In many parts of the world today God’s people are truly horrified by much of the God-defying legislation that has been enacted by their governments in areas such as abortion, gay rights, same-sex partnerships, the total re-defining of marriage and civil liberties. In conscience this poses many problems about whether or not in these situations Christians should take a government-defying stand “toobey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). In such cases Christians often feel a real sense of helplessness or impotence when it comes to opposing these vile laws and to declaring publicly God’s views on these subjects in a meaningful way.
I mentioned in my last newsletter how the BBC was ‘singing the praises’ of Charles Darwin and his [still] theory of Evolution. I happened to catch coverage of a March debate in the House of Lords the aim of which was also to extol the praises and merits of Darwin and Evolution. One Lord Harries of Pentregarth, the former Anglican Bishop of Oxford, took the opportunity to magnify the supposed scientific basis of Evolution in contrast to those misguided Christians who still believe in Creation as outlined in God’s Word. Back in my June 2002 newsletter I quoted the following about this then Bishop – Dr Richard Harries, the Bishop of Oxford said on Radio 4’s Thought for the Day ‘It is therefore quite extraordinary that 140 years later, after so much evidence has accumulated, a school in Gateshead is opposing evolutionary theory on alleged biblical grounds. Do some people really think that the worldwide scientific community is engaged in a massive conspiracy to hoodwink the rest of us’? The reality is that he is being used by a certain malevolent source to hoodwink people. Paul refers to him and his ilk in 2nd Corinthians 11:13-14 “such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light”. Evolution has also been a ‘godsend’ to outright atheists – see page 3. Meantime let us all, as we are given opportunity, take our stand for our Creator God.
When commenting on the parable of the householder and his vineyard (Matthew 21:33-46) the great English Anglican Bishop J C Ryle wrote ‘The fruit that the Lord receives from His vineyard in this land is disgracefully small compared with what it ought to be. We should note what an awful reckoning God sometimes makes with nations and churches… A time came when the long-suffering of God towards the Jews had an end. Forty years after our Lord’s death…they received a heavy chastisement for their sins in the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple… And will the same things ever happen to us? Will the judgments of God come down upon this nation… Only God knows. But history tells us that judgments have come on many churches and nations. Where are all the early African and Eastern churches? They are run over by Islam and destroyed…Nothing offends God so much as the neglect of privileges. Much has been given to us and much will be required’. Truly remarkable and in many ways ‘prophetic’ words seeing that they were first published in 1856. Margaret and I thank you all for another year of encouragement and support and wish you His rich blessing in 2009 [DV].
The Roman pope, Benedict XVI, visited the United States of America in April. It was an immensely successful visit, by all accounts. But the question that needs answering is: why now? Why was a trip to the USA so important at this particular time?
For a non-Papist president, George W. Bush sure went out of his way to fawn over the Roman Antichrist as if he had been a lifelong devotee. He greeted the pope on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force base in Maryland as he landed – the very first head of state that Bush has ever welcomed in this way, described as an “unprecedented reception”. Usually heads of state come to Washington, D.C., first. When questioned as to why he did this, Bush replied, “Because he is a really important figure in a lot of ways. One, he speaks for millions. Two, he doesn’t come as a politician; he comes as a man of faith. And, three, that I so subscribe to his notion that… there’s right and wrong in life, that moral relativism has a danger of undermining the capacity to have more hopeful and free societies, that I want to honor his convictions, as well.” [1]
In Pharaoh’s Egypt false ‘fertility gods’ were worshipped, and God’s people were oppressed. God revealed His anger through plagues that impacted adversely upon the environment, upon animal life, upon the food-chain, upon people’s health, upon climatic conditions and upon family life. In our day western ‘Christian’ nations are feeding the world’s lust for all manner of gut-wrenching pornographic material with Hollywood, USA being a leading player. These nations are also warmly welcoming false gods. In Iowa USA, at the end of January, Mohammed Khan, the imam of the Islamic Centre of Des Moines, led the opening prayer in the Iowa legislature at the request of Iowa State Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, who has questionable associations with Islamic extremists. In his four-minute prayer before the Iowa legislative session, Khan made a plea for “victory over those who disbelieve” and “protection from the Great Satan”. Reflecting on the plagues of Egypt can we not see similar ‘plagues’ being visited on the world of our day. In Egypt these were a precursor to the great deliverance and exodus of God’s people. God answered the prayers of His people [see Exodus 3:7-8]. We thank you for your continuing love and support and ask you to join with us in the prayer of Revelation 22:20 “Even so, come Lord Jesus”.
One of the items posted by the Roman Catholic Zenit News Agency for Monday 11 February 2008 read as follows –
Cardinals Hoping for a 5th Marian Dogma To Declare Mary as Mother of Humanity
ROME, FEBRUARY. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org) –
Five cardinals have sent a letter inviting prelates worldwide to join them in petitioning Benedict XVI to declare a fifth Marian dogma they said would “proclaim the full Christian truth about Mary.” The text, released last week, includes the petition that asks the Pope to proclaim Mary as “the Spiritual Mother of All Humanity, the co-redemptrix with Jesus the redeemer, mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one mediator, and advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race.”
The petition states: “We believe the time opportune for a solemn definition of clarification regarding the constant teaching of the Church concerning the Mother of the Redeemer and her unique cooperation in the work of Redemption, as well as her subsequent roles in the distribution of grace and intercession for the human family.”
The text adds that the move would be “the ultimate expression of doctrinal clarity at the service of our Christian and non-Christian brothers and sisters who are not in communion with Rome”… The statement added, “This initiative also intends to start an in-depth worldwide dialogue on Mary’s role in salvation for our time”… Cardinal Aponte Martínez, one of the cardinal co-patrons said: “I believe the time is now for the papal definition of the relationship of the Mother of Jesus to the each one of us, her earthly children, in her roles as co-redemptrix, mediatrix of all graces and advocate.”
Back in 1998 there were similar Roman Catholic groundswells of opinion to have the then Pope John Paul II issue the very same dogmatic declaration. I was invited to participate in a Channel 5 “Crossfire” televised debate on the subject with a Jesuit Priest, Richard Foley who was very much in favour of the idea.
You can view this debate on You Tube [28 minutes] on the links below.
Should Mary be declared co-redemptrix? – Part One
Should Mary be declared co-redemptrix? – Part Two
Cecil Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries – 12 February 2008
In many countries, Gonhxa Agnes Bojaxhiu, better known as the highly esteemed Mother Teresa, is being presented as a role model. Since many people now accept the notion that all religions are legitimate ways to God, for them Mother Teresa is currently one of the best standards. She believed that all people can go to heaven by way of their own religious beliefs. People rationalize that if good deeds made Mother Teresa acceptable to God, some good deeds in their own lives will help secure their confidence that they, too, will one day reach heaven. Mother Teresa can easily become a reputable, across-the-board role model for those who hold these kinds of assumptions. Moreover, people are very reluctant to state anything against a person so recognized for an extraordinarily devoted life full of many good deeds. Consequently, examination of her life and her message can be a very sensitive issue. Mother Teresa’s life and message, however, must be measured against what our Lord Jesus Christ has said in His written Word, particularly because she finished her life spiritually bankrupt, as she from her early life on admitted to walking in spiritual darkness.[1] This repeated admission must be acknowledged for what it is in the light of Bible truth.
In January of this year I received an email from a Christian couple in England who had attended a meeting In Birmingham in October 2006 at which they were introduced to an initiative that would be called ‘HOPE 2008’. In their own words they wrote of ‘something called “HOPE 2008” the theme of which is “Redeeming Our Communities” – this was pioneered by Gerald Coates’.
In my reply to them I wrote this concerning “HOPE 2008” – “You mentioned the involvement of Gerald Coates so on that basis alone I would steer well clear of it”. Very briefly, Gerald Coates has promoted many charismatic deceptions such as the so-called ‘Toronto Blessing’ and with his track record of failed ‘prophecies’ he should be thankful that he doesn’t live in Old Testament times [see Deuteronomy 18:20].
It seems that Northern Ireland is fast becoming a haven for every modern heresy that is currently circulating under the guise of being ‘evangelical’. In June/July Brian McLaren will speak to thousands of young professing Christians at the local ‘Summer Madness’ event. Also in July, Joel Osteen will ‘preach’ at the Belfast Odyssey arena. In November the main speaker at the ‘Mandate’ gathering for men will be Erwin McManus who, like Brian McLaren, is identified with what is called ‘The Emerging Church’ – I’ve just had a phone call to tell me that another ‘Emerging Church’ figure called Rob Bell [we have an ‘Alarm Bells’ warning article about him & his wife on our website] will be speaking in Belfast in June, with the Church of Ireland Youth Dept., closely associated with ‘Summer Madness’, advertising Bell’s visit. On our website and in this newsletter these issues will be addressed. Why do we do that? Let me quote from John MacArthur’s latest book ‘The Truth War’ [mentioned on page 13] ‘As always a war is being waged against the truth. We are on one side or the other. There is no middle ground…in every generation the battle for the truth has proved ultimately unavoidable because the enemies of truth are relentless. Truth is always under assault. And it is actually a sin not to fight when vital truths are under attack…whenever the enemies of gospel truth succeed in infiltrating the church [as represented by all those mentioned above] faithful believers are obliged to take the battle to them even there. That is certainly the case today’ [pages XXIII-XXIV]. We thank you for all your support and encouragement and covet your prayers as we continue to engage the enemies of God’s “truth”.
Jesuit-led ‘service’ for mostly ‘gay’ congregation
On page 41 of the Daily Mail of Friday 27th April 2007 their lead article by Simon Caldwell stated the following – ‘The BBC is to relay a “gay Mass” from San Francisco this Sunday, the first time such a service has been broadcast. The 50-minute Mass at the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the predominantly gay Castro district of the city will feature prayers and readings tailored for the gay community…Its parish priest, Father Stephen Meriweather blesses participants in the San Francisco’s annual gay pride march…Last night a media watchdog said Sunday’s radio broadcast was “bound to cause offence” to mainstream Christians…However Father Donal Godfrey, the U.S. Jesuit priest celebrating the Mass said he was delighted the BBC was “exploring how gay people fit into the perspective of the Christian narrative”. “Being gay is not special,” he said. “It’s simply another gift from God who created us as rainbow people”…The preacher will be James Allison, a homosexual British Catholic theologian and author of “Is it ethical to be Catholic? – Queer perspectives”.
