VOL. XVII  NO. 2    NEWS & VIEWS, NOTES & QUOTES, TO WARN & INFORM    January 15, 1999

PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION NEVER A NECESSITY - Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop asserted during a recent PBS interview that Pres. Clinton had been "badly misled" when he claimed that partial-birth abortion saves both women's lives and their fertility (1/4 New Amer.). "It never saves a mother's life," Koop declared, "and it may very well endanger her fertility." 

THE PRINCE OF EGYPT MOVIE - The new animated film on the life of Moses, The Prince of Egypt, was made with input from evangelicals, Jews, and Muslims. The filmmaker, DreamWorks, in taking care not to offend these religious groups, took liberties with the Biblical account. It pressured an evangelical publisher, working on a children's book tie-in, to eliminate references to God as "he" and some references to God as "Lord." (12/98 What In The World!) To meet politically correct feminist criteria for an acceptable god, it has YHWH saying, "...I am the God of your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of Sara, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah." (12/98 Media Spotlight) A Jewish rabbi says: "In terms of animation, it's very good. But it's hokey. God is reduced to a flicker of light. You have this sort of universalization..." (12/27 Morn.Call) But Graham, Dobson, and Falwell, were consulted and praise it.

MUSLIM CHAPLAINS - Islam is making inroads into our military chaplaincy program. Currently, there are two Muslim chaplains in the Army, one in the Navy and one in the Air Force - and a total of eight Muslim chaplain candidates in all the U.S. armed forces [12/23 Soundings]. Islam's god is not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [see 2/1/91 & 5/1/92 CCs]. Muslims deny His deity. The Pope and others say we worship the same God.

WISDOM FROM BORK - Judge Robert Bork (1/99 Charisma) says: "I am not a religious man, but America is now in moral anarchy! I do not believe it even can survive without a sweeping spiritual revival." In his 1997 best-selling book, Slouching Toward Gomorrah, he cited religious liberalism as a major cause for the virtual decline of decency, integrity, and traditional morality in many sectors of American life (4/15/97 CC).

CHRISTIANS FORCED TO ACCEPT SODOMY? - Christian employees must accept homosexuality or face demotion - even termination - at a growing number of corporations and government agencies. AT&T, IBM, and DuPont (and Depts. of Justice and Commerce) now routinely conduct diversity-training programs that promote homosexual rights (11/98 What In The World!). The 11/98 Focus on the Family cited another example.

NCC, YOUNG FIND NO PERSECUTION IN CHINA - The National Council of Churches is moving closer to declaring officially that Jesus Christ is not the only way to heaven. NCC member denominations no longer insist that Christianity is the only saving faith (11/23 C..News). Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Andrew Young, takes over as NCC president this year. He once said South African leader and reputed communist Nelson Mandela is "as close to being a saint as can be." (2/1/87 CC) Young led a NCC delegation to China in October, and, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, he found "no evidence of excessive punitive treatment of Christians that we would use the word 'persecution' to describe." (1/99 Nat'l Lib. Journal) The very week he delivered his report to the NCC General Assembly in Chicago, the AP reported that the Chinese had beaten and arrested over 140 underground church members. 

CATHOLICS RESTRICT CHRISTIANS IN BOLIVIA - Official state Catholicism limits other religions, including evangelicalism, in Bolivia. It forces citizens of other faiths to pay taxes that support a church they do not attend. Supreme Resolution 200282 obligates non-Catholic churches to submit to the government their membership rosters and members' identification card numbers (12/24 Ala. Bapt.). The resolution also requires evangelical churches to request government permission for the collection of public offerings. As a result of legal and lobbying efforts to throw out this resolution, the general director of worship was prompted to suspend it and has opened the possibility of modifying it. 

FROM ABORTION TO INFANT HOMICIDE - In a partial-birth abortion, the abortionist begins delivery of a live unborn child feet-first, all the way up to the neck. Then he punctures the base of the skull with scissors (e.g.) and inserts a catheter to suck out the brain and collapse the skull. Then he finishes delivery of the dead child. Now 28 states have passed laws banning killing children in the birth canal but federal courts have shot down some of these (11/21 World). If a baby can be killed in the womb, or while being born, then why can't that same baby be killed after birth? (12/21 New Am.). Scary!

ST. PATRICK A BAPTIST - A new book titled - The Real Saint Patrick says he was a Baptist. This 40-page booklet combines two articles by H.A. Ironside and J.S. Wimbish, with an introduction by Pastor James Barker, and sets forth a case that this "Patron Saint of Ireland" was not Irish, was not a Roman Catholic, but was a Baptist missionary. Order from Pastor Barker at: 565 Park Ave., Cedarhurst, NY 11516, $3 postpaid. 

ETS MET IN FLORIDA - The Evangelical Theological Society met in Orlando, Nov. 19-21, for its 50th Annual Meeting. Speakers included J.I. Packer, Norman Geisler, "Father" Francis Martin (Catholic), Roger Nicole, D.A. Carson, Harold O.J. Brown, Robert Godfrey, John Piper, Luther Whitlock, John Warwick Montgomery, James Beverley, and Frank Beckwith (12/21 Christian News). The ecumenical ECT (Evangelicals & Catholics Together) and The Gift of Salvation (see 1/1/98 CC) statements were discussed. Packer and Martin were co-authors of the latter, and Packer is said to identify entirely with the ECT process. ETS said "no" to homosexual practice and also to slander of evangelicals for taking a stand on the issue. This seems in contrast to 1988 and 1992 ETS meetings which featured pro-homosexuality lectures by Latin American Mission author Thomas Hanks (see 1/1/96 CC). Papers were presented on Mormonism and Moonism. [The Adventist Theol. Society apparently met concurrently with the 1995 ETS meeting.] Carson observed that some Bible colleges like Moody are expanding to include a seminary program and mega-churches like Jack Hayford's are starting their own seminaries. ETS has grown to 2,500 members with 1,296 attending this meeting.

WHO IS THEODORE LETIS? - We noted in our 12/1 CC article that Dr. Theodore Letis, a textual expert used on Pensacola Christian College videotapes, was laden with new-evangelical baggage from what we had read. We based this on reports by David Cloud, the Ohio Bible Fellowship and others. After being questioned on this, we have looked further. Letis is listed as a speaker for a Jan. 19-22 Symposia at Concordia Theological Seminary at Fort Wayne, Ind. This Lutheran symposia also features Dr. Moises Silva (a professor at new-evangelical Gordon-Conwell Seminary) and an organist from Notre Dame. Dr. Letis, by his associations (e.g., with Catholics, per a fundamentalist leader) and his own words, is not a fundamentalist. In a 1997 book, he identified himself as a confessional Lutheran who is "outside of American fundamentalism," is in agreement with "those free from the modern dogma of belief in 'inerrant autographs,'" and is particularly critical of independent-separatist Baptists. Dr. Don Jasmin says Letis has identified himself at various times as a charismatic, a United Methodist, a Baptist, and is now a practicing member of a LCMS church. The LCMS is a mixed bag - most of its high schools teach evolution; it has liberal, modernist, feminist, and conservative clergy, similar to the SBC.

NOTABLE NOTES & QUOTES - "The Episcopal Church is so nice; it is almost as good as having no religion at all." [Convert from Anglicanism -- 1/99 C.E.C. Jrnl.] *** Christians killed in Russia under communist rule: "Untold millions were martyred, and 90 percent of all churches were destroyed." [1/99 Charisma] *** Former SBC president Tom Elliff and Henry Blackaby are featured speakers at Life Action's 1999 "Spirit of Revival Ministers Gathering" [11-12/98 Fund. Digest] *** Susan Perlman has been elected president of the board of the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association. She is associate executive director of Jews for Jesus [1/99 Moody]. IFMA and JFJ have new-evangelical ties. *** There are more than 400,000 spiritist mediums in Brazil and 14,000 spiritist centers, some of which offer a form of surgery performed by witches. *** Jim Bakker and new bride work with drug addicts and "broken people." In a new book, he criticizes the prosperity message he preached for years at PTL. [1/99 Charisma]. *** NAE's recent president Don Argue was listed, along with Pat Robertson and Robert Schuller, as a keynote speaker for Jerusalem 2000, an "event of the millennium." [10/26 CT]

F. GRAHAM, HYBELS AT MOODY - Moody Bible Institute's Founder's Week in Chicago, Feb. 1-6, features as speakers Tony Evans, Franklin Graham, Bill Hybels, Luis Palau, Jan Silvious, Ravi Zacharias, and MBI Pres. Joseph Stowell. A Nov. 4, 1997 e-mail from Andy Neckar stated: "Alas, there is a different Moody today. No declaration was ever made saying, 'We have left fundamentalism and are now in the new-evangelical camp.' By a quiet progression, the change was made. I recall hearing a former Moody president declare that the school would not support the Graham Crusade in Chicago because of its ecumenism. However, at its 100th anniversary celebration in 1986, Billy Graham was the featured speaker. The favor was returned the following July when Moody's president, Dr. George Sweeting, gave a major address at Graham's Amsterdam '86 conference."

'I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT' - We regularly receive letters expressing disapproval of our exposing ungodliness in the professing church. We're accused of sowing discord among brethren, of being unloving - or hateful - and are exhorted to concentrate on positive issues.... Evidently it disturbs many Christians to think that evil is in their midst. But it is, and there are plenty of books and periodicals already available giving a feel-good, positive perspective....Just peruse the shelves of any "Christian" bookstore and you'll see that 98% of the books are inspirational, educational or technical (Bible study aids, etc.), instructional on living (how to pray, raise family, etc.), and even heretical or dangerously, doctrinally aberrant. You could carry in one arm those that expose the unfruitful works of darkness within the church.... Satan doesn't mind if we Christians feel good about ourselves in our moral lifestyle and church attendance, comparing ourselves with the lost.... [Adapted from 1992 Media Spotlight via BDM] Many today are like those in Isa. 30:10 who said, "...speak unto us smooth things... deceits." They don't wanna hear truth and sound doctrine.

LOVE AND TRUTH - The real joy of Biblical Christianity is the balance of love and truth, "...speaking the truth in love..." (Eph. 4:5). Truth always proceeds love and is the basis for love. Biblical Christianity is "truth in love." One can not be Biblical and have truth only, nor can one have love only. Love is a motive. It may be more difficult to observe. Let us be careful when we say another is not loving. Acting in an ugly and hateful manner is a lack of love. But to say that someone is unloving because they present truth misses the mark completely. In fact, one can not be loving if they do not present truth. We resent truth-tellers when they present facts that stand contrary to the way we believe and live. [Shepherds Staff, Dr. Clay Nuttall, editor, Director of Project 21, Piedmont Bible College]

C.S. LEWIS PAPER - Nov. 29 marked the centennial of the birth of C.S. Lewis. Many evangelicals rate him the most influential writer. We have run over a dozen articles warning of Lewis. Pastor John Helgerson has compiled a 32-page paper listing serious errors that permeate Lewis' writings. Warning: The paper has a page of profanities found in Lewis' books. Order from: Church of the Open Bible, Winn & Wyman Sts., Burlington, MA 01803. 

KIM MILLER & CONCERNED CHRISTIANS CULT - The Concerned Christians cult, which counts only several dozen members, began selling their homes around Denver last fall. Their leader, Monte Kim Miller, believes he will die in Jerusalem next Dec. and be resurrected (1/4 HT). Some members were arrested and expelled from Israel in Jan. The new Media Spotlight (P.O. Box 290, Redmond, WA 98073) has a 5-page report on this doomsday cult.

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