December 2002/January 2003

Dear ones,

Can it really be the last month of the year? And what a year! We have much for which to be thankful in this year now ending, and the coming year is bright with the promises of God. There are things to share, so read on.

AN ERROR: "FROWARD," NOT "FORWARD"
In the last issue, in the article on the King James Bible word "froward," it was accidentally misspelled as "forward" in the quotation from my modern dictionary. All I can say is, "Oops - sorry." (We'll do more of that - without, I hope, the error.)

HELP! MAILING LIST TROUBLE!
A major catastrophe: our data base was wiped out by a virus! Gone! By the grace of God, Bonnie (with heroic effort and some help) has been able to reconstruct the basic mailing list. However, we have no way to reconstruct the bulk (multiple copies) mailing list. Praying that those who receive multiple copies are also on the basic mailing list, those of you who receive multiple copies please let us know immediately who you are, and how many copies you receive. Please!

THE DNC AND HARDCORE TEEN PORN
The Democratic National Committee (DNC), policy maker for the Democratic Party, increasingly reflects the abysmal moral values of the Clintons and their friends who dominate the party. A Catholic watchdog group has revealed that, as recently as the end of October, the DNC had a link on its web site to a hard-core teen pornography site. One click on the link button and the viewer was immediately confronted with the home page of the teen porn site, featuring four young girls in total, frontal nudity. We should not be surprised, actually, for it is the party which promotes unmarried sex, homosexuality, abortion and perverted sex education from pre-kindergarten up. According to William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, which monitors the DNC web site, "the DNC is spinning out of control." (ANS)

THE NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTIONS
The results of the November general elections shocked everyone but God. Not since 1934 has a party failed to lose seats in congress in the election two years into a president's first term. Instead of losing seats, however, the Republicans gained seats in both houses, and regained control of the senate. Perhaps the open embracing of depravity by the Democrat Party, as evidenced in the article above, is producing a negative reaction among voters; but, however it happened, it was an extremely crucial election in terms of the nation's drift toward rejection of traditional values and morality. For the past two years, the Democrats with their one-vote majority in the senate have bottled up needed legislation and judicial appointments by refusing to allow voting on them. Now, Bush's appointments to judgeships can at least get a hearing, and crucial legislation can at least be voted on. Trent Lott, once again Senate Majority Leader, has promised that the ban on partial birth abortion, which passed in the house, will get to the senate floor for a vote, and predicts that it will be passed and signed into law. He says, "I'm making that commitment-you can write it down." (ANS/W,et al)

PRO-ABORTION CANDIDATES WERE LOSERS
In those pivotal elections, pro-abortion candidates were largely losers. National Abortion Rights League (NAROL) spent heavily and lost in 10 of the 11 races in which it backed candidates. The pro-abortion political action committee (PAC), Emily's List, lost in 17 of the 21 races it bankrolled. In stark contrast, of 30 candidates backed by pro-life PAC, Susan B. Anthony's List, 22 won. Of the 14 candidates backed by the Christian group, Concerned Women for America's PAC, 9 were elected. And it seems that the pro-life victories were not just the result of candidates' riding a Republican tide: pro-life Democrats like Tim Holden (D-Pa.) and Mike Michaud (D-Maine) won in tough races, while pro-abortion Republicans like Connie Morella (R-Md.) lost. (W)

KENTUCKY LAW REDUCES ABORTIONS
A Kentucky law which requires that women seeking abortions must be given factual information about fetal development (e.g., it isn't just a "blob of tissue"), abortion's health risks, and alternatives to abortion, and which requires a waiting period for the woman to think about it, has reduced abortions in the commonwealth by 30 percent. Other states are considering similar laws, and the outlook for surviving legal challenges by pro-abortion groups is good. (ANS)

GOOD NEWS FOR ABANDONED BABIES IN MISSISSIPPI
A new law in Mississippi which allows mothers who give birth to unwanted babies to leave them at any hospital, has saved at least six babies in the last year. Critics say that the law encourages abandonment of babies; but Terry Herring, of the Jackson group "Choose Life," says that, even if true, it is better than having them left to die in garbage cans and dumpsters. (ANS)

THE CORRUPTED NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually, supposedly to the person who has most contributed to world peace. It has become increasingly political in recent times, such as its being awarded to one of the world's leading terrorists, Yassir Arafat. This year, the Nobel Committee made another political statement in its selection, by choosing former president Jimmy Carter. This year, however, the committee publicly admitted that the choice was made in order to make a negative political statement about President G.W. Bush. According to Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe, the committee thus "reached an all-time low." (ANS, et al)

THE 4TH GRADE: THEN AND NOW
A pro-family law firm is suing a California public school district for requiring its 4th graders to participate in a "Day of the Dead" celebration; this is what Halloween is called in Mexico. The children were required to build altars, bring in pictures of dead relatives and dead pets, place the pictures on the altars and then invite the spirits of the dead to return and "visit" them. As part of the program, the children were required to watch a sexually explicit video. The school Superintendent explained, of course, that the purpose was to "be inclusive." Yeah, sure - try to get them to be "inclusive" enough to allow a program about Jesus, His miracles, death and resurrection. In comparison, when I was in the 4th grade, my teacher took me to see the movie, "Bambi." But, of course, that was then…(ANS, et al)

A LIBERAL UNIVERSITY FIRES A LYING PROFESSOR
Emory University, a liberal school that is tolerant of almost anything except traditional beliefs and values, has done an amazingly right thing: it has found guilty a professor who wrote an anti-gun book with falsified data. History Professor Michael Bellesiles is passionately anti-gun - perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he passionately believes in a disarmed populace. He wrote a book, titled "Arming America, the Origins of a National Gun Culture," to support his views. The book won the prestigious Bancroft Prize for American History. Anti-gun activists rejoiced, and shrilly cited the book as "proof" of their position. But there was a problem: the book is a phony - Professor Bellesiles made up, and distorted, his data - many of his "facts" are lies. For example: he claimed to have used probate records from San Francisco; but those records were destroyed in 1906 in the earthquake and fire that ravaged the city. When asked to produce his notes on this portion, he said he had "lost them." Of course, in the post-modern thinking of the Clintons and their like, truth is whatever will best serve your goals, and Bellesiles's book is an example of brutalizing truth to serve the end you have already decided passionately to promote. I salute a liberal university in a politically correct, post-modern, academic world for taking a stand for honest scholarship! (W)

GUN VIOLENCE IN ENGLAND
In England, all guns have been confiscated from law-abiding citizens, and, theoretically, all firearms are now possessed only by the armed forces and police. This was supposed to end gun-related violence. Of course, the criminals didn't turn theirs in, and since the total ban gun-related crime has not vanished - in fact, it has increased; London Police report that such violent crime is up 300% over last year. And gun crime is spreading beyond the cities and into the countryside, where relatively isolated, unarmed citizens are particularly vulnerable. While the propagandists of the left keep saying that in England, where not even the police carry guns, there is less violent crime than in the US, the facts prove them wrong. In London your chances of being mugged are 600 percent greater than in New York City. Is anyone surprised? (Mil)

"BURMA SHAVE" STYLE GUN FACTS
In Illinois, a right-to-bear-arms group has created an interesting way to speak truth to the public about gun ownership. The group, GunsSaveLife, makes and posts signs in series along highways, in the same way that Burma Shave advertised to American motorists a generation or two ago. One example: "Gun control - Every Time - Only Increases - Violent Crime." Another, that evokes memories of the "Dick, Jane and Sally" readers of the '50s and '60s is: "Jane sees thug - Thug sees Jane - Sees Jane's gun - Run thug run!" You can see more by visiting their web site at www.gunssavelife.com.

ARE YOU A "MUGGLE"? I HOPE SO!
In the venomous Harry Potter stories, a "muggle" is a despised category of characters; it is anyone who (a) doesn't believe in witchcraft, or (b) who disapproves of it as evil. The "good guys" are those who, like Harry (the main hero), who (a) believe in it and (b) devote their lives to it. Do your children read this stuff, or see the movies? I hope not-I am proud to be a muggle, and I pray that you will be one with me.

DISNEY/ABC SINK TO NEW MORAL LOWS
Disney enterprises (Disney World, etc) and Disney-owned ABC seem determined to convert the culture to sodomy. Disney World proudly hosts an annual homosexual celebration of sodomy at its Orlando empire, and Disney CEO Michael Eisner boasts that approximately half his employees are homosexuals. Now, Disney-owned ABC is creating a detective sitcom that Variety Magazine describes as a "gay version" of the old husband-wife detective show, Hart to Hart. The heroes are two homosexual men. The program, produced by comedian Steve Martin, is to be called "Mr. And Mr. Nash." (ANS)

ONE VICTORY FOR GOD AND COUNTRY
On 13 November, President Bush signed into law a bill affirming references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Motto ("In God We Trust"). The very fact that such things are issues to be fought for is depressing, but we must thank God for the victories. (ANS)

THE TERRORIST SNIPERS AND MEDIA PROPAGANDA
You are surely aware of the snipers who have been killing randomly chosen, innocent children and adults, from the greater D.C. area to as far south and west as Baton Rouge. The establishment media interviewed "experts" who theorized that, when caught, they would be white, red-neck, fundamentalist Christians, 2nd Amendment defenders, and probably militia members and/or neo-nazis. They and all their profiling experts went strangely silent when the two were captured, both black, one a radical Muslim (former bodyguard of Louis Farrakhan), and one an illegal alien from Jamaica. When this became known to the establishment media people, one could almost hear their hearts sink in unison.

How They Were Captured. The two hate-filled random murderers were spotted at a Maryland interstate rest area by a Kentucky truck driver, Ron Lantz, who called police. Lantz, a Christian, had gotten together the previous week and prayed with about 50 other truckers that the killers would be caught. You probably won't read this in the Washington Post. (ANS)

BONE BOX OF THE APOSTLE JAMES
You may have read that an ossuary (bone box) from the 1st Century (dated between 20 and 70 A.D.) has surfaced in Jerusalem, bearing the inscription, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." The inscription is in Aramaic, the language of common people in Israel in the 1st Century, the language which Jesus and his family spoke, and the language in which he taught and preached. There were, of course, many men in Israel at the time named "James," "Joseph," and "Jesus;" however, what makes this inscription unusual is that such inscriptions almost always identified only the name of the father. Brothers were identified only in rare cases where the brother named was someone extremely important or well-known. Found south of the Mount of Olives, this is almost certainly the bone box of the Apostle James, half brother of Jesus, first head of the Church at Jerusalem (Acts 12:17, 15:13-21) and author of the New Testament Book of James. There are no bones in the box, which belonged to an Arab antiquities dealer before being bought by Oded Golan, the Israeli collector who now owns it.

Before realizing its significance, Israeli authorities allowed it to be shipped to Canada for exhibit, and during shipment to Toronto, the box cracked; one crack runs through the inscription. Israeli authorities now say they will attempt to buy it and put it on permanent display; but Golan says he won't sell it. (ANS/W/AP, et al)

MORE ON BIG BROTHERS AND BIG SISTERS
In the last issue I reported on the policy of Big Brothers and Big Sisters (the organization which places adult mentors with needy children), which requires local chapters to place homosexuals as mentors. The organization, when the policy was disclosed, claimed that parents are being notified; however, a source within the organization says that the consent form, sent to parents to be signed, says nothing about the homosexuality of the assigned mentor. (ANS)

ALICE COOPER BORN AGAIN
This is old news, but if you haven't already heard, shock-rock star Alice Cooper says he has given his heart to Jesus. It happened as a result of facing a serious alcohol problem. The son of a minister who rejected the faith and became the premier shock rocker, personifying evil, biting live snakes on stage, etc., calls giving his life to Christ "the most rebellious thing I've ever done." Now, he says, "If I write a song about horror, I'm writing about real horror - eternal damnation." (PWB)

A POINT TO PONDER
In recent years, Sears and Roebuck has made more money on interest from your credit card purchases than from all the sales of its merchandise. (Calvary [Chapel] Satellite Network)

MASONRY IN CRISIS
For some time it has been apparent to masonic leaders that unless the dwindling membership is reversed, the institution's demise is inevitable. The problem is that while celebrities and high-level politicians continue to receive high (mostly honorary) degrees and medals, the young men are no longer interested in joining the local lodge ("Blue Lodge") and working their way through the degrees and chairs of office. In short, there are still plenty of chiefs, but fewer and fewer braves. In 1990, 40 percent of all Masons were over the age of 65; today the figure is much higher. In addition, approximately 70% percent of all Masons are inactive.

Various approaches have been attempted in recent times to attract new members, lowering standards and making things easier for candidates.

In recent times, all 29 degrees of the Scottish rite have been awarded in a single weekend; previously this process required three months

A recent effort appears to have been a desperation move by the Grand Lodge of Ohio, where all three degrees of a Master Mason were conferred in a single day. This is a RADICAL departure from Masonic tradition, going back almost 300 years! Until this amazing surrender to expediency, for a candidate to receive all three degrees and become a Master Mason, required several months of study and memorizing, one degree at a time, climaxed in being "raised" to the Master Mason (3rd) Degree. The Grand Lodge of Ohio took in (no pun intended) lots of new masons that day, but at the cost of shamelessly cheapening the three degrees, a move eloquently expressing the desperate plight of Freemasonry in general.

Meanwhile, the Shrine, the party animals of Freemasonry, has cut the legs out from under the advanced degree systems, Scottish Rite and York Rite. In all its history until now, for a Mason to join the Shrine, he was required to complete the "higher degrees" of the Scottish Rite, reaching the 32nd Degree, or its equivalent in theYork Rite (Knight Templar). However, with the dwindling membership in both the York and Scottish Rites, there have been fewer and fewer men eligible to join the Shrine. So, in a dramatic and unprecedented move, the Shrine has announced that it will now take 3rd Degree Masons in, straight from the local ("Blue") lodge, completely bypassing the "higher" degrees. Result: the Shrine gets a few more party animals, but much of the motivation to go into the Scottish and York Rites is gone, and they will have still fewer applicants.

And the Sojourners, Masonry's lodge system for the armed forces, which previously accepted only officers, is now accepting senior enlisted men as members.

From my detached, point of view, the entire system resembles the thrashing of a dying dragon, desperately swallowing and devouring its own tail. (Masonic Publications)

A DAILY SOURCE OF SUPPRESSED NEWS
You surely are aware that the establishment news media withhold information that they don't want you to have, and use their outlets to propagandize for their ungodly goals and corrupt values. If your only sources of information are secular TV, newspapers and magazines, you are being manipulated and deceived. That's the bad news. But the good news is that there are honest, godly news sources, and one of them is Agape News Service. I urge you to go to our web page, where you will find the complete news, on our home page. Just click on it and read; you will find things there that you will never see or hear from the establishment media. And it is updated daily at noon.

SERVANT'S HEART MINISTERS IN SUDAN
If you are burdened for the plight of Christians in Sudan, where persecution in the form of massacres and gang rapes are part of everyday reality, then take a look at Servant's Heart ministry. Servant's Heart is an American-based, evangelical mission which works within earshot of artillery from the Sudanese civil war in order to minister to the spiritual, physical, and material needs of the people of the northeastern corner of southern Sudan. Their web address is www.servheart.org.

MARTY'S CORNER
How many times have you had someone say, "Have a good one?" You wait … then start walking away wondering have a good one WHAT? Just what does have a good one mean? Have a good accident? A good meal? A good celebration of a pagan holiday? A good day? A good cry? It's pointless and can be likened to a boat loosed from its moorings that just drifts…going nowhere. Drifting away from the absolutes of God's word is just as subtle. It happens gradually and without effort yet ultimately it is as deadly as a Kamikaze attack.

In these times of "tolerance" and drifting away from God's decrees, Christians in America can easily be compared with the people of Israel. The Israelites were not drifters when they entered the Promised Land and possessed it. They were dynamic, aggressive, determined, and powerful. Most importantly, they trusted God. They knew that He had given them victory over the pagans and they obediently settled down to enjoy it. They didn't just suddenly rebel against the Lord. After Joshua and the heroes who had fought with him died, the next generation that grew up in times of peace and prosperity began to drift into ignoring God's law--to deceive, cheat, and pursue meaningless pleasures. Then they ate and drank at pagan feasts, married pagans-finally they worshiped pagan gods. God had told them time and time again that He would bring down His judgment on them. Still Israel drifted until the nation was split, Israel in the north was destroyed by the Assyrians, and Judah in the south was devastated and taken captive by the Babylonians. …And no one will gather those who wander off. Jer. 49:5

INDIA, ISLAM AND THE "WISDOM OF THE EAST"
Along with other forms of insanity and intellectual dishonesty assaulting us from all sides these days is the trashing of Western Civilization. Books could (and should) be written on this subject; but, as usual, I have only space (and time) to present you with a thought and a few salient facts...and questions. If the East is the fountainhead of truth and wisdom, why is it, by far, the most miserable part of the planet? Why is slavery still practiced in India, Africa and the Middle East? Why do rich Arabs buy little boys (on a busy and thriving market) for frivolous purposes (eg. to facilitate their camel races) and then sell them into general slavery? Why can girls be bought in China? Why do some African and Middle Eastern societies mutilate baby girls by clipping the clitoris to make them more controllable? Why is it that poor, sick people and battered children can lie in the streets dying as their fellow citizens step over them without a pause in India and Bangladesh? Why is it that multitudes in such places starve while others bring food offerings to fat, pampered, "sacred" rats in their pagan temples?

Why is it that human life has so little value in that part of the world? And what is it about all this that is supposed to be so great?

It is Western Civilization that has given us almost everything useful and constructive; the outstanding contribution of the East? Gunpowder!

Virtually all technology for health and quality of life has come from the West. Life is still valued, and a general sense of mutual respect and protection of the helpless still survives in the West. Basically, we care for one another, value life and go about the business of advancing the human condition. God knows, we in the West aren't perfect, and we are slipping downhill fast;l but in general terms there is still a striking difference.

I believe that difference can be explained with two words: the Bible. From the earliest beginnings it has shaped the moral, social, political and legal systems of the West. Even in countries in such advanced stages of moral and social decay as are Sweden and France, its influence lingers. Compare the Bible's influence in the West with the influence of the Vedas, the Koran, tribal traditions and paganism in general in the East. The conclusion seems obvious and inescapable.
Think about it.

CHRISTIANS CONQUER THE BEAUTY WORLD
This year, Miss America is a Christian; Erika Harold is Miss America 2003, and she has announced that she "will not be bullied" into silence about her beliefs. Erika has been spokeswoman for Project Reality, a group promoting abstinence-based health education in Illinois, for several years. After intense negotiations with pageant officials, pageant CEO George Bauer lifted restrictions on what she can say and do; as a result, Miss America 2003 will cross the nation for the next year, promoting sexual purity as part of her youth violence-prevention program.
Meanwhile, Kristi Phillips was crowned "Mrs. America." Kristi, who is the wife of an Assemblies of God minister, and mother of a two-year-old, plans to spend the next year as the representative of married American women, sharing her Christian faith and values. (ANS)

MUSTARD SEED BEGINNINGS WITH MIGHTY RESULTS
On His final journey to Jerusalem, Jesus taught along the way, comparing the Kingdom of God with a tiny mustard seed that becomes a large plant, producing shade and shelter for birds (Lk. 13:18,19). What was He saying to us? Basically, I believe, He was saying that in our lives with Him, tiny, obscure beginnings, unnoticed or scorned by the world, can grow to produce great and fruitful results. So be encouraged, keep on sowing, and leave the results to Him.

ABOUT CHRISTMAS
If you aren't aware of the facts concerning Christmas, its origins and its customs, I urge you to order our little book, "Holidays and Holy Days." Because of the way we have been able to buy them, the price is extremely low, making it easy to obtain several to give away. Just call, e-mail, or write the office.

ABOUT CHRISTMAS CARDS
For many years, Marty and I have not been able to send Christmas Cards; there would be just too many, and we would be sure to overlook some of you. However, we do read and share the ones you send to us, and want to take this opportunity to thank you for caring about us.

May you glorify the King of Kings, and may your coming year be richly blessed, is our prayer.

MILESTONES
Died 23 Sept - Mrs. Deria Flowers Burden, dear Christian friend, mother of June Thomas, at age 98 in Obion, Tenn.
18 Nov - Charles (Bunny) McKinlay, Jr., longtime Christian friend, in Lexington, Ky.

A 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,
Tom C. McKenney

(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.)