(Editor's Note: In our New & Views column we quote from many different sources. Please understand that this does not necessarily mean that we approve of all of the publications from which we quote. We will give the name of the source in the first quote and thereafter we will give the abbreviation of that name.)
Rap, Rock, & Ritual Disorders- "The Secret Service is trying to determine if any action needs to be taken regarding a lyric from shock rapper Eminem that may be a threat to President Bush." (WorldNetDaily.com, 12/6/03) The lyrics of this rapper's new song reflects a disgust and dislike for America's president. Not only is Eminem a threat to Pres. Bush, he is also a threat to every young person (or older) who listens to his trash. Yet one of his songs is nominated for song and record of the year by the 46th annual Grammy Awards to be presented Feb. 8 in Los Angeles. Very likely this kind of happenings will not shock too many. But this is a spiritual spiral downward that will take more than a casual Wed. night service to quell. A down on the ground act of personal repentance of God's people will happen only when a clear view sin is realized. -(W. W. Mosley, hereafter WWM)
Piercings, Patterns, and Plain Lethargy- "An explosion in body piercing from traditional earrings for females, to earrings for males, to multiple piercings for both males and females in literally every part of the body as well as a parallel explosion in tattooing is moving to even more extreme levels. Ritual scarification, 3D-art implants, transdermal implants, tooth art, facial sculpture, tongue splitting and even branding and worse are on the increase." (WorldNetDaily.com, 12/5/03) The satanic influence of rap/hard rock music is revealed in this report. It is sad to observe the powerful hold this seems to have on youth today. More often than desired, young people are flaunting piercings from the tongue to the tummy. Eminem and other less than humanoid creatures, reeking with their deplorable life-styles and music, are rapidly taking hold of America by generations, and not for good. This is so nearly related to witchcraft that the outcome is the same. Nations have fallen into non-existence when this route is accepted. -WWM
Separation Of Church & State- But what church? "Andrea Skoros sued the New York City public school system after being told her kids' Nativity scene could not be a part of the holiday display although a Hanukkah menorah and the star and crescent representing Islam could be exhibited." (Fox News, 12/5/03) This is the public school system that permits and finances an all gay high school. Hillary and other like minded lawyers would be up in arms if an all Christian school was granted equal assistance as public schools. (1 John 3:13) "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." Remember reading when the only school houses were church houses? Teachers a few decades ago would open their school day with public prayer. -WWM
More Christian Persecution- "A report from Vietnam indicates that 19 Christians have been arrested there for distributing leaflets during the Southeast Asian Games in Ho Chi Minh City. The group of Christians, which included a Protestant pastor, were arrested by Vietnamese police on Tuesday, and all but four remain in custody. The whereabouts of two ministers and two assistants is currently unknown. The leaflets the Vietnamese Christians were distributing contained a schedule for the games and invitations to readers to consider following Jesus Christ. Nguyen Hong Quang, one of the arrested ministers, said that he and the other Christians are being persecuted for their beliefs." (Crosswalk, 12/12/03) The U.S. Congress has passed a resolution that urged the Vietnamese government to respect the right of all religious organizations. From the same body of lawmakers often come federal judges that prohibit worship of the true God and biblical Christianity in America, in certain locations. The U.S. Embassy is to monitor the situation there and report back to the Congress. They must not have heard of Alabama's Judge Moore case. Lawmakers seek to build a room for Tobiah in the house of God in America (Neh. 13). Yet Christians are persecuted for witnessing for Christ in countries who worship false gods. -WWM
Homosexuality Protected Under Nondiscrimination Policy?-That is the reasoning of the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Ed. Network. The GLSEN targeted the Forsyth School Board to include `sexual Orientation' and `gender identity' in their curriculum. But they have a bold opponent in the pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. "Pastor Ron Baity . . . led a coalition of Christians that opposed the pro-homosexual effort. He says for a long time homosexual activists, and especially the GLSEN crowd, have been coming to the school board meetings and pushing their agenda, while not a single church in the area came and spoke out against their movement." (Crosswalk, 12/16/03) The pastor is right on target when he says that Christians today are suffering the consequences of "having been silent too long on important societal issues." Pray for pastors with the tenacity to call sin by its first name and treat it according to Bible directives. If Christians do not speak out against sin they will eventually get use to it. -WWM
Anglican Promoted Ecumenicalism-The Australian Ind. Bapt. Newsletter (12/03), David Bennett, Editor, gives this report. "The inter Anglican standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, USA - One of the items this ecumenical gathering looked at was `....to the completion of the work of the Anglican Communion - Baptist World Alliance International Conversations, due to report in 2004...' `It also welcomed the approval and signing of the Covenant between the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain, and the signing of the Covenant between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches in Papua New Guinea.' Editor's Comment: The Australian Baptist Union and the Southern Baptist Convention (USA) are members of the apostate Baptist World Alliance. This is spiritual adultery!" Few in the Christian American community see the danger of this compromise in such an apostate setting. However, this is only part of the pruning effect ecumenicalism has on Christianity. Baptist circles are not exempt from this trickle down spiritual stripping effect. -WWM
SBC Becoming Disillusioned With BWA-Southern Baptist Convention President Jack Graham, endorsing a study committee's recommendation that the SBC withdraw from the Baptist World Alliance, underscored Southern Baptists' "forward-thinking faith and determination to cooperate with those who are truly impacting the world." (BP, 12/23/03) It is unbelievable that the BWA would even use the name `Baptist' in their title. Also equally unbelievable that the SBC would be a part of such a liberal apostate organization. Graham stated, "The BWA is becoming a marginalized organization which is having a smaller and smaller influence for the Gospel of Christ around the world. Southern Baptists desire to work with like-minded believers who share our strategic commitment to the Word of God and the message of Christ." Watch for the SBC to create or choose another ecumenical alliance, fellowship, or association to become a part of. Departing from New Testament doctrine of the local church leaves any organization open for advanced ecumenical engagements. -WWM
Muslim Radicals or Muslim Resolutes?-Nairobi, Kenya (CNSNews.com) - "Christian persecution in Islamic Somalia is on the rise, and humanitarian aid workers from the West are also under attack by Muslim radicals, according to a Christian human rights organization. . . . A regional observer here said crimes against Christians and Westerners would likely lead to further isolation of Somalia, and also accelerate the growth of Islamic fundamentalism there. . . Early last year an extremist Islamist group in Mogadishu called Kulanka Culimada issued a statement saying all Somali Christians were apostates from Islam and should be killed." (Crosswalk, 12/24/03) To be politically correct, Muslims who persecute Christians must be referred to as radicals. Otherwise it would be offensive to Muslims in predominately Christian nations. That will work only as long as Muslims are in the minority. Radical reaction of Muslims to non-Muslims is common. -WWM
NAVY-1 - ACLU-0-Navy to ACLU: Pound Sand! "The ACLU is targeting the voluntary lunchtime prayer that has been a tradition at the Naval Academy since its founding. . . . But the Navy did not retreat. In August, it announced it would keep its prayer, and the ACLU went ballistic. `We tried things the nice way, and they've told us to pound sand,' ACLU lawyer David Rocah told the Baltimore Sun." - Columnist Terence Jeffrey (via Muth's NVs, 12/29/03) Mr. Rocah might well have been the one who voluntarily prayed had he been aboard a sinking ship in the South Pacific. Or floating weeks on life rafts with downed aircrewmen. Praying people generally come in handy when so-called atheist face death. Suppose the ACLU will try to stop the praying in Rev. 6:15-17? They likely will join that prayer-meeting. -WWM
Schools Expelling God- "A pro-family activist is denouncing a North Carolina public school for suspending a Christian guidance counselor. Concord High School recently suspended Beth Pinto with pay for sharing Bible verses with a student who was struggling with homosexuality. Although the student requested biblical advice, according to school officials Pinto's actions violated the so-called `separation of Church and State.' But the guidance counselor's suspension was lifted after the high school received hundreds of complaint calls from local parents and Christians across the U.S. Now Pinto has been fully reinstated, and has gained a large number of Christian supporters who remain fed up with the school. . . The activist comments that it is a sad day when God has been expelled from America's schools and banished from its schoolyards, and His presence replaced by metal detectors, condoms, drugs and unprecedented violence." (Crosswalk, 12/29/03) I read somewhere where Billy Graham said that hell was the absence of God. Is that what American schools have become? -WWM
Theology Prof. Recommends `Lord of the Rings'-Chad Brand, associate professor of Christian theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., confesses he is a Tolkien fanatic. Next to the Bible he has read "The Lord of the Rings" through more times (over 20) than any other book. (BP, 12/29/03) He explains: in The Lord of the Rings, God is the maker of all things, initially creating two beings that are essentially angelic spirits. He then uses one of them to make all other things. This is one of the professors that will be teaching the young people you send to SBTS in Louisville. He finalizes his praise of this movie by saying, "Go see the film. If you have not yet read the books, set aside a little time the first of the year to do that. In them you will find a beautiful new world, a world which is, at its heart, just the old, old story Christians have known so well." `Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' is rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and frightening images. And a Southern Baptist theology professor recommends it as a must see? A few decades ago even Southern Baptist preached against any kind of movie going. If any man love the world . . . -WWM
Your Tax Dollars At Work-An AP, 12/29/03, press release announced congress has increased funding for the Nat'l. Endowment for the Arts to $122.5 million. An increase of almost $7 million from last year. Let's see . . . isn't this the same NEA that granted $35,000 to the Phoenix Art Museum in the mid `90s, who exhibited the American flag in a toilet and called it `Contemporary Art'? But to complain that financing such an organization as the NEA is less than proper will likely draw more criticism than the vulgar exhibits it displays at taxpayer expense. Vulgar exhibits may well depict where America is drifting, apart from God, but it does not reveal where we came from. (Psa. 33:12) "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." -WWM
Movie Making a Ministry Method?-Mission America Coalition offered many religious leaders their first opportunity to view Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion Of The Christ." Dr. Paul Cedar, chairman of MAC, believes the film "offers a tremendous opportunity for Christians across America to introduce people to Jesus Christ." `Rev.' Wayne Pederson, Pres. of MAC, says the movie could well be one of the most powerful evangelistic tools in the marketplace. (Crosswalk, 12/30/03) Pederson referred to the meeting of these religious leaders to view the film as "a breakthrough in using the culture of film to bring people to Christ...." The Bible does not say, "How shall they hear without a picture," but it does say, "how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14c) -WWM
Anglican Synod Says Masonry Is A False Religion-Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said he had "real misgivings about the compatibility of Masonry and Christian profession," and said he wouldn't appoint any Freemasons to senior posts. After an outcry, however, he apologized for causing "distress." But the Sydney Anglican synod called on its members to choose between lodge and church, and told congregations not to let Masons to use their facilities (12/3 Chr. Today). It said freemasonry "teaches and upholds a system of false religious and spiritual beliefs." (Calvary Contender, hereafter CC)
Playboy Culture Treats Women As Sex Objects, Pregnancy As A Disease, Abortion As The Cure-Statistics indicate the total cultural victory of pornography in America today. Hollywood releases 400 films each year, while the pornography industry releases 700 movies each month! Porn is, as a minimum, a $10 billion a year business (12/3 CT). And online sex addiction is no longer just a male problem. Nearly one in three adult Web visitors is a woman. -CC
Preacher, or Worship Leader?-Churches are now hiring "worship leaders" to bring the modern audiences into the "spirit of worship" that is supposedly missing in old-fashioned congregations. Church musicians are the leaders of worship and pastors are secondary to that worship. Pastors have largely become puppets doing whatever their people want. (The Projector) -CC
Homosexual Unions Are Brief-A recent study on homosexual relationships (Wash.Times/Door-Step Evangel) finds they last 1 ½ years on average--even as homosexual groups are pushing nationwide to legalize same-sex "marriages." The Dutch study which focused on transmission of HIV found that men in homosexual relationships average eight partners a year outside those relationships. Most couples have arrangements whereby the partners may have sexual activity with others. AIDS kills about 6,000 people a day in Africa more than wars, famines, and floods. Yet it is a largely preventable, politically-protected disease (8/1/87 CC). -CC
Catholicism & Islam-Catholicism and Islam each have over one billion adherents, nearly all of whom enter their faiths as infants. Over 16 million babies are baptized into the Catholic Church each year. Though baptism is not part of Islam, all children born into a Muslim family are Muslims. Their official "confirmation" follows as soon as they are able to confess the shahada ("There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger"). Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today; Catholicism the largest religious body among professing Christians (11/2 Berean Call). -CC
Christians Have Rights Too-In a strongly worded opinion issued last month, Detroit Federal Judge Gerald Rosen upheld the right of a Christian student to express her religious beliefs in opposition to homosexuality during her high school's "Diversity Week" program that was designed to promote the homosexual agenda. The case involved a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of a student whose religious views against homosexuality were censored and excluded from the 2002 "Diversity Week" program. This is a big victory for the First Amendment rights of Christian students and a big defeat for those who consider public schools as their private platform to advance the homosexual agenda. -CC
Wicca Is Becoming Popular-Wicca (witchcraft) is a fast-growing New Age pagan religion. Though commonly viewed as a female activity, males accounted for over 15,000 people executed for witchcraft in early modern Europe. Two Australian pastors, accused of vilifying Islam, recently were being tried under new "hate laws" being used by a witch. -CC
ETS May Split Over `Open Theism'-Evangelical Theological Society members voted Nov. 19 to retain two members (Clark Pinnock, John Sanders) who published views supporting "open theism," the belief that God sometimes changes His mind depending on human actions. Ouster requires a two-thirds vote Pinnock got 32.9 percent removal votes, Sanders got 62.7. [Pinnock voluntarily revised and clarified certain statements in his writings.] At open theism's core is a denial of God's exhaustive foreknowledge of future events. Open theists claim that God does not know the future decisions of humans because those choices have yet to be made. Carl Henry warned [12/9 BP e-mail]: "Once the sovereignty and exhaustive foreknowledge of God are compromised, much else soon goes with it. At the end, one is not left with a doctrine of God at all." Norman Geisler gave examples from Pinnock's other writings that undermine inerrancy, and presented 12 reasons why open theists should not be members of the ETS. -CC
Clergy Leadership Network-A newly launched Clergy Leadership Network coalition of liberal/radical religious leaders (including William Sloan Coffin, Rev. Joan Campbell Brown) hopes to become "the Christian Coalition of the left" and seeks to counter the influence of conservative Christian organizations (New York Times). The 24-member founding group will also include Catholic and Jewish members, and they hope, Muslim members as well. -CC
Another GARBC School Links With SBC-The Northwest Baptist Convention (SBC) has endorsed Western Baptist College (GARBC-related "partner") as an educational institution that their member churches should support financially and promote as a preferred college for their young people. The NWBC executive board approved this, and WBC's President Dr. Reno Hoff spoke at the NWBC convention. The NWBC has 429 congregations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and northern California. Cedarville University, another GARBC-related school, (a "partner") recently became linked with Southern Baptists of Ohio. -CC
WCC Chief Notes Progress Of Ecumenical Movement-Konrad Raiser, outgoing head of the World Council of Churches, in a Nov. 20 interview, listed progress of the ecumenical movement during his 11-year term. He pointed first to the agreement signed in Augsburg in 1999 between the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church, the result of a long process of dialogue. He said: "As we continue our search for unity, we already feel that the links between us [WCC and Catholic partners] are so strong that the obstacles that arise do not call into question the progress already made. [But] it is impossible to overlook increasing fears among Roman Catholics, but also among Anglicans and Lutherans, Methodists and Orthodox, linked to the identity of each tradition." The Orthodox churches now feel they are being listened to. Raiser mentioned exploring ways to create a Global Christian Forum. He says that without a structure of reference, the WCC risks the rise of a militant, populist and fundamentalist Christianity. -CC
Virginia Baptists, Averett University Conflict-Virginia Baptists have escrowed over $350,000 that would have gone to Averett University next year. But it's in escrow until a conflict over homosexuality and biblical authority is resolved. Averett attracted the ire of some Va. Baptists last August when its religion department head wrote an article endorsing the action of the Episcopal Church to ordain an openly homosexual bishop, and criticizing a literal method of Bible interpretation (12/11/03 Ala. Baptist). Then in September, the notorious John Shelby Spong lectured on campus, reportedly saying the God who is revealed in a literal Scripture reading is "immoral" and "unbelievable." -CC
Judges & Abortion Without Parental Consent-"One judge is a Republican and a Baptist who has always said no to any teen-age girl wanting an abortion without telling her parents. Another judge is a Democrat and a Catholic who most times grants the request, but always with a little bit of guilt." (Akron Beacon Journal, 11/9/03) This article reports this "scenario unfolds almost every day across Ohio. And a survey of the state's largest juvenile courts shows that nine times out of 10, a judge approves a teen's request to have an abortion without notifying a parent . . . The legal procedure known as judicial bypass was enacted by the Ohio legislature in 1985 and later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Thirty-three other states have judicial bypass laws." With homosexuals suing federal courts for equal marriage rights, and lesbians litigating against federal judges for being refused insemination, judges over such cases need more than a cotton string for a backbone. Justice Roy Moore of Ala. is to be applauded for his stand on the Word of God. Too many federal laws lean heavily toward abolishing parental rights. What a sad state of affairs for a nation to cater to sodomite wishes more than to protect biblical family policy. -WWM