Graphical PDF Version - Way of Life Literature
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Graphical PDF Version - Way of Life Literature
VOLUME 13, ISSUE 42 WAY OF LIFE OCTOBER 19, 2012 FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES TRINITY BAPTIST HOSTS EMERGENT/ROMAN CATHOLIC CONTEMPORARY MUSICIANS The Rend Co!ective Experiment: Rock and Worship Roadshow (For a graphical look at the spiritual slide of Trinity Baptist Church see the pdf at www.wayoflife.org/pdf/ trinity_baptist.pdf.) In 1996, Southwide Baptist Fellowship, meeting at Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, issued a clear warning against the ecumenical Promise Keepers and ITS “UNHOLY MUSIC.” By 2005, the church was “adapting” the same “unholy music” from the likes of Darlene Zschech, Paul Balouche, Nicole Mullen, the Vineyard, and Philips, Craig and Dean (the same well from which Paul Chappell’s church is drawing today). Messing around with CCM marked the beginning of the end for Trinity as far as any conviction in regard to biblical separatism. On November 15, 2012--about a decade after they first began dabbling with CCM and 16 years after they last plainly denounced it--Trinity Baptist is hosting a Christian rock tour featuring Tenth Avenue North, Rend Collective Experiment, and Audrey Assad, all of whom have intimate ties to the emerging church and all of whom are one-world church builders. The REND COLLECTIVE EXPERIMENT, from northern Ireland, is hooked into the emerging church via its close association with emergent leaders such as Tony Campolo, David Crowder, and Shane Claiborne (http:// rendcollective.com/bio). Claiborne has worked with the Roman Catholic Missionaries of Charity and praises Mother Teresa as a truly spiritual person, even though she held a false sacramental gospel that falls under the curse of Galatians 1 and worshipped the wafer of the Catholic mass as Christ. Further, she was a universalist and her “sisters” prepare Hindus to die by teaching them to pray to their false gods. (See the free Way of Life eBook Was Mother Teresa a True Christian? for extensive documentation, www.wayoflife.org.) None of that bothers emergents. They save their criticism for those who warn about such things. AUDREY ASSAD converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 2007. Like her fellow Roman Catholic musicians Matt Maher, Kathy Troccoli, and John Michael Talbot, Assad is an ecumenical bridge-builder. She says that “the response to her music from Protestants is just as positive as it is from Catholics,” and, “radio has influenced and grown my Protestant fan base, which used to be more Catholic, but now it’s about half-and-half” (“Audrey Assad: A convert whose spiritual walk is a melody,” Catholic Online, Nov. 10, 2010). In 2008 she developed a relationship with fellow Roman Catholic Matt Maher after they met during Gospel Music Week. She subsequently moved to Phoenix and attends Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Tempe, where she sings with the worship team. When asked how her Catholic faith inspires her music, she replies: “I can’t emphasize enough how the Sacramental union with God in the Eucharist has totally changed the way I see the world” (“Audrey Assad: A convert whose spiritual walk is a melody,” Catholic Online, Nov. 10, 2010). She loves C.S. Lewis and observes that Lewis was “a great bridge between Protestants and Catholics.” Who would have prophesied 20 years ago that Trinity Baptist Church would have been swimming in these frightfully apostate waters today? And yet the seeds of compromise had already been sown. The next 20 years will see most fundamental Baptist churches swimming in the same waters for the reasons that we have documented in the free eBook Why Most Independent Baptist Churches Will Be Emerging, available from www.wayoflife.org. For a graphical look at the spiritual slide of Trinity Baptist Church see the pdf at www.wayoflife.org/pdf/ trinity_baptist.pdf. ANTICHRIST S SPEECH TO THE WORLD We believe that the Antichrist will be revealed immediately following the Rapture of New Testament saints. The rising world leader might broadcast something like the following: “My dear friends. Bless you for listening to me. I know that many of you have lost loved ones in this unusual disappearance of so many people. However, we believe it was God’s judgment on them for their uncooperativeness and divisions on the majestic advances of Society and the Church. Now that the separatists are removed, let us really unite in the great goal of universal brotherhood, love, and peace on earth” (Paul Lee Tan, A Pictorial Guide to Bible Prophecy, p, 74). Even many independent Baptist leaders are fretting about those who are “divisive”! ! PAGE 1 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 42 WAY OF LIFE OCTOBER 19, 2012 NEW TV PROGRAM NASHVILLE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO MORAL DECLINE OF NATION A new television show entitled “Nashville” will glorify country music and spread the country-music lifestyle and philosophy. The late country superstar Conway Twitty, who was called the “High Priest of Country Music,” made the following bold admission in 1979: “As a country artist, I’m not proud of a lot of the things in my field. There is no doubt in my mind that we are contributing to the moral decline in America” (Conway Twitty, People magazine, Sept. 3, 1979, p 82). Twitty was right then and country music is even more sordid today. One reason it has contributed to the moral decline of the nation is its party down philosophy coated by a thin veneer of religiosity to quiet the conscience. According to country music, I can have Jesus and the world, too! Consider the song “No Hurry” by the Zac Brown Band. It says the car needs washing, the yard needs cleaning, the boss needs me, and many other obligations are pressing in, but “I ain’t in no hurry today. ... Heaven knows that I ain’t perfect/ I’ve raised a little cain/ And I plan to raise a whole lot more/ Before I hear those angels sing/ (Gonna get right with the lord)/ But there’ll be hell to pay/ But I ain’t in no hurry...” This is the country music philosophy in a nutshell. “Laze around and party as much as possible; kick up your feet; rebel a little; don’t worry; don’t be responsible when you can get out of it. Sure, there’s a God, a heaven, and a hell, and you believe in all of that and you love ‘Jesus’ and go to church once in awhile; but you also know that God is a big Party Pooper, and you can get things right after the partying is over.” This is a lie from the pit of hell. The Bible says that today is the day of salvation and there is absolutely no promise of tomorrow. Jesus warned that those who are not radically converted and born again will never see God’s heaven, and those who continue to live the old life are not saved. Obedience to God is not the path of bondage but of true liberty and joy. “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ... By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 2:4; 5:2-3). UNIVERSITY PUNISHES FACULTY MEMBER FOR OPPOSING SAME-SEX The following is excerpted from “University Draws Fire,” Christian Post, Oct. 12, 2012: “A federally chartered university’s decision to place its chief diversity officer on paid leave over her support for a referendum challenging Maryland’s same-sex marriage law is drawing fire. Both conservatives, who are seeking to strike down the law that was passed earlier this year legalizing same-sex marriage, and LGBT groups have denounced Gallaudet University’s decision. ‘I join an evergrowing number of Marylanders in expressing my complete dismay over Gallaudet University’s decision to place Dr. Angela McCaskill on administrative leave for signing the marriage referendum petition,’ said Derek McCoy, chairman of The Maryland Marriage Alliance, in a statement. ‘Quite simply, it was well within her rights to sign the petition.’ Also defending McCaskill, Josh Levin of Marylanders for Marriage Equality commented, ‘We strongly disagree with the decision to put the chief diversity officer on leave and hope she is reinstated immediately. Everyone is entitled to free speech and to their own opinion about Question 6, which is about treating everyone fairly and equally under the law.’ ... A Gallaudet faculty member, who remains anonymous, discovered McCaskill’s name on the petition and filed a complaint with the university. ... McCaskill was the first deaf African-American female to earn a Ph.D. from Gallaudet, according to her university profile. She has worked at Gallaudet for 23 years and in 2011 was name deputy to the president and associate provost of diversity and inclusion.” ! PAGE 2 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 42 WAY OF LIFE LIVING HYMNS HYMNAL Several have asked for my opinion in regard to hymnals. I recently examined Living Hymns (second edition) and find a lot to like. It was first published by Al Smith in 1972 and is still copyrighted by Al Smith Ministries. The latest edition is distributed by Striving Together Ministries and Paul Chappell and Cary Schmidt were on the editorial team. It has a large selection, with 887 songs and hymns, which I appreciate. There is no author index, but I have looked at the author of every song. There are two by the Gaithers but none by any of the contemporary worship artists, as far as I can tell. It has hymns that are rarely seen, such as Charles Weigle’s “No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus.” There are some little-known hymns by old-time fundamentalists such as R.A. Torrey, James Gray, and Lewis Sperry Chafer. Thousands upon thousands of sound sacred songs and hymns have been written just in the last couple of centuries, so any hymnal is just a sampling, and no one hymnal will meet every church’s needs, but Living Hymns seems to be a good all-around English hymnal. It’s too bad that Lancaster Baptist Church isn’t content with the nearly 900 psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in their own hymnal and feel the need to mess around with contemporary worship. DOCTOR ADMITS EUTHANASIA PATIENTS ORGANS HARVESTED The following is excerpted from LifeNews, Oct. 12, 2012: “Deaths from ‘voluntary euthanasia’ in Belgium are approximated at 2 percent – 2,000 annually. At a recent conference in Brussels, a Belgian doctor reported that organ transplants are being done on euthanized patients and that Belgium leads in this practice. ... Families of hospitalized patients in Belgium should take notice of this practice. In 2010 a study revealed that nurses in Belgium admitted to terminating patients without their consent. ‘The researchers found that a fifth of nurses admitted being involved in the assisted suicide of a patient. But nearly half of these – 120 of 248 – also said there was no consent.’” ! OCTOBER 19, 2012 NO MARY, NO JESUS Edmund Mazza, organizer of an e c u m e n i c a l conference held October 4-5 in Rome, says, “No Mary, no Jesus; know Mary, know Jesus.” The event was a twoEdmund Mazza day symposium entitled “Mary, Sign of Faith (and Only Hope),” held at the Centro Russia Ecumenica in Rome in response to Pope Benedict XVI’s call for Marian conferences. Mazza, who is history professor at Azusa Pacific University in Los Angeles, California, also said, “It's very important that we turn to Mary because as Louis de Montfort, the great doctor of the Church once said, it’s through Mary that Jesus came into the world, and it’s through Mary that Jesus will reign in the world. ... Whenever God wants to renew the world, He does it through Mary” (“International Symposium on Mary,” Zenit, Oct. 4, 2012). Mary is seen as central to Rome’s New Evangelization program, which seeks to recover lapsed Catholics and foster interfaith unity. The late John Paul II was a great Mary venerator. He had the words “Totus Tuus” (totally yours) embroidered on his robes to signify his complete devotion to Mary, and he credited Mary with saving his life when he was shot in St. Peter’s Square in 1981. Centro Russia Ecumenica in Rome PAGE 3 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 42 WAY OF LIFE OCTOBER 19, 2012 OBAMA’S SERPENT RING Hindu Temple It has been alleged by some media sources, particularly WorldNetDaily, that Obama’s wedding ring bears an Arabic inscription meaning “there is no God but Allah.” Actually, according to a high-quality image posted at UrbanLegends.about.com, which was taken marduk serpent: by photographer Miguel Villagran on June 5, Louvre 2009, the ring bears the image of two serpents. Obama wore this ring as a single man from 1980 until October 3, 1992, at which time Michelle put the same ring on his finger at their wedding. In the Bible, Satan tempted Eve as a serpent and he is later spoken of as “that old serpent” (Revelation 12:9; 20:2). Since the days of ancient Babel, the serpent has been an integral part of idolatry. In hymns to Bel or Marduk, one of Babylon’s chief gods, the god was addressed as the “great serpent dragon.” Bel is depicted as a snake on ancient Babylonian pottery that I have seen at the Louvre in Paris. The Egyptian goddess Wadjet was worshipped as a cobra and the double image of a serpent was found in the tomb of King Tut. The Greek and Roman god Asclepius was associated with the serpent. The Mayans worshipped Quetzalcoatle as the “plumed serpent.” Serpent worship is prominent in voodoo and in the Chinese zodiac. It is a feature of Hindu Shiva worship. The accompanying photo of a serpent, which we took at a Hindu temple in Kathmandu, is similar to the image on Obama’s ring. Buddha is sometimes depicted sitting on a coiled naga or serpent. In light of Obama’s godless policies, such as his enthusiastic support for moral perversion, the murder of unborn children (and even of those who accidentally survive the process), and the flagrant waste of people’s hard-earned money, his ring is telling. A GLOWING BALLET The following is from Creation Moments, August 14, 2012, www.creationmoments.com: “Many creatures have complex and beautiful mating rituals. However, few are more wondrous or dramatic than the firefleas’ ritual. The fireflea is a marine crustacean about the size of a sesame seed. They are found in the Caribbean. Firefleas, as the name implies, are capable of generating light. The light is used to signal danger and for their mating ritual. When attacked, firefleas generate a cloud of light in the water, helping some firefleas escape and drawing the attention of larger predators to the firefleas’ attacker. There is enough light-generating chemicals in one fireflea to give ten minutes of light bright enough to read by. During the mating ritual, only the males emit light. However, this is not simply random lighting. The males produce differing dot and dash patterns in the water as they try to gain a female's approval. Some species produce vertical lines of dots while others make horizontal lines. One species swims in packs, producing large dotted patterns by coordinating their release of light with each other. The fireflea is a tiny and seemingly unimportant creature. The meaning of its complex light displays went unnoticed until just the last 20 years. Though unknown to man for thousands of years, the fireflea has continued to praise its Creator by doing what He created it to do. Are you doing what your Creator created you to do?” Conclusion: 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 obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. 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. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “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). This material is sent only to those who personally subscribe to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service mailing list. To SUBSCRIBE, go to http://www.wayoflife.org/wayoflife/ subscribe.html. TO UNSUBSCRIBE OR CHANGE ADDRESSES, go to the very bottom of any email received from us and click "Manage My Subscription." Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, [email protected]. ! PAGE 4