By E. L. Bynum
Last month we published an excellent article on the “Good as New” translation of the Bible. This month we are reprinting an article published by the Associated Press which is very critical of this perverted so-called translation of the Bible. If a writer for the liberal Associated Press would write such an article, then this indicates just how rotten and Satanic this corrupt, fake Bible really is.
The AP story says, “an exceedingly loose New Testament paraphrase by Britain’s John Henson, a fundamentalist-hating Baptist.” It should be evident to all that Henson not only hates fundamentalist, but that he hates the very Bible itself.
Whole N.T. Books Left Out
“Henson simply chops out things he doesn’t like. He even cuts out eight entire New Testament books that don’t suit him: 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude and Revelation.” A simple reading of those books would reveal why he did not include them in his unholy Bible. They contain some of the strongest condemnation of what Henson is doing.
The following warning that God gives to us in the last book of the Bible is very significant. “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19) This reveals how serious this issue is, and exactly why he left it out of his “Good as New” translation.
You can be sure that a born again Christian would never do such a thing to the Word of God. This is the work of a man that knows nothing of the salvation of the Lord.
The scripture came from God and it is foolish of man to distort it. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16). This means that the scriptures came directly from God, and that they are God-breathed.
We Are Warned About Such Men
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (1 Timothy 4:1-2) “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
It is easy to see why he would leave out 2 Peter. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” (2 Peter 2:1-2)
There are many other verses in the Bible that show us the folly of apostates. We shall close with one more. “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 3-4)
The Danger of Men Like Henson
Well taught, real Bible believers will never be misled by such altering of God’s Word. The danger is real for weak Christians, or for people that only think they are saved who can easily be led into believing a lie. Lost people that know not the Lord in the free pardon of sin, will fall for this junk Bible. Then it will be most difficult to ever lead them to the knowledge of the truth that they might be saved.
It is a dangerous thing to change the Word of God. “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)
“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:32)
“Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:6)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
After Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he saw “the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased’” (Mark 1:10-11, Revised Standard Version).
Compare that with this new translation: “A pigeon flew down and perched on him. Jesus took this as a sign that God’s Spirit was with him. A voice from overhead was heard saying, ‘That’s my boy!”’
There are many such chatty or doctrinally denuded passages in “Good as New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures” (O Books), an exceedingly loose New Testament paraphrase by Britain’s John Henson, a fundamentalist-hating Baptist.
Should we call it the Boy Bible, or the Pigeon Bible?
“Good” is the wildest, wackiest and possibly worst of those trendy attempts to update Holy Writ. Billed as “women, gay and sinner friendly,” it has stirred a minor ruckus in Britain and Canada.
“Good” was produced by the radical ONE Community for Christian Exploration, which next plans to overhaul Christ’s creeds. Henson’s proposed creed professes that God is “personal and passionate. God seeks friends. God is active, creative, explorative; God is strong and tender with a great sense of humor.”
Conservative writer Lee Duigon carped, “Is this a creed or a singles ad?”
Commentators in these sex-ridden times have naturally focused on that titillating aspect of “Good.” Call it arrogance or deception, but Henson freely changes what the Bible itself says.
The Apostle Paul taught that “each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband” and that if unmarried singles or widows “cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:2,9).
Henson’s version: “My advice is for everyone to have a regular partner. ...If you know you have strong needs, get yourself a partner. Better than being frustrated!” Likewise, Henson has Jesus rewriting the Ten Commandments: “Don’t take away someone else’s partner” (Matthew 5:27).
In 2004, this clearly implies approval for unwed heterosexual and homosexual couples, including temporary live-ins.
Henson simply chops out things he doesn’t like. He even cuts out eight entire New Testament books that don’t suit him: 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude and Revelation.
There’s addition as well as subtraction. Following one scholarly sect, Henson puts the “Gospel of Thomas” alongside Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, though Christianity discarded Thomas. Henson makes the debatable claim that it’s “probably” among the earliest Christian writings and “possibly” as early as the other four.
Readers may be more confused than aided by Henson’s relentless use of nicknames (“Rocky” for Peter) and rephrasings (“Complete Person” instead of Son of Man).
—Reprinted for evidence from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 9-21-04
Editor’s Note: If you want to know what Islamic terrorism is all about, You need to read the following eye opening article. This kind of terrorism did not have its beginning on 9-11-01, but had its beginning more than 1200 years ago. ELB
By James P. Lucier
Reports were filtering back into the West about a mysterious spiritual leader holed up in a mountain fortress. He attracted hundreds of young men by offering training in religious doctrine, devotional discipline and terrorism. He singled out for attack those be judged to have been corrupted by power and luxury or who, in his view, were insufficiently dedicated to the principles of Islam. In the dead of night his trained terrorists would enter the highly guarded precinct of the targeted victim and slit his throat, even though they were almost certain to be killed when the alarm was raised. This disadvantage was offset by a carefully taught theological conviction that, when slain, they would be rewarded instantly with the joys of paradise. These terrorists were called assassins, the Hashishiyyin, because they used cannabis to give them courage.
This is how, in the 12th century, the word assassin became part of the vocabulary of the Western languages. According to accounts brought back by the Crusaders, the Old Man in the Mountain had such control over his followers that he would amuse and terrorize visitors to his castle by ordering a few of his young men to jump off a cliff to demonstrate that they would obey his slightest whim. This man, of course, was not Osama bin Laden. Nor were the Crusader accounts mythological.
The Old Man in the Mountain was a real person, Hasan-i Sabbah, and his mountain fastness was the Castle of Alamut, perched on a barren peak at the south end of the Caspian Sea. Its ruins still may be seen today. Alamut was, like al-Qaeda, the base for a secret society, the Ismailis. Hasan’s goal was to return Islam to its fundamental roots, and he sent preachers throughout the region, to Baghdad, Damascus and Aleppo. And when preaching didn’t work, there was always the dagger. He warred against the Seljuk Turks and assorted caliphs, sheiks and viziers. He was a believer in the Shia’ tradition that the true succession of Islam came through Ali, married to the prophet’s daughter, Fatima. The bewildering and complicated history is summed up for Westerners in a famous little book, The Assassins . by the indefatigable scholar Bernard Lewis.
In the public hearings of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States—the 9/11 Commission—many fingers were pointed. The common theme was that both the Clinton and the Bush administrations recognized al-Qaeda as a threat but there was little they could do about it until the Sept. 11 attacks changed the political calculation. There were no smoking guns. President Bill Clinton issued an order to kill bin Laden, but the CIA refused. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright whined that it would have been impossible to get Congress to approve a military operation (although that didn’t stop the Clinton administration from going to war to install Islamic extremists in Kosovo). Former White House terrorism adviser Richard Clarke, a self-important fussbudget, complained bitterly that he didn’t have the chummy one-on-one relationship with President George W. Bush that he had enjoyed with Bill Clinton—although Bush was being briefed personally by Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet every day. And Clarke’s own parochial fixation on al-Qaeda blinded him to the fact that the war on terror has to reach much further than the activities of the contemporary Old Man in the Mountain.
The real failure of both administrations was the failure to take the long view of history. The attempt to pigeonhole the terrorist threat in terms of familiar 20th-century ideology and 21st-century political organization, and to try to counter it with law-enforcement, diplomatic and military assets, is bound to fail. And the notion that an advertising campaign or a flurry of public diplomacy will win hearts and minds is even sillier. The strength of al-Qaeda is not al-Qaeda itself. Its power is its preternatural instinct to uncork the bottle and release the dark jinns of the Islamic imagination.
Although President Bush has been careful to say that we are not at war with Islam but with terrorism—and it is prudent to say so—it is also not true to say that Islam is a peaceful worldwide religion that has been hijacked by a small group of bad actors. It is at war first of all within itself, and then with the outside world. There are many kinds of Islam containing splendorous mixtures of benevolence and belligerence. The secular Muslim scholar Ibn Warraq, author of Why I Am Not a Muslim and The Quest for the Historical Muhammed, points out that the approved holy books on the life of Muhammed report that the prophet and his band of followers participated in 80 political assassinations in their consolidation of power. But, of course, he uses Ibn Warraq as a pseudonym, since he has been threatened with assassination for saying so.
Three of the first four caliphs were, in fact, assassinated. But many Muslims belonged to the Shi’atu Ali, the party of Ali, the prophet’s son-in-law, and they thought he should become caliph. He did so after the murder of Caliph Uthman in 656. But Caliph Ali was in turn murdered in 661, and the caliphate passed to the rival Umyyads, perpetrating the schism between the Shia’ and the Sunni that has caused a bitter division in Islam ever since. Ali’s son, Hussein, sought to overthrow the Umyyads, but in the year 680, on the 10th day of the Muslim month of Muharram, Hussein and his family and followers were slaughtered by the Umyyads at a place called Karbala. On March 2, 2004, the worst terrorist attack in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein took place in Karbala as tens of thousands of Shia’ mourners gathered at the tomb of the seventh-century Hussein on the anniversary of the murders. Islam takes the long view of history.
Within 100 years of the prophet’s death, the territory under the control of Islam virtually exploded from the Arabian Peninsula, extending from the far reaches of the Fertile Crescent and Asia to the western gates of the Mediterranean. The campaign of fire, sword and rapine reached up into France until turned back by Charles Martel at Poitiers in 738. But Islam occupied most of the Iberian Peninsula, which the Muslims called al-Andalus. This whole swath of territory was called Dar al-Islam, the Zone of Submission—submission to Allah, of course. It is a received doctrine of the Koran that no part of the Dar al-Islam can ever be ceded permanently to the infidel. But when the Moors were kicked out of the Andalusian caliphate in 1493 by the Spanish Reconquest, it left a wound. On Oct. 7, 2001, the day the United States began bombing Afghanistan, bin Laden appeared in a videotape, stating, “Let the whole world know that we shall never accept that the tragedy of al-Andalus would be repeated.”
The Israelis also are the victims of the Koranic injunction to drive out the infidel. Hamas’ advocate of holy murder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was Ariel Sharon’s bin Laden. So there may be more to the problem than Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry’s assertion that “The Bush administration has pursued the most arrogant, inept, reckless and ideological foreign policy in modern history.”
Under the Ottomans the Dar al-Islam extended to the very gates of Vienna before being repulsed in 1688, collapsing back to Anatolia. But there is another name for the rest of the world: the Dar al-Harb, the Zone of War. For it is still the duty of Islam to bring the struggle to the infidels, offer them conversion or the sword, or occasionally for Jews and Christians (whose sacred books are corrupt and lack the purity of the Koran), the opportunity to be tolerated as a community subservient to Islamic rulers. The silent reconquest is already going on in the soft underbelly of Europe with waves of Muslim immigration—legal and illegal-the balance of the body politic.
The new mosques are full, but the churches are empty. For Europe is dying. “Old Europe,” as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once called it in an offhand remark, is dying morally and demographically, having embraced the culture of sterility: secularism. abortion, homosexuality and a disinclination for cohabitants to marry. The population is literally aging, as there are fewer and fewer young persons available for work and more and more citizens on retirement and health care. The result may be seen in the victories of the Socialists in the March local elections in France. The French economy is no longer able to pay for its welfare state, so the unavoidable cutbacks of the ruling party, trying to make ends meet, resulted in a substantial Socialist victory. The French, however, were willing to draw a line in the sand at head scarves for schoolgirls.
There were a lot of things that President Bush could not say when he gathered the ambassadors in the East Room of the White House on March 19, the anniversary of the Iraq war. Yet there is some intimation in his words that he truly understands the long view of history: “There is a dividing line in our world ... a dividing line separating two visions of justice and the value of life. On a tape claiming responsibility for the atrocities in Madrid, a man is heard to say, ‘We choose death, while you choose life.’ We don’t know if this is the voice of the actual killers, but we do know it expresses the creed of the enemy. It is a mind-set that rejoices in suicide, incites murder and celebrates every death we mourn. And we who stand on the other side of the line must be equally clear and certain of our convictions. We do love life, the life given to us and to all. ... There is no neutral ground—no neutral ground—in the fight between civilization and terror, because there is no neutral ground between good and evil, freedom and slavery, and life and death.”
At this point, some of the ambassadors seemed to stir uneasily in their chairs. They preferred the neutral ground. But what was Bush saying now?
“The war on terror is not a figure of speech. It is an inescapable calling of our generation. The terrorists are offended not merely by our policies—they are offended by our existence as free nations. No concession will appease their hatred. No accommodation will satisfy their endless demands. Their ultimate ambitions are to control the peoples of the Middle East and to blackmail the rest of the world with weapons of mass terror. There can be no separate peace with the terrorist enemy. Any sign of weakness or retreat simply validates terrorist violence and invites more violence for all nations. The only certain way to protect our people is by early, united and decisive action.”
Insight magazine, April 13-26, 2004, p. 14f. (Copied from The Schwarz Report, July 2004)
By Bill Mosley
Nothing is as necessary for man than knowing he has an uncontaminated message from God. The reason being he has the inherent attribute of believing in a Supreme being. Even that segment of humanity in the remotest regions of time and place, believe there is life of some order after death. What, then, can be more important than knowing the God of all creation. Equal to that, is being mindful of what God thinks of His creation. Particularly of man who is created in the image of God. To know this, man must have a word from the Lord on the subject of where he stands in the sight of God. Consequently, God gave us His Word through “holy men of God” and they “spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Pet. 1:21b)
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” for the purpose of reproving, correcting, and instructing God’s prime creation. (2 Tim. 3:16,17) God has the power to create all things and sustain them by this same power (Col. 1:17). Why, by any stretch of the imagination, would any man believe God does not have the power to preserve His Word? It is obvious by the multitudes of attempts to correct, corrupt, contaminate, and curtail what God has said, that sinful humanity wants to put man’s words into God’s mouth rather than man to speak what God has said.
The Infallible Word of God
Since all men are liars (Psa. 116:11; Rom. 3:4) the unshakeable truth lies with God alone. Unless lost man can rely on this truth, he has no where to stand. Edward Young made this accurate statement about the Word of God: “If we do not build upon the impregnable rock of infallible Scripture we shall ever be at the mercy of the latest whims and fancies.” Far too many today are at the mercy of modern architects of deception. “Correction” is the cry when a new version hits the market. “Better understood” sounds aloud when a more simplified(?) edition tumbles from the rocks of its authors head. The implication of all such claims is a transparent admission that the inventor of such a volume believes he knows more about what God wants to say than God does.
The emphasis desired in this articles is to declare wholeheartedly why the pure Word of God is so gravely important. Today’s source of God’s Word for English speaking people, the King James Version (AV, 1611), is significantly important. Our time here will largely be spent, however, in using this source to write concerning the importance of God’s Holy Word. It is important because of:
What It Proclaims
Endless dollars and time has been spent, and the cost continues, seeking more knowledge of the earth’s beginning. This needless adventure ignores what God has revealed to us through the holy men of old as the Holy Ghost moved them. “In the beginning,” would be difficult to miss while reading the Bible, even for a beginner. The simple truth is that “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,” (Heb. 11:3a) There is nothing expended in accepting this truth. The limited mind of mortals ponders this possibility . . . that every thing has a beginning. Every thing does have a beginning, and it begins with the One Who inhabits eternity. (Isa. 57:15) God has never needed anything to start with. He framed the worlds out of nothing, “so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Heb. 13:3b)
This can only be accepted by faith just as the salvation of the soul of man is by grace through faith. (Eph. 2:8) Since there is nothing too hard for God, either in creation or salvation, our confidence is then strengthened in His Word. (Jer. 32:17) “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: . .” Some may argue that God did not say every “thou, thee, etc.” Since we have the Word of God, every word is God’s words. This comes by the same faith or trust that makes us understand when and how the earth began. (Prov. 30:5) “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” If some words in our Bible are not what God said, who is going to instruct others of the words He did say? There is obviously an indefinite number of so-called biblical scholars who feel they are God’s gift to the ignorant to do just that.
By faith we also know that God did not put in motion the world and what we call nature, and then leave it to chance. (Col. 1:17) “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” He can do all of this without the help of Al Gore and all other like minded environmentalist. The same Word of God that spoke the worlds into existence, keeps and maintains creation by the same power. (2 Pet. 3:7) “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
Possibilities of the where’s and why’s of the earth and its form have been debated since the fall of man. God’s Word answers the many quests man has sought to prove. Long before Americus Vespucius or Christopher Columbus sailed the Atlantic seeking land over the horizon, God’s word revealed the earths circular form. (Isa. 40:22) “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: . .” Remembering that every word of God is pure, or without pollutants, why would the finite mind of man question the infinite wisdom of God in either what He has said of what He has done? Primarily he thinks more highly of himself than he really is. (Rom. 12:3) “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” A simple acceptance by faith would solve multitudes of problems. God’s Word is important because of:
How It Penetrates
Every new attempt to make the Bible more readable, acceptable, corrected, and perfected removes its effectiveness. The pure Word of God from His mouth “is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) Men handing the Word of God deceitfully are taking the edge off its power. It is little wonder there is no obvious conviction of heart or true spiritual revival of lives when the Word of God is diminished into the common vernacular of humanity. When the blood of Christ is challenged as being necessary to eternal salvation, and is believed to be unnecessary, no soul will be lifted from sin’s pit. Without the shedding of blood is no remission (Heb. 9:22), and it is by His blood alone are sinners shed from their sin. (Rev. 1:5)
Only by the pure Word of God can the works of man be complete. All the works of man are right in his own eyes, but it takes the Word of God to properly order the heart of man. (Prov. 21:2) Only the inspired Word can perfect the character and attributes of a believer. (2 Tim. 2:17) If the heart is to be cleansed and man’s way properly directed it will take more than an imitation of God’s Word. (Psa. 119:9-11) What a dark path such renditions of so-called Bibles such as the “Good as New,” Good News for Modern Man, NIV, NASV, and an endless parade of others, will lead a soul into. It takes the pure Word to lighten the path and give illumination for unstable feet to walk. (Psa. 119:105)
This is the only true source that warns fallen man of the impending judgment of lost souls. It is unpopular to preach repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet it is the only message of truth that will penetrate hardened hearts. It is unpopular to shout aloud that “the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8) Yet the pure Word of God declares, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isa. 58:1)
Those who deny the Lord Jesus Christ and His blood are destined for hell. (John 8:24) “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” Reducing this message from the mouth of the Saviour is the prime aim of the devil. It may sound hard to say, but it is true, that many versions imitating God’s Word cheapen and vulgarize the truth of this message from our Lord. Blood redemption as a doctrine is as eternal as God Himself. (Rev. 13:8) To forsake warning in the same manner and with the same intensity makes the redeemed responsible for souls. (Ezek. 3:18,19) More on this subject later in this article. God’s pure Word is important because of:
Its Promises
Those who are deceived enough to believe man’s conceived ideas of what God says, may miss the great promises for the believer. Since every word of God is pure (Prov. 30:5), every promise of God is true. (2 Cor. 1:20) All who repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have the promise from God of eternal life. Despite the mockery of trashy jargon dripping from the pin of deceivers, God’s promises are as pure as His Word. It would be nothing less than barbarous to refer to Peter as “Rocky,” as one Bible(?) refers to him, when he spoke these words: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord . . .” (Acts 3:19) Nor was it God’s “boy” who made this possible but God’s only begotten Son. There is only one mediator between God and man the “man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2:5) The sickening sin of seduction to attack God’s Word is assaulting the human heart in tactics that have not before been known.
The Lord promises to relieve those burdened and oppressed in sin. (Matt. 11:28-30) It is not only a present relief, but that which will consummate a promise of eternity with God and His Son. Our heavenly Father and His Son secures the believer in their hand where they cannot be touched or removed. (John 10:27-29) They who are now dwelling in the secret place of the most High God and abiding under His shadow. (Psa. 91:1) Those with this standing with the Almighty can give this testimony as seen in the following verse: “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” These are some of the many effects of the importance of God’s pure Word. How can the sanctity of the pure Word of God and its promises possibly be missed? It is more than unconscionable for man to change, correct, or challenge what God has said and preserved. The pure Word of God is also important because it pronounces:
Eternal Condemnation On The Unsaved
Some foolishly believe the only hell that men will suffer is in this life will be on this earth. That there is a burning inferno where lost souls go at death is clearly revealed in Luke chapter 16. It is a place of everlasting fire that was created for the devil and his angels. (Matt. 25:41) The devil will be there in company with the beast and the false prophet. (Rev. 20:10) Men who worship the beast in The Revelation of Jesus Christ “shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb . . .” (Rev. 14:10)
Nations that forget God, and the wicked who deny His being, will be cast into hell. (Psa. 9:17) Denying the Ten Commandments, the pure word of God, a rightful place in this nation we love is sure to bring down fiery judgment. Forgetting God and His commandments ends suddenly after many reproofs. (Prov. 29:1) “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” When the wicked began to cry that there is no God, and if there was He does not know, are in for sudden enlightenment. (Psa. 94:7) Naughty little wicked man with a disobedient mouth will suddenly face calamity and “be broken without remedy.” (Prov. 6:15) How foolish to say, by action or word, that there is no God. (Psa. 14:1) What a dismal future is in store for the mockers of the pure Word of God. Preaching the powerful message of repent or perish has never been popular. We need not expect this kind of preaching or writing to be accepted, even by many who claim to be Christians. The number is growing less who dare to call sin by it first name and condemn it by Scripture. Being a messenger of God and holding tenaciously to the preserved Word of God is not popular but it is promising. It may well cause heartache and hardship, criticism or condemnation from man, but we are not the first to face such conditions. Although the following verse was written to Israel, this basic truth of God’s word remains intact. 2 Chron. 36:16) “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.”
Although some will mock this article or even censure its contents, but be sure of this, the God of the Word and the Word of the true God will not be mocked. Ink from foolish pen may freely flow today, but tomorrow every mouth will be stopped and every knee will bow to the God of Heaven and His Son, as they make full confession of His Being. (Isa. 45:23; Rom. 14:11) My prayer is that seeking to correct God and trying to deny Him His place in national existence will soon come to an end. How can any believer waver from John’s final prayer: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” But our work is not finished until He does. (2 Tim 4:2) “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” Other things may lose their significance, but never abandon the importance of the pure Word of God.
By Norman H. Wells
Chapter 24, from the book “The Religion Racket.” The Bible has much to say, and many illustrations are given, establishing that the responsibility of leadership in religious matters was given to the man. Adam, the man, was created first, and Eve, the woman, was to be his helper. The responsibility of leadership continued in their sons...not their daughters. Those who were saved from the flood were led by a man...Noah. Abraham and all the patriarchs were men, as were Moses, Joshua, and all thirteen of the Judges that ruled Israel. All the kings and all the prophets were men. The old priesthood of Israel was composed of men. The twelve apostles and the early church leaders, preachers, deacons, elders, evangelists, missionaries, etc. were all men. The woman is spoken of as “the weaker vessel” (I Peter 3:7), and that “the head of the woman is the man.” (I Cor. 11:3).
All religion knows that this is taught...both in instruction and by example. To say that the woman has never been satisfied with this arrangement is to put it mildly. To say that the man has always willingly accepted this responsibility is to be ignorant of the facts.
In the beginning, religion was going good in the Garden of Eden until Eve decided to take over, and Adam consented. When Eve, the woman, took over the leadership in religion, all chaos resulted that has lasted until today.
One of the biggest of the shams of today’s religion is that which presents man as being in the position of leadership in religion. Religion knows that man should be leading, so it pretends he is even when they know it is not a reality. It is obvious to anyone who cares to observe that women dominate religion while still feigning submission to the man.
More women attend church than men. A large percentage of the men who do attend are generally there because their wives insisted. More women teach Sunday School classes. The spiritual leader in the average religious home is the mother: Ordinarily there are more women’s organizations in the church than men’s, and more women hold church offices. More women than men generally sing in the choir. It is a fact that the influence of the woman dominates the average church and the average religion. Most of the established religions have begun to ordain women and to use them as pastors, evangelists, missionaries, etc. A large percentage of the more recent religions were started by women.
It has to be said that in most instances men have willingly relinquished the responsibility of leadership. Sometimes they have submitted only after a long battle. The lack of men has created a void in religion that women have tried to fill. That this is a fact is one thing, but to pretend that it is not is another. For women to dominate religion while keeping man as a mere “figurehead” is rank hypocrisy. It so cheapens and belittles man as to create a response of disgust.
Too often, a man’s name is listed as Pastor, and he stands in the pulpit, but in reality the church is “pastored” by his wife. He is a mere figurehead...a stooge. This kind of pastor preaches the sermons that his wife has deliberately influenced and in some cases designed. She uses him to pour out her vengeance upon any who dare question her leadership. She uses the influence of the pulpit as a weapon in all the feuds and church fights in which she cares to participate. By her interpretation, to disagree with her is to disagree with the church. To displease her is to set oneself up as the target for next Sunday’s sermon.
The pastor’s wife generally shares the same kind of intimate knowledge concerning the personal affairs of the membership as her husband. If she so desires, this knowledge can become a deadly weapon used to keep the membership in submission to her rule. This type of pastor’s wife pictures herself as a “church queen” and expects everyone to pay homage at her throne.
Sometimes it seems the pastor’s wife must assume this dominating role to provide some self-protection. She finds that this must be done or else she must stay hidden out somewhere most of the time. No one can be the “target for today” as much as the pastor’s wife. Everything she does is subject to the closest scrutiny by the other women of the church. They delight in “picking her bones” and it is always open season. How she dresses, keeps house, raises children, works in the church, etc., are all examined continually under the magnifying glass and discussed freely by all.
This kind of condition where a man is a mere figurehead is also a reality in many of the other positions of leadership in the church. The man holds the office, but the wife manipulates the strings, and he responds as an obedient puppet.
One of the arts in which a pastor must develop a great deal of skill is keeping peace with all the different women’s organizations in his church. Too many times a pastor has had to retreat from the field, battered and defeated, after making the mistake of incurring the wrath of an organization of women. One thing these organizations will not tolerate is for a mere man, even a pastor, to try to give them any leadership. A pastor, like all other men, finds it difficult to understand women. A women’s organization can be nailing his hide to the wall, ruining his ministry, and sending him to his study battered and beaten, while at the same time they are baking his favorite cake and taking up money to buy a new suit for his birthday!
The Bible presents a contrasting picture of a woman. She is used as the symbol of the highest form of holiness...the bride of Christ (Eph. 5), and also as a symbol of the lowest in depravity...the harlot of the 17th chapter of Revelation. She is pictured as contentious (Prov. 27:15), subtle, and deceitful (Prov. 6:24). Yet her love is the finest of all virtues of mankind (I Sam. 1:26). She has brought about the greatest good and yet is responsible for the greatest harm. These characteristics of the woman show up in each generation.
Most churches will periodically find themselves wracked with divisions that can degenerate into real church fights. These do irreparable harm to the cause of religion. One thing these church fights and divisions all seem to have in common is that they are started by women.
Most women religious leaders fall into one of several categories. There is, of course, the Crusader. Her type is probably the best known. She is always riding at the head of a righteous cause ready to do battle with any and all who stand in the way. The Crusader always thinks of herself as the defender of the faith who is going to right every wrong. She charges from one committee meeting to the next, whipping in line the less zealous.
There are the female religious leaders who are the Reformers. Generally, they are ladies who never enjoyed sin very much themselves, and they are going to see that no one else does.
Some of these women religious leaders could only be tailed Losers, as nothing they ever do succeeds. They hold regular committee meetings where they carefully plan each defeat. Their whole assumption is that religion doesn’t have a chance so they make a career of rejoicing in defeat.
Then there are the Sufferers. These are the female religious leaders who are always loudly proclaiming how silently they suffer for the cause of religion. These ladies are generally planning on suffering anyhow, and they figure religion gives them a reason. Most people can’t stand to see someone suffer, so these ladies wield a powerful influence.
Another group might be called the Organizers. Their main characteristic is being busy...busy...busy. They are the “take charge girls.” They always move with great speed and efficiency in getting every religious project organized, complete with all details. They also generally wind up being “Madam President.”
Trouble Shooter is a position that a lot of women religious leaders covet. A Trouble Shooter is one who feels that it is her job to take the leadership in helping those in trouble. Let a man and his wife have a fight and the Trouble Shooter is right there to help them patch it up. Helping young girls in “trouble” is a specialty. Advice on rearing children is freely given. Helping a wife with a wayward husband is a delight to the Trouble Shooter. One of the added advantages of being a Trouble Shooter and possibly the reason it is so sought after is that it enables the Trouble Shooters to get all the latest gossip first hand. This really makes them the hub of activity.
Women have been successful in keeping men who are religious leaders in submission by a method known as “hero worship.” It is really very simple. Women will look upon a man in position of leadership as a white knight and will give him all the accolades and plaudits that are his due as a hero. No mere man can resist this and will do anything to maintain his “hero” status...even to the submitting to every whim of the women.
Religion got into trouble in the beginning when Eve decided she was going to take charge and run things her way. This difficulty reoccurs every time this attempt has been repeated. Yet it must be said that if it had not been for faithful women, religion would have gone out of business a long time ago. The blame for women dominating religion has to rest with the man. It is because of his failure that this condition exists.
Religion needs men who will drop the pretense and in reality give the spiritual leadership that is needed in the home and in the church.
Edited by E. L. Bynum
(Editor’s Note: In our News & 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.)
Proud To Be Murderers—Many businesses have their logo and ad of a sort on T-shirts. Whether we approve of when and where they are worn is generally of little consequence. Planned Parenthood has change all that. Let me go on record that I detest, despise, and am disgusted with their ad on their website. “I Had An Abortion’ T-shirts: They have arrived! Planned Parenthood is proud to offer yet another t-shirt in our new social fashion line: ‘I Had an Abortion’ fitted T-shirts are now available. These soft and comfortable fitted tees assert a powerful message in support of women’s rights.” Are they popular? A sold-out notice was placed under the price. “Fitted T-shirts” need no more explanation than the message they display. Both are for sale as advertised. (1 Thes. 5:22) “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” —WWM
Religious Advisor for Pres. Wanna-be— The new “religious advisor” to Senator John Kerry previously joined the lawsuit filed by atheist Michael Newdow to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag! Kerry’s new “religious advisor” — Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson — was one of thirty-two clergy members to file an amicus curiae brief in behalf of Michael Newdow. (Religious Freedom Coalition , 8/6/04) If this comes to pass the Rev. Sister will likely be advising true believers that God had no part in the establishing of America. Therefore His name should not be mentioned by our children in fear of offending someone. (1 Pet. 2:7,8) “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.” —WWM.
MC Defines Hate Crimes—“The MAINstream Coalition defines hate crimes as those that willfully cause or attempt to cause fear, bodily injury or property damage, based on prejudices against persons for reasons of religion, gender, race, sexual orientation, or disability. Hate crimes victimize not only the actual object of the crime, but also the entire community and thereby cause much greater damage than the crime itself. . . We support state and federal laws that address the punishment of such crimes. . . We support legislation to provide for safety locks on all firearms.” (MC ’s web site) Sexual orientation is placed in the midst of other conditions that some may agree with. However, it is clear that MC wants any opposition to homosexuality be counted an infraction against them. They have never considered how God feels about this type of ‘sexual orientation.’ Nor do they care. Such deep thinkers as the MC surely believe also that all criminals will rush to buy safety locks for their weapons. Crooks dumb enough to use them would likely lose their key. Shame is still the promotions of fools. (Prov. 3:35) —WWM
Someone Else Is Listening In—Americans United says the July 4 sermon by Pastor Ronnie Floyd at the First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., crossed the line into inappropriate partisan politicking. “Pastor Floyd’s presentation seemed more like a Bush campaign commercial than a church service,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “His sermon was clearly intervention in the campaign on behalf of Bush.” (AU web site, 7/21/04) AU has joined MC seeking to silence Baptist pastors who have biblical convictions. Lynn wrote a letter to the IRS charging the pastor “intended to motivate voters to support Bush by portraying him in a positive light . . .” Pastor Floyd has voter registration tables set up at the back of the church. Good for the pastor and all other pastors who take a biblical stand for our national survival. Pray for your pastor as he takes a stand for right and against wrong. Tax exemption may be at stake now, decapitation may come later. (Psa. 5:5 ) “The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.” —WWM
Falwell Targeted By AU—“Americans United and its director, Barry Lynn, recently filed a complaint against Falwell and his church with the Internal Revenue Service, alleging that, as pastor, Falwell had openly urged and continues to encourage people to support President Bush’s campaign. Doing so should result in the loss of the church’s tax-exempt status under IRS regulations, Lynn said.” (Crosswalk, 8/26/04) Satan’s law offices are becoming disturbed that right might win. The NY senator calls such moves as Christians standing for right as being a “right-wing conspiracy.” What it really is, is believers standing for what our national forefathers fought and died for. Also that God gives any nation a right to serve Him and Him only. (Deut. 4:7) “For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?” —WWM
Flesh, Finances, & Foolishness—Des Moines Register 18 July, 2004 CALENDAR GIRLS (Edited by DCB) “Villisca, Ia. — If you should get your hands on one of those special calendars they’re turning out here, the ones with the 10 local church ladies in various stages of undress...” The women who were mostly in their 60"s and 70"s “...say it was all for a good cause. Money raised from the calendars goes to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. They say they exposed nothing they’d be ashamed to tell their pastors about. In fact, at least one of their pastors has bought a calendar.” (AIB Newsletter,8/7/04) If too much skin is exposed to the sun, these elderly women may be among the recipients of their contribution to the ACS. This activity may find its way in funding missions. What a sad state of our Union when those masquerading as Christians pose indecently for the world. —WWM
Radical Feminist, Liberal Lawyers, Sexual Perverts—Among the leftist groups marching in New York, 8/28/04, will be Planned Parenthood Federation, NARAL, New York Civil Liberties Union, National Organization for Women (NOW), Empire State Pride Agenda, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Community Center, and “Sister Song”/African-American Gay Rights. (Conservative Petitions, 8/10/04) Birds of a feather could not be more solidly exemplified than this group. It is nothing new that PP and NOW oppose anything that is morally right. Yet many support these groups and others akin to them. The sad fact is that some who claim to be Christians identify with this crowd. (Eph. 5:11) “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” —WWM
Priests Accused of Abuse Were Moved—Between 100 and 200 Roman Catholic priests from around the world were moved from country to country after they were accused of sex offenses against minors, according to an 18-month investigation by the Dallas Morning News (6/19 HT). (Calvary Contender, hereafter CC.)
Prison Time For Hate Speech—Ake Green, the pastor of a Swedish Pentecostal church in Kalmar, Sweden, has been sentenced to one month in prison by a Swedish court, for inciting hatred against homosexuals. Green was prosecuted in January for “hate speech against homosexuals” for a sermon he preached last summer citing Biblical references to homosexuality. During a sermon in 2003, Green described homosexuality as “abnormal, a horrible cancerous tumour in the body of society”. (The Berean Call, 8/11/04) Sweden has joined Canada in the protection of homosexuals. Reading the first chapter of Romans may have become ‘hate speech’ in these countries, but when every knee bows before the Lord of lords, all will admit that His Word is the Law that counts. —WWM
ACLU: Anti-Christian, Pro-Islam—“American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday it is offering free legal help to Arabs and Muslims caught up in the latest FBI ‘dragnet’ interviews.” (WashingtonTimes.com, 8/5/04) Is this separation of church and state in reverse? The ACLU helps quell a little girl offering thanks before her lunch at school, yet stands up in defense of possible Islam terrorists. Because the FBI have not proved every one they interviewed to be terrorists, the ACLU is offended at such “anti-American activities.” Satan’s law firm believes Christianity is a threat to our freedom, but desires false religion to be let alone. Freedom of speech, you know. They questioned the right of the government to inquire about the religious practices of Muslims. Christian activities must be scrutinized — Islam must be subsidized. The wicked continue to work a deceitful work. (Prov. 11:18) —WWM
Counting The Cost—“In the mainland province of Guangdong, (China) which borders Hong Kong, no unapproved foreign religious material may be sold, distributed, copied, or shipped. . .On June 18, police in Guizhou province’s Tongzi County arrested a 34 year-old woman for distributing Bibles. The charge was ‘spreading rumors and inciting to disturb social order.’ The international press said police beat the woman to death while she was being interrogated.” (Christianity Today, 9/04) The Bible continues to be “unapproved religious material” in many places. The KJV is rapidly gaining that recognition in too many American communities. Too difficult to read, too contrary to popular beliefs, and too offensive to our lifestyle. Though all this is true, the Bible will still be THE Book that lost sinners will have to face in the end time. (Rev. 20:12) —WWM
Bible Distribution vs. Breakthrough Dancing—Over 230 Christian staff and many more young volunteers create books, movies, magazines and websites, gospel camps, a counseling center, and training institutes for teachers and youth workers. They have organized a New Year’s “dance extravaganza” that attracted 30,000 people to a downtown street. . . To gain entrance to the extravaganza, young people had to show a “passport” demonstrating that they had done a “positive act.” Breakthrough distributed a booklet at local schools suggesting good deeds that qualified. Breakthrough worked out a security arrangement with the Hong Kong government to take over a city street. University groups led a special theme dance with 80 drummers pounding out the rhythm. The number of celebrants swelled from 10,000 to 30,000 for the final midnight countdown. (CT, posted 7/23/03) Bible unacceptable, dancing acceptable. Since Jerry Falwell’s ‘worship leader’ has gone to Wayne Newton to learn how to make a congregation ‘come alive,’ maybe he should seek help from Michael Jackson to teach them how to dance. Even communist China would approve of this type of Christianity(?). Would Falwell accept this? —WWM
Labyrinth: ‘Prayer Path’—Since ancient times, the labyrinth has been associated with the legend of the evil Minotaur, the half-man, half-bull monster who dwelt in a deep, dark labyrinth on the island of Crete. The 7/10 Huntsville Times had a series of articles on this trendy wave (New Age?) of alternative worship. It is said to be another way to meet God, and that its healing touch can “go beyond” (surpass?) the Christian experience. The local Weatherly Heights Baptist Church recently built a permanent labyrinth of stepping stones on its grounds. —CC
Unequally Yoked—Just north of Punta Gorda, Florida, pastors have been told they can no longer pray in the name of Jesus when asked to open city council meetings with prayer. The St. Petersburg Times says for years, pastors in the Tampa, Florida, area have given invocations at council meetings that praised Jesus Christ and referred to Him as the “only God” or the “highest authority.” But council chairwoman Gwen Miller sent a memo recently that said all invocations must now be nonsectarian. (AgapePress via Crosswalk, 8/17/04) Without doubt the pastor for such duties were chosen from the ministerial alliance from this town. All pastors who believe it is good and proper to be connected to the ministerial alliance in their location need to wake up. It is of the Lord that His people are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. (2 Cor. 6:14-18) This chairwoman indeed qualifies as an unbeliever. Why would any Baptist pastor join such a motley crowd? Since Jesus instructs us to ask in His name, if we do not, the prayer will not be answered. I highly favor following Jesus’ directives over Gwen Miller. (John 14:13,14) —WWM
Roaring Lion Still Seeking—Online predators know that more kids are online in the summer than at any other time of year. Research shows that 90 of children between 8-16 have viewed pornography on the Internet. Not because they are looking for it but because porn is looking for them. (Crosswalk, 8/16/04) Why would any parent leave their child open to these devices of attack from the devil? Discretion is soon to become a lost art if adults do not practice it. If a child is left to be brought up by such tactics, he will very likely not depart from them when his is old. Better listen to the Lord in Prov. 22:6. —WWM
Boy Scouts: Once Happy — Now Gay—In November of 1998 the Boy Scouts of Canada Board of Governors elected to authorize females, atheists, agnostics, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals to participate in the Scouts. By 1999 they had the distinction of boasting the world’s first all-homosexual troop, much to the dismay of many former scouts. This exemplified the Scouts Canada commitment to diversity, sensitivity and tolerance. Now six years later the BSC are in the process of reducing their budgets by selling numerous abandoned camps. Overall troop participation is on a downfall to an anemic 130,000 (past membership exceeded 300,000) with continual projected drops. Much of this can be attributed to the principle of “inclusiveness” that has been embraced by the governing board of the remaining BSC. This inclusiveness demonstrates the bankruptcy of moral relativism that espouses diversity, sensitivity, and tolerance at the exclusion of absolute truth. May I ask you what will happen if we embrace the same philosophy of the Boy Scouts of Canada in our churches, youth groups, or other traditionally conservative groups and ministries? (RFC Updates, 8/20/04)
More Attacks On Christianity—A federal judge has once again ordered a Bible in a monument outside the Harris County civil court building in Houston, Texas, to be removed. Judge Sim Lake, who ruled two weeks ago that the display violated the separation of Church and State, has now turned down an emergency request to let the Bible remain until the county has exhausted its appeals. Star of Hope Mission, a ministry to the homeless, erected the monument near the courthouse in 1956. It stood for years without controversy, until last year, when a real estate broker and attorney sued the county, complaining that the Bible display improperly promoted Christianity. (Crosswalk, 8/25/04) House sales and lawsuits must have declined for these two to be so unemployed. It would be interesting for these two to know the real reason for their decision. (Prov. 12:20a) “Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil . . .” —WWM