only the blessings of the future, but the impending judgment of Sodom. God tells His friends His secrets. He always has. But God doesn’t tell all His children his secrets, only a select few.

In Genesis 18:17-19, God deliberates over whether to tell Abraham his plans for Sodom. And as He does, he gives us a rare insight into the mind of God,

“Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do? ... For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him...”

If we read the text over slowly and thoughtfully we see that the blessings promised became blessings possessed because Abraham exercised authority in the home. Abraham commanded his children. This does not sound like permissive parenting, does it? This doesn’t even sound like a hen-pecked father, does it?

The word “command” is the same as that used for the words of authority spoken by God to Adam, and to Noah. When God sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh, He gave them a charge (command) that Pharaoh must let His people go. “Command” is a word that describes the vocalization of rightful authority. In Genesis 18:19 God said that He knew Abraham and that he would command all those in his household, and therefore God told him his secrets.

Beware of an Unwholesome Addiction to Sports

Jan/20/10 07:52 Filed in: Family

January 20, 2010 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

Playing sports is not wrong in itself, and there are benefits, but there are also plenty of spiritual dangers.

Following are some suggestions in how to keep sports from becoming an idol in your family:

PARENTS MUST HAVE THE RIGHT GOAL FOR THEIR CHILDREN

434136baseball-glove-with-ball-on-dirt-posters1

The goal is not that the children will be good citizens and proficient in some field of endeavor and learn how to have a good time in life and fit into the crowd. That is the goal that unsaved parents have for their children. The goal of believing parents should be that their children know and serve Jesus Christ in His perfect will for their individual lives.

Terry Coomer, pastor of Elwood Bible Baptist Church of Elwood, Indiana, was a professional baseball player, but as a young Christian he made the choice to quite his baseball career because it interfered with his obedience to Christ. Following is his testimony:

“In 1973, I was drafted out of high school, as the 78th player taken in the 1973 free agent draft by major league baseball. I was drafted as a pitcher by the San Francisco Giants. I was the first player drafted from Indiana. So, in 1973 I was the best high school baseball player in Indiana and one of the best in the country.

The Bible's Proof

Jan/19/10 09:04 Filed in: Bible

Updated February 19, 2009 (first published April 10, 2002) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) –

In the final analysis, a man must accept that the Bible is the Word of God by faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

At the same time, Bible faith is not a blind leap into the dark. It is confidence in a believable Record that God has given, for “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The writers of the Bible explain to us that they were not delivering cunningly devised fables but an inspired record based on “many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3; 2 Peter 1:16).

Following are some of the objective, time-proven reasons why we can have complete confidence in the Bible:

1. CHRIST’S RESURRECTION PROVES THAT THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD.

Christ’s resurrection was witnessed by hundreds of people (1 Cor. 15:5-7). Paul wrote this less than 40 years after the resurrection, and many eyewitnesses were still living. Were they all lying? At times, the resurrected Christ was seen by many people at one time. They talked with him, touched him, walked with him, and ate with him (Luke 24:36-43). Before the resurrection, the apostles were fearful and were hiding from the authorities (John 20:19). After they saw the resurrected Christ with their own eyes, they became bold and fearless and were willing to lay down their lives for the Gospel. It took a powerful event to cause such a change in their lives. Read More...

SALE: New Age Tower of Babel DVD Series

Jan/19/10 09:01

The New Age Tower of Babel (released October, 2009)
3 DVD Set - $22.95 (This week only.)

Regularly $29.95

Also available in downloadable QT format

Two decades ago the New Age seemed to be more the doctrine of Hollywood movie stars (Shirley MacLaine’s “I am God”) and Star Wars enthusiasts (“may the force be with you”) and the magic-crystal pop culture of rock & roll hippies than the philosophy of the average person or something to be taken seriously in churches or politics.

This wasn’t true then and it definitely isn’t true today. The New Age is on the move!

The New Age philosophy has permeated the self-help, personal transformation field; it has leavened education (from lowest to highest levels) and reached deeply into business, health care, psychological counseling, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, politics and government, athletics and sports, even the military.

SECTION TITLES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

DVD ONE
Part One: Introduction
Part Two: Principles of the New Age
Part Three: New Age Infiltration of Christianity

DVD TWO
Part Four: Contemplative Mysticism and Meditation
Part Five: New Age Influence in the Holistic Health Movement
Part Six: Why Christians are being Deceived by the New Age

DVD THREE
Part Seven: New Evangelicalism and the New Age
Part Eight: Refuting the New Age
Part Nine: The Christ of Scripture

Friday Church News Notes

Jan/15/10 06:35

January 15, 2010, Volume 11, Issue 3

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Pandora_moon_Avatar

MOVIE VIEWERS DON’T WANT TO LEAVE IMAGINARY WORLD (Friday Church News Notes, January 15, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - It is reported that some fans of the movie Avatar are experiencing potent withdrawal symptoms because they don’t want to leave the film’s imaginary world. Avatar, which is on track possibly to become the highest grossing film of all time, is a science fiction movie about a world called Pandora populated by a race of “humanoids” called Na’vi. Its powerful 3D graphics immerse the viewer in this fictional world where the peace-loving citizens commune with nature. The writers even developed a Na’vi language consisting of 1,000 words. The fan forum site has received more than 1,000 posts pertaining to people experiencing obsessive thoughts about the film (“Audiences Experience ‘Avatar’ Blues,” CNN, Jan. 11, 2010). One said, “I can’t force myself to think that it’s just a movie, and to get over it.” Another, “Ever since I went to see ‘Avatar’ I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it. I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora.” The human imagination is a great spiritual battleground and must be guarded jealously. The Bible admonishes, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). The modern entertainment industry aims its heavy guns at man’s imagination. Satanic-influenced entertainment creators (Ephesians 2:1-2) want to corrupt the imagination through sensuality and turn it from the living God through the creation of vain worlds. There is particular danger for believers in the genres of science fiction and horror, which are typically devoid of truth and reality. Pandora does not exist, but Heaven and Hell do. No one will ever be rebirthed into Pandora, but Jesus promised that men can be born again to eternal life through repentance and faith in Him and live forever in a place that is exceedingly more beautiful than any Hollywood script writer or graphics guru can ever imagine.

Beware of the Teenager Concept

Jan/14/10 06:10 Filed in: Family

January 14, 2010 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

We must resist the teenager concept, understanding that it doesn’t come from the Bible but from the rock & roll culture that began in the 1950s.

There was a “baby boom” in America following World War II. Whereas at the end of the war, there were about 5.6 million teens in U.S. high schools, by the time Elvis blasted on the scene in 1956 the number had almost tripled to 13 million (David Halberstam, The Fifties, p. 473). There was a corresponding increase in personal wealth and leisure. Between 1950 and 1960, per capita income increased from $1,500 to $2,788. Teens suddenly had free time and money, and a new music came along, preaching, “Do you own thing; live your own life; you can be a cool dude, a rolling stone; throw off the shackles.” The newly-invented, ultra-portable 45rpm record and the transistor radio enabled young people to have this exciting new music wherever they went. Radios were well entrenched in automobiles by 1956, so that the new “teen” class could tool around in their cars, listening to rock & roll and impressing one another with their coolness. Alan Freed, (shown above) Dewey “Daddy-O” Phillips, and many other rock disc jockeys used the radio to help create a new teenage culture with its own music, language, and moral code.

Church Membership

Jan/13/10 08:05 Filed in: Church

Updated January 13, 2010 (first published November 25, 2004) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

From time to time I receive questions about church membership such as the following:

“I’ve tried to do some research about working in a church before being a member and I have heard a lot about ‘you should be a member before working in the church,’ so I was just wanting to know if you could help me to understand where the Bible talks about that topic.”

BROTHER CLOUD’S REPLY ABOUT CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

The doctrine of church membership is found in the book of Acts, beginning with the first church.

In Acts 1:15 we see that the names of the members were kept.

In Acts 2:41, those that were saved on the day of Pentecost were “added unto them.” This means that they were added to those already mentioned in verse 15.

Those who were saved and baptized were added to the church. That is church membership.

There are four reasons why we need church membership:

Church membership is a matter of practicality, like many other things in the assembly. If a church does not have membership, how can it know who is in the church and who is out? Read More...

The Dangers of Social Networking

Jan/12/10 07:51 Filed in: Internet

January 12, 2010 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following is by Ron Williams and is reprinted from the Hephzibah Happenings, http://www.hephzibahhouse.org --

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him" (Colossians 3:17).

A grief-stricken and broken-hearted father approached me after a church service in which I had preached. He asked if he could share with me concerning his son, so I could possibly use the story as a warning to other parents and young people.

Like many other parents, he and his wife thought little or nothing of the computer in their son's bedroom, nor of his closed bedroom door, nor of his countless hours online.

It was only when he turned 18 that they discovered he had been heavily involved with occultic website and with personalities on chat rooms and blogs that had won his interest and ultimate allegiance. These distraught parents were helpless to prevent him from leaving their Christian home and consort with his new "friends" he had made on the web.

Friday Church News Notes

Jan/08/10 09:06

January 8, 2010, Volume 11, Issue 2

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CAMPING SETS ANOTHER DATE FOR SECOND COMING (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The very confused Harold Camping, head of Family Radio Network, is claiming that Christ will return on May 21, 2011. This is the second time that Camping has made a nutty prediction. In the last decade he predicted that Christ would return on September 6, 1994, and I don’t have to tell you that it didn’t happen. You would think that this world-class blunder would have ended his prophesying and Bible teaching career, but in these days of apostasy there are enough gullible, biblically-ignorant people out there to keep such heretics afloat. Camping’s heresies are heard on 55 radio stations in America and via shortwave overseas, and his program is translated into 48 languages. Camping believes the church age ended in 1988, and that God has turned from churches to Family Radio as His means of preaching the gospel. His followers meet in homes to listen to Camping’s messages. There is no baptism, no Lord’s Supper, no pastor. In late 2001, Baptist Pastor Jim Barker of Elmont, New York, was banned from preaching messages on the church on WFME radio that broadcasts from West Orange, New Jersey. Though he had preached on that station for many years, he was told that he could no longer identify himself as a pastor or mention the church. Barker warns, “Camping says sinners can no longer be saved in churches and if Christians defy him and continue to attend church services their children cannot be saved.” Camping also believes in “sovereign election,” that you can only hope that you have been chosen and that “a baby can be saved as readily as a mature adult” (Time Has an End: A Biblical History of the World, 2005, p. 17). As for life’s most important question, “What must I do to be saved?” Camping says, “You cannot do anything.” Happily, the Bible has already given the answer to that question and it is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31). As for Jesus’ coming, there is no doubt that He is coming again, but we don’t know when. We only know that it is imminent. We are instructed to expect Him at any time. There is one thing we do know, though, and that is that Jesus will NOT return on May 21, 2011, for Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13).

What is the Difference Between Contemporary Christian Worship Music and Old Interdenominational Hymns?

Jan/07/10 06:33 Filed in: Music

January 7, 2010 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

(The article below is excerpted from Contemporary Christian Music: Some Questions Answered and Some Warnings Given. $8.95. More info about the book at the end of this article.)

QUESTION

“What is the difference from using songs that every denomination using across the board from the past (‘Just as I Am,’ ‘Amazing Grace,’ etc.) to using songs that everyone uses across the board in the present (‘How Deep the Father’s Love for Us,’ ‘Holy Ground,’ Majesty,’ etc.) if they follow Biblical principles and if we do not promote a particular artist whose lifestyle we don’t support?”

ANSWER

To compare the use of Contemporary Christian Worship (CCW) songs to the use of hymns from the past that present a sound theology but were written by people from non-Baptist denominations is to compare apples with oranges. I offer four reasons why it is improper to compare the two.

(The fact that hymns are used at Billy Graham Crusades is a red herring. He has also preached out of the King James Bible, but that does not reflect on the King James Bible one way or the other.)

First, the difference between using a song by someone in the past like Fanny Crosby (“He Hideth My Soul,” Methodist) or James Gray (“Only a Sinner Saved by Grace,” evangelical Reformed Episcopal) or Martin Luther (“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” Lutheran) as opposed to CCW artists today is that the entire milieu of CCW represents a philosophy that is geared toward creating a one-world church. CCW represents the ecumenical judge-not philosophy. It is one of the chief things that is bringing all churches together. I have documented this extensively in my books. It cannot be disputed. (For example, see “Contemporary Christian Music: Some Questions Answered and Some Warnings Given.”) Further, CCW could be called Contemporary Charismatic Worship, because it overwhelmingly represents the charismatic doctrine and perspective. It is promoting the charismatic position of experiential worship rather than faith worship centered on God’s Word. I have documented this in the previously mentioned book. Read More...

Beware of Science Fiction

Jan/06/10 08:47 Filed in: Entertainment

January 6, 2010 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

Science fiction takes the reader into a strange world without God. Oh, there might be “a god,” a “force,” but it is definitely not the God of the Bible, and the prominent names in this field are atheists.

Take CARL SAGAN, for example. His best-selling sci-fi novel Contact was made into a movie. Sagan was one of the high priests of atheistic evolution. In his novel he has the main character debating two preachers and saying, “There is no compelling evidence that God exists.” In 1997 Sagan said, “I share the view of a hero of mine, Albert Einstein: ‘I cannot conceive of a god who rewards and punishes his creatures or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I--nor would I want to--conceive of an individual that survives his physical death. Let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egotism, cherish such thoughts’” (Parade, March 10, 1997).

Consider another prominent name in Sci-Fi, ISAAC ASIMOV. (shown above) In a 1982 interview he said, “Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don’t have the evidence to prove that God doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time” (Paul Kurtz, “An Interview with Isaac Asimov on Science and the Bible,” Free Inquiry, Spring 1982, p. 9).

Consider ROBERT HEINLEIN, called “the dean of science fiction writers.” He rejected the Bible and promoted “free sex.” His book “Stranger in a Strange Land” is considered “the unofficial bible of the hippie movement.” Heinlein was a nudist and practiced “polyamory.” He promoted agnosticism in his sci-fi books.

A Time to Frown and a Time to Smile

Jan/05/10 08:23 Filed in: Encouragement | Biblical Exhortations

December 29, 2009 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following is by William Arnot, Studies in Proverbs:

"The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue." Proverbs 25:23

There is a use for everything. There is a use for the north wind, and for an angry countenance. Rough visaged, ungainly messengers both are; but when sent on necessary errands, they fulfil their mission well. When David wanted a weapon, Ahimelech, the peaceful priest of Nob, having no other than the sword of Goliath, which he kept as a relic, apologized as he offered it, thinking it not sufficiently slim and fashionable for a soldier from the court. "There is none like that," said David; "give it me." The man of war had seen hard service, and expected more: The sword that could deal a heavy blow was the sword for him.

According to the translation in the text, it appears that in the climate of Palestine the north wind carries the rain clouds away, and prevents them from discharging their burden on the land. The same phenomenon is to some extent observed in our own island [Britain]. This meteoric fact is framed into a proverb, and employed to describe an analogous feature in the action of moral forces in human life: "An angry countenance driveth away a backbiting tongue."

There is a place for anger as well as for love. As in nature a gloomy tempest serves some beneficial purposes for which calm sunshine has no faculty; so in morals a frown on an honest man's brow is, in its own place, as needful and useful as the sweetest smile that kindness ever kindles on a human countenance. A gentle, loving character is much admired, and, where it is genuine, deserves all the admiration it has ever gotten yet. These features, however, constitute only one side of a man, and we must see the other side err we can pronounce an intelligent judgment on his worth. If he has not another side, he will not leave his mark on the world. Read More...

Friday Church News Notes

Jan/02/10 05:49

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January 1, 2010, Volume 11, Issue 1

RICK WARREN CONFERENCE TO FEATURE MARK DRISCOLL, THE ULTRA-COOL PASTOR (Friday Church News Notes, January 1, 2010, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Mark Driscoll is scheduled to speak at Rick Warren’s Radicalis conference in February. The goal is “how to develop emotionally healthy leadership.” The conference also features Pete Scazzero, founder of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, a ministry that promotes emotional health through Catholic contemplative mysticism. Driscoll is the ultra-cool senior pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. He claims to be “THEOLOGICALLY CONSERVATIVE AND CULTURALLY LIBERAL” (“Pastor Provocateur,” Christianity Today, Sept. 21, 2007) and criticizes “hardcore fundamentalism that throws rocks at culture.” He defines himself as “relevant,” “contextual,” and “cool” (“Conference examines the emerging church,” Baptist Press, Sept. 25, 2007). Mark Driscoll’s church sets up a “champagne bar” at its New Year’s Eve parties. Members have to bring their IDs. They have “beer-brewing lessons” for men, show R-rated movies, and operate the Paradox Theater to host secular rock concerts. Scott Thomas, director of Acts 29, a church planting network associated with Driscoll, says, “We won’t water down our theology to reach more people and we won’t attack the culture in the name of Christianity” (http://www.acts29network.org/about/welcome/). These are contradictory statements. You can’t be faithful to the Bible (having rock-solid theology) if you “contextualize the gospel” and refuse to attack the sinful and satanic side of culture, which is a very large side of it in a world in which the devil is god! God’s Word commands, “And have NO fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, BUT RATHER REPROVE THEM” (Eph. 5:11). John the Baptist lost his head for rebuking a political leader for his immorality. Too bad he did not have one of Driscoll’s books to help him learn how to be culturally liberal. The emerging John would have been so much cooler.