1 Timothy 4: 1,6 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons…… In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, {constantly} nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.”
Radio News Introduction to Biblical Church Life MEL GIBSON'S NEW MOVIE 'THE PASSION'-Billy Graham praises it. Most reviews speak of it in glowing positive terms (e.g., Schuller, Campus Crusade, Dobson, Hybels, etc). Most all the criticism we've heard has centered around the “anti-Semitism” issue. But our main concern is the big “C” question - Catholicism! It's a Catholic film! Reasons for our concern: 1. Gibson's Catholic roots, staunch RC heritage. While filming, he, cast and crew members regularly attended Catholic Mass together. He said there is no salvation for those outside the [RC] Church. (New Yorker, 9/15/03) 2. Big emphasis on Mary, strong Marian imagery. The actor who played Jesus in the film prayed the Rosary to Mary every day. He said for him, being a Christian is a continual conversion process. 3. The film is not based entirely on the Bible but also on visions of RC nuns/mystics. 4. It equates church with Catholic Church, and links Crucifixion to Last Supper to highlight “Holy Communion” sacrament. In conclusion, we do not doubt that many will be saved as a result of this movie, and we rejoice in this. But many will be confused about Catholicism, and others will use the film as a shortcut to supplant other forms of evangelism (“It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”) March 04 Calvary Contender. I can not comment on the movie first hand because I have not seen it yet. From the snippets that I have seen, it appears that the gospel is presented, the central truths of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection are there for all to see. But like most efforts of Roman Catholics it is mixed with their extra biblical beliefs as the article above points out. None the less, it represents a real anomaly in our culture war. In the midst of homosexual marriages, rampant drug use, unchecked violence, discrimination against Christians and Christ on every level, immorality, corruption in the pulpit and in public office and terrorism, everyone is talking about this movie and Jesus. The Passion seems to be having a profound effect on our culture. Never before have so many been interviewed on the public airways and expressed their faith and the effect this movie has had on them. Never before has the life and death of Christ been discussed by so many in such a public arena. I receive stock alerts on hot stocks in the market place through several different news letters. Even the cynical movers and shakers in the financial markets are paying attention to the movie’s success. Yes I believe that the film has some problems. But can you ever remember a time in our lives when Jesus was at the center of everyone’s conversations? Mark 9:38-40 John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. "For he who is not against us is for us.” Roman Catholic teaching on salvation and the Mass are heretical and send thousands daily to hell. Salvation by sacraments directly contradicts the wonderful gospel of salvation by grace through faith. I don’t know the condition of Mel Gibson’s soul nor the other actresses and actors. In the parts of the movie I have seen there are gross additions to the scriptural account of Christ’s death. But there is also the gospel with the scripture written in subtitles across the bottom of the screen. Obviously, Gibson is not “against” Christ like most of his friends in Hollywood. Should we hinder him? I hate lies and untruths. I hate false doctrine and heresies that deceive and then punish men by sending them to hell. I hate Hollywood and all it stands for and will not attend a theater even if the movie is good. But this one has me stumped. Never in my lifetime has a movie been produced that contained the gospel, presented the scripture in written form and caused such a stir in the hearts and minds of Christians, the media elite, financial markets, unbelievers and even Hollywood. I will continue to pray and hope that you will do the same. News Items Newsweek (2/16/04) weighed in on the controversies surrounding Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ” with an article that called the Bible a “problematic source” for information on Jesus’ life. “Though countless believers take it as the immutable word of God,” said the article, “the Bible did not descend from heaven fully formed and edged in gilt. The writers of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John shaped their narratives several decades after Jesus’ death to attract converts and make their young religion . . . attractive to as broad an audience as possible.” These are charges that conservative theologians explicitly deny. Popular Charismatic theologian C. Peter Wagner is alerting the church to a new move of Satan he calls “the corporate spirit of religion,” and he claims to have the same type of authority Paul did (he points to 1 Cor. 7:25) in explaining the phenomenon. This demonic force, Wagner says in a recent issue of Charisma (3/04), operates in the hearts of traditionalist religious leaders by “manipulat[ing] their minds to emphasize what the Spirit said (past tense)” instead of recognizing the contemporary office of apostle,” which Wagner claims to hold. Wagner says those leaders who will not heed revelation from God apart from the Bible are just what Christ was warning about in His parable of the wineskins. UNBELIEVING PASTORS-A new study by the Barna Research Group found that 49 percent of Protestant pastors reject core biblical beliefs (2/7 World). Barna put together a bare-bones list of basic biblical teachings that all should have been able to affirm: There is absolute moral truth based on the Bible; biblical teaching is accurate; Jesus was without sin; Satan literally exists; God is omniscient; salvation is by grace alone; Christians have a personal duty to evangelize. In the two largest denominations, So. Baptists had the most pastors, percentage-wise (71), who hold a biblical worldview; Methodists had the fewest (27). Barna says it is discouraging that one in four SB preachers does not take Bible teaching seriously.
A liberal Anglican bishop has shut down a church in his Canadian diocese because of the church’s opposition to same sex blessings. Bishop Michael Ingham has tried changing church door locks, withholding funding, firing trustees and a pastor, and now church closure in his bid
to silence organized conservative opposition to same-sex rites in his diocese. An imam (local Islamic leader) in Spain has written a book entitled “Women in Islam,” which instructs Muslim men in the most proper way to beat their wives. “The beatings must be administered to specific parts of the body, such as the feet and hands,” he wrote, “using a stick that is not too big so as not to leave scars and bruises.” He added, “The beatings must not be too harsh because the goal is to cause psychological suffering and not to humiliate or physically abuse.” A Spanish court recently convicted the imam of inciting violence against women, giving him jail time and a fine. (Agence France Presse, 1/15/04) The gay-ordination debate in the American wing of the Anglican Communion has pitted church unity against the liberal spirit so many Episcopalians prize. Popular author and Episcopalian priest Barbara Brown Taylor says that many ask for her position on this burning issue. She has no position, she says, but seeks defense for that lack in the Bible. “I love the Bible,” she writes in the Christian Century (12/17/03). “While I do not find every word of it as inspiring (or inspired) as some of my fellow Christians do, I encounter God in it reliably enough to commit myself on a daily basis to practicing the core teachings of both testaments.” She pleads “Jesus’ own example” and suggests that following it “may mean deviating from what is in the book . . . and then facing the dreadful consequences of loving the wrong people.” A British court has upheld the conviction of an Evangelical preacher who publicly protested homosexuality and other forms of immorality. The late Harry Hammond held aloft an anti-homosexual sign in a public square, causing a crowd of several dozen to surround him. Some threw soil or poured water on the elderly man. Judges determined that he violated the 1986 Public Order Act. (telegraph.co.uk, 1/14/04) Lust is a virtue, not a vice, argues Professor Simon Blackburn of Cambridge University. It “best flourishes when unencumbered by bad philosophy and ideology . . . which prevent its freedom of flow,” he says, arguing that lust should be “reclaimed for humanity.” Blackburn makes his case in a book commissioned by Oxford University Press as part of a series on the traditional seven eadly sins. (BBC News, 1/11/04) The number of cohabiting couples with no children rose in America by 57% between 1996 and 2002, from 1.6 million couples to 2.5 million. (USA Today, 12/31/03) Psychiatrists now medicate those suffering from a malady they call “compulsive shopping disorder.” An issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reports that a common antidepressant is the remedy for this condition, which ABCNews.com (1/13/04) describes as “a preoccupation with shopping for unneeded items and an inability to resist buying such products.” Said the author of the scientific study, “My hope is that people with this disorder will become aware that it’s treatable and they don’t have to suffer.” Harvard’s Right to Life group (HRL) recently put up in student areas 400 posters, but within a week half had been vandalized. The posters’ controversial message? “Women Deserve Better.” HRL’s posters featured a rape victim who told the brief story of the negative effects of her “justified” abortion. The posters also included the phone number of a crisis pregnancy center. Students argued that the ad was “coercive,” and one girl said “That’s moral judgement I don’t want to look at when I go into my room every day.” HRL must submit future posters to Harvard’s Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response. (boundless.org, 1/8/04) An enormous survey conducted by the Gallup organization finds that 82% of Americans say God is “very important” to them. In Europe, however, the numbers change: 49% of Danes, 52% of Norwegians, and 55% percent of Swedes say that to them “God does not matter.” (Washington Post, 1/4/04) |