VOL. XII  NO. 2   NEWS & VIEWS, NOTES & QUOTES, TO WARN & INFORM   January 15, 1995

HOMOSEXUALS PLAN TO SUE RELIGIOUS RIGHT—Homosexual leader Mel White--a former ghostwriter for such evangelical leaders as Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson--is dean of the 1,200-member Cathedral of Hope in Dallas (see 8/15 CC). He told the August 10th Wash. Post that homosexual activists were scrutinizing the publications and public declarations of "religious right" organizations because, "We think the words from their mouths trickle down into violence. And when our evidence reaches a critical mass, we're going to use the best attorney in this country to bring a class action suit in 50 states to have it stopped." (12/26 New American). Censorship? There is at least a contradiction here. To "gay rights" advocates, condemning homosexuality causes violent behavior, but they have argued that promoting homosexuality in classrooms won't induce school children to experiment with the perversion.

MATTHEW FOX BRINGS 'RAVE MASS' TO AMERICA—The latest youth craze to hit Southern California is all-night dance parties called "raves." They are loud and fueled by psychedelic drugs. Defrocked Catholic priest Matthew Fox, who has now joined San Francisco's Grace Cathedral (an Episcopal church), in late Oct. brought young Anglicans from England who came up with the idea of a Mass using rave music and dancing. Fox is popular on the New Age lecture circuit, and blends Christianity with eco-mysticism and leftist politics (11/14 C.News). He is a universalist who rejects the Christian faith.

PRES. CLINTON HONORS PETE SEEGER, A COMMIE—Folk singer Pete Seeger, a lifelong communist, received from President Clinton a "medal for lifetime achievement in the performing arts" Dec. 4 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, causing a furor in conservative circles (12/19 Chr.News). The 12/4 Washington Post favorably featured Seeger as "America's Best Loved Commie." Seeger wrote in the Communist Party's 4/7/88 People's Daily World: "It is about 35 years since, as a card-carrying member of the Communist party..." (10/2/89 CN). Yet, in spite of him being a communist and atheist, some Lutherans have claimed him as one of theirs.

UCC IS RADICAL, APOSTATE—Christian News (12/26) calls the liberal United Church of Christ the "Anything Goes Church." Virtually all kinds of denials of Biblical Christianity are tolerated within the UCC. It has officially endorsed the killing of unborn infants, and allows lesbians and homosexuals to serve as pastors. It has officially approved euthanasia and suicide.

PRO-CHOICE ON KILLING ABORTIONISTS?—Robert P. George, a professor of politics at Princeton, writes: "I am personally opposed to killing abortionists. However, inasmuch as my personal opposition to this practice is rooted in a sectarian (Catholic) religious belief...I am unwilling to impose it on others who may...take a different view. Of course, I am entirely in favor of policies aimed at removing the root causes of violence against abortionists. Indeed, I would...support mandatory one-week waiting periods, and even non-judgmental counseling, for people who are contemplating the choice of killing an abortionist...I believe in...respecting the rights of conscience of my fellow citizens who believe that the killing of abortionists is sometimes a tragic necessity--not a good, but a lesser evil. In short, I am moderately pro-choice."(12/19 C.News). Pro-choice in abortion, or in killing abortionists, is wrong.

100 ANGLICAN PRIESTS DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD—"At least 100 Church of England priests do not believe in an external, supernatural God, it emerged at a conference for the new Christian atheists." (12/30 Sword). A senior Anglican chaplain said the church has always been behind the times. He said "We are part of a revolution now, but in the 21st century the church will be without a God in the traditional sense. It might want to use some references to God and Jesus, but human spirituality will be the emphasis." Ironically, recently 150 Church of England clergy signed up to join a trade union. However, the Church of England said doubting vicars need not fear for their positions.

GET GOVERNMENT OUT OF EDUCATION—The 12/94 Blumenfeld Educ. Letter said the federal government should be gotten out of education, because it: 1) is destroying true education, 2) is subsidizing a liberal academic elite with its secular humanist, socialist agenda, 3) is costing taxpayers billions and gives little or no benefit in return, 4) has created the institutional basis for a totalitarian society, 5) supports a monopoly detrimental to economic freedom, 6) perpetuates the myth that education is possible without religion, 7) is destroying family and individual privacy, 8) is undermining parents' rights to control their children's education, 9) has perverted education by supporting unsound educational theories and practices, 10) has institutionalized educational malpractice, 11) has become the tool of special interests, teachers' unions, etc., 12) has corrupted higher education by encouraging overexpansion and overspending, resulting in skyrocketing tuitions.

UN TREATY FOR TOTAL EQUALITY FOR WOMEN—A United Nations treaty, called the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, is a carry-over from the failed Equal Rights Amendment of the 70s. (12/94 Chr. Legal Defense). It contains many very dangerous government expanding provisions that make it extremely objectionable to Christians. Would it force churches to have women pastors? It would require the option of abortion to be available for all women up until the birth of the child. It would require state owned and operated day care centers equipped to care for newborns on up. It allows governments to use reverse discrimination laws to expedite total equality.

CARL HENRY PRAISES CATHOLIC-EVANGELICAL UNITY—New-evangelical theologian Carl F.H. Henry says Evangelical and Catholic cobelligerency in the culture war and other common goals is desirable (12/24 World). He says: "The orientation of inherited Protestant-Catholic dialogue to ecclesial distrust and the notion that evangelical Catholics who remain in their church are secretly committed to papal authority and sacramental salvation needs to be replaced by the reality that multitudes of evangelical Catholics are now as devoted to their Bibles as are evangelical Protestants whose ecclesial divisions they lament. Evangelicals and Catholics are better positioned today to earnestly probe natural law, justification, tradition, and the status of church dogma than they have been for generations." The 1994 Colson-Neuhaus document clearly took Evangelical-Catholic unity beyond preserving cultural values and called for recognition of both groups as Christian brethren.

SPEAKERS AT GRAHAM TRAINING CENTER—The Program Guide for the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove (Asheville, NC) lists the following as 1995 speakers: Warren Wiersbe, Joseph Stowell, George Sweeting, Woodrow Kroll, Erwin Lutzer, Tony Evans, Greg Laurie, Adrian Rogers, James Draper, Jim Henry, Larry Crabb, Lloyd Ogilvie, Howard Hendricks, Steve Brown, and Franklin Graham. It is tragic that some of the above men who identify with Graham's ecumenical ministry are then welcomed as speakers in "fundamentalist" pulpits of the GARBC and IFCA.

MBI FOUNDER'S WEEK SPEAKERS—Speakers for Moody Bible Institute's Founder's Week, Jan. 30-Feb. 4, include: Warren Wiersbe, Josh McDowell, Larry Crabb, Ed Dobson, John Perkins, Elisabeth Elliot, David Kim, Steve Brown, Jack Graham, Ralph Bell, and Knute Larson. MBI Pres. Dr. Joseph Stowell and MBI Chancellor Dr. George Sweeting are both listed on Dr. Billy Graham's 1995 Program Guide as speakers at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove in N.C. Moody Radio WMBW in Chattanooga carries programs of Billy Graham, Charles Colson, Charles Stanley, Charles Swindoll, Kay Arthur, John MacArthur, James Dobson, Luis Palau, and Adrian Rogers. All of these are new-evangelical in their associations and should receive a warm "right-at-home" welcome at Moody.

JOYFUL WOMAN AD LISTS POOR ROLE MODELS—The Sep-Oct Joyful Woman magazine had a full-page ad of three Ed Reese books. The top half described his Women Used of God book, and said it was "IDEAL FOR: young people (especially girls) looking for role models." It listed 50 "Women Leaders Of The Christian Cause". The list included some notorious liberals, charismatics, mystics, and new evangelicals. Included on the dangerous "role model" list were: Kathryn Kuhlman, Aimee S. McPherson, Susan Anthony, Pearl S. Buck, Carry Nation, and Jean Guyon. Kuhlman and McPherson were divorced women preachers.

MacARTHUR APPROVINGLY QUOTES BONHOEFFER—Dr. John MacArthur approvingly and sympathetically quotes Neo-orthodox theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his "President's Message" column of his Master's Current paper. He mentions Bonhoeffer's name four times in this half-page column. Bonhoeffer was a notorious modernist, a German Lutheran, who rejected many doctrines of the historic Christian faith. MacArthur's Master's Seminary Bible conference schedule shows David Jeremiah to speak Jan. 12th, GARBC pastor Russ Moir to speak January 13th, and a concert January 14th featuring CCM singer Steve Camp.

IFCA FROM MANY ANGLES LOOKS NEW EVANGELICAL—The Independent Fundamental Churches of America (IFCA) has increasingly softened its stance on separation in recent years. We have had a number of articles documenting this sad trend. IFCA National Exec. Dir. Dr. Richard Gregory is a regular speaker at Dr. John MacArthur's Master's Seminary, and MacArthur ads are in each issue of the IFCA's Voice magazine. IFCA Regional conferences often feature new-evangelical speakers. There have been recent ministry associations with Moody Bible Institute, Grand Rapids Baptist College/Seminary, Word of Life, Ed Dobson, Grace Seminary, etc. These and much more indicate a growing new-evangelical stance.

DOBSON CONFERENCES FEATURE ECUMENICALS—Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family is involved in sponsoring two upcoming conferences which feature ecumenical speakers. Speakers for the July International Congress on the Family include: William Bennett (Catholic), E.V. Hill, Adrian Rogers, Gary Smalley, Larry Crabb, Jill & Stuart Briscoe, Robert McGee, Frank Minirth, Paul Meier, and Dobson (1/95 Charisma). Focus on the Family's first Attorney's Conference (in March) features Dobson, Judge Robert Bork, Gary Bauer, Bill Bright, and Ron Blue as speakers (1/95 F.OnTheFam.). Dr. Adrian Rogers (SBC) and Don Hodel are new Focus board members.

NRB 95—The Calvary Contender has been approved for press credentials to cover the 52nd annual National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Feb. 11-14. This editor plans to attend as a member of the press and report back to our readers. American Council Executive Sec. Dr. Ralph Colas also will attend with press credentials and represent the ACCC. Speakers include: Luis Palau, Jack Hayford, Elisabeth Elliot, Adrian Rogers, and D. James Kennedy.

REPORTS AVAILABLE—BDM Letter Editor Rick Miesel has 160 reports available on such men and movements as: Graham, Falwell, Hybels, LaHaye, Swindoll, Schuller, Smalley, Stanley, Campolo, Hinn, Palau, Robison, GARBC, Campus Crusade, and Promise Keepers. These individual reports are available for $1.00 each, or a very extensive Computer Notebook of all 160 is available for $30.00. Rick's excellent BDM Letter paper is $5.00/yr. Write: Biblical Discernment Ministries, P.O. Box 6154, Bloomington, IN 47407.

FIGHT FOR THE FAITH!—Today we have books that tell us how we should fight, but they do not identify the enemy. Fight sweetly...in a Christian way...with the right motives, but fight! Those who emphasize that we should contend without being contentious may be correct, but they are usually the ones who do not contend at all. The FBF needs to avoid moving in two directions. On the one hand, there can be a move to the left. There are those who want a softened position. Strong resolutions bother them. They are always talking about what is wrong in fundamentalism. I remind us that years ago Vernon Grounds wrote a paper titled, "Correcting the Fundamentalist Corrective." His thesis was that as fundamentalism corrected liberalism, now fundamentalism itself needed to be corrected. Much of what he wrote in the paper had a good Biblical basis. But I remind you that Grounds moved into a new evangelical position....[Dr. James Singleton, 6/15/94 FBF Mtg.]

FIGHT FOR THE FAITH!—"Fight for the faith, Stay tender but strong, Keep looking up, it won't be long." [H. A. Heller, Ocala, Fla.]

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