November 1997 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 November 1997 [Andy Neckar PO Box J, Hico, TX 76457]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Churches Are Dying
2. Gore Says Homosexuality Is Divine Creative Act.
3. Former President Jimmy Carter says Mormons are Christians
4. Interview With Jimmy Carter
5. Handbooks To Replace Bible?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------At the "Congregations in Global Mission" Conference held by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in St. Louis, Mo.- Nov. 8-11 the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, General Assembly stated clerk and former WMD director said in his opening address, , "At the heart of the church's life is the fact that we have been given the love of Jesus Christ -- not to keep it, but to share it throughout the world."
[Editor] And that is exactly what the churches are teaching nowadays. Love and unity. It is my understanding though, that Christ gave His people the gospel to share throughout the world. The Bible doesn’t teach that there is salvation in the "love" of Christ. Believers are washed in the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7) and justified by God’s grace (Titus 3:7) through faith (Gal 3:24; Eph 2:9)
Salvation comes through believing the "gospel" of Christ. ( Rom 1:16) and that is what we are to share throughout the whole world. (Matt 28:19)
The heart of the churches life is "preaching" the gospel of Christ, "baptizing" the believers and "teaching" the converts to observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded us. (Matt 28:19-20)
True churches are dying. They are having the "heart" cut out of them
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gore Says Homosexuality Is Divine Creative Act.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Vice President Al Gore stepped up the national dialogue over civil rights protection for homosexuals in a Nov. 16 news conference, saying God creates homosexuals and that God is grieved at their mistreatment.
Meeting with local reporters in his home state of Tennessee, Gore was asked about comments a month earlier in Beverly Hills, Calif., in which he praised Hollywood producers for forcing Americans to "look at sexual orientation in a more open light" with openly homosexual television characters. ( Reported by CNV News 10/21/97)
"I do not believe that God intended them to suffer persecution and discrimination throughout their lives here on earth. I do not believe God would have created them as he has and intend for them to be mistreated," Gore said. (excerpted from Baptist Press 11/17/97)
[Editor] Is Al Gore pretending to have the "mind of God"? He knows what God thinks other than what is written in God’s Word? The phrase "I do not believe God would have created them as he has..." is real troubling to me. God does not create homosexuals. He creates humans who turn to sin, including homosexuality.
Folks-this homosexual legitimatization by the government "and the churches" leads me to believe that this abomination before God will play an important role in the rule of the Anti-Christ. It sure is playing an important role in the events leading up to his reign.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Former President Jimmy Carter says Mormons are Christians.
Former President Jimmy Carter, a "Sunday school teacher" on a regular basis at Maranatha Church in Plains, Ga., said Southern Baptists are off the mark in their belief that Mormon doctrine is essentially non-Christian and Mormons are therefore in need of evangelization.
According to the article, Carter said, "I think the worst thing that we can do, among the worst things we can do, as believers in Christ, is to spend our time condemning others, who profess faith in Christ and try to have a very narrow definition of who is and who is not an acceptable believer and a child of God."
Sharing the gospel, Carter said in the article, is "a mandate that has guided Baptists as well as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others all down through the centuries. I think that that's part of my own life commitment, is to tell others about Christ, and to offer them, at least, the Word of God, and to let the Holy Spirit decide, or ordain the results of those intercessions. So, I think that that's a very worthwhile effort."
"The only thing I'm hesitant about is exactly what you mean by proselytizing," Carter was quoted as saying. "If you mean should we Protestants devote our time to converting Catholics to be Protestants, that's something with which I generally disagree. I think, though, that if people don't know about Christ, I have a mandate directly from our Savior to try to share the message that he espoused both through his own words and through his own actions."
Carter's statements came in a copyrighted article that appeared Nov. 15 in the Deseret News, a newspaper in Salt Lake City owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The statements reportedly were made during a national teleconference with religion writers.
In the Deseret News article, religion editor Carrie A. Moore quoted Carter as saying SBC leaders were wrong in characterizing Mormons as non-Christians.
"Too many leaders now, I think, in the Southern Baptist Convention and in other conventions, are trying to act as the Pharisees did who were condemned by Christ, in trying to define who can and who cannot be considered an acceptable person in the eyes of God," he said. "In other words, they're making judgments on behalf of God. I think that's wrong." (excerpted from the Baptist Press 11/17/97)
[Editor] Well, well, well. What have we here? We have a Vice President singing the praises of abominable active homosexuals, and a former President commending abominable paganism. You know, I believe if God told these men that their names were Al Gore and Jimmy Carter they would call Him a liar. Do they believe anything God says? What does "your" Sunday school teacher believe?
One last comment. Roman Catholics and Mormons do not know Jesus Christ and converting them to Protestantism is no guarantee of their salvation.. Many Protestant religions do not know Christ. Conversion "to Christ" through the "gospel of Christ" is man’s only hope of salvation.
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[Excerpts from a report by The "Providence Journal-Bulletin" of Providence R.I. An hour-long telephone conference with former President Jimmy Carter last week with reporters.]
When asked if he would rather be known as the 39th president of the United States, or as a Sunday School teacher who led lots of people to the Lord, . surprisingly, Carter said he found it difficult to say.
Carter thinks there has been an upswing in religious interest of late, reflected by the popularity of TV shows like "Touched by an Angel" and by the sales of spiritually oriented books.
What people are searching for, Carter says, is guidance in living a transcendent life, a life that reaches above and beyond what is normally expected.
Carter said his daughter Amy is seldom in church anymore.
"I really don't want to speak too much for Amy because her present religious status is something I'm not qualified to judge," he said. "But I know Amy's participation in an organized church has been adversely affected, in a major way, by the theology of the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, who condemn the equal role of women in the church and who are even attempting to exclude any church from membership that has a woman deacon or pastor."
Even though the church in Plains is much more moderate and permits women deacons, the Southern Baptist Convention's theology has nonetheless alienated his daughter, Carter said. "She feels their theology is inimical (adverse)to her own deep beliefs."But given Carter's belief in salvation through Christ, how does he see Christians working with people of other faiths?
Carter says he's answered that question many times. "Christ says in the Sermon on the Mount `Judge not that ye may not be judged.' To me that means that God should be the one to ascertain the degree of companionship or relationship between God and an individual human being.
Along with other evangelicals, Carter said he takes seriously Christ's mandate to bring the Gospel to the whole world. Still, he said, he has reservations about the Southern Baptists' plans to try to convert Mormons when they go to Salt Lake City next June for their annual convention.
"I think the one of the worst things we can do as believers in Christ is to spend our time condemning others who profess a faith in Christ. I think we should be spending our time being generous and compassionate, and helping others. Too many Southern Baptist leaders are acting like the Pharisees did, making judgments on behalf of God. I think that's wrong."[Editor] Makes me wonder who this Jesus is that Carter proclaims. Does he profess faith in the Christ of the Mormon Church? Is that why he thinks they are saved? http://cnview.com/on_line_resources/mormons_what_they_teach.htm
Can Carter take seriously the mandate to bring the gospel to the whole world if we cannot judge the whole world to be lost? Who can we take the gospel of Christ to if we cannot discern who needs it? I believe only the spiritual discerned is able to discern the "Judge not that ye may not be judged" ( meaning. Carter is manifesting that he is in darkness in his perception.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A handbook designed to help United Methodist and other congregations guide individuals who seek initiation into the Christian faith through baptism. has been released by Discipleship Resources, publishing arm of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. ( excerpt from UM News Service 11/10/97)
[Editor] The only book that guided me to the Christian faith was the Bible. I came to Christ through God’s Word, and I came to God through Christ, not baptism or a man authored handbook. "Protestant Man" is taking the place of God in so many areas nowadays. Just like the "Roman Church" has been doing for centuries past. "Worldly Handbooks" are taking precedence over "God’s Book" (Bible).