October/November 2002
Dear ones,
The culture war continues to rage, and the enemies of righteousness
attack with undiminished zeal. We increasingly see Church leaders, men
entrusted with the flock of God, abandon the Bible as the unchanging
guide, fall into sin, and lead others into sin. But God isn't worried,
and His promises are still valid; if we trust Him, we will weather today's
trials, and the ultimate victory is assured. Read on.
THE FALL RETREAT
Don't forget the Fall Retreat, 4-6 October. It will be the 25th anniversary
of the very first one, and will be the last one, as we have known them.
If you can't come for the weekend, come part time; if you can only come
one day, we recommend Saturday. Come celebrate with us - we hope to
see you there.
AN ATHEIST LIE: THE "DANGER"
IN THE PLEDGE
Remember Michael Newdow, the California physician/atheist who sued in
federal court to remove the words, "under God" from the pledge
of allegiance? He sued on behalf of his 8-year-old daughter, claiming
that she was "emotionally damaged" by having to acknowledge
the existence of God by reciting the pledge. Newdow, also licensed to
practice law in California, is acting as his own attorney. Well, the
truth is that his daughter is a Christian, she lives with her Christian
mother, they are active in their evangelical church (Calvary Chapel),
and Newdow doesn't even live with them. The suit was a fraud. It has
become clear that he is merely a militant, bitter, atheist, who has
misrepresented the case, and he is likely to be disbarred. Although
the very liberal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with his suit,
the decision is now expected to be overturned.(ANS/CNN)
LIFELINE, MCI AND CORPORATE CORRUPTION
If you have read past issues you know of my painful parting with Lifeline,
which I had promoted for years as a Christian long distance service.
I had known for some time that all was not right at Lifeline; but for
me the final break came when they signed a long-term contract with MCI
as their leased lines provider (MCI is a strong promoter of abortion
and the "gay" agenda). MCI is part of the WorldCom corporate
system. In the explosion of scandals concerning corporate executives
and boards which had wrecked their companies and robbed stockholders
of $billions, WorldCom emerged as the apparent worst offender, having
concealed $7 billion in losses while selling stock that is probably
worthless. So, it seems clear, Lifeline had hitched its corporate wagon
to a rotten, falling star.
But MCI/WorldCom wasn't the only corporate giant to collapse, robbing
hundreds of thousands of workers of their retirement funds; new ones
continue to be exposed. Why this rash of revelations of corporate corruption?
The answer seems clear: the post-modern belief that there are no absolute
standards for right and wrong. By these humanistic, anti-Bible standards,
stealing isn't wrong, whether one steals one dollar, or billions of
dollars. As politicians and spiritual leaders have dug into this mess,
trying to understand it, one revealing fact has emerged: America's best
graduate schools of business no longer offer courses in business ethics.
A student can't enroll in an ethics course there, even if he wants to;
there aren't any. Asked why, deans and presidents of these schools say
that they can no longer offer such courses, for "there are no standards
of right and wrong on which to base such courses." (W, BP, Fox
News)
"NO MORAL ABSOLUTES" IN COLLEGE
In a recent poll, conducted by Zogby International for the National
Association of Scholars, 75 percent of college seniors reported that
their professors teach them that there are no absolute standards for
moral behavior. They are taught that what is right and wrong depends
"on differences in individual values and cultural diversity."
Only 25 percent reported that they were taught that there are absolute
standards of right and wrong.(PWB)
DISNEY BOYCOTT IS WORKING
The boycott of Disney products, led by Don Wildmon's American Family
Association and others, has been affecting the giant corporation's profits.
Public dissatisfaction with Disney promotion of immoral values has also
contributed to dropping profits. Sales of Disney products have been
hit hard, attendance at theme parks has dropped, as has audience for
Disney-owned ABC television network (as people watch it less and less,
ABC executives continue to produce increasingly vulgar, obscene programming,
the raunchiest in all the networks). But it is money that gets their
attention, and the Disney conglomerate is now in danger of losing its
credit ratings from Standard and Poors and Moody's Investors Service.(ANS)
A POINT TO PONDER
A recent study at the Univ. of California, San Francisco (definitely
a homosexual-friendly institution) found that 12 percent of male homosexuals
have attempted suicide at least once; this is a rate 3 times higher
than the general male population. Yet they call themselves "gay."(PWB)
BOY SCOUTS STANDING TALL
The 2001 annual report of the Boy Scouts of America shows that the group
is weathering the ongoing attacks by homosexuals and other anti-family
groups, not just holding its own, but growing. Membership is up 4 percent,
and more than 60 percent of the boys attended a Summer camp during the
past year. (ANS)
QUADHAFI TO BE U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS HEAD
No, this is not fiction. Libyan dictator Mu'ammar Quadhafi has been
selected to head the UN Commission on Human Rights, beginning March
2003. The dictator of Libya who is, and has been, a major supporter
of worldwide terrorism will be the World's watchdog over human rights
abuses. If it were a joke, it would be funny; but it's true. (ANS)
THE NEA AND THE 9-11-01 ATTACKS
The NEA, American teachers' union, is being consistent. In anticipation
of the anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks, the powerful,
leftist, anti-American, anti-God, anti-family, indoctrination and lobbying
organization published a lesson plan for your public schools. To summarize,
the thrust of the lesson plan is that Muslim terrorists are not to blame
for the horrific murders of 11 Sept. 01; it was really - you guessed
it - our fault. (ANS/WT)
PRECIOUS PROMISE
"I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.(Ps 37:25)
HERETICS CONTINUE TO PROSPER IN THE CHURCH
As the worldwide need for a clear declaration of the Bible's Good News
grows steadily more acute, the major denominations continue to try to
outdo themselves in diluting and denying the message. Increasingly,
they humanize God, deify man, confuse the message of hope, and embrace
the darkness of paganism. In Denver, earlier this year, the Methodist
Bishop of Chicago, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Sprague, made a speech at a school
of theology in which he denied the very foundations of the Christian
faith. Sprague assured the cheering theologians that Jesus was just
a man (not divine), his conception was "natural procreation"
(not miraculous), He never performed a miracle, did not die to atone
for the sins of mankind, and was not raised from the dead. Sprague scoffed
at such beliefs as "superstition."
Meanwhile, in England, a pagan witch has been hired to teach at a leading
Roman Catholic university. Dr. Vivianne Crowley, who describes herself
as a "Wiccan high priestess," has been appointed to the faculty
at Heythrop College, a Jesuit school, part of the University of London.
She will be teaching the psychology of religion.
And the British Jesuits won't be alone in being inculcated with paganism:
the Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams, soon to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury,
spiritual head of all Anglicans and Episcopalians of the World, is now
a Druid high priest. Really! Williams, now the Archbishop of Wales,
was inducted as a "Druid in the Gorsedd of Bards." In the
outdoor ceremony, performed within a circle of large stones in Wales,
Williams, in a druidic robe, passed through stones aligned with the
Sun at the Summer and Winter solstices, placed his hands, clasped prayerfully,
on a 6 ft. 6 in. sword as his induction was read over him. The ceremony
is rooted in ancient paganism in which kings were "wedded to the
female spirit of the land." (London Telegraph/ANS /Times of London,)
A PASTOR IS "PROUDLY" HOMOSEXUAL
The Pacific Northwest is definitely the most liberal region in American
Methodism; but its leaders seem to have outdone themselves. In the summer
of 2001, the Rev. Mark Williams, pastor of Seattle's Woodland Park United
Methodist Church, declared publicly, for the record, at the Annual Conference
that he was "proudly" a "practicing gay man"; he
had a male lover living with him in the parsonage. Conservative pastors
pressed liberal Bishop Elias Galvin to take action, for homosexual behavior
is strictly forbidden as a sin in Methodist doctrine. In an "investigation"
reminiscent of the Clinton years in the White House, the hierarchy dragged
its feet, finally charging Williams 9 months later. Reluctantly, the
committee asked Williams the obligatory questions ("Are you? Do
you?"); he refused to answer. The committee then dismissed the
charges, saying that there was "insufficient evidence" to
convict. Reason wants to shout, "Insufficient evidence?!?!"
He had publicly declared the answers, "for the record," before
the world. He is still in the pulpit, and the "couple" is
still living in the parsonage. In Bishop Galvin's mind, the matter has
been "settled." Is it any wonder that Methodist church doors
are closing? (W)
ONE BISHOP STANDS TALL FOR LIFE
At least one Catholic leader isn't confused about what is right and
what is wrong. Bishop Edmond Carmody, of the Corpus Christi (Tex) Diocese,
has banned two Democrat political candidates from speaking at any Catholic
meeting in the diocese. Both candidates are Catholics who support abortion.
Diocese policy also bans those Catholics who support abortion from holding
any positions of leadership in the churches. (W)
A POINT TO PONDER
Have you ever wondered why the British royal family is such a moral
and spiritual disaster? Surely, part of the answer is the fact that
the Archbishop of Canterbury is Pastor to the Royal Family, and it has
been quite a long time since one who held that office has embraced biblical
authority. The problem is simple: one cannot share what one does not
have. If the archbishop is in spiritual darkness, that is the only thing
he can impart to the royal family.
THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND
Popular TV talk show guy, Bill O'Reilly, is an example of the product
of the kind of mushy thinking that comes out of so many churches. He
recently had Stephen Bennett on his program. Bennett is an ex-homosexual,
Christian musician. O'Reilly called him "a religious fanatic"
because he believes the Bible means what it says, shouted Bennett down
when he called sodomy a sin and, later, misquoted him and misrepresented
things he had said. This is greatly disappointing, but should not be
surprising. O'Reilly wrote in his book, "The O'Reilly Factor,"
the following: "The most important thing I can say about religion
is that it's a good thing for all of us to have. It doesn't matter what
you believe - as long as you believe in something." Of course,
this flies in the face of what Jesus said about himself in John 14:6
and other places; but, then, O'Reilly doesn't believe that Jesus really
said that. Sure, it's in the Bible, but - well - you know….. How
very sad. (ANS, et al)
YES - EVEN IN THE COMICS
Do you know what comics your children read? Of course, "comic"
books haven't been funny for a long time; but they have been thought
of as harmless. Today many of them glorify violence, and oriental paganism
in the form of martial arts; but it is going to get worse. AOL/Time
Warner, parent company of CNN, publishes DC Comics, the group that created
Superman and Batman. DC Comics is now creating a pro-homosexual story
line in its Green Lantern series, featuring a homosexual teen who is
the victim of a "hate crime"; supporting characters include
lesbians. Not surprisingly, Judd Winick, creator of the "gay"
characters, is himself a homosexual. (ANS)
A POINT TO PONDER
In our Bible-based Western Civilization, life traditionally has been
looked upon as uniquely precious - a thing to be protected above all
else. Ever since Moses ascended Mt. Sinai, murder has been a sin; Western
Civilization, in establishing codes of conduct, based its laws on the
Bible, and murder became a crime. Our culture was also built upon a
fundamental fear and love of God. But that was then. Today, we increasingly
live in a culture of death, where death is being seen as a solution
to problems - a blessing. Consider only the unthinkable slaughter of
helpless babies by abortion, the growing practice of killing unwanted
babies after birth, and the growing trend toward "mercy" killing
of the sick and elderly. At the same time, our culture has increasingly
rejected God. He, of course, knew this all along, and summarized the
situation in seven crystalline words: "all they that hate me, love
death." (Prov. 8:36)
ONE VICTORY FOR INNOCENT BABIES
On 5 August President Bush signed into law the Born Alive Infant Protection
Act, which makes it illegal to kill a baby once it is born. We should
thank God for this rare victory in the battle for the right to life;
at the same time it is a sobering reminder of how far our society has
slipped downward into the culture of death. The fact that there was
even a need for such a law, and that it required a hard-fought battle
to get it through Congress, should trouble us. Until recent times, no
one was confused over the fact that killing a baby is murder.(PWB)
JANET RENO IS DOING ALRIGHT
According to the Palm Beach Post, Janet Reno, Bill Clinton's Attorney
General, worked one year as a staff director in the Florida legislature,
and 5 terms as a state's attorney. For this, she receives a state pension
of $700,000 a year. Politicians, at both national and state levels,
seem to take good care of themselves. In addition, she received $628,000
on the speaking tour last year. (ANS)
BEWARE OF BIG BROTHER - AND BIG SISTER
Another fine program for helping youth grow up in a healthy way has
fallen on the battlefields of the culture war. Big Brothers and Big
Sisters of America has mandated that all of its 500 local offices include
homosexuals as counselors that the organization assigns to needy children.
James Dobson, who had recommended the organization in his recent book,
"Bringing up Boys," is removing the recommendation.
UNFAMILIAR WORDS IN THE BIBLE
The language of the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) is Elizabethan
English; this is the English of Shakespeare, and the Book of Common
Prayer. It is beautiful, and this is one of the reasons that the KJV
is so loved (for example, compare Psalm 23 in the KJV with any modern
version). But the beautiful Elizabethan language is also the reason
some criticize the KJV, for there are words commonly used then (1611)
that are not often heard today. They say something like, "I don't
like those archaic words that have no meaning for me." But most
of them are not difficult to understand, and can be found in today's
English dictionaries.
An example is the word "froward." Let's learn what it means.
"Froward" is essentially the opposite of "toward."
When we are doing well, we are going toward that which is good. But
a froward person is someone who is going away from healthy choices or
obedience (fro is Elizabethan for away from - as in the expresion "to
and fro"). My desk dictionary, copyright 1993, contains "forward"
and defines it as "habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition."
So, you see, such words can turn out to make sense after all, once examined,
and can enrich our vocabulary and minds. There will be more of this
next time.
PRECIOUS PROMISE
"The house of the wicked shall be overthrown; but the tabernacle
of the upright shall flourish." (Prov. 14:11) Since we all know
that bad things happen to good people, this promise seems to be comparative,
and to speak of ultimate outcomes (TCM).
THE "CHURCH AND STATE" ISSUE
A constant theme of current issues is the mythical "separation
of church and state." As one Supreme Court justice observed not
long ago, if judges continue to talk about the separation of church
and state, "people will begin to believe that it is in the Constiutution."
Please keep a clear head in the midst of all this confusion and anti-God
propaganda, and remember these foundational facts concerning the issue:
the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment prohibits two things,
(1) the establishment of an official, national denomination, and (2)
any limitation on a citizen's right to freely practice his religion
of choice. And, it is vital to remember, the 1st Amendment applies only
to Congress-not to state or local governments. The clause begins with
the words, "Congress shall not….," not "state legislatures"
or "city councils shall not…." It is vital to remember
that, at the time of the writing of our unique Constitution, the colonists,
and all British subjects, were required to practice only the religion
of the Anglican Church, its ministers were paid by the government, and
citizens were taxed to support the Anglican denomination. Such was also
the case with the Lutheran denomination in Germany and other western
European nations, and Roman Catholicism in Spain and other Catholic
nations. It was ONLY THIS that the founding fathers sought to prevent,
NOT the complete removal of God from government. In fact, Thomas Jefferson,
whose phrase "wall of separation of church and state" in a
private letter is so often misquoted, was, when President, also Superintendant
of Schools for Washington, DC. In that capacity, he ordered the purchase
of Bibles and Christian hymn books for use by the children in the capitol's
schools.
And, incidentally, the words "separation," "church"
and "state" do not appear anywhere in the 1st Amendment.(ANS,
et al)
WHY THE BILL OF RIGHTS?
A foundational fact that is important to remember concerning the Constitution
is that the Bill of Rights, which is what we have come to call the first
10 amendments, was added to the Constitution to protect citizens from
the federal government, not to protect the federal government from the
people. NEVER forget this, and issues concerning public religion, property
rights, search and seizure, gun ownership, etc will remain clear. In
fact, it was necessary to add those first ten amendments in order to
get the proposed Constitution ratified by the state legislatures.
MARTY'S CORNER
The current generation has been dubbed the "microwave generation"
because they want everything right now. No matter how convenient life
becomes, we want it to be faster, better and easier. In order to make
it faster, I thought I'd just give you headlines with lead-in statements
and make Marty's Corner a quick read. You think about the impact each
has on America's Christian culture.
The Godless March on Washington - scheduled for Nov. 2nd, is having
disunity problems over which groups are sufficiently godless. The Council
for Secular Humanism (which has an enormous voice in what is now taught
in the public schools) says that Satanists aren't adequately godless
to participate in the march.
One out of every 32 adults was in prison, on probation or parole in
America last year. In a random follow-up survey about how to correct
the societal problem, the responses ranged from "just execute them"
to "minimum or no sentences" (for breaking the law). Not a
single person in the survey talked about righteous (Christian) living
that keeps one out of jail or teaching such to children.
Thought Reform 101, diversity training, has replaced required freshman
orientation in taxpayer- funded public as well as private universities.
Freshman orientation used to be about how to find classes, the bookstore
and cafeteria, but today it is for totalitarian reeducation on issues
of sex, race, and gender. "It is the university not simply standing
in the place of parents, but in place of private conscience, identity
and belief" - Alan C. Kors, U. of Pennsylvania
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things…(1 Cor. 2:15)
THE HOMOSEXUAL POPULATION
If one judges by the movies and TV, one would think that homosexuals
make up at least 60% of the US population; even the current movie version
of the children's classic cartoon series, "Scooby Doo" has
as one of its "kid" heroines, a lesbian. The establishment
press and public schools figure for homosexuals in the population is
10%, but that figure was the invention of sexual pervert and dishonest
scholar Alfred Kinsey, who created it out of thin air. But the statistical
fact is that homosexuals comprise only 2.8% of the male population,
and 1.4% of the female population. These latest figures come from a
well-structured, random survey of 3,000 cases in 1994 by the National
Health and Social Life Survey. So how is it that they seem to be everywhere,
in the midst of everything? It is because this tiny minority is extremely
wealthy, extremely vocal, extremely well-placed in positions of influence
and power, and totally committed-not just to gaining acceptance as "normal,"
but to dominate and be seen as superior, with their disgusting lifestyle
promoted in schools and churches as the most desireable. (ANS, et al)
DOES YOUR CHURCH "TRICK OR TREAT"
FOR UNICEF?
Many denominational churches support UNICEF, the UN agency supposedly
established to protect children around the world. Many participate in
the annual "Trick or Treat for UNICEF" fund-raising project
at Halloween time. However, in reality, like most UN agencies, UNICEF
pursues anti-family, anti-Christian programs, including abortion, contraception
and forced sterilization in 3rd World countries. This year, UNICEF presented
its "Trick or Treat Partner" award to Ted Turner, prominent
proponent of world population control (although he has 5 children of
his own, Ted wants to enforce Red China's one-child law on the rest
of the world). (ANS/AFRN)
INSPIRING COMMITMENT
Irene Box Anderson, age 73, of Sulligent, Alabama has taught the 1st
and 2nd grade Sunday School class at her First Baptist Church for 43
years without missing a Sunday.(PWB)
AMERICA'S GODLY HERITAGE
"The Bible is the book of all books, for it is the Word of God
and teach us the way to be happy in this world and the next." (John
Jay, first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, appointed by Washington.
A LIFE TO EMULATE
A remarkable Christian woman was transferred to Heaven recently and,
like most such people, she didn't realize that she was remarkable at
all. Wanda Williams, of Evansville, Indiana, saw herself as extremely
ordinary, an obscure private in the last rank of God's army. We often
hear that someone has died "after a long and courageous battle
with cancer"; it has become a cliché. It probably isn't
true in many cases; but in Wanda's case it was. Never complaining, she
smiled through pain and discouragement, and always gave God the glory
when things went right. I don't think I have ever seen her when she
wasn't smiling. Wanda was a quiet giver, a real "widow's mite woman."
After her husband died, she went to work as a medical assistant at a
state hospital, and brought poor patients home with her for holiday
meals. Within her limited means, and in her inconspicuous way, she was
a faithful supporter of this ministry, a prayer warrior; she was so
quiet that, except when she was praising God for blessing her in some
way, one hardly knew she was there. In 1994 she was diagnosed with multiple
myeloma, and for 8 years she literally battled that cancer. When physicians
were out of ideas, she researched and pursued nutritional, alternative
therapies; when the cancer would seem to have disappeared, she testified
to the power and goodness of God. She never once was known to ask, "Why
me?" On the last day of July she had nothing more with which to
fight, and she slipped quietly into the presence of God. For some time,
she had been giving of her "widow's mite" means to support
a medical mission in Central America - quietly of course. One of her
last requests was that no flowers be bought for her funeral; rather,
she asked that contributions be made to that mission. People gave as
she asked and, even in death, Wanda continued to give. And, as an inspiration,
she will go on giving.
BE ENCOURAGED - YOUR EFFORTS ARE NOT IN VAIN
Do you ever feel that, no matter how hard you try to do what is right,
things don't go well for you, while you see people living wickedly who
seem to prosper? Be encouraged; God knew we would feel this way at times,
and has left us a comforting promise: "The show of their countenance
doth witness against them (the wicked); and they declare their sin as
Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded
evil unto themselves. Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well
with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings." (Isaiah
3:9,10)
MILESTONES
Born
8 July - Crystal Favorito at 7 lbs. 5 oz., to Garland and Vijaya Favorito,
Atlanta, Ga.
Died
2 Sept - Mike Ainslie, Morganfield, Ky.
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;
ANS-Agape News Service; AP-Associated Press; BP-Break Point; C-Charisma;
CBN-Christian Broadcasting Network; CR-Congressional Record; DR-Drudge
Report; EP-Evangelical Press; Fox (Fox News); FRC-Family Research Council;
GN-Good News Magazine; HC-History Channel; Ins-Insight Magazine; LAT-L.A.
Times; Mil-Military Magazine; NR-National Review; NW-Newsweek; NYP-New
York Post; NYT-New York Times; PWB-Pastors' Weekly Briefing; RTLB-Right
to Life Education Foundation Bulletin; USAT-USA Today; USNWR-U.S. News
and World Report; VOM-Voice of Martyrs; W-World Magazine; WND-World
Net Daily; WT-Washington Times; WW-Washington Watch.)