| Editor: David E Marlett Th.D. | |
| January 5, 2001 | Vol II #1 |
There have been many discussions in the media in recent weeks about some states and some churches allowing sodomite marriages. We think it is a topic worthy of some discussion here. It is our hope that the following questions will generate some thoughtful feedback from our readers. We will use your responses to determine where conservative Christians stand on the subject of marriage.
Questions to base some discussion on:
Who is the rightful authority over marriage, the state or the church? Who is the rightful authority to dissolve a marriage? Does the state have authority over a marriage performed by a church? Does the church have authority over a marriage performed by the state? Is the church required to recognize a marriage performed by the state? Is the state required to recognize a marriage performed by a church?
Send your comments to marriage@wilderness-cry.net and let's see what people are thinking on this timely subject.
"Two thousand years of failure have not taught some reformers that you can't stop sin by declaring it illegal. Two thousand years have not taught them that you can't save a man's soul by force -- you can only lose your own in the attempt. Drunkenness and gambling and secularism and lechery -- various hopeful churchmen have earnestly tried to outlaw them all; and what is the result? A drunken nation, a gambling nation, a secularist nation, an adulterous nation. And, often, a ruined Church." --Joy Davidman
Points by which the average SAT score of a home-schooled student exceeds that of other U.S. students : 81 (Harper's Index)
Friday Church News Notes, January 5, 2001(David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368,Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org)
A new video, The Temple Mount Dilemma, documents the preparations for the rebuilding of Israel's temple. The video claims that priests are being retrained for sacrificial worship services and vessels are being prepared. The video contains a rare interview with Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Mount Institute, who says God expects Israel to rebuild the historical Jewish temple. For more information see http://www.dxmarket.com/worldnetdaily/products/V0016.html
By Dr. John Waters, "Revival Reveilles"
Revival has to do with God's people and their relationship to sins - sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit. They may have cultured names, but the Bible calls them plain old "sins". One such term used today is "cheating"; mostly dealing with marriage, but we desire to expand on other things.
Taking marriage first, "cheating" on one's mate leads to a break-up of a marriage, and it hinders the spiritual growth of a child of God. "Fornication" should not be once named among us, but Revival should lead to strengthen people against that sin, which is a stumbling - block to revival.
Then, there is "cheating" in ethics. Doctors have more ethics than many fundamental preachers and Christians I know. Doctors leave the other doctor's patients alone, as a rule. While there is no book of ethics for preachers, there is one Book-the Bible-that governs all such. We need an input on this subject from several experienced men of God, because some with zeal and little knowledge "have a law unto themselves". Do we have some input from some of you? Cheating in ethics hinders the spirit of revival.
Again, there is "cheating" in attainments or climbing the ladder of success. Politics in religion for the most part "stinks" unless the politics are Spirit-led and scripture-motivated, and we know there is very, very little of this . There is constant manipulation to favor this one or that one because he is from "my circle" or "my school", regardless of doctrinal faithfulness or convictions. This leads to "schisms" and "men-following", and hinders a cooperative effort in revival. "Cheating" in this area is wrong and costly.
Last, there is "cheating" in money", both with God and with men. Toward God, it is inexcusable to "cheat". We have some who misfigure God's tithe. This group brings a curse upon their home and their church (Mal. 3:8-10). Oh, how they need to repent. Cheating in this area brings stiff penalty. Also, it is deplorable when one preacher "cheats" another in a business matter. Cheating in this area is wrong and wicked, and stops any real revival. Men of God and Christians must be above reproach in this area. Revival is impossible until we align with God and His word in this area.
Brethren, let's all seek TRUE REVIVAL through Christ and His Word!
By Walter E. Williams
Black slaves are still available -- just not in the United States. To make a purchase, you'd have to travel to the Sudan as Gerald Williams, Harvard University pre-med student, did in October 2000.
Slavery in the Sudan is in part a result of a 15-year war by the Muslim north against the black Christian and animist south. Arab militias, armed by the Khartoum government, raid villages, mostly those of the Dinka tribe. They shoot the men and enslave the women and children. Women and children are kept as personal property or they're taken north and auctioned off.
In Sudanese slave markets, a woman or child can be purchased for $90. An Anti-Slavery International investigator interviewed Abuk Thuc Akwar, a 13-year-old girl who, along with 24 other children, was captured by the militia, marched north and given to a farmer. The investigator reported, "Throughout the day she worked in his sorghum fields and at night in his bed. During the march, she was raped and called a black donkey." The girl managed to escape with the help of the master's jealous wife.
Williams visited the Sudan as part of an eight-person delegation sponsored by Christian Solidarity International (CSI). CSI, as well as the Boston-based American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG), have a stopgap mission of buying, at a cost of $85 each, Christian African women and children whom Muslims capture and enslave. AASG's purchase emancipates them.
Williams' tales of Muslim atrocities are horrific. Six-year-old Mawien Ahir Bol failed to clean a goat pen to his master's satisfaction. The penalty: His index finger was cut off. Yak Kenyang Adieu's punishment for being too sick to tend to his master's goats was the loss of all fingers on his right hand. Williams' trip freed, through purchase, these two boys and 20 other slaves. Should you be interested in learning more about slavery, the American Anti-Slavery Group's web site is: www.anti-slavery.com.
Chattel slavery also exists in the former French colony of Mauritania, where it was officially outlawed in 1980. The U.S. State Department estimated that as of 1994 there were 90,000 blacks living as property of Berbers. The Berbers use their slaves for labor, sex and breeding. They're also exchanged for camels, trucks, guns or money. Slave offspring become the property of the master. According to a 1990 Human Rights Watch report, routine Mauritanian slave punishments include beatings, denial of food and prolonged exposure to the sun, with hands and feet tied together. Serious infringement of the master's rule can mean prolonged horrible tortures such as the "insect treatment" -- where the slave is bound head and foot, and insects placed in his ears and other body orifices -- and "burning coals," where the slave is bound and buried with hot coals placed on parts of his body.
American Anti-Slavery Group says, "Most distressing is the silence of the American media whose reports counted for so much in the battle to end apartheid in South Africa." Only recently, and thankfully so, have mainstream black organizations such as the Congressional Black Caucus and the NAACP taken a stand against chattel slavery in Mauritania and Sudan. At one time Minister Louis Farakhan simply denied that his brother Muslims could perpetrate such an injustice, but now he's quietly accepted the evidence. Jesse Jackson remains silent.
Slavery is not the only African injustice that goes practically ignored.
There's the frequent outbreaks of genocide in Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia and the Congo. In fact, it's fairly safe to say that most of today's most flagrant human rights abuses occur in Africa. But unfortunately they get little attention -- maybe it's because Africans instead of Europeans are the perpetrators; Europeans are held accountable to civilized standards of behavior, while Africans aren't.
[http://www.conservativehq.com/chq/displayarticle?articleId=6842 ]
Editorial Comment - A few simple facts explain why you don't see this on the evening news. The media has always avoided reporting "black-on-black" crime. It is currently very PC to be supportive of Muslims due to the Clintons' leanings toward that religion. The liberal media has never been fond of Christianity either. So why would anyone expect them to expose black Muslim atrocities against black Christians?
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