August-September 1999 News Archives
Distributed via e-mail by Christian News & Views.. These articles may be used in any manner to the glory of God, and as an aid in the discernment of the times. [Andy Neckar, Christian News & Views, PO Box J, Hico, TX 76457]
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1. PHYCHOLOGISTS LOSE MIND. (If they ever had one)
2. BILLY & FRANKLIN GRAHAM WORK WITH EVERYBODY--INCLUDING THE DEVIL
3. NO TANGIBLE MEAT--NO SPIRITUAL MEAT.
4. ANIMALS ELEVATED ABOVE CHILDREN
5. UNITED METHODIST APOSTASY
6. A SATAN EVENT
7. BAPTIST GENERAL CONFERENCE TAKES A VOTE ON GOD'S 8. OMNISCIENCE--GOD LOOSES.
8. THE GIFT OF INDULGENCE
9. BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM
10. POPULAR PAST PRESIDENT-COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIAN
11. FEEL GOOD RELIGION
12. Should we lose the fear of Hell? Pope redefines the doctrine
13. Atlantic City's "ugly" pageant.
14. THE WORLD (The Enemy of God) HAS BEEN WELCOMED INTO THE CHURCHES.
**********************************************PHYCHOLOGISTS LOSE MIND. (If they ever had one)
Fathers are not necessary, according to a recent article in the journal of the American Psychological Association, The American Psychologist (6/99). In a piece called "Deconstructing the Essential Father," Louise Silverstein and Carl Auerbach sum up their thesis: "We do not believe that the data support the conclusion that fathers are essential to child well-being and that heterosexual marriage is the social context in which responsible fathering is most likely to occur."
The researchers made their case against fatherhood by studying the behavior of a primate called the marmoset. Their conclusion contradicts study after study (World, 8/21/99).[Editor] The marmoset is a very small monkey, weighting only 12-16 ounces found in southeastern Brazil in a variety of forests. This "animal" being a "hell-of-a father" is sufficient reason for our "doctors of the mind" to "de-construct" or de-emphasize the role of the Father.
Not only do environmentalists (animal lovers) place animal safety and dignity above that of humanity, but also they now judge the requirements of humanity by animal behaviorism
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. (Read Romans 1:26-31]
These infidels also serve the animal creature more than man who is created in the image of the Creator.
*****************************************************BILLY & FRANKLIN GRAHAM WORK WITH EVERYBODY--INCLUDING THE DEVIL
Franklin Graham, who is preparing to take over the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, believes that his father's ecumenical alliance with the Catholic Church and all other denominations "was one of the smartest things [he] ever did," according to a report in the Indianapolis Star (6/3/99).
"In the early years, up in Boston, the Catholic Church got behind my father's crusade," Franklin told the paper. "That was a first. It took back many Protestants. They didn't know how to handle it. But it set the example. 'If Billy Graham is willing to work with everybody, then maybe we should too' " (O Timothy, vol. 16, #7).[Editor] The Grahams think that ecumenical alliance with the Catholic Church and all other denominations was one of the smartest things they ever did. BUT- God has this to say about their thoughts.
Isa 55:7-9 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God has this to say about those kinds of "ministers".
Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
2 Tim 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2 Tim 3:8-9 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
Their folly is manifest to all who will listen by me and by many others. Who will listen and take heed less they fall.
1 Cor 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Take heed, for "you are not that special".
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
By their fruit I know them (Matt 7:20-21) and I recognize them and "I take heed" Hear me out and be saved.
1 Tim 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
*********************************************************NO TANGIBLE MEAT--NO SPIRITUAL MEAT.
Billboards have gone up across the country proclaiming, "Jesus Was a Vegetarian--Follow Him." Beside the message is a picture of Jesus with a shining orange slice as his halo. The advertisement is part of a campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to win Christians to a "nonviolent" diet. Other efforts include newspaper and magazine advertisements and a Web site that disputes the authenticity of Jesus' multiplying fish to feed the 5,000 (Christianity Today, 8/9/99).[Editor] I'm won't be surprised to hear these people someday say "if you gotta eat meat, kill children and eat them". Gruesome? The world may come to this. It happened before you know. (Jer 19:9; Ezek 5:10; 2 Kings 6:25-29) Read on.
******************************************************ANIMALS ELEVATED ABOVE CHILDREN
Peter Singer, a bioethics professor who advocates animal rights and rejects the sanctity of human life, has assumed a new teaching position at Princeton University. Singer argues that children with birth defects have less moral value than many animals and can be euthanized (Christian News, 9/21/98).
The president of the student Bioethics Forum is surprised that the Singer appointment has aroused protests: "I never thought Princeton could react like this." A molecular biology teacher remarked, "I don't know any professor at the university who's against it." He continued, "I think there's been some amusement at the reactions this has been getting, the attacks from both the far right and the far left" (World, 7/17/99).[Editor] I sure wish Africa would send some missionaries to preach to the wild animalistic American heathen, don't you? Science denies the Bible and now Biology. Well- come to think of it, ALL public education denies the Bible AND so do many "christian?" colleges. We are to expect this in the last days that we are in, but it sure is hard getting used to it. I guess I never will.
******************************************************UNITED METHODIST APOSTASY
The United Methodist Women's Division contributed $11,000 to help a homosexual group that is fighting the Salt Lake City school board for free meeting space. Methodist Women's executive Lois Dauway says her group is "not funding anything that is promoting sexual orientation" but merely upholding free speech. At least 400 Gay-Straight Alliance groups meet in high schools across the country, according to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Alliance (World, 8/6/99).[Editor] Freedom to speak and freedom to sin and commit abominations before God endorsed by United Methodist Women. HEY-"come out of her" (the apostate UMC) the Lord says. (Rev 18:4)
***************************************************A SATAN EVENT
A revival team from the "Pensacola Outpouring" held its 19th Awake America crusade on June 28-29 in a suburb of New York City--East Rutherford, New Jersey. An estimated 17,200 people attended.
About 250 churches from several states supported the event, and churches plan to continue working together on other evangelistic programs. "We've come together in unity in the Spirit," said Joe Romanoski of Sacred Heart, a Catholic church in South Amboy, New Jersey. "This event is not an Assemblies of God event, a Lutheran event or a Catholic event--it's a Jesus event. We put all the other stuff on the side and focused on what is bringing us together--that's Jesus!"
Eight more Awake America crusades are scheduled this year, and eighteen are slated for 2000, including events in Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Denmark, Germany, and Japan (Charisma, 9/99).[Editor] Man is bringing all religions together, NOT JESUS. Jesus in not the UNIFIER of false religions. HEY FOLKS-JESUS IS THE SEPARATOR.(Matt 13:25-40; Rev 20:12-15)
***********************************************BAPTIST GENERAL CONFERENCE TAKES A VOTE ON GOD'S OMNISCIENCE--GOD LOOSES.
A debate over God's omniscience has erupted in the Baptist General Conference (BGC), an Illinois-based denomination with 140,000 members in more than 800 churches. Greg Boyd, a theology professor at Bethel College and Seminary, and the popular pastor of a 3,000-member church in St. Paul, has written in his books that God's foreknowledge is limited: "God can't foreknow the good or bad decisions of the people He creates until He creates these people and they in turn create their decisions."
An inquiry panel of the BGC concluded that Boyd's views are "within the bounds of evangelical Christian orthodoxy and compatible with the theological commitments expected of faculty members at Bethel."
Concerned pastors drafted an amendment to the BGC Affirmation of Faith, which stated about the Father, "We believe 'that He foreknows infallibly all that shall come to pass.' " Boyd said he would resign if the amendment passed. It failed, 270-251 (World, 7/17/99).[Editor] God may have lost that go-round as He did to Satan in the garden because God is longsuffering". But this won't last forever. Satan has already lost the battle at the Cross of Calvary and the Empty Tomb, but he doesn't have enough sense to know it. These people in the Baptist General Conference may not know it but there're gonna get it.
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http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/b0_en.htmVATICAN CITY, SEP 29, 1999 (VIS) - "The gift of indulgence" was the theme of John Paul II's catechesis during the general audience held this morning in St. Peter's Square.
The Roman Catholic Pope implied that the topic of indulgences is a sensitive issue on which there has been much historical misunderstanding, and in light of ecumenism the RC church feels the need for a clearer understanding of this ancient practice.
The Pope said that man must be progressively "cured" of the negative consequences that sin has produced in him, and in the hope of a full cure, the sinner is called to start down the path of purification.
He says, "Temporal (temporary) punishment itself has the function of "medicine", to the degree to which man lets himself be called to extreme conversion by it."
John Paul II affirmed that indulgence is "'the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church'."
There is therefore a "treasure of the Church" which is "dispensed" by means of indulgences. This "distribution" is, above all, an expression of the absolute faith the Church has that she will be heard by the Father when she asks Him to diminish or cancel the painful aspect of punishment.
The Pope concluded by highlighting that, above all, indulgences are an aid towards a more generous and fundamental commitment that can be earned only by obtaining "indulgences" from the RC church.
[Editor] Wanna know just what is a Roman Catholic Indulgence? Wanna know how a Catholic can get one or more of these "Roman Catholic Tickets" to forgive the temporal punishment for sins committed?
NORMS Of INDULGENSES
(Taken from "Vatican Council II. The Conciliar And Post Conciliar Documents".Chapter 5, pages 75-78. General Editor, Austin Flannery)[This book was written by Catholics for Catholics. I purchased this book from a Catholic bookstore located on a Catholic High School Campus in Fort Worth Texas. I do not get my information from so-called "Catholic Bashers". I go to the "reliable source" and let them condemn themselves by their own writings.]
Norms of Indulgences
1.An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain defined conditions through the church's help when, as minister of Redemption, she dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints.2.An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.
3.Partial as well as plenary indulgences can always be applied to the dead by way of prayer.4.From now on a partial indulgence will be indicated only with the words "partial indulgence" without any determination of days or years.
5.The faithful who at least with a contrite heart perform an action to which a partial indulgence is attached obtain, in addition to the remission of temporal punishment merited by the action itself, an equal remission of punishment through the Church's intervention.
6.A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day, except for the provisions stated in norm 18 below for those who are "on the point of death.".
A partial indulgence can be gained more than once a day unless there is an explicit direction to the contrary.
7.The requirements for gaining a plenary indulgence are; the indulgenced work must be performed and three conditions fulfilled. These are; (a) sacramental confession. (b) eucharistic communion, (c) prayer for the Pope's intentions Further, it is necessary to be free from all attachment to any sin at all even venial (allowable-excusable) sin
If this condition is not complete or if the conditions laid down are not fulfilled (except as provided in norm 11 for those who are "impeded"), the indulgence gained will be only partial.
8.The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the prescribed work has been performed. However, it is appropriate that communion be received and the prayers for the Pope's intention be said on the same day the work is performed.
9.One sacramental confession suffices to gain several plenary indulgences. But for each plenary indulgence communion must he received and prayers for the Pope's intentions must be said.
10. One Our Father and one Hail Mary fully satisfy the condition of praying for the Pope's intentions; nevertheless, if a person wishes to substitute some other prayer according to his own piety and devotion towards the Pope he is free to do so.
11. The faculty granted by Canon 935 of the Code of Canon law to confessors to change either the required work or the prescribed conditions (for gaining indulgences) for those who are "impeded" (i.e., unable to perform them because of some lawful impediment) is not changed. But local ordinaries can grant permission to gain a plenary indulgence without an actual confession and communion to those of their canonical subjects for whom confession and communion are impossible or at least very difficult where they live, provided they are sorry for their sins and intend to receive these sacraments as soon as possible.
12. To make it clear that indulgences are attached to the actions of the faithful (even though they may sometimes be linked with some thing or place) the division of indulgences into "personal." "real" and "local" is abolished.
13.The "Enchiridion Indulgentiarum" (collection of indulgenced prayers and works) is to he revised. The purpose of the revision will be to attach indulgences only to the most important prayers and works of piety, charity and penance.
14. The lists and summaries of indulgences special to Religious Orders, Congregations, Societies of those living in community without vows, secular Institutes and the pious Associations of the faithful are to be revised as soon as possible. When this is done plenary indulgences may be gained only on set days appointed by the Holy See after considering the proposals made by the Superior General, or, in the case of pious Associations, of the local ordinary.
15. A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the dead, can he pined in all churches and public oratories (and in semi-public oratories by those who have the right to use them) on November 2.
In addition, a plenary indulgence can be gained twice a year in parish churches. This is on the feast of the church's Titular and on August 2, the date of the "Portiuncula" or on some other more suitable day to he determined by the ordinary
All the indulgences mentioned above can be gained either on the set day or, with the ordinary's consent, on the Sunday before or the Sunday after.
Other indulgences attached to churches and oratories are to be revised as soon as possible.
16. The work prescribed for gaining a plenary indulgence connected with a church or oratory is a devout visit during which an Our Father and Creed are recited.
17. The faithful who use with devotion an object of piety (crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular or medal) after it has been duly blessed by any priest, can gain a partial indulgence.
But if this object of piety is blessed by the Pope or any bishop, the faithful who use it with devotion can also gain a plenary indulgence on the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, provided they also make a profession of faith using any approved formula.
18. When one of the faithful is in danger of death and no priest is available to administer the sacraments to him with the apostolic blessing, to which a plenary indulgence is attached (according to Canon 468, par. 2 of the Code of Canon Law), holy Mother Church still grants a plenary indulgence to be gained at the moment of death, on condition that they are properly disposed and have been in the habit of reciting some prayers during their lifetime. The practice of using a crucifix or cross while gaining this plenary indulgence is praiseworthy.
This plenary indulgence at the point of death can be gained by the faithful even it they have already gained another plenary indulgence on the same day.
19. The rules set out for plenary indulgences, especially those referred to in norm 6, apply also to what have been known up to now as the "toties quoties" plenary indulgences.
20. Holy Mother Church is extremely concerned for the faithful departed. She has decided to intercede for than to the fullest extent in every Mass and abrogates every special privilege in this matter.
[Editor] This is ONLY to gain indulgences and chapter 4 has 6 more pages on indulgences. The book has many chapters on how to obtain grace and whom grace can be obtained from. This book has around 1000 pages of "works for salvation.
The Old Testament Jews had it easy. All they had to do was offer daily sacrifices, various offerings and obey a multitude of ordinances, but a Roman Catholic darn near has to have a "law degree" to obey the RC church.
Back when I was Catholic, I thought, man, there's gotta be an "easier" way to salvation. This was hard, frustrating and hopeless. God was gonna "forgive" my sins and I STILL had to suffer the fires of Purgatory for them? What kind of God was this Roman Catholic God? I mean, I thought He was GOD, I didn't think He needed MY HELP to save me. What a weak Son He had, this Roman Catholic God. He says He came to die and pay the price for me, and He needs the help of a woman and a bunch of dead people? He needs priests and bishops to do for me what He couldn't do? Come on, Get Real.
I am gonna buy multiple copies of this book and offer it to those of you that want it. I was saved out of the RCC in the fall of 1991 and bought this and other books on Catholicism in 1992. It didn't take long to get a burden to expose Catholicism for what it really is.
When I was saved I STUDIED. I didn't mess around. God was working IN ME and now He is working THROUGH ME. I have the Spirit of God IN ME and He is GUARDING me and GUIDING me and LEADING me, and TEACHING me. He's telling me WHAT TO DO and HOW TO DO IT.
Folks-it ain't ME, it's HIM.
In HIS Word
Andy
**********************************************************BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM
On a recent edition of CNN's Crossfire, Tony Campolo refused to say Jesus is the only way to heaven. The panel was discussing events at the Southern Baptist Convention in Atlanta. Campolo would not answer the question directly but said, "The Apostle Paul says that there are people who have light that is not Christian light, and they will be judged on that basis."In an earlier appearance on PBS's Charlie Rose, Campolo muddied theological waters by stating, "I am saying that there is no salvation apart from Jesus; that's my evangelical mindset. However, I am not convinced that Jesus only lives in Christians" (National Liberty Journal, 8/99).
[Editor] Tony Campolo, according to what he says he believes is no evangelical, no fundamental and NO CHRISTIAN
Campolo declares that the resurrected Jesus of history `actually is present' in each person. Campolo also said, "Jesus is the only Savior, but not everybody who is being saved by Him is aware that He is the one who is doing the saving," and "Jesus is God because he is fully human".
Campolo, like the rest of the ecumenical crowd preaches a "social" gospel to transform the world rather than transformation of the soul. Universalism teaches that all mankind is saved and that we need to make the "world" a better place to live since we are all going to heaven anyway. Blissful eternity is "guaranteed to all", they say, so religions need to learn to get along and make the "world" a blissful place.
Campolo has conformed to the world and the world hears him because he is of the world.
I Jn 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
***********************************************POPULAR PAST PRESIDENT-COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIAN
An initiative to set up a united body of the world's religions, paralleling the United Nations, is gaining momentum. So claims Episcopal bishop William Swing, who is spearheading the United Religions Initiative. He recently met with the Dalai Lama in Jerusalem, and interfaith conferences are planned around the world. Later this year Swing will attend an interfaith forum in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Swing's goal is to set up the United Religions body by June next year (Christian News, 6/28/99).[Editor] This forum is being hosted by a Southern Baptist Bible Teacher.. Is it said a person will pick on, or work hard to expose error in which he was once involved in. I have a burden to expose the false religious system of Catholicism because I was involved in that system for 54 years of my life. Now I have a burden to expose the apostate SBC religious system because this was the system "I came into" when "I came out of" the Roman system.
I will never again come into another "system". I am now in "God's System" as an Elder/ overseer in Community Bible Chapel, a "Brethren Assembly". This word says it ALL. We are an assemble of brethren. We are ALL Christians of LIKE FAITH meeting in commitment to "Christ", and not some "convention", "association" or some "solitary pastor".
*******************************************FEEL GOOD RELIGION
A report on Charisma News Service (6/30/99) opened, "Can't make it to church on Sunday morning? Try worshipping God at the nearest nightclub. That's what lots of young people are doing in North Carolina."Christian nightclubs, which allow young people to socialize without the presence of alcohol and smoke, are a novelty but growing in popularity. The clubs usually feature Christian rock music, and some allow dancing. One patron of Cathy's Christian Cabaret said, "The good thing about this club is you can come here and hear all kinds of Christian music--heavy rock, contemporary, and alternative--and you get to praise and worship" (Foundation, 7-8/99
[Editor] Is it just me, or is not preaching/teaching mentioned here at all? We are not to "hear" our favorite music, we are to sing praise to the Lord that will glorify Him and edify other real live Christians. Modern religion is "all about" praise & worship nowadays. People want to praise God's Name and worship God in "their own way" and not as God tells them. They want to do this "physically".
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
They want to "praise His Name" and "compromise His Word".
Ps 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Do they not know that to obey is better than sacrifice/worship or praise?
1 Sam 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
These charlatans go by "what they think is best". But some of us know that God doesn't care one bit, (you know how tiny a "bit" is?) what we think. You wanna know why?
Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
God says we should do more than to forsake our sins. (Repent-turn from). He says to forsake our thoughts.
Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
The word unrighteous in this verse is 'aven (aw-ven'; (Strong's Greek/Hebrew Dictionary) Meaning to exert oneself in vain, resulting in gaining nothing but trouble because of vanity
He says DO AS I SAY, not as we think.
Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
******************************************************************Should we lose the fear of Hell? Pope redefines the doctrine
Hello Folks
This article is sent without my comments. I believe the article SAYS IT ALL. Even the two scripture references are correct, although not taken from the KJV. The news of this was reported by CNV News Service on 8/3/99 as "Walls Tumbling Down, and HELL-only a state of mind?"
Hey, folks, concerning the state of many ministries and churches today, sometimes secular news sources are more biblical that some religious news sources. AMEN?
Hanging in there with you, because of HIM.
AndyTHE ARTICLE
Should we lose the fear of Hell? Pope redefines the doctrine
(Taken from the Fort Worth Star Telegram-8/10/99)With thoughts focused on the hereafter, Pope John Paul II expounded on heaven, hell and purgatory in his recent weekly audiences. The pope's messages reached the headlines of major newspapers as he denied heaven and hell were physical places and seemed to reverse nearly 2,000 years of Christian teaching.
Heaven, said John Paul, is "a living and personal relationship of union with the Holy Trinity." So far, so good. But in denying the spatial reality of heaven, the pope neglected the New Testament teaching that we will have resurrected bodies, which will require a spatial dimension.
The same issue arises in his rejection of the spatial dimension of hell. "More than a physical place," the pope declared, "hell is the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God." Nevertheless, the Bible speaks of hell as a very real place of torment and punishment, of unquenched fire and unspeakable anguish.
The pope's denial of the traditional Christian understanding of hell is one more step in a progressive rejection of the very real and very horrible picture of hell revealed in the Bible. The temptation to "air-condition hell," as one Roman Catholic magazine put it, is constant in a secular world that rejects hell as outdated and promises some kind of vague harmonic convergence in the afterlife.
In popular culture, hell has gone the way of the hula hoop. It simply doesn't fit the modern secular mind. As British novelist David Lodge once remarked, "At some point in the 1960s, hell disappeared. No one could say for certain when this happened. First it was there, then it wasn't. Different people became aware of the disappearance of hell at different times."
Though Americans poke fun at "hellfire and brimstone" sermons, you are not likely to hear one in most pulpits, where hell has been conveniently domesticated for popular consumption. In liberal Protestantism, the traditional concept of hell is simply denied and "demythologized." Among some evangelicals, the preferred practice is simply to preach the promise of heaven and avoid hell at all cost.
Polls consistently reveal most Americans believe in heaven -- and believe they are going there. Far fewer believe in hell, and almost no one believes he or she is headed there. Modern Americans are quite certain their democratic deity wouldn't do anything so rash as to consign their neighbors to eternal punishment, much less themselves.
The pope's most serious revision of the biblical understanding of hell comes at the same issue. "Hell is not a punishment imposed externally by God, but the condition resulting from attitudes and actions which people adopt in this life," he said. "So eternal damnation is not God's work but is actually our own doing."
John Paul's statements are hardly revolutionary in the context of modern theology, but his decision to make such a public revision of the traditional teaching is highly significant. Just a few days prior to his statement a prominent Jesuit theological journal published the same argument. Clearly, a message has been sent.
We should note that Jesus had more to say about hell than about heaven, and he spoke of hell as a place of punishment where the wicked are "cast," and where the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:44,47). He also warned of the judgment coming when he would separate "the sheep from the goats." To those who bear his judgment, he will pronounce this judgment: "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).
Evidently, hell is indeed a punishment imposed by God, and the dire warnings in Scripture to respond to Christ in faith -- while there is time -- make sense only if hell is a very real place of very real torment.
As several modern commentators have noted, hell would be horrible enough if only for the absolute absence of God. But the Bible does not leave the matter there, nor should we. Our attempts to evade the biblical doctrine of hell weaken our understanding of the Gospel and confuse a world desperate for a word of biblical reality.
We are rightly warned to fear hell and to flee the wrath to come. Good advice comes from John Chrysostom, one of the greatest preachers of the early church: "Let us think often of hell, lest we soon fall into it."
**************************************************Atlantic City's "ugly" pageant.
First let me say that I do not watch pageants, beauty or otherwise, but I read about this "drag queen" pageant held to mimic the "Miss America 2000" pageant. This pageant, the one for men dressed in "drag", as made up women, was held seven blocks from the stage where "Miss America 2000" was crowned.I now quote an excerpt from the news article as stated in "InfoBeat News. Morning Coffee Edition for Tuesday, September 21, 1999"
"Held annually on the night after Miss America's crowning, Miss'd America provides a sarcastic antidote to the apple-pie sincerity of the real pageant. The swimsuit competition? A nauseating display of chunky thighs and muscular arms. The musical production numbers? Over-the-top atrocious. The evening wear contest? Outright hysterical. The only serious thing Sunday was the cause: The event raised more than $15,000 for support programs run by the South Jersey AIDS Alliance. Miss America 1998 Kate Shindle, who spent her reign promoting AIDS advocacy and needle exchanges, sang "My Man" during the show."
Now-my turn. A male in female "evening wear" to me would be outright disgusting, not hysterical, but I do agree with the comments of a " nauseating display" and " over-the-top atrocious". Even the "cause" was nauseating. Let me say that this "Miss Abominable America of 1998" should be told that there is no such thing as "safe needles" when it comes to doing whatever it is one does with needles, unless the needle is used for legitimate medical purposes or for sewing/ mending. For the Generation X's that I have on my mailing list, you may take up the Webster's Dictionary and look up the meaning of "sew" and "mend". There really are such words.
Miss Aids Advocacy 1998, as well as the medical profession, should recognize that one fights a disease by treating the "cause" not the "symptom".
There is a symptom that Jesus Christ came to eliminate by treating the cause. This symptom could be called "spiritual Aids" and the end result is "spiritual death". Now the God of the Bible knows that to cure this disease and it's devastating effects, He must offer a "remedy" for the "cause".
Now for the "remedy".
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and "with his stripes we are healed".Now--if ANY of you need a good dose of this medication, please write and I will help you get in touch with the "Great Physician" as HE is the ONLY ONE who dispenses this spiritual medication.
If you are an unrepentant Bible reader, you have spiritual Aids, which is sin, and sin when it is finished brings forth death. (James 1:15)
Dear reader, if you are one of the MANY brothers and sisters in the Lord I have on this list, and you know of someone that is in need of this "spiritual medication," I pray that YOU help them get in touch with our "Doctor" and YOU, as the Doctor's aid, tell them how to get this "life saving" medication.
In the Word (Christ)
Andy
*******************************************************THE WORLD (Enemy of God) HAS BEEN WELCOMED INTO THE CHURCHES.
Gone is the faith once delivered to the saints. (Jude 1:3)
Excerpted from the Fort Worth Star Telegram. 9/27/99)COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- As religion has evolved to keep up with a consumer-driven culture, places of worship are rethinking the ways they welcome first-time visitors who are shopping for a spiritual home. The unannounced visit by the pastor is out. Too intrusive. The free caffe latte is in. Very baby boomer.
Asking visitors to stand up in the middle of the service is out. Too embarrassing. Free lasagna is in. People bond over food.[Editor] Churches offer "free food" rather than "free from works salvation", for they are not ashamed of the "gospel of catering", for it is the power of the world unto a "fuzzy feel good sensation" to the un-churched first and also to the religious seekers.
From delivering apple pies and loaves of bread to people's doors, to tracking first-time visitors by ZIP code, churches and other religious institutions are positioning themselves to draw spiritual seekers without scaring them off with heavy-handed tactics.[Editor] The CHURCH is to draw people to God through the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. The Lord doesn't want "spiritual seekers" He wants a "people for His Name".
"There is no question, I believe, that people are hungry, people are searching, and I want to be able to respond," said Rabbi Brian Glusman, who has broadened the outreach program at Temple Shalom in Colorado Springs. "I also believe churches, synagogues and mosques need to operate almost like a business where customer service is a priority, to the way the phone is answered to how someone is greeted at the door."[Editor] People have been searching for a "religious experience" ever since the fall of man, and they find that which pleases them, and that which is an abomination before God is what pleases them. There has ALWAYS been pagan temples of worship and the "once" Christian churches are now being transformed into pagan religious temples and chances are some of YOU are attending one of these.
The cliche about getting no second chance to make a first impression not only applies to places of worship, but the chance comes and goes remarkably quickly.
A recent study of mainline Protestant churches, for example, found that first-time visitors decide within four minutes whether they will return, said Richard Southern, a California-based church growth consultant.
About 40 percent of people who visit a church for the first time go back, he said.
Southern has even developed a list of welcoming dos and don'ts for churches. The 27 activities deemed "appropriate" range from providing printed words to prayers to installing baby-changing stations in restrooms. The long-standing practice of asking visitors to stand up and be recognized? No way, he said.
"Most Americans are very self-conscious about speaking in public, and churches still will ask them to do that and put them on the spot," Southern said. "Then they're amazed when they don't come back again."
If recent surveys are an indication, there's plenty of opportunity to win new people into communities of faith.[Editor] is it the job of the CHURCH to win people into "communities of faith" or win then "to Christ"? Is this is YOUR church it is not "THE CHURCH"?
A MacArthur Foundation study found that seven out of 10 Americans say they are religious and consider spirituality to be an important part of their lives. But about half attend religious services less than once a month, or never.[Editor] It does not matter whether a "religious person" attends a "religious service" or not. It is not "religion" that saves a person from the eternal torment of hell in the Lake of Fire.
A poll by the Gallup organization, meanwhile, found that one in four Americans would go to church if they were asked.[Editor] there is no value in going to a "seeker church". Attending a church "of any kind" does not save people. We are not to "hit the streets" to invite people to church, we are to preach the gospel of Christ.. Besides--these "seeker churches" won't even hit the streets to invite people to church. They want to "entice them" to come. This is the old proverbial tying of the "pork chop around the neck" to get the dog to "play with you".
In Colorado Springs, a number of places of worship are reaching out to such people.
Outreach to visitors is so important to Woodmen Valley Chapel that the nondenominational church has created an "assimilation department" staffed by a pastor and an analyst who crunches attendance numbers and searches for trends in the information cards visitors fill out.
The church, nestled in an upper-middle-class neighborhood, has visitors in mind from the moment they pull into the parking lot.
If guests follow a cue to flash your high beams, they're guided to a premium parking space close to the sanctuary. Once inside, visitors are offered a free latte and an audio tape of a service.
During offertory, visitors are asked to fill out an information card instead of digging into their wallets -- a responsibility, they are told, of church members.
Anyone local who fills out a card receives a letter in the mail from Senior Pastor Jim Tomberlin. That's not all. The church also home-delivers "love loaves" -- bread either from a bakery or the kitchens of church members.
The church is just as careful choosing what it doesn't do, said Andy Sturt, whose title, assimilation information analyst, sounds like it's straight out of "Star Trek."
For example, the church doesn't dispatch pastors to homes for deep discussions about faith. With all the dinner-time calls from telemarketers these days, there are limits to people's patience, Sturt said.
"The most valuable commodity in our society today is time," he said. "The little bit of time you have, you don't want someone to show up uninvited and expect them to sit down and talk to you."[Editor] Why is "time" so scarce these days. Do we not have more time after necessities that our forefathers that washed clothes by hand, harvested crops by hand, manufactured by hand and lived from "hand to mouth"?
The results of these efforts can be measured at the open houses the church periodically holds for new members. Of the 906 people who filled out visitor cards during a recent 26-week span of services, 120 people attended an open house for new members under a tent on the church grounds, Sturt said.
The city's largest place of worship, 6,000-member New Life Church on the city's north side, welcomes visitors with a glossy information packet it calls its "family album." The packet lists some of the charismatic church's 438 small groups as well as definitions of worship style and church philosophy.[Editor] Wanna bet these churches philosophies are NOT Biblical philosophies? Maybe you are not a gambling man, huh? If you "belong" to one of these churches, you are, and you gamble much more than covering the bet I just made.
Statistics show few people return visitors' information cards, says Tricia Langley, outreach coordinator for New Life. So the church dangles such incentives as free copies of Senior Pastor Ted Haggard's books.
Those who do turn in cards get a letter inviting them to a guest reception hosted by Haggard. The church also sorts visitors by ZIP code, and visitors often are contacted by leaders of small groups who live near them.
"You can no longer say, 'Here's what we have to offer, come and take it,"' Langley said. "You have to be sensitive to who your consumers are. People are more sophisticated. They are looking to things that meet their life needs."[Editor] Christians are to offer to the world ONE THING. We are to say , "Here's what we have to offer, come and take it". The priority of the CHURCH is not to offer "physical life" needs, but "spiritual life" needs.
Doug McKinney, a minister at First United Methodist Church, just sent a letter to the 3,000-member congregation proposing that the downtown church expand its long-established welcoming program. The idea: that everyone start wearing name tags on Sunday to send a friendlier message.
Like many churches, First United Methodist treads a fine line when it comes to welcoming new people. It wants to be welcoming but not smothering.
McKinney said he takes his cue from how visitors react to a sign-up table in the church lobby.
"If they want to be aloof, go unnoticed, they won't sign in," McKinney said. "If they sign up, give their phone number, I take that as a sign that they'd like some attention."
The church has retained a tradition begun in the early 1970s of delivering apple pies to the homes of seven first-time visitors from the previous week.
Still, the tradition has been tweaked. McKinney said the church usually doesn't deliver pies to younger people who might consider it old-fashioned.[Editor] The church doesn't deliver the gospel either because that too, has become "old fashioned".
The pie strategy helped draw in Ken and Jennifer Gillam, who moved to Colorado Springs in April when Ken, an Army captain, was reassigned to Fort Carson.
The couple, who are in their late 20s, had visited other United Methodist churches in the city and felt comfortable with both the size of First United Methodist and the way they were welcomed there.
A large church gives them a better chance of expanding their circle of friends beyond the military, and the warm but not overly aggressive welcome indicates making friends shouldn't be hard, Ken Gillam said.
"Everyone likes to be recognized, talked to and be welcomed, whether you're going to come back or not," he said. "It wasn't like we were dealing with a telemarketer or anything like that. No one was pushy."
[Editor] THIS is what I preach about and against. Why do I preach about this so much. BECAUSE GOD HAS SOME PEOPLE IN THESE CHURCHES (not many, mind you, but some) AND HE WANT'S THEM TO "COME OUT"2 Cor 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Many "Protestants" call the Roman Catholic Church the "harlot church" and rightly so, but the "Protestant" churches are walking "in Her footsteps". Christianity is becoming a thing of the past. "Paganity" or "Roman Catholicianity" is now the norm.
The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. (Acts 11:26)
The "professing" disciples were first called "Religionists" in America. (Andy 9:28-99)