VOL. XII  NO. 5   NEWS & VIEWS, NOTES & QUOTES, TO WARN & INFORM   March 1, 1995

OGILVIE IS NEW SENATE CHAPLAIN—Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie, a prominent Presbyterian minister and religious broadcaster was confirmed Jan. 24 to the $115,700 Senate Chaplain post. His First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood is a member of the liberal Presbyterian Church (USA), which is part of the apostate NCC/WCC. Ogilvie has promoted Fuller Seminary and is very ecumenical. The May-June'86 Foundation says: "Ogilvie is one of the chief promoters among evangelicals of a Satanic brainwashing technique often called Sensitivity Training [see 2/15 CC] or Relational Therapy, the results of which lead believers to 'gracefully accept' rather than 'scripturally oppose' evil and evil-workers."

JESSE JACKSON & COMMUNISM—"Rev." Jesse Jackson has clearly repudiated historic Christianity, and his Christ is not the Christ of the Bible (10/1/85 CC). His speech at the 1992 Democrat convention was further proof of this (9/7/92 C.News). Yet he spoke at a worship service in Dr. Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church Sept. 1, 1985. Jackson's record of deceit, extortion, racism, and collaboration with terrorists and communists has long been established. (4/88 Conserv.Digest). We now see in the 2/95 AFA Journal that his political organization, the National Rainbow Coalition, has named '60s radical Angela Davis as its new executive director. Davis served on the Communist Party, USA's Central Committee, and ran for v-p of the U.S. on the Communist Party ticket in 1984.

HOW TO DESTROY CHURCHES—After seizing power in Russia, the Bolsheviks [Communists] discovered that the only way to destroy Christian churches is to infiltrate them so that they will be destroyed gradually, by church people themselves. Reinterpret Scriptures to remove the deity of Christ and convert Him into a socialist. Distort biblical sermons on charity to prove that government should confiscate property and enforce economic equality. Strain spiritual content out of Scriptures, and religion's hold upon the people can be broken. God then becomes some kind of vague universal force: Jesus becomes merely a great man--a teacher, philosopher, social reformer. (12/26 New Amer.). Such churches pose no obstacle in the path of the socialist revolution, but indeed can become useful instruments for promoting it.

UPCOMING NAE CONVENTION SPEAKERS—Speakers for the March 5-7 National Assoc. of Evangelicals Annual Convention in Louisville include: Jack Hayford, Wheaton College Pres. Duane Litfin, Morris Chapman, David Breese, and Elmer Towns.

NRB, CONTEMPORARY MUSIC TRENDS—John Styll led a seminar on "The State of Christian Music Today" at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville last month. He is president of CCM Communications which publishes CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) magazine. Many in the room were "Christian Radio" station and recording/publishing executives. Styll said: Most major record labels in recent years have been sold to secular companies, and "higher visibility" is a benefit of this shift to mainstream ownership; all that CCM brings to the mainstream market is lyrics; there's an over-emphasis on image; "cross-over" (e.g., as Amy Grant did) is now basically a non-issue; 250 stations now carry CCM as the primary format; 80% of all Christian music is sold in Christian stores; CCM is essentially a commercial enterprise; the "bottom line" is not ministry, but the "bottom line"; product-flooding is a concern, and the trend is toward fewer but better products. A comment by an "old-fashioned" Arkansas man that "music today is 'noise,' and is like the old 'African jungle' music" brought a few under-the-breath "boos". Styll's response was that the CCM ["religious rock"] phenomenon is a "generation" thing, that we have to reach kids today in the language of the culture, etc. We grieve to see the inroads watered-down worldly CCM and charismatic rock music are making in even some fundamental churches today.

IS MUSIC NEUTRAL?—Pastor Dan Sweatt answered this question thusly in the Sept./Oct. 1991 Frontline: "The whole premise of using secular music as a vehicle to carry a sacred text is based on the erroneous assumption that music itself is neutral. The only people in the history of music that have promoted that idea are twentieth-century Christian apologists for CCM. No secular musician or music historian of any age has ever believed that music is neutral. Every generation except this one has realized the power and influence of music without or apart from the words...." Combining good Christian lyrics with the adversary's music doesn't sanctify the evil--it defiles the good.

HOMOSEXUAL MAGAZINE'S UGLY ATTACK ON CHRIST—The front cover of the 12/13 The Advocate, asks, "Is God Gay?" and depicts Christ in garish colors as a homosexual, with sexual devices around his neck and obscene body-part imagery around and on Him (2/6 C.News). Inside this largest and most respected homosexual magazine is an even more obscene picture. This reveals the basis of homosexual activism: hatred of social norms and of God's moral law, and hatred of God Himself.

BRIEF REPORT ON NRB '95—This editor attended (with Press credentials) most of the National Religious Broadcasters 52nd annual convention at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville last month, as also did Ralph Colas, Jim Fields, and Morris McDonald. Dr. Colas attended an extra day and plans to have an in-depth report soon. Prior to the CC editor's arrival (Sun., Feb. 12) NRB conveners attended the Fri. night Grand Ole Opry Show, then heard Dr. Adrian Rogers speak on Sat. night. Sun. night, Bill Gaither hosted a "Praise Celebration" of contemporary, "religious rock," and Southern Gospel music--much accompanied by drums, guitars, and hand-clapping. Featured singers for other events included Steve Green, Michael W. Smith, Ricky Skaggs, Mark Lowry, and Sharalee Swanson. The Ralph Carmichael Band performed at the Anniversary Banquet. Other featured speakers were ecumenicals such as Luis Palau, Jack Hayford (a charismatic), Elisabeth Elliot, and D. James Kennedy. Other participants included: MBI Chancellor George Sweeting, Kay Arthur, Charles Stanley, Richard Lee, and Bill Bright. The American Bible Society's and Thomas Nelson Publishers' unreliable Contemporary English Version was promoted. NRB Pres. Brandt Gustavson, at a news conference led by him and NRB Chairman Robert Straton, said attendance this year was 4,218, over 500 higher than last year. Next year's annual meeting is at Indianapolis.

GARBC SCHOOLS LINK WITH ECUMENICALS—In the Dec. 1 CC, we noted how ecumenical Habitat For Humanity is and how GARBC-approved Cedarville College had collaborated with it and had invited ecumenical speakers to its campus. Since then, the 1/95 Baptist Bulletin reported that Tony Evans was to speak at Cedarville Jan. 5-6. The 1/95 BB also said of Cornerstone College (Grand Rapids), another GARBC-approved school: "Alpha Chi, a national honor scholarship society comprised of undergraduate students in the upper ten percentile of their class, sponsored Angel Tree children during the Christmas season. Angel Tree is a ministry of Prison Fellowship...." What is not said here is that Angel Tree is led by CCM singer Steven Curtis Chapman who embraces "high energy rock" and blends country, pop, jazz, and soul music with elements of rap (11/15 CC). He is linked with pro-Catholic ecumenical Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship, and appears in concerts with other ecumenicals such as Tony Campolo and Josh McDowell.

NEVER, NO NEVER, BE NEGATIVE?—Those who accuse us of being negative are by the very accusation being negative toward us. What about the eight "don'ts" in the Decalogue, the seventeen in the Sermon on the Mount, and that about half of Jesus' parables end on a negative, not positive, note? If a "positive" doctor discovered that a patient had AIDS, should he say: "Don't worry about your health. Your weight, temperature, pulse, and blood pressure are normal. You're sleeping well and have a good appetite, so continue as you are." We think the TRUTH is more compassionate, even if it is in the form of a negative warning, and not what the patient wanted to hear. Consider the example of a chicken farmer: "The thief who wants to rob my chicken house may accuse me of being pugnacious and belligerent when he sees me polishing my shotgun and tying my bulldog to the latch on the chicken house door each night. But it is actually his past practices and present intentions that force a peace-loving citizen like me to take some measures to protect my property..."(10/94 BB). We must speak the truth in love and warn of those who compromise it.

AMERICAN BAPTIST MEETING FEATURES TUTU, CAMPOLO—The biennial meeting of American Baptist Churches is June 20-23, in Syracuse, NY. Plenary speakers include: South African "Marxist" Archbishop Desmond Tutu, "socialist" sociologist Anthony Campolo, and Samuel Escobar. So. Baptist liberal Dr. Russell Dilday, former president of the SBC's Southwestern Seminary, is a luncheon speaker. Tutu in 1986 said, "I think the West, for my part, can go to Hell." Some of Campolo's teachings have been termed "heretical." The liberal ABC is a member of the World Council of Churches and has sunk deep into apostasy. It tolerates radical feminists who refer to God as "Mother," "her," etc. (see 1/1/94 CC).

GARBC'S WESTERN BAPTIST COLLEGE COZY WITH CBA—In a 12/94 "Dear Pastor and Friends" (presumably CBA) letter, GARBC-related Western Baptist College (Salem, OR) President David Miller said: "...We are thankful for our record enrollment of nearly 600 students...Students from Conservative Baptist Churches continue to comprise our largest student group on campus. CBA influence can be seen among the members of our trustees as well as those invited to speak in chapel. Dennis Baker spoke for us last year. Pastors Warren Fleischmann and Gene Selander [from Portland], [and] several youth pastors like Luke Hendrix and Mike Kildal are scheduled to speak this year. We trust our people are an encouragement to you as our faculty and staff can be found in the Salem churches of First Baptist, Grace Baptist, West Salem Baptist, Rolling Hills Baptist, as well as Bethel Baptist, Aumsville, Scio Baptist, Jefferson Baptist, and Lebanon Conservative Baptist Church. I have enjoyed speaking in many area CBA churches and I especially enjoyed hosting a breakfast at the regional meetings in Eugene last year...." Such involvement with the new-evangelical CBA was a main reason many fundamentalist pastors and churches left the GARBC a few years ago to form the IBF/NA (Ind. Baptist Fellowship of No. America). The CBA is a member of the middle-of-the-road National Association of Evangelicals.

QUAKER THEOLOGIAN TRUEBLOOD DIES—Eighth-generation Quaker D. Elton Trueblood died Dec. 20 at age 94. He founded the Yokefellow movement in 1952 after becoming a philosophy professor at Earlham College, a Quaker school in Indiana. Throughout his life, he remained faithful to such Quaker tenets as the "Inner Light," pacificism, and civil rights (2/6 Chr.Today). New evangelicals promoted modernist Trueblood, although he denied inerrancy, praised the World Council of Churches and Mohammed, and said Marxian ideology is rooted in the Bible(4/1/91 CC).

VAN IMPE'S COMPROMISE WITH CATHOLICISM—Dr. Ken Johnson says Dr. Jack Van Impe is now selling a video tape of some one hour and forty minutes "filled with definitions of the 'Five Fundamentals' which embraces the doctrine of Pope John Paul II and Catholicism..." (1/95 Plains Bapt.Challenger). Johnson's PBC article is entitled, "JVI--Master of Memory; Minister Of Compromise" and is being printed in tract form. It will be Tract #G-604 and available from: Tabernacle Baptist Church, P.O. Box 3100, Lubbock, TX 79452 (8 copies for $2.50, postpaid).

IF LOVE SHEEP, WARN OF WOLVES—Some say we ought to preach the truth and not attack error, not warn of "wolves in sheep's clothing." It is popular today for shepherds to love and praise disguised wolves. But, when the shepherd speaks well of the wolf, the sheep are in trouble!

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