VOL. XV  NO. 15  NEWS & VIEWS, NOTES & QUOTES, TO WARN & INFORM   August 1, 1998

CYBER PATROL BLOCKS WRONG ONES—Internet filter company Cyber Patrol won't block the Web sites of homosexual activist groups but are blocking Don Wildmon's American Family Association's Web site because of the "intolerance" of AFA's pro-family stand on homosexuality (6/98 Wash. Watch). The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a militant pro-homosexual group, is a charter member of Cyber Patrol's oversight committee!

ROE BECOMES CATHOLIC—Norma McCorvey, former pro-abortion plaintiff "Jane Roe," converted to Christianity in 1995 but in June said she will convert to Catholicism.

EVOLUTIONISTS' INTELLECTUAL IGNORANCE—An 8-page article in the 7/20 U.S. News titled "What Came Before Creation?" presents a wide range of evolutionary speculation. "Inflation" is the hottest new pre-big-bang theory, with the idea that multiple new universes come into existence constantly - and will for all time. Experts think they can understand (from fossils, helium, etc.) what happened after the first millisecond of creation but are perplexed at what happened one second before a big bang! Allan Sandage, one of the world's leading astronomers, said that contemplating the majesty of the big bang helped make him a believer in God, willing to accept that creation could only be explained as a "miracle." It is admitted in a concluding section of the article that "If nothing else, the theological idea of creation ex nihilo - out of nothing - is looking better all the time as "inflation" theories increasingly suggest the universe emerged from no tangible source. Evolution is an absurd "everything from nothing" hoax/religion by men who profess to be wise intellectuals (Rom. 1:22) but who are "willingly ignorant" (2Pet. 3:5) moronic rejectors of God's creation account.

PREVENTION IS BEST WAY TO FIGHT AIDS—HIV cases among African-Americans represented 57 percent of all HIV cases over the 2 1/2 years that ended June 1997. The 7/13 U.S. News says the marketing and availability of condoms, HIV testing and counseling, STD services, needle exchanges, and peer programs prove that one of the best ways of attacking AIDS is prevention, as shown by the gay community's success in curbing the spread of HIV in the early '90s. Though AIDS is largely caused by the homosexual sinful lifestyle, and thus largely preventable, our president bragged last Nov. at a fund-raising dinner for a homosexual activist group that his administration had allocated more money for AIDS research than to breast or prostate cancer combined (6/98 Dobson ltr). CDC figures for the five deadliest diseases show that AIDS/HIV received over three times as much federal money per death (1994) than all the other four (diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and stroke).

COMMUNIST CHINA RESTRICTS RELIGION—The Chinese government places boundaries on religion at every point: 1) Worship places must be registered, which normally entails joining one of five officially recognized religious associations. 2) Publication of Bibles and religious materials must be state approved. 3) Admission to seminaries or other religious training for registered church pastors or lay leaders requires permission of local authorities. 4) Believers may be required to provide identification on receipts when purchasing Bibles at a registered church. 5) Communist party members are prohibited from expressing religious beliefs, so only atheists are allowed to head government offices that regulate religion. 6) Government officials determine which religious beliefs are heretical, and thus illegal. 7) No religious group outside China is permitted to have control over any Chinese religious body or religious affairs, or to establish an independent operation (7/13 Chr. Today). At any time, the Communist government can come in and require a church to register.

MICHAEL W. SMITH THINKS JESUS WOULD BE AT BARS- CCM singer Michael W. Smith says he appreciates many different kinds of music (Beatles, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, e.g.) and owns the Rocketown "teen dance club-outreach haven" in Franklin, TN. The music at the club isn't all Christian. He defends his approach to teen outreach, saying: "If Jesus were here today physically, I'm not really sure He'd be in the churches. He'd be hanging out at the bars, with the desperate and lonely. And I don't think He'd be going in and preaching - I think He'd be going in and befriending people." (5/98 CCM via BJU's What In The World)

POPE ACCEPTS THEISTIC EVOLUTION—The Roman Catholic Church no longer accepts the historicity of the Genesis account of creation. The new Catechism of the Catholic Church, which the Pope has recommended, accepts some of the destructive theories of liberal Bible critics (6/8/98 Christian News). The Pope has long accepted theistic evolution but says it is secondary to divine action.

CAMPUS CRUSADE 'SIGNS & WONDERS'—Recent newsletters from Campus Crusade report that "God is still performing signs and wonders" through their evangelistic film "JESUS." The July letter tells of a 16-year-old girl in India who died for several hours and was about to be buried, miraculously "like Lazarus before her, came back to life." She claimed to have gone to the place of the dead, but said God told her to come back for seven days. The letter says that after seven days she died. It says this and other "miracles" passed the three tests for miracles listed in Dr. Adrian Rogers' book on the subject. Campus Crusade is building a $48 million World Center in Orlando.

THOMPSON CALLED CC A SCANDAL SHEET—Dr. Milo Thompson, President of the GARBC-approved Baptist Bible College & Seminary (Pa.), spoke at the recent GARBC annual conference, and said: "...In the past I have seen some of these scandal sheets that come around, Christian tabloids. But over time I got to the place where I felt like when I read one of those, whether it's the Calvary Contender or some other one that I feel like I need to take a bath. I have been named in some of those, and our school. Never has one of them ever called me to say 'Is this true, how do you respond to this?'..." First of all, I don't believe the CC has ever "named" Dr. Thompson, unless it was to report him becoming the new BBC&S president, or some such. Secondly, he seems to violate his own complaint. He did not check with me for a "response" before stating/implying my "guilt" to the whole GARBC gathering (and tape distribution). Thirdly, the compromise being reported should make us feel more in need of a "bath" than the reporting of it. There are none so blind as those who DON'T WANT to see! Fourthly, yes indeed, the CC is a "scandal sheet" in the sense that it reports/exposes "scandals" that God's people need to be informed of to avoid deception. One of the most shameful scandals of our day is the massive defection of "fundamentalists" into the new-evangelical orbit. Some GARBC and approved agency/school leaders in recent years fellowship in ministry and pulpit-share with ecumenicals and their fellow travelers. This kind of compromise is one of the late 20th century's greatest "scandals." With God's enablement we shall continue to stand for truth and report manifestations of these "scandals," even when faced with ad hominem derision.

GARBC MEETING—We did not attend the recent General Association of Regular Baptist Churches' annual meeting in Lancaster, Pa. However, we have received reports from some who did. Only one was overall positive. Others expressed concern primarily about the youth speaker's message, the music, the dress, and worldliness. The music was termed as "more country- western-contemporary than traditional," "pop-rock christian," etc. The casual dress (no coat/tie) of some on the platform was said to be more like that at a Promise Keepers meeting than at past GARBC meetings. National Rep Dr. John Greening recommends dropping the approval system. BBC&S Pres. Dr. Milo Thompson, a seminar speaker, favors not making music, coat-and-tie for pulpit speakers, and whether to have a Sunday night church service, a test of fellowship. His remarks on these things were similar to those made by modern "designer," "user friendly," church growth advocates. Over twice as many churches left the GARBC in the past year than came in (18 vs. 8). Sadly, we see no evidence that the GARBC is returning to its separatist roots. Some newly elected to the Council of Eighteen can hardly be termed "separatists."

TOZER ON TOLERANCE—The fashion now is to tolerate anything lest we gain a reputation of being intolerant. The tender-minded saints cannot bear to see Agag slain (1Sam. 15), so they choose rather to sacrifice the health of the Church for years to come by sparing error and evil; and this they do in the name of Christian love. We are under obligation to disturb all seats of wickedness, and where this is done out of sincere love for God and men, great good [will] follow. No true work of God will suffer from the prayerful examination of Spirit-filled men. Timidity masquerading as love has allowed useless forms and unscriptural practices to persist in many a church till they have slowly smothered the life out of it and brought it to desolation. We must not be afraid to inquire...in a Christian spirit. It is hard to find fault without being a faultfinder ....But we have it to do if we hope to keep the work of God pure in a day of iniquity. [A.W. Tozer, 7/98 Berean Call].

FULLER REJECTS INERRANCY—Fuller Seminary at one time defended the inerrancy of God's Word. After it rejected this doctrine, it began promoting the charismatic movement (6/29 Chr. News). It now strongly supports women pastors and the ordination of women.

FALWELL JOINED SBC IN 1996—The Baptist Banner is the official organ for Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV), Dr. Jerry Falwell's home state. The June-July issue reports: "Falwell first became affiliated with Southern Baptists in 1996 when his church gave $1,000 to the SBCV. Fifty percent of that contribution went to the SBC and made the church a cooperating Southern Baptist congregation." Falwell has seemed less than forthcoming about just when he joined the Convention by saying at the time of his 1996 contribution that he did not consider himself a So. Baptist. He and messengers from his church attended the 6/98 Salt Lake City SBC meeting.

ECUMENICAL DOUBLESPEAK—The World Lutheran Federation Council unanimously approved a proposed "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" at its recent annual meeting in Geneva. (7/4 Dallas Morn. News). However, a day later, high-level Vatican officials praised the document but offered several pages of "clarifications" that included this sentence: "We can therefore say that eternal life is, at one and the same time, grace and the reward given by God for good works and merits."

CATHOLICS, EVANGELICALS, & EVOLUTION—The 7/6 Christian News includes quotations from Dave Hunt's recent book on the occult which show that the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, Christianity Today, Billy Graham, Promise Keepers and many other church groups now go along with evolution. Hardly any today defend a six-day creation. Even such an evangelical as James Dobson has been promoting the works of Hugh Ross who leaves the door wide open for theistic evolution.

PCA: CREATION DAYS, WOMEN IN COMBAT—The fast growing Presbyterian Church in America is the nation's second largest Presbyterian denomination. It began in 1973 as a split from the liberal Presbyterian Church in the U.S., and joined the NAE in 1986. It set up a study committee, at its annual meeting last month, on the role of women in the military and to determine if the creation story consisted of six literal 24-hour days. It elected a new stated clerk for the first time in ten years.

FALSE RELIGIONS IN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH—Huntsville's Interfaith Mission Service last month presented a program on "Sacred Sounds" in Faith Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) at its monthly meeting. (7/11 Huntsville Times). Representatives of several faiths, including Baha'i, Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic and three "Christian" denominations made up a panel which addressed the role sound plays in their style of worship.

NEW PUBLICATIONS ON PCUSA, GRAHAM—The liberal Presbyterian Church (USA) has lost over a third of its membership in the last 15 years and now numbers 2.6 million. Brad Gsell covered its 210th General Assembly in Charlotte, June 13-20. He has an 8-page report (send offering), and has also updated his Legacy of Billy Graham book. Order the new revised edition (7 extra pages) from: Fundamental Presbyterian Publications, P. O. Box 26164, Charlotte, NC 28221, $4.75 postpaid.

THE BAPTIST CHALLENGE'S FINAL ISSUE—The May issue of The Baptist Challenge was its final one. We have quoted from it, and it has featured many of our articles for well over a decade. We commend Editor M. L. Moser for a job well done, and for his discernment.

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