November 20, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 47
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.
LEE STROBEL’S DANGEROUS ASSOCIATIONS (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – Lee Strobel, the influential author of several widely-used apologetics books including The Case for Christ, is an “evangelical” whose associations with rank heretics sounds loud warnings. In January 2010 he is scheduled to speak at the Break Forth conference in Canada with William Paul Young, author of The Shack, and Leonard Sweet, a New Age contemplative. Lighthouse Trails observes, “[Though many have admired Strobel’s work in the past], it is really no surprise that he is attending Break Forth. With his sponsorship of his son’s very contemplative/emerging ministry Metamorpha, multiple appearances at Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral over the years, and his ongoing connections with Saddleback and Willow Creek, discernment is not something that Strobel appears to give much attention to” (“Why Are Joel Rosenberg and Frank Peretti Appearing with New Age/New Spirituality Sympathizers,” Lighthouse Trails, Nov. 9, 2009). Strobel’s fellow speaker Paul Young depicts God as a woman and claims that He/She does not judge sin or send anyone to hell. Leonard Sweet promotes a New Age universalist spirituality that he calls New Light and “the Christ consciousness.” He describes it in terms of “the union of the human with the divine” which is the “center feature of all the world’s religions” (Quantum Spirituality, p. 235). He says it was experienced by Mohammed, Moses, and Krishna. He promotes Matthew Fox, M. Scott Peck, and Ken Wilber, New Agers who believe in the divinity of man. Sweet says humanity needs to learn the truth of the words of the Buddhist-Catholic priest Thomas Merton, “We are already one” (Quantum Spirituality, p. 13). The Bible warns that it is impossible to join hands with such men in ministry without becoming partaker of their evil deeds (2 John 8-11).
RULES! LAWS! (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – When a high school gymnastics team recently lost a title competition because the coach broke the rules, the responses were telling. They ranged, in effect, from “we understand and accept the rule” to “we are special and shouldn’t be bound by such silly rules.” On the weekend of November 7-8, Northwest High School of Shawnee Mission, Kansas, slipped from first place to third after one of the coaches inappropriately questioned a scoring decision, costing the team a one-point penalty. The school’s athletic director, Richard Grinage, admitted that the coach acted contrary to the rules, saying, “It would be similar to a called ball or strike.” The coach in question, though, was unrepentant, saying, “We were the strongest team and had the highest score with 103.9 points, but, because of a ruling that has never been enforced in 30 years; we got a 102.9 and were third place” (“Sometimes It’s Better to Just Keep Your Mouth Shut,” Homeschool.rivals.com, Nov. 11, 2009). Discussing the purpose of the rule, Becky Oakes of the National Federation for State High Associations, said that “to allow a coach to always question an official could really interrupt the flow of events for the athletes and the competition.” That’s reasonable. Games must have rules. Life must have laws. And if laws are broken and there is no penalty, the law is destroyed and anarchy reigns. This is why the holy Creator God punishes infractions of His Law, and it means that we all deserve His just punishment, because we are all sinners. But in His great love He has provided a way of salvation for those who put their trust in the cross-work of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The unfathomable love of God cannot be understood without a comprehension of His inflexible holiness. The Gospel cannot be understood apart from the Law.
THE NEW IRON CURTAIN (Friday Church News Notes, November 20, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from “The Iron Curtain” by Paul Proctor, Nov. 10, 2009, Newswithviews.com, watchman@usa.com — “On this 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, with America deteriorating like an old and obsolete relic of our patriotic past, I’m left to wonder if the event let freedom in or tyranny out. You see, as I write, the wall is being rebuilt–not with concrete, mortar or razor wire–but instead, with satellites, cameras, computers, databases and an array of impressive and oppressive technologies that can monitor, record and analyze the movements, expressions, words and even thoughts of an unsuspecting populace now evermore willing to exchange God-given liberties and freedoms for governmental guarantees of health, safety, security and prosperity. These are the new guard towers that cast long shadows from above that to many are far more intimating than they are comforting. … I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the wall is indeed returning–and this time it extends around the world. When the powers that be are finished with it, there will be nowhere to run and hide. It won’t protect us from the evil without, but will only chain us electronically and spiritually to the wickedness within. It doesn’t matter how many guns are purchased or how much ammo one has stored away. Ultimately, this is a spiritual battle with eternal consequences and God Himself is the only One who can deliver us from what lies ahead. The sooner we fall to our knees, confess our sins, repent and cry out for a salvation that comes only by Jesus Christ, the sooner we will have ‘the peace of God which passeth all understanding’ and the wherewithal to carry on into the future, uncertain as it may be. ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13). That’s real freedom, liberty and security–the kind the Apostle Paul sang about joyously while bound and imprisoned for his faith as told in the 16th chapter of Acts. Without it, there is no hope—not in this life or in the life to come.”