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News & Views, July 2002 - Edited By E. L. Bynum
Jerry Falwell to Speak At Charismatic Church - By E. L. Bynum
Melonie Park Church: Snake Handlers & Square Dancing - By E. L. Bynum
Politically Correct Insanity - By E. L. Bynum
The Anabaptists - By Norman H. Wells
United We Fall - By Norman H. Wells Who Owns Palestine?This past week I received an invitation to hear Dr. Jerry Falwell speak at the largest charismatic church in West Texas. On July 8, 2002, he will speak at the Trinity Church, Activity Center, Lubbock, TX.
Trinity Church was once named Highland Assembly of God.
It was a split, but some would call it a mission. When Morris Sheats, son of Homer, became pastor he changed the name to Trinity Church. A rose by any other name is still a rose. Over the years Trinity Church has had many different speakers from many different groups speak there. I remember when some Catholic nuns spoke there, and they were not ex-nuns or ex-Catholics. They used to advertise that they had 27 different denominations worshiping there. You can go to Trinity Church and believe what you want, and wear what you want, and still be accepted. It was reported that one of the former pastors said that he didn't care what you wore to church, even if it was a bathing suit.
Falwell will speak under the sponsorship of Vision America and it will be called a "Pastor's Policy Briefing."
The host committee is composed of:
While this meeting might contain some aspects of a good purpose, it is an ecumenical gathering of Charismatics, Southern Baptists, and Lutherans. This kind of conglomeration is wrong, and it is never right to do wrong, in order to do right. In the name of good causes, Jerry Falwell has compromised with the Mooneys, Roman Catholics, liberals, and Southern Baptists. He has said nice things about the Pope, and other assorted heretics, and he has had the immoral Senator Ted Kennedy speak for him.
Falwell has for years claimed to be a member of the Baptist Bible Fellowship, since graduating from their school many years ago. He has spoken many times in their national meetings, and he has had his defenders as well as his critics among them. Even though Falwell has now led his church into the Southern Baptist Convention, he is still listed on the Baptist Bible Fellowship web site as a member along with his church. You can run with the hares and the hounds and be a member of the BBF. I wonder what G.B. Vick and Noel Smith would say if they came back from the grave.
Falwell often called himself an Independent Baptist, but he never was according to my understanding of what an Independent Baptist is. He has betrayed the cause of the BBF, and a number of their churches have either joined the SBC, or are flirting with the possibility. I don't hear much news of Falwell promoting the BBF, but mostly he seems to be promoting Southern Baptists. I have never been BBF, but I am sure that there are many of them that would like to get rid of Jerry Falwell all together. One thing for certain, I hope Falwell never says again that he is an Independent Baptist, because he is not.
Jerry Falwell is not willing to obey the Scriptures on separation from false doctrine. He knows very well what the Bible teaches, but he ignores it or explains it away. "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:11). "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Cor. 6:17). These plus many other Scriptures show that separation is a command and not an option.
In the Moral Majority which Falwell founded, there were a very large percentage of the members that were members of the Roman Catholic Church. He has joined hands with Catholics on many occasions, and he does not hurt them when he brags on the Pope. He has spoken for Sun Moon the cult leader from Korea. This man is a million miles away from the truth, but Falwell helped him. He now speaks at a Charismatic former Assembly of God Church, and this cannot be viewed as anything but giving them a helping hand. He needs to take another look at the way that King Jehoshaphat was rebuked by the prophet, because he had entered into an ill-fated alliance with wicked King Ahab. "And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD" (2 Chron. 19:2).
Imagine my surprise when I opened today's (6-24-2002) issue of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and saw a large picture of a man and a boy holding a large python snake. That itself was not the surprise, but when I read the print and saw that this took place at Melonie Park Church here in Lubbock on Sunday.
Well I already knew that the old serpent had gotten into a lot of churches, but this was a shock. The newspaper also stated that they featured a square dance; that did it for me. The LAJ story said that it was a "Wild West Family Round-up . . . the event also featured square dancing, crafts, a carnival, relay games and other animals." It seems that nothing is too much of a carnival side show for many churches today. Many will do anything to get a crowd. We don't know if the bearded lady and the two headed calf are available now or not, but if they are, some church will book them soon.
Now we read of a snake in the church, what a twist of fate! Satan tempted Eve when he appeared in the garden of Eden as a serpent. Now a church wants to create interest by featuring a snake. I always thought we ought to keep the snakes out of the church, but now I am learning differently. In my many years in the pastorate, I have seen a few snakes in the church, but they all had two legs. When we couldn't convert them, we had to get rid of them.
I can remember when churches preached against dancing, but now some feature them. There are still some of us around that condemn the evils of the dance.
This church was named Melonie Park Baptist Church for many years. I drove by today on my way to the office, and sure enough they had dropped the name Baptist off the sign. I would like to publicly thank them for doing this. There are a lot of churches that carry the name Baptist and they should drop it, because they are not Baptist.
Melonie Park Baptist Church was started as a mission of Central Baptist Church, Lubbock, which was the oldest church in Lubbock that was affiliated by the Baptist Missionary Association (BMA). At one time the BMA was made of Baptist Churches that held strongly on the Landmark Baptist doctrines. Some of their churches still do.
This church was located in a nice part of town and prospered as a BMA Church. As far as I know they originally held to Baptist doctrine. I felt that they were drifting quite a number of years ago, when I found out from the pastor that he regularly attended the Lubbock Ministerial Association. It was made up of the leading liberal clergy of Lubbock, and the pastor of First Baptist Church told me that the Catholic priests were attending and I think a part of it. The road of compromise is a slippery slope, and it is hard to stop once you get on it.
They were without a pastor several years ago, and then I read a big story in the LAJ, which proclaimed that the church had done a new thing in calling a Non-Baptist Pastor. To the credit of the local BMA Association, at their next meeting they promptly cast Melonie Park Baptist Church out of the Association.
They had called a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary as pastor. They then advertised that they were an Independent Baptist Church. To say the least that did not make my day. They are now proudly advertising that they have a Dallas Theological Seminary pastor. There are two other churches in Lubbock that advertise the same. I guess this is supposed to be the ninth wonder of the world, and calculated to attract a certain class of people, and it probably does.
Now they have dropped the name Baptist. They still advertise in yellow pages as Baptist. In the same phone book they also advertise as Melonie Park Church. They also advertise in the yellow pages under "Churches Non-Denominational." I guess there are some creatures that it is hard to tell if it is pig or pup. We hope that in the next directory they will not pretend to be Baptist.
We just wonder if there are other churches pastored by graduates of Dallas Theological Seminary that feature snake handling and square dancing. Wouldn't it be interesting to witness Peter and Paul visiting such a church? Of course they wouldn't, but I can't help but speculate.
Such stories as this, have caused us to print the articles by Norman H. Wells entitled "The Religion Racket." Do not fail to read them each month.
Political correctness has reached epidemic status in our country. This radical force has gathered such power that the most conservative leaders in government and business are afraid to take them on. This madness has been produced by the same thinking as the environmental movement in this country.
Every day we hear horrific stories of innocent people in our airports being harassed by the fake security employees. Everyone wants our planes to be safe in the air and protected from terrorists. The present system is somewhat like the keystone cops for efficiency. Under the guise of political correctness, people who would not be terrorists in a million years are systematically searched on a supposed random basis, to make sure they do not carry weapons that they could use to hijack a plane.
Elderly grandmothers are being searched and made to take off their shoes. A four star general was searched as if he was a possible hijacker. A medal of honor winner, who shot down more Japanese planes than anyone else in service, was searched and they tried to keep him from taking his medal of honor on board. A popular conservative talk show host who must be in his sixties, and who spent twenty years in Congress, was searched and made to take off his shoes three times, and this was just in one trip. His wife, the grandmother of 13 grandchildren, was also put through the same routine. Even former Vice-President Al Gore was made to take of his shoes to board a plane. Of course he didn't publicly complain, because he is one of the devotees of the politically correct movement.
What do all of the above people have in common? They fit no profile of a possible hijacker. No one fitting their descriptions has ever hijacked a plane and flown it into a building. At the same time, the security people pass over some who fit the profile of some possible terrorists and are let through time after time without a search. Why? It is because the security people, the U.S. Government, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the airlines are scared to death that they will be accused of not being politically correct. This is insanity, and I do not know why the American people put up with it.
It is certainly true that they are not of European descent. The terrorists have all been of Middle Eastern descent and of the Islamic religion. If we would use a reasonable amount of sanity, we would profile these people for scrutiny. Not all of these people are terrorists, and I am sure that most of them are not. However, it is from among this group that we should be looking for the terrorists. To understand what I am talking about, consider the following facts:
In 1979, the U.S. Embassy in Iran was taken over by Islamic terrorists. This almost guaranteed that Jimmy Carter would be replaced by Ronald Reagan as president.
In 1980, Americans in Lebanon were kidnaped by Islamic terrorists.
In 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut were blown up and many marines killed. This was done by Islamic terrorists.
In 1985, the Achille Lauro cruise ship was hijacked and a 70-year-old, wheelchair bound American was murdered and thrown overboard, because he was Jewish. The Islamic terrorists did this.
In 1985, TWA flight 847 was hijacked in Athens and a U.S. Navy diver was murdered by Islamic terrorists.
In 1988, Pan Am flight 103 was blown up over Scotland, and all the people on board died. It was Islamic terrorists that did this.
In 1993, the World Trade Center was severely damaged by a truck bomb, set off by Islamic terrorists who were headquartered in an Islamic mosque in New Jersey.
In 1998, U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Africa were bombed, with many killed by Islamic terrorists.
On October 12, 2000, the U.S. warship the Cole, was bombed and almost sunk by Islamic terrorists, while in a harbor in the Middle East.
On September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked and used to destroy the World Trade Center and to severely damage the Pentagon. The fourth plane, which was probably headed for the White House or the Capitol Building, went down in Pennsylvania, due to the heroic efforts of some of the passengers. Who brought this shame and harm to our nation? It was the Islamic terrorists.
In 2002, Daniel Pearl was kidnaped in Pakistan, and brutally murdered by Islamic terrorists.
In every case it was Islamic terrorists. In no case was it an elderly grandmother, former congressmen, four star generals, or medal of honor winners. In no case were the terrorists of European descent, or of a Christian heritage or background.
No, I do not hate people of Middle Eastern descent, nor of those of the Islamic religion. In fact we have spent a lot of money over the years to evangelize these people through our missionaries. We will continue to do so, as the Lord leads.
Islamic mosques are being built in the U.S. at an alarming rate. They are doing their best to recruit our people to Islam, and in too many cases they are succeeding. How many Christian churches are there in Saudi Arabia? The answer is none, because it is illegal. In Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Egypt, Christian churches are either illegal or greatly harassed and persecuted. I just read of the few Presbyterian churches in Egypt, and how they are persecuted. Islam is a persecuting and intolerant religion, and no one can successfully deny it.
Enough is enough, and we should wake up, before it is too late.
It is an established fact of history that as far back as the fourth century those refusing to go into the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, and refusing to accept the baptism of those baptized in infancy, and refusing to accept the doctrine of "baptismal regeneration" and demanding rebaptism for all those who came to them from the Hierarchy were called "Anabaptists"rebaptizers.
A. For the first century or so, nearly all the churches remained comparatively
pure in doctrine and practice.
A. Never in any age, did the Anabaptists form any hierarchy that bound
their churches together.
A. The Anabaptists were always hated and despised by those who sought
to bring about the establishing of error.
B. During the 1,200 years of the "dark ages" it is stated that
fifty million died of the terrible persecution. The great majority of these
were Anabaptists.
C. During this period it is recorded that along one single European highway,
thirty miles distance, stakes were set up every few feet along this highway,
the tops of the stakes sharpened, and on the top of each was placed the
gory head of a martyred Anabaptist!
From The Baptist Pillar
Religion has the arrogant audacity to look the world square in the eye and make the preposterous proclamation that all the hundreds of competing churches with their bigoted beliefs, contradicting creeds, and diverse doctrines are really one religion.
All religions are obligated to accept what they believe and teach to be truth. When the "truth" of one church contradicts the "truth" of another church one thing becomes painfully obvious. They might both be wrong but they can't both be right. Many make the claim of being the "true" church. This naturally means that all that differ have to be accepted as false.
Practically every church has a creed which gives a summary of their religious beliefs and doctrines. Using all of these creeds one can find a denial of every positive truth that is proclaimed in any of the creeds. Anything that one church believes is denied by another.
An honest outsider making inquiry of the many different churches would not only come to the conclusion that there were many different religions but also that there were many different gods.
Religion in our day ranges from the snake handling preacher performing his miracles in a downtown storefront to the Cardinal observing the complications of a High Mass in some ornate cathedral. And we are supposed to believe that they are all one religion.
A family will move and have to change churches. They will generally start attending the church that is closest to their new home. Their new church may be entirely different in creed and practice, but they are still to believe that they are in the same religion. A family of ten could each attend a different church. These ten churches could be different and contradicting, yet this family would be expected to believe they were all in the same religion.
Church "A" will proclaim that if you believe what they say you are heaven bound, but church "B" will declare that if you believe what church "A" teaches you are hell bound. This, it must be said, is quite a difference! In this one religion you can have a God that is dead or one that is living.
Baptism can mean anything from being dipped three times under water to having three drops sprinkled on your head. To some, baptism is a way to heaven, while others say it isn't even necessary to be baptized. Babies are baptized by some, while others denounce this as heresy.
The Bible can either be the infallible, inerrant, word of God or a mere collection of myths, traditions and wise sayings of men. God created this world by speaking it into existence 6000 years ago, or he merely sat back and watched it evolve several millions of years.
Some of religion ignores eternal things and concentrates on the betterment of man in this life, while others, quite the opposite, ignore this world and spend their time preparing for the next.
To be saved or not to be saved, that is the question. Salvation is emphasized by some as the most important thing in man's existence, while others ignore it entirely. One church declares that an eternal hell of literal fire and brimstone awaits the unrepentant sinner, while another yawns and declares hell doesn't exist. One religion says man is eternal and immortal, and another says he is not. Quite a difference!
What about man? Some say that he is bad and getting worse, while others say he is good and getting better. We can hear that this world is reeling toward fiery destruction or is spiraling upward to utopia.
Ask a question and all these churches come up with different answers. That is bad enough, but then for religion to expect us to believe that all these different answers are right and true is downright ridiculous. Suppose an arithmetic teacher gave a class of ten pupils one problem and got from them ten different answers and then would announce they were all correct. This is foolishness.
Some of religion sees the foolishness of this and tries to remedy it with something even more foolish. These people will disavow any relationship with any established denomination and will call themselves interdenominational. This can mean just about anything, but it is presented as a religion acceptable to people of all denominations. Now this would take some doing! All the so called "truths" of the various denominations that contradict and deny each other are all accepted.
Does that sound foolish and confusing? There's more. There are those who are undenominational. This has to mean they are not of any denomination. People of all faiths and religious beliefs are welcome to be members of this undenominationalism. This has got to produce a big nothing!
The greatest emphasis in religion today is that given the ecumenical movement. This is the effort to bring all the different churches, denominations, and religions together with the idea of eventually becoming one church. This is a real paradox! These same people will have us believe that we are already one church and yet they spend all this time and money trying to establish what they say already exists!
For the ecumenical movement to be successful it becomes necessary for each participating religion to soften, tone down, and eventually get rid of its distinctive doctrines that are not in harmony with all the other participating religions. Anything that is believed by one and not by another must eventually be eliminated. Since everything that anyone believes is denied by another this does eventually produce unity ...unity in unbelief. This is where the ecumenical epidemic will finally lead.
Why can't we turn from this feeble folly of pretense and face the situation? We need to acknowledge that what we have is a host of different religions. We must accept that all of them cannot be right and that each of us has the task of finding the truth in this maze of contradiction.
We are in danger of destroying truth bit by bit in a phony attempt to weld all religions into one. It is far better to have truth alive and shouting forth above the babel of confusion created by these conflicting claims than systematically to eliminate all chance of its ever being heard.
To draw attention to these obvious facts about the divided condition of religion and to express opposition to the ecumenical movement is to set off an odd reaction. Churchgoers act amazed and even horrified that anyone would dare suggest that religious differences exist and that some of these differences would have to be classified as error. Religion tries to dismiss those who point out the obvious by classifying them as "bigots" who are full of "prejudice" and "hate." What kind of religious climate are we establishing in these United States?
In the name of unity and the ecumenical movement many things are expected of everyone. Religious convictions are to be buried under compromise. Religious differences are to be hidden from view. Only those things on which everyone agrees are to be displayed. Religion is to be so broad-minded, liberal, and tolerant that everyone can be a part and no one will be offended. Deep religious convictions are looked upon as a weakness bred by ignorance.
Anyone who does not conform to this currently popular concept of religion is ostracized as an enemy of society. It is assumed that to differ is to hate. To state that there is a difference in religion and that some of that difference is error is immediately to be branded a "bigot," described as "prejudiced" and placed in the same category as Communists, Ku Klux Klan, etc.
Why can't we face the fact that it is not necessary to cover religious differences with compromise? Mere acceptance of a maze of contradicting religious claims does not produce unity ... just apathy. In the name of religion, above everything else, we should be able to disagree vigorously yet maintain an attitude of love one toward another.
Honesty is a virtue of all religions, and this honesty forces the recognition of difference in religion. To deny this difference requires a measure of hypocrisy ... a trait that is contrary to all religions. Deep religious convictions should be encouraged, not disparaged. A truly religious character can only be based on certain, sure religious convictions. This produces the wonderful assurance we so desperately need. In a world where men's hearts are failing them for fear, we need a sure word, an anchor of the soul. This can only be found in deep religious convictions that bring peace and assurance. These deep religious convictions can only come with the certainty that what we believe is the truth. In the religious certainty and assurance that we need there can be no room for doubt. If what we believe is the truth then that which contradicts is error. All religions would have to accept this fact.
Each individual who feels he has the truth of religious peace and assurance also feels the obligation to make it known to others. Although this of necessity involves clash with what he might believe to be error it is done in love ... not hate. His desire is for the benefit, not harm, of those he seeks to enlighten.
We should be thankful for a religious climate that has allowed us to follow our beliefs and allows everyone else to do the same. This is the kind of religious climate for which we should be striving, not mere conformity to shallow nothingness. A religious freedom that encourages deep religious conviction and aggressive propagation of all religions in peace and love should be our desire.
This is the religious climate that produced rugged faith with tried and proven convictions. It establishes a religious certainty that gives an anchor in this uncertain world. This is what has made America strong. There exists a common bond of love and respect among people with deep religious convictions, even though they disagree in doctrine.
1. Nationhood and Jerusalem. Israel became a
nation in 1312 BC, two thousand years before the rise of Islam.
2. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a
Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern
State of Israel.
3. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 B.C. the Jews have had dominion over
the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for
the past 3,300 years.
4. The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 A.D. lasted no more
than 22 years.
5. For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem
has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians
occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab
leaders did not come to visit.
6. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures.
Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Qur'an.
7. King David founded the city of Jerusalem. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem.
8. Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Muslims pray with their backs toward Jerusalem.
9. Arab and Jewish Refugees: In 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged to
leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews. Sixty-eight
percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.
10. The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab
brutality, persecution and pogroms.
11. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to
be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is estimated
to be the same.
12. Arab refugees were intentionally not absorbed or integrated into
the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory. Out
of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, theirs is the only refugee
group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their
own peoples' lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel,
a country no larger than the state of New Jersey.
13. The Arab - Israeli Conflict: The Arabs are represented by eight separate
nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation.
The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended itself
each time and won.
14. The PLO's Charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.
Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under
the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them with weapons.
15. Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews
were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim
and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of
all faiths.
16. The UN Record on Israel and the Arabs: Of the 175 Security Council resolutions
passed before 1990; there were 97 directed against Israel.
17. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were
directed against Israel.
18. The UN was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed by the
Jordanians.
19. The UN was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the
ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
20. The UN was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy
of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
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