February 1998 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. February, 1998 [Andy Neckar PO Box J, Hico, TX 76457]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Baptist Group May Oust Austin TX Church That Welcomes Homosexuals
2. Christian Rock Artist Carman
3. Carman Harming the Gospel of Christ
4. IT'S ALL RELATIVE
5. When Forgiveness Is a Sin
6. Misc. News Items
Baptist Group May Oust Austin Church That Welcomes Homosexuals
(An Associated Press Article taken from The Fort Worth Star Telegram- 2/10/98)An Austin Southern Baptist church that welcomes practicing homosexuals may be ousted by the Baptist General Convention of Texas when it meets in Dallas later this month.
The convention's administrative committee voted unanimously on Friday to recommend the expulsion of the University Baptist Church.
The convention's executive board has set a Feb. 24 vote on the matter.
If the board upholds the administrative committee, the convention's name would be removed from the church's literature and Web site. The board also will decide whether to discontinue accepting money from the church for mission programs.
Charles Davenport of Fort Worth, administrative committee chairman, denied that the convention is trying to expel the church. The convention aims to distances itself from the church, he said.
Nevertheless, the Rev. Larry Bethune, the church's pastor, said the move to expel the congregation seems to say that God discriminates against gays and lesbians.
"Gays and lesbians and their families are damaged once again by hearing that God hates them," he told the Austin American-Statesman in today's editions. "They hear that the way an African American would hear, `Love the soul and hate the color,' or a woman would hear, `Love the woman but hate the gender."'[Editor]—How about love the soul and disregard the color, and love the woman and abide by God’s "gender roles"/ ] Hey—isn’t that what Christianity is all about? Loving God, and we know that we love Him if we keep His commandments, and loving our neighbor. You know—God does more than command us to "love one another" as most folks want to believe. God puts "love for Him" first of all.
Hey folks—listen up—a new revelation to many professing Christians
Matt 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (KJV)
Matt 22:38 This is the first and great commandment. (KJV)
Matt 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (KJV)
Something else new to many professing Christians.
I Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. (KJV)
I Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (KJV)]
[end of editor’s comments]
The administrative committee contends that any church that accepts the homosexual lifestyle is defying biblical teaching and cannot be accepted in fellowship with other Southern Baptist churches.
The confrontation resulted when the church's site on the World Wide Web caught the eye of the convention committee, Davenport said. On its site, the church mentions its Texas Baptist affiliation and promotes its own Open Circle ministry.
The ministry is made up of "gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight and transgendered people working toward unity and inclusion in our denomination and communities," according to the Web site.
The Web site has been on the Internet for two years, but Davenport said the administrative committee became aware of it only two weeks ago.
"We've been aware of the situation in the University Church and the homosexual issue, but when they went public on their Web page, we had to take a stand," he said.[Editor—The administrative committee became aware of the "Web Site" only two weeks ago, but they were aware of the "situation" in the University Church and the homosexual issue for some time. This tell us that as long as the issue was not made public it would be tolerated, but now in "fear of the people" action may be taken. You will notice that the "fear of our Lord" was not enough to influence the administrative committee. Yes, folks—when the government can accomplish more than the Holy Spirit of God in the live of a believer, and when "fear of the people" can accomplish more in the life of a believer than the "fear of God" I highly suspect the spiritual standing of the professed believer.]
[end of editor’s comments]
Relations between the congregation and the convention have been turbulent for years. In 1948, the church stopped segregating people in its pews by race, "withstanding the criticism of many other Texas Baptist churches at the time," Bethune said. It also accepts female ministers, a controversial move in Baptist circles.[Editor -- If God does not segregate between Jew and Gentile, what right does Christians have in segregating between black and white. When Caesar (government) rules on segregation Christians comply, but when God rules on segregation Christians resist? Is that right? You know-when Christ said render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s (Matt 22:21) I don’t think He meant to render more (obedience) to Caesar than to God. Do you? ]
[end of editor’s comments]
Four years ago, University Baptist made headlines when it ordained a gay deacon. The Austin Baptist Association responded by removing the church from its membership.[Editor-- I wonder why the Baptist General Convention of Texas failed to take any sort of action back then. The Southern Baptists just plain refuse to obey God in His command to separate, don’t they? Yes, folks—when the government can accomplish more than the Holy Spirit of God in the live of a believer, and when "fear of the people" can accomplish more in the life of a believer than the "fear of God," I highly suspect the spiritual standing of the professed believer.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Christian Rock Artist Carman
Christian Rock artist Carman, to perform at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.Christian rock musician Carman will perform at the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. His full-stage show will be held on the corner of Canal and Rampert Streets in New Orleans Feb. 23 after the Orpheus Parade.
"Scripture tells us that 'where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.' I know that God put it in my heart to go down to New Orleans and present the gospel of Jesus Christ through my music," Carman said. Leaders of the 25,000-member Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church will be available for prayer and counseling after the show.
Carman, who also has performed concerts at spring break in Florida, held the largest Christian concert ever, drawing 73,000 people to Texas Stadium in Dallas in 1994. (Religion Today 2/18/98)
[Editor] Scripture tells us: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" ((Rom 6:1-2)
Scripture tells us: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb 4:12)
Folks this verse is talking about the Word of God not music. Can music pierce the soul and spirit and discern the thoughts and intents of the heart? Folk, the answer is NO, only the Word of God has this power. Nowhere in His Word do we hear of the gospel being set to music and presented in that manner.
Scripture tells us this is the gospel of Christ: (1 Cor 15:1-4) Can the gospel of Christ be contained in a short song? Music, especially Rock music appeals to the carnal man. Things that appeal to the carnal man "cannot" be of God. The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (Rom 8:7) The carnal man cannot please God. (Rom 8:8)
The gospel of Christ does not appeal to lost sinners. Without the Spirit of God working in His Word (not music) to pierce the soul and spirit and discern the thoughts and intents of the heart all mankind would remain lost.
If something appeals to lost sinners apart from the Word of God, it is not of God. The "music" appeals to the people, not the "words". --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carman Harmin the Gospel of Christ
Carman is alleged to be a serious Christian musician.. Consider the following words to his song "HOLY GHOST HOP."
Everybody used to do the twist
The mashed potato and it goes like this
The funky chicken, monkey too
There wasn't nothing' they would not do
But there's a new dance no one can stop
A leap for joy we call the Holy Ghost Hop.Now get ready, hold steady
Don't deny it, just try it
Be bold now, let it go now
Give the Holy Ghost control now.Chorus
Rejoice with a grateful heart
Rejoice to the Holy One
Rejoice, let your praises fill the airRejoice, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice
Everybody praise Him and rejoice.
Hey all you brothers and you sisters too
Don't let tradition tell you what to doRelease your worries and your fears
'Cause we've been hopping in the church for years
If King David was here I know that he
Would do the Holy Ghost Hop with me.
____________________________Folks, I don’t believe Carman "knows" who the Holy Spirit is. Will he "really" present the gospel of Jesus Christ through his music, I don’t think he "knows" the gospel of Jesus Christ.
"But if you jam with the Lamb, you're smooth'? These lyrics are from Carman's "Addicted to Jesus" album, as are the lyrics printed regarding the "Hop". And what about, "Come rock with the flock with the brothers that jam?"
What about Carman? Think about it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------IT'S ALL RELATIVE
(-John Leo in Washington Times—taken from the Jan. 98 issue of the Readers Digest)IN 30 YEAM of college teaching, Prof. Robert Simon has never met a student who denied that the Holocaust happened. What he sees increasingly, though, is worse: students who acknowledge the fact of the Holocaust but can’t bring themselves to say that killing millions of people is wrong.
Simon, who teaches philosophy at Hamilton College, says that ten to 20 percent of his students are reluctant to make moral judgments-in some cases, even about the Holocaust. While these students may deplore what the Nazis did, their disapproval is expressed as a matter of taste or personal preference, not moral judgment. "Of course I dislike the Nazis one student told him, "but who is to say they are morally wrong?'
Overdosing on nonjudgmentalism is a growing problem in our schools. Christina Hoff Sommers, author and professor of philosophy at Clark University, says that many students come to college " committed to a moral relativism that offers them no grounds to think" about cheating, stealing and other moral issues.
[Editor] These observations are indicative of this present Christian generation. One would think that the "Christian Crowd" would "stand out" from the world, but worldly Christians and professing Christians cannot be differentiated from the world. There is no light in them. They cannot illuminate Christ in the darkness of this world.
Christians are overdosing on "love and unity" and "nonjudgmentalism" because it may require some work on their part to obey God in His commands to "love Him first". (Matt 22:37-38) The following verse tells us if we love God first, a course of action will be required of us.
I John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. (KJV)
Many Christians do not know what God commands because like the Roman Catholics, they let "religious scholars" tell them what God says in His Word..(Bible) If any of these comments apply to you, I can only repeat what God tells you to do.
2 Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (KJV)
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (KJV)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pagan Services at Cathedral Marks World Aids Day
SACRAMENTO-Under the guise of an interfaith prayer service for the AIDS agenda and AIDS casualties, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament was the setting for pagan ceremonies on Sunday evening, November 30, the eve of World AIDS Day.The ceremony included prayers to Buddha, Aztec rituals, nondenominational Christian songs, candle and incense rituals and the :calling of names" It concluded with a procession to the nearby Hyatt Regency led by an Aztec priestess bearing incense, accompanied by drums and feathered Aztec cultists, to view 700 panels of the AIDS Quilt.
This observance of World AIDS Day was just one of the many celebrated in Catholic cathedrals and churches across the country, from Sacramento, to St. Augustine, to Washington, D.C., to Rochester, New York, as homosexual-related events in Catholic churches pepper the calendar as feast days did in days of old.
Important homosexual events in Catholic churches (in addition to AIDS funerals, blessing ceremonies, homosexual and lesbian choirs .and concerts, 'kids' days at the quilt," dignity events, New Ways Ministry conferences) are now held in June, for Gay Pride Month; in October, for Gay Coming Out Month and Gay History Month; in November-December, for World AIDS Day. In addition, some churches, such as St. Francis in Sacramento, have hosted special homosexual Mardi Gras events before Lent. (Sword of the Lord, 2/20/98)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------When Forgiveness Is a Sin
[(This article condensed from the March 1998 issue of the "Readers Digest". Originally from the Wall Street Journal)According to an article in the March 1998 Readers Digest titled "When Forgiveness Is a Sin", the bodies of the three teen-age girls shot dead last December by a fellow student at Heath High School in West Paducah, Ky., were not yet cold before some of their schoolmates hung a sign announcing, "We forgive you, Mike!" They were referring to Michael Carneal, 14, the killer.
Dennis Pager, the Jewish author of the article, originally written for the Wall Street Journal says: "This immediate and automatic forgiveness is not surprising. Over the past generation, many Christians have adopted the idea that they should forgive everyone who commits evil against anyone, no matter how great and cruel and whether or not the evildoer repents".
The Digest article goes on to say that such a doctrine "advances the amoral notion that no matter how much you hurt others, millions of your fellow citizens will forgive you. It destroys Christianity's central moral tenets about forgiveness. Even by God, forgiveness is contingent on the sinner repenting, and it can be given only by the one sinned against".
"And if your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him , reads Luke 17:3-4. 'And if seven times of the day he sins against you, and seven times of the day turns to you saying, I repent, you shall forgive him."
The article continues by stating: "These days one often hears that ‘It is the Christian's duty to forgive, just as Jesus forgave those who crucified him.’"
It says that we have no right, "religiously or morally, to forgive Timothy McVeigh or Michael Carneal; only those they sinned against have that right. If we are automatically forgiven no matter what we do, why repent? In fact, if we forgive everybody for all the evil they do, God and his forgiveness are unnecessary. We have substituted ourselves for God."
Mr. Pager says he hosts a talk-radio show and when confronted with such arguments, some callers offered another defense: "‘The students were not forgiving Carneal for murdering the three students. They were forgiving him for the pain he caused them.’ Such self-centered thinking masquerading as a religious ideal is a good example of the moral disarray in much of religious life".
This excellent article makes these closing statements: "Some people have a more sophisticated defense of the forgive-everyone-everything doctrine: doing so is psychologically healthy. It brings ‘dosure,’ This is therapy masquerading as idealism: ‘I forgive you because I want to feel better.’ If young Christians have inherited more values from the '60s culture than from their religion, where can we look for help?"
[Editor] I send this Readers Digest article to show that in some cases more truth can be found in reading magazines than can be found in some churches. Shameful, but true. IN SOME CASES
The religious community is marketing unity, love and forgiveness which fosters a "feel good" religion. Professing Christians refusing to face their own sin (repentance) is the reason they cannot confront the sins of others.
Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. (KJV)
1 Tim 5:20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. (KJV)
2 Cor 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. (KJV)
2 Cor 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (KJV)
2 Cor 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear (pure) in this matter. (KJV)
You see, it takes "work" on the part of the Christian to confront sin. Unconditional love, unorthodox unity and premature forgiveness is "easy". That is the course many Christians pursue.
In the above verses, 2 Cor 7:9-11, I believe Paul is talking about the letter he wrote to the church at Corinth earlier. In that letter (1 Cor Chapter 5) he wrote about a man living with his father’s wife. Paul rebuked this church for taking no action against this sin. Because of Paul’s rebuke the church disfellowshipped this person and brought many of the Corinthian Christians to repentance. He didn’t "forgive" them, he "rebuked" them and "then" forgave them "when they repented".
2 Cor 2:6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. (KJV)
2 Cor 2:7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. (KJV)
2 Cor 2:8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. (KJV)
I believe the above verses indicate the "evil person" also repented because of the action taken by the church. The church is now to forgive this man and comfort him in his sorrow.
Yes—I believe as the Readers Digest article claims. Premature forgiveness is sin.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Misc. News Items
[The following News Articles are taken from "What in the World" A news service prepared by Bob Jones University]According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, this year's network prime-time lineup will increase the number of openly homosexual characters by almost a third, making the season the "gayest" yet (The Baptist Bulletin, 12/97).
In its annual Statistical Abstract, the U.S. Census Bureau states that the average American spends 4.4 hours a day watching television; that is 1,595 hours per year (The Christian News, 12/22/97).
Newsweek recently reported that the divorce rate of Protestant clergy now matches the general population and that as many as 30% of male Protestant ministers have had sexual relationships with women other than their wives (The Baptist Bulletin, 12/97).
More than 80 gay and lesbian pastors and lay leaders from the Metropolitan Community Churches participated last year in the Robert Schuller Institute for Successful Church Leadership at Schuller's Crystal Cathedral. Speakers included Bill Hybels, John Maxwell, and Rick Warren (Sword of the Lord, 11/28/97).
The Rev. Robert Schuller was the keynote speaker at the 15th annual Islamic Convention sponsored by the Muslim American Society. Schuller, a televangelist whose "Hour of Power" TV program reaches 20 million viewers in 180 countries, said he made the appearance to promote understanding between Muslims and Christians. In his speech Schuller said the two religions had much in common (Sword of the Lord, 11/28/97).
United Methodist Communications (UMCom), the public relations agency for the United Methodist Church, openly promoted homosexual marriage in a cable television program it sponsored entitled "Adam & Steve? Same Sex Marriages and Christian Faith." The program argues that the church should heed the desire of homosexuals to solemnize their relationships with the blessing of the church, because "gay and lesbian couples are wanting to make a profession of their couple-ness in the eyes of God." United Methodist pastors who support gay marriage are interviewed, including one who said that the church has "has erected barriers to people" over sexual orientation, and argues that "Jesus would open doors," not close them. Wilford Bane of UMCom's Division of Public Media said the same-sex program was aimed specifically at young people (Plains Baptist Challenger, 12/97).
The treatment of choice for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Ritalin, increased 400% between 1990 and 1996. Many doctors are concerned that giving Ritalin rather than discipline sends children the message that they are not responsible for their own conduct, that they are driven by "uncontrollable impulses," for which there are drugs (Education Reporter, 1/98).