October/November 2001

Dear ones,

Autumn is approaching, the air is cooling, and each new day is a gift to be treasured. Every time the Sun rises on a new day, we should thank God for allowing us to live to see it, and ask Him to help us make the most of it. We have much to share; read on.

THE FALL RETREAT
Don't forget the Fall Retreat, 12-14 October, again at Kentucky Dam Village State Park. Steve and Pam English, missionaries to Guatemala, will be with us, as will Dr. & Mrs Jeff McKenney, missionaries to Honduras. For information see the Retreat panel in the Aug/Sept Good Word, or call Marty (270-965-2174), or the office.

THE 11 SEPTEMBER SLAUGHTER
The unprecedented murder of thouisands of innocent Americans on 11 September is being called the "Pearl Harbor of the 21st Century." That is not a bad metaphor; I remember well how Pearl Harbor and the fall of the Phillipines brought Americans together in a fight for survival. In December 1941-January 1942 our leaders called us to prayer. This is the first time since 1865 that so many Americans have died in an act of war on American soil. Only God knows where it will lead, but Romans 8:28 surely applies. Millions, across the World, are confronted with the issue of eternity, many driven to their knees by heartbreaking loss, and many crying out to God for help no man can give.

Our government leaders, theretofore intimidated by the media and the ACLU atheists, afraid even to ask for "a moment of silence," suddenly began speaking the "p" word (pray) again; Congressmen held a public prayer meeting in the Capitol Rotunda. Government leaders, from the President on down, suddenly found themselves in need of the wisdom and strength that only God can give, and openly aknowledged that need as Lincoln did from 1861-65.

The arguments and threats of the "freedom from religion" humanists that have so dominated our culture, that have made spiritual cowards out of most of our leaders, suddenly pale and melt in the light of so much suffering and death - such a sea of blood and tears. Their vacuous, prideful arguments have nothing to offer in this overwhelming confrontation with tragedy and death; they are but impotent smoke before the driving wind of crushing reality.

Please pray for the loved ones of the innocent dead, the emergency workers, and the heroes, including those brave men who overpowered the hijackers and died in the Pennsylvania crash, preventing another World Trade Center-type disaster. Pray that millions will be confronted with their need of Jesus and come to Him - for comfort, for healing, for peace, and for salvation. His arm is stretched out still.

I realize that by the time you are reading these lines the events will be many days in the past; but don't allow the passing of time to cause you to cease praying. "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avauleth much." (Jas 5:16)

HALLOWEEN TIME AGAIN
It is again that time of year when Halloween rears its ugly head. If you do not yet know what it really is and what it really means, please call or write for a copy of our pamphlet, "Festival of Death" (or order the little book, "Holidays and Holy Days" which explains Halloween, and all the other popular holidays as well). Many get them in quantity to give away.
The dangers (emotional, physical and spiritual) for the children are great; be informed and protect them. You can also read all this on our web site at www.wordsforlivingmin.org.

BULLETIN: BAD NEWS ABOUT LIFELINE
For years, we have been using the long distance telephone service of Lifeline, for both office and home telephones. Why? Because Lifeline was a Christian company, an alternative to AT&T, Sprint and MCI, all of which are secular, all of which have been in the phone porn business, and all of which have supported abortion and the "gay" agenda. Also, Lifeline will donate 10% of your long distance bill to the ministry of your choice. In addition to subscribing to Lifeline ourselves, we have promoted Lifeline, encouraging others to use their service, and many of you have done so, designating Words for Living to receive your 10%. It has been a good thing - but now for the bad news.
For some time now, I have been increasingly uncomfortable with Lifeline, its management practices and its spirit. Now I know why. There have been management changes at Lifeline, and they are now doing what they urged all of us not to do: they are in a business relationship with MCI, leasing their long distance lines. As a result, every time I pay the Lifeline bill, some of that money goes to MCI and, as a result, promotes abortion, the "gay" agenda, and 900 number phone porn. One of the founders of Lifeline, along with a number of other staff members, has left Lifeline to form a new, Christian, long distance service called Promise Vision. This new company is headed by Reggie White, NFL great and a no-compromise Christian, Carl Thompson, co-founder of Lifeline, and Bill Horn, former national media spokesman for Lifeline (you have probably heard him many times on Christian radio).

Promise Vision, taking up the vision that Lifeline has abandoned, provides the same services at comparable (or better) rates, and will donate 15% of your long distance bill to the ministry of your choosing (a 50% increase over Lifeline).
It makes me extremely sad to see Lifeline, a company I have believed in and recommended to others, change in this way; but it is a fact, and I have the evidence, in the form of their Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10/A. What you do about this is between you and the Lord; but as for me and mine, we are going to buy our long distance service from Promise Vision. You can verify this, and switch to Promise Vision, with no switching fee, merely by calling 1-800-494-1580; they will do the rest.

AN UP-TO-DATE EXAMPLE
As I am writing the very last part of this issue of the Good Word, the phone just rang. It was a telephone solicitor. As usual, he wasn't listening when I answered, "Words for Living, this is Tom McKenney." After the usual silent pause, he asked to "speak with Mr. Tom McKenney" (why do they NEVER listen?). He began a pitch for low long distance rates, and I asked him whom he represents; he replied, "MCI." I said, "Not a chance," and asked, "Would you like to know why?" He, resigned and grouchy, mumbled a quiet, "No," and our brief exchange ended. There must be lots of us principled Christians answering his calls - I take that as an encouraging sign.

OUR GROWING WEB SITE
Our web site is still growing. It is far from finished; new pages are being added, and new materials are being added to existing pages. Check us out at www.wordsforlivingmin.org, and let us know what you think; we will welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

HOME SCHOOLER SCORES A PERFECT 1600
Home-educated Matthew du Mee of Peoria, Arizona scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the commonly used standard for predicting scholastic success in higher education. Any score of 1200 or better is considered a high score; a perfect 1600 is extremely rare. Prestigious universities such as Yale, Harvard and Stanford have offered Matthew a scholarship; he has turned them down. Matthew has enrolled in Patrick Henry College in the little crossroad town of Purcellville, Va. Patrick Henry, beginning only its second year of existence, was established as a college for home-educated students. Until recently, many colleges and universities refused to accept home-schooled children; Patrick Henry wants them. Why did Matthew reject all the others and choose Patrick Henry? "I felt Patrick Henry College would give me the best education....I appreciate their founding principles, what they had guiding them....the high quality of teachers and the tough academic standards." Patrick Henry's student body, representing 34 states, has an average SAT score of 1260. (WT)

TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES TO READ
Fairfax County, in northern Virginia, has been a champion and testing ground for liberalism, including non-traditional education, abandoning time-tested educational practices and standards for self-esteem, "diversity," etc. In a de-facto admission that they have been graduating kids who can't read or write English (or any other language), the Fairfax County public school system is now offering a new program: reading instruction, free, to its graduates who can't read. (ANS)
But it can get worse - read on.

CALIFORNIA'S TOP EDUCATOR SELLS PORN
California's liberal Democrat Governor Gray Davis personally chose and appointed one Reed Hastings as Chairman of the State Board of Education. Hastings is the standard bearer for public school education in California - the education czar. But that's not all that Hastings does; he also runs a business called Netflex, an on-line movie rental site that markets pornographic and homosexual videos. (ANS)

A POINT TO PONDER
The National Education Association (NEA), giant, leftist teachers' union, sends more voting delegates to the Democratic National Convention than does the State of California. And yet the NEA enjoys tax-exempt status, claiming not to engage in political activities of any kind. (PWB)

THE DEATH OF REASON
The principal at Marie Murphy School in Wilmette, Illinois, has changed. When school ended last Spring, he was Donald Reed. When school reopened this Fall, he had become "Deanna" Reed, a "woman." Parents and teachers were informed in advance of the homosexual principal's "gender reassignment," and were told that it would not be discussed with the children in class (do they think the kids won't notice?). In a similar case, parents were informed that a female science teacher at Glenbrook North High School would be returning this Fall as a "man." And we wonder why the kids are confused about sex and morality. (Chicago Tribune/ANS)

Speaking of government public schools, read on.

THE VALUE OF FIREFIGHTERS VS. FISH
In July four Washington State firefighters were burned to death, surrounded by a forest fire they were fighting, because a rescue helicopter was not allowed to take water from a nearby stream. The reason? The Endangered Species Act, which prevented taking water from that stream because it contained aquatic animals on the Endangered Species List. Before special permission to use the water could be obtained, the four firefighters died a horrible death - all in the name of protecting some fish, or salamanders, or whatever it was in the stream. And they weren't going to pump the stream dry - just to get enough water to save those four brave men. (ANS)

ABORTION AND MENTAL HEALTH
Recent studies have indicated that women who have abortions are at greater risk for mental health problems than those who do not abort. One study followed for 6 years women who had abortions in 1989, and found that such women were more than twice as likely to have had treatments for emotional problems. (ANS/AFRN)

FEDERAL JUDGE UPHOLDS TRADITIONAL FAMILY
In Florida the law forbids adoption by homosexual couples. Homosexuals don't like that law, and brought suit to have the law nullified. In a refreshing bit of reason, U.S. District Judge Lawrence King ruled against the homosexuals and upheld the law. He stated in his opinion that the traditional, heterosexual couple provides a more stable home environment for the children, and noted that there is no fundamental "right to adopt" that would override the well-known instability of homosexual couples (and this, even in light of the dismal divorce rate among heterosexual married couples). (ANS).

FIGURES DON'T LIE - BUT LIARS DO FIGURE
The homosexuals and their friends in the establishment media would have us believe that they are a growing multitude, the wave of the future, and that the rest of us should be like them, or at least embrace what they do. Their "10%" figure is pure fiction, created by Alfred Kinsey (himself a sexual pervert) in his now-discredited books on sexual behavior. The reality is that in the neighborhood of 1% to 2% of Americans are homosexuals. And for the "growing number" of homosexual "families"? According to recent research by Ed Vitagliano, Director of Research for the American Family Association, "the fact of the matter is that (only) one half of one percent of the people in this country are living in same-sex households." (ANS)

A LESSON FROM HISTORY
In all of human history, no culture that embraced homosexual behavior as normal has ever survived.

MAFIA INSULTED BY LINK TO CLINTONS
Thomas Gambino, son of the late founder of the Gambino crime family, is distancing himself and his organization from the scandalous, last-minute pardons granted by Bill Clinton. He is insulted! Why? Because of a report that the Gambino family had negotiated with Roger Clinton to get a pardon for New Jersey heroine dealer, "Sal" Gambino. Michael Rosen, lawyer and spokesman for the Gambino crime family, proclaimed, "My client had nothing to do with the low-rent, trailer-park trash politicians who infested our country for the past eight years - he doesn't even know them!" After all, it seems, mafia criminals have their limits; they have their reputations and honor to protect. (NYP)

PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS DIDN'T ALWAYS FREE CRIMINALS
Amid the foul stench of the final Clinton scandall, that of granting last-minute pardons, apparently for political reasons and/or money, it is refreshing to recall that presidents weren't always corrupt, and pardons weren't always under-the-table deals. During the term of President Calvin Coolidge, a man in federal prison for bank robbery escaped, went to Connecticut and killed a policeman. Connecticut officials sought to execute the man for the murder, but couldn't because the killer claimed a constitutional right to return to federal prison and serve out his 25 year sentence. So President Coolidge simply pardoned the man for his federal crime, and Connecticut hanged him for the murder. (NYP)

"SO HELP ME GOD" TOO MUCH RELIGION FOR DEMS
With the Democrats now in control of the Senate, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. During testimony before the committee, since Leahy took over, the words, "so help me, God" were omitted from the oath administered to witnesses. Apparently, this expression, which has sealed all such oaths since the nation's birth, is too much religion for the Democrats of today. In 1789 George Washington added those words to his own oath, when being sworn into office as President, and the precedent was established. After complaints by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), and the resulting publicity, the traditional ending has been restored, reluctantly, to the oath to tell the truth. (ANS/PWB)

THE "ARMY OF ONE" DROPS OUT
The star of the Army's TV ad campaign, "Army of One" is familiar to most of us now. Looking strong, independent and tough, he says, "....the might of the U.S. Army does not lie in numbers. It lies in me. I am an Army of one. And you can see my strength." The soldier's name is Specialist Richard Lovett. He aspired to enter Special Forces, but didn't make it. While in the preliminary phase of the Special Forces School at Fort Bragg, he dropped out - quit - abandoned the goal of being a Special Forces soldier. An Army spokesman says his ads will continue to be run, "although not as frequently as earlier in the year." (ANS)

WHEN IS A BABY A BABY?
A great and fundamental debate goes on concerning the question, "when does life begin?" Most Christians, and all intellectually honest biologists, believe that life (human or otherwise) begins at the moment of conception. Others believe the "potential human" becomes a person at various stages of development in the womb. Still others believe life begins when the developing baby is "viable," that is able to survive if delivered then. A Christian I heard recently on a nation-wide talk show insisted that God imparts "soul life" ( a concept he apparently invented) into a baby at the moment of birth. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Cal) has stated publicly that a baby is not a human being, entitled to protection, until its parents take it home from the hospital. This question of when life actually begins is foundational to all sorts of profound theological, ethical, legal and political issues. For a thought about this, read on.

WHEN DID GOD PUT ON HUMAN FLESH?
One of the greatest miracles of God is what theologians call "the incarnation"; the term means the event when God became man, putting on human flesh (the word is derived from the Latin noun, "carnis" meaning "flesh"). My dictionary defines incarnation as "the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ." As St. John expressed it, God "was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (Jn 1:14) Without the incarnation, had God never done this, we would have no remedy for our sin - no Savior. A related theological term is "advent," meaning the birth of Jesus; it is derived from the Latin noun, "adventus," meaning "the coming," or "the arrival." Why have Church scholars, since the 1st Century, separated these two terms? Why not just make them synonyms - use only one or the other? I believe it is because the miracle of incarnation occurred at the moment when the Holy Spirit overshadowed a virgin girl named Mary, at the moment of conception. At that moment, in biological terms, a fertilized human egg cell was endowed with every genetic trait the Holy Child would ever have. It soon divided into 2 cells, then 4, then 8, then 16, etc.; and nine months later, a baby boy was delivered to dwell among us and become the Messiah, the Savior of the World. He entered the World as a person, separated from his mother's body, in a Bethlehem stable; this was His advent (most of us expect Him to return, and that is called "the second advent"). However, He unmistakeably became the son of Mary 9 months earlier, at the moment of His conception; this was the incarnation. If God the Son entered the human race at the moment of His conception, how then can we deny that every fertilized human egg is, at that instant, someone's helpless baby?

REDUCING THE RISK OF DIABETES IS SIMPLE
Sixteen million Americans have diabetes, a potentially fatal disease. Adult-onset diabetes, the most common form, seems to strike most often those who are fat and inactive. In a landmark study involving 3,234 cases at 27 medical centers, risk of the disease was reduced to less than half simply by eating less fat, losing weight and exercising 2 1/2 hours a week The study group was of excellent quality, not only for its large number of cases, but because it included a large number from high-risk groups. (NYT/WND)

GUN CONTROL REALITY
Many years ago, when "gun control" was hardly a ripple on the mill pond of American life, I saw bumper stickers that said, "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns." That, of course, is true. Its logic is inescapable. Lawbreakers, by definition, do not obey laws, and that includes all the "gun control" laws ever written. The fact is that violent crime, including hand gun crime, is greatest where gun laws are most restrictive. In England, where guns have been completely confiscated from the law-abiding citizens, the criminals, of course, kept theirs.
Since the confiscation, hand gun violent crime in England has increased by more than 33%. (Firearms Coalition)

A POINT TO PONDER
Gun control is not about controlling guns - it is about controlling you. Every despot who ever took absolute control of a nation first disarmed the people, in the interests of "safety." Hitler, Stalin, Castro, Pol Pot and all the rest have been strong believers in "gun control," in perfect harmony with Sarah Brady, Hand Gun control, Inc., and the rest.

MARTY'S CORNER
The recent terrorist attacks on America are the end result of belief in an ungodly philosophy that portrays evil as good and is the one in which Islamic zealots are educated. The terrorists were taught that doctrine since childhood, they didn't just wake up one morning with such a belief. The Marxist-Communist V.I. Lenin said, "Give me four years to teach the children, and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted." Time and again, that has been proven true.

In late19th century America, bitter battles were fought over education when government-education proponents sought to impose a system which incorporated three points: government controlled, tax-supported, and the absence of Christian instruction. Opponents of such a system argued that if you remove Christianity from the schools, then progressively it will be replaced by the state religion of secular humanism. History has proven them correct.

The most important point in determining whether education is good or evil depends on one thing - the content. One should know the content of every aspect of America's educational system so that deceptive teachings and ungodly beliefs can be stopped before a child learns to accept depravity as virtuous. Our educational system which is designed to produce semiliterate, atheistic young socialists who are hostile to their own country, to God and to liberty will only reap adversity. Abhor that which is evil; cling to that which is good. Romans 12:9

REFRESHING CHANGE AT THE WHITE HOUSE
President G.W. Bush has disappointed us in some ways; however, on the whole there is a totally different atmosphere in the Bush administration. Gone is the sweat shirt & jeans, foul language and porn atmosphere of the Clinton years; dignity, civility and order have been restored to the presidency. Not only that, but godliness is again respectable. There are now two weekly one-hour meetings for prayer and Bible study for high-level appointees and career government employees. These meetings are organized by the same Bush assistant who organized similar meetings in Texas for then-Governor Bush. Included in the meetings are staffers from personnel, speechwriting, office of the White House Counsel, and White House interns. One cannot help comparing this with the Clinton White House Counsel (Vince Foster) and interns (Monika, et alia). (World/ANS)

THE "SAFE SEX" MYTH AND THE CDC
For many years, the heavily politicized Centers for Disease Control have echoed the "safe sex" mantra of the homosexual activists; the answer, they have said, is not abstinence and sexual morality, but condoms. As a result, kids have been handed condoms at public schools. Thus encouraged to use them, and led to believe that it's all okay as long as they use the condoms, they have become the beneficiaries of the condom program: an epidemic of sexually transmitted disease. We know now that condoms provide no protection from the AIDS virus or the human papiloma virus, both incurable; and HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer. Jane Fonda, condom poster girl, Surgeon General Natcher, and all the rest of the "safe sex" propagandists, are now faced with a new study released by the Dept. of Health and Human Services. This HHS report summarizes, "There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that condoms prevent....most sexually transmitted diseases." Now James Dobson and others are calling for the firing of the Director of the CDC, Jeffrey Koplan. Ken Conner, Pres. of the Family Research Council, himself a liability lawyer, is predicting that there will be a flood of lawsuits by youths against public school districts that gave them the condoms and led them to believe that they were protected from the sexually transmitted diseases they now have. And, predicts Conner, they will win. (ANS/PWB)

FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
Remembering the thousands of Marines he had seen die in World War II, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa, LtGen. Victor Krulak, USMC (Ret) reflected, "What they did, and the cheerfulness with which they went to their death, is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It was the same in Korea - it was the same in Vietnam." And, to continue General Krulak's thought, the same applies to the hundreds of firefighters, policemen and bystanders who walked into the literal jaws of death as the buildings burned and crumbled in New York and Washington in September.

WHAT IS TRUTH?
Recently, Rep. Dick Gephart (D Mo.), Speaker of the House, called Rep. Gary Condit (D-Cal) "an honorable man"; he said this about a married man who is a serial, sexual predator, involved sexually with a succession of women, most notably his intern, Chandra Levitt, in whose disappearance and possible murder he is the prime suspect. How can Gephart make such an outrageous statement without blushing? Simple: he is a post-modernist, like Bill & Hillary, and most of the people running the country today. In post-modern thinking there are no absolutes - nothing is necessarily true, or false, or right, or wrong. Truth, in post-modern thinking, is whatever best serves one's situation (thus, many of Bill Clinton's public utterances). This is also classic Communist doctrine, incidentally, in which truth is defined as whatever best serves the situation of the State. Irrational? Yes. Deceptive? Yes. Confusing? Yes. But this question is not new.

Jesus said, in His great, high-priestly prayer (Jn 17), "...thy Word is truth"; he had said to His friends, earlier the same night, "I am the way, the truth, and the life...." (Jn 14:6). So, Jesus is truth, the Word of God is truth; and, in a wonderful mystery, the two are one: Jesus is the Word of God (Jn 1:1-5). When Pontius Pilate, tormented with inner conflict, wanting to free Jesus, yet afraid of the pressure from a manipulated mob in the street, cried out, "What is truth?" he failed to realize that he was looking Truth in the eyes, standing there before him. And, today, Dick Gephart, Bill & Hillary, and all like them, are as blind to truth as Pilate was, 2,000 years ago.

CORRUPTION AND HOPE AT THE FBI
During the Clinton years, the FBI became heavily politicized, and deeply corrupted. The agency that previously had an unbroken reputation for excellence and unimpeachable integrity became very sick, and its reputation plummeted. Now, with Attorney General John Ashcroft, an honest man and a committed Christian (this almost kept him from being confirmed), there are signs of hope. One such sign is the release of an internal report admitting that a huge, illegal party was thrown at the FBI Academy in Virginia. The October 9, 1997 party, attended by 140 top FBI executives and Special Agents in Charge, was represented as a conference on "Integrity in Law Enforcement"; it was actually a retirement party honoring Larry Potts. The taxpayers paid for the party. The whole thing was dishonest and illegal. And Larry Potts is the guy who issued the "shoot to kill" order at Ruby Ridge. I wonder if his unrepentant ace sniper, Lon Horiuchi, who murdered Vicki Weaver as she held her baby at her breast, was at the party? At least, now that we have Bush and Ashcroft, we're being told the truth about it.(WT/ANS)

MILESTONES
11 Sept 2001 - Thousands of innocent Americans fell victim to the cruel, demonic madness of militant Islam, still making its "converts" by the bloody sword after 1,400 years.

FINAL WORD
Treasure and use each day as if it were your last, and never give up hope; God has a limitless supply of new beginnings, and he makes beautiful things out of broken pieces.
You are precious,

(Sources: AFAJ-American Family Journal; AFRN-American Family Radio News; AP-Associated Press; BP-Break Point; C-Charisma; CBN-Christian Broadcasting Network; CO-Charlotte Observer; CR-Congressional Record; DR-Drudge Report; EP-Evangelical Press; Fox (Fox News); FRC-Family Research Council; GN-Good News Magazine; HC-History Channel; IFA-Intercessors for America; IMG-Israel My Glory Magazine; Ins-Insight Magazine; LAT-L.A. Times; Mil-Military Magazine; NR-National Review; NW-Newsweek; NYP-New York Post; NYT-New York Times; PHN-Paul Harvey News; PWB-Pastors' Weekly Briefing; RT-Religion Today; RTLB-Right to Life Education Foundation Bulletin; USAT-USA Today; USNWR-U.S. News & World Report; VOM-Voice of Martyrs; W-World Magazine; WND-World Net Daily; WT-Washington Times); WW - Washington Watch.