ALABAMIANS FAVOR CREATION OVER EVOLUTION—A new poll has found that 61 percent of Alabama residents believe "God created humans in the present form at one time in the last 10,000 years or so." (3/20 H.Times). The state school board decided last month that evolution will not be treated as a fact, but as a theory (3/10 HT).

ABORTION'S 'DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS'—Abortion stops over 4,200 beating hearts every day. If permitted to live, the babies sacrificed since 1973 would comprise fully 12 percent of our entire population to this point. The history of the pro-abortion movement has been laced with many dirty little secrets. On Feb. 5, 1982, for example, the tiny remains of over 17,000 aborted babies were found in a storage bin in Los Angeles. The grisly discovery was traced to a large clinic that had saved, rather than incinerated, the "products of conception" that accumulated from several months' work. Names of the mothers were recorded on each jar. Charges against the clinic were dropped (3/95 J. Dobson ltr.). A similar development occurred in New York some years ago. There, aborted fetuses that weigh one pound or less are incinerated. Those weighing over one pound are buried at a city cemetery. We must not continue to allow "pro-choice" on child eradication. Plantation owners are not free to "choose" to have slaves.

FALWELL CUTS DEBT BY $31 MILLION—Dr. Jerry Falwell's debt-ridden Liberty University has reduced its debt by $31 million, thanks to two Lynchburg business-partner trustees who forgave the loans (4/3 C.Today). The debt had ballooned to $110 million in 1991 and threatened to close Liberty at various times in recent years. Current obligations now total $40 million.

UN TO BE SATAN'S ONE-WORLD GOVERNMENT?—The Bible says there will be an end-time one-world government headed up by the Antichrist. An empowered United Nations could possibly become the vehicle for this demonic "new world order." Satan is a usurper of power. The UN views itself as the source of "rights," and does not recognize the supremacy of God. But our U.S. system is based on the concept that rights come from God, and that the purpose of government is to protect God-given rights. (4/3 New Amer.). We are now losing some of our rights as we disarm and as we arm the UN. The danger: Empowering the UN to enforce world peace would also enable it to impose world tyranny. Beware!

CAMPOLO APOLOGIZES TO FALWELL—Dr. Jerry Falwell last year aired excerpts on his Old Time Gospel Hour from two videos which accused Pres. Clinton of misdeeds ranging from adultery to homicide cover-ups. Liberal Eastern College sociologist Tony Campolo demanded equal air time to defend his friend Bill Clinton. Falwell refused this, saying Clinton has free media time to respond if he wishes. But Campolo spokesman David Virtue said it is beneath the dignity of the President to "stoop down to take on some podunk preacher from Virginia." (3/6 CT). Campolo has now dismissed Virtue and apologized to Falwell for the remark (4/3 CT). Falwell has no plans to promote any more anti-Clinton tapes.

'MARCH FOR JESUS' CHARISMATIC/NEW AGE ORIGINS—Another "March for Jesus" takes place May 27. It has continued to gain popularity and support since the first march in 1987. Dr. Cathy Burns (212 E. 7th St., Mt. Carmel, PA 17851) has an informative six-page analysis of the roots of this event, taken mostly from a review of a book by Graham Kendrick and the other three founders of March for Jesus. They state: "We met on several occasions to pray about taking the praise and prayers of the Charismatic movement out onto the streets." Dr. Burns warns of the New Age, Dominionist, and rock music influences. She also has books and booklets on the occult/demonic/New Age roots of Alcoholics Anonymous, Eastern Star, Freemasonry, etc.

ACCC/WCBC MEETING—The executive committees of the American Council of Christian Churches and the World Council of Biblical Churches meet April 20 at Calvary Baptist Church, Huntsville, AL. ACCC V-P Dr. Richard Harris speaks at an April 19 service, and ACCC Pres. Dr. E. Allen Griffith speaks at the April 20 service. These evening services are open to the public. ACCC Exec. Secretary Ralph G. Colas and this editor attended the recent NRB and NAE conventions.

WIERSBE TO SPEAK AT GARBC MEETING—With all the controversy and compromise within the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in recent years, one might think that the last thing it now needed was to invite Dr. Warren Wiersbe from the new-evangelical orbit as its featured speaker at its 64th Annual Conference in Toledo in June. Though Wiersbe is a very affable and popular Bible teacher, he routinely pulpit-shares with ecumenicals and new-evangelicals. He spoke at the 1985 National Religious Broadcasters convention along with Billy Graham and a Roman Catholic. [The NRB is an arm of the NAE, and is laden with charismatics and ecumenicals.] He has served on the NRB Board, and is an "Advisory Editor" for the new-evangelical Christianity Today magazine. He and Luis Palau were main speakers at the 1991 NAE Convention, and Wiersbe more recently, has been a featured speaker at Billy Graham's "The Cove" training center in N.C. He was listed to speak there again March 20-23, 1995. His writings have revealed an affinity for favorably quoting liberals. Now, who could deny "New Evangelical" status to anyone with the above credentials?

GRBS PROF. DAVID TURNER DENIES HEAVENLY CITY?—David L. Turner, Professor of New Testament and Systematic Theology at GARBC-approved Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary, in Chapter 9 of a Zondervan book edited by Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock denies that the heavenly city in Revelation 21 is a literal city. Dr. Clay Nuttall--a GRBS grad, a former longtime member of GRBS's Board and of the GARBC's Council of 18, and whose historic church recently left the GARBC (see 12/15 CC)--has written a two-page critique of this chapter. It is available from him at: Central Baptist Church, P.O. Box 316, Hobart, IN 46342 (send offering for postage). Dr. Nuttall's critique is entitled, "Surprise!! There Is No Heavenly City." He quotes Turner: "Perhaps the absence of oysters large enough to produce such pearls (a gate of the city) and the absence of sufficient gold to pave such a city (viewed as literally 1,380 miles square and high) is viewed as sufficient reason not to take these images as fully literal." Dr. Nuttall says "The root of this liberal mindset is Reformed Theology." Turner's is apparently the same view that Michael Van Horn got in trouble and left the school over (12/1/92 CC). We invited Turner in a Jan. 31 letter to clarify his views but he did not reply to our letter.

CHURCHES CONTINUE TO LEAVE GARBC—In a March 13 letter Iowa Pastor William R. Allred, Sr., requested that his church's name be removed from General Association of Regular Baptist Churches rolls. His four-page letter cited several problems, such as the agencies endorsed and the conflict of interest in institution heads serving on the Council of 18. He stated in the concluding paragraph: "Sadly, I admit that it all comes down to the matter of separation, and that is why we feel we must leave. Too many of the men who lead our churches and our councils have long lost sight of what Biblical separation is. Therefore, the members of the Knoxville Regular Baptist Church feel we have no choice but to remove our name from the GARBC and the IARBC..." The vote was unanimous. Indiana and Michigan churches, and Pastor Russell Carnagey's Lackland Road Bapt. Church (Overland, Mo.), voted last year to exit the GARBC. [Send $5 for the book What Happened to the GARBC...? (by Drs. L. Duane Brown, Ralph G. Colas, Richard A. Harris, and Jack Keep) to Bethel Baptist Press, 754 E. Rockhill Rd., Sellersville, PA 18960].

VAN IMPE PRAISES POPE & CATHOLIC CATECHISM—Dr. Jack Van Impe has within the past year been effusive in his praise for Pope John Paul II, (see 4/15/94 CC) calling him "this great Pope," etc. He says: "We [RC's & JVI] agree on the great fundamentals of the faith, and said (12/ 94 tape): "....I've been reading the Catholic Catechism, 2,865 points, backed with 5,000 to 6,000 verses of Scripture. This is the Word of God. Of course there are some things where I don't agree. But I find many of these things in our Protestant churches as well. But this thing blessed my heart. This piece of literature, saturated with the precious Word of God." He misused Jn. 17:21 ("That they all may be one"), in similar fashion to ecumenicals. Rexella quoted Charles Colson from an 11/14 CT article where he quoted Dutch Calvinist Abraham Kuyper as saying Rome is not our enemy. Van Impe replied: "That great dialogue is going on now through Colson, through the Southern Baptist Convention numbering 18,000, and through Campus Crusade numbering millions, and I want to be part of what I believe the Bible teaches...Yes, we have so much in common..." This once great preacher is now, sadly, "deceiving and being deceived."

TIM LEE'S TARGET TO CEASE PUBLICATION—As bills continued to mount, and promised financing was not forthcoming, Dr. Tim Lee announced that the Feb-Mar-Apr issue of Target would be the last. Dr. Robert Sumner had merged his Biblical Evangelist paper with Target about two years ago. Lee stands strongly against social evils, but causes division within fundamentalism by his unscriptural and new-evangelical stance on separation which leads to "bridge-building" and ties to So. Baptists and other new-evangelicals. He distorts the position of those who warn of his error, derisively referring to them as "secondary" separatists, impugning their motives, and exaggerating his loss of "freedom" (see 12/1 CC). He thus gives a false picture of the debate and the real issues involved, much the same as Jack Van Impe did almost two decades ago when he defected from fundamentalism.

FOCUS ON STUART & JILL BRISCOE—Stuart Briscoe is pastor of the 3,000-member Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wis. Over 6,000 attend services each week. Ministries include Promise Keepers, counseling, sports, and CCM concerts (3/95 Exclusively Yours). He defines an evangelical as someone who has had "some type of conversion experience--although that can be defined very differently by different people, from a major turning point in life to a simple baptism." Jill Briscoe is on the board of Christianity Today and of World Relief (NAE). Both Briscoes spoke at NAE '92. She was a 1985 Moody Founder's Week speaker, and was women's prayer chairman for a 1979 Billy Graham Crusade involving Catholics. Elmbrook Church ordains women and has several women among its 20 full-time pastors. [Send $2 for Rick Miesel's report on the Briscoe's (& request list of other reports) to: BDM, P.O. Box 6154, Bloomington, IN 47404.]

PANNENBERG'S LIBERALISM—In Volume 2 of Lutheran theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg's Systematic Theology, he "will not accept the historicity of the virgin birth of Christ" and is unwilling to describe the death of Christ as a "propitiation of a holy and wrathful God." (4/3 Chr.Today). He does not acknowledge the personality of the Holy Spirit, and accepts evolutionary assumptions (11/4/88 CT). He repudiates biblical infallibility (11/5/76 CT) and advocates a radical criticism and a theology based on reason.

MARK NOLL: EVANGELICAL, OR ECUMENICAL LIBERAL?—Mark Noll, as a Wheaton College professor and contributing editor of Christianity Today, has solid new-evangelical ties. A three-page 6/88 Moody article praised him as an evangelical. But some of his statements sound rather ecumenical/liberal. He says: "If a card-carrying evangelical can take a new look at a Roman Catholic, then maybe an evangelical can take a new look at someone who works for the National Council of Churches." (5/15/89 CC). And, "I'm just immensely encouraged whenever I study Thomas Aquinas or...Soren Kierkegaard, etc., who are not hindered by Christian allegiance but are liberated to their greatest work by Christian allegiance." Carl F.H. Henry in critiquing Noll's recent book says, "He sells inerrancy down the river." (3/18 World). Noll says it's a tragedy that modern evangelicals have failed as intellectuals (4/95 Phelps). He confusingly says that evangelical scholarship has been damaged rather than helped by the investigations of Henry Morris and other creation scientists. Noll was one of the forty signers of the 1994 "Evangelicals and Catholics Together" document.

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