I am beginning to read reports of Baptist churches splitting over the doctrine of Calvinism. Even Jerry Falwell is reporting an increase in these splits and is trying to counter the spreading influence of Calvinism. Unfortunately, this so-called return to Reformation doctrine parallels the anti-missionary movement of the early nineteenth century. In that movement, many churches were split and the Calvinistic churches eventually all but died out. Most of the time, they simply dried out for lack of evangelistic spirit. This movement also involves a return to the dead roots of the Protestant churches that came out of Catholicism at the time of the Reformation. They came about halfway toward the truth and that is good, but they quickly lost about half of the progress they originally gained and are today quickly approaching Catholicism in doctrine and practice. Calvinism, with its covenantal church/state theology and infant baptism is a large part of this apostasy. We can learn much from the godly Calvinists of the past, but Calvinism is not the way back to God. It is a deceptive detour.
A. W. Tozer is highly respected by many modern preachers and Bible teachers for His writings on God and spiritual themes. It would be interesting to hear what the same people would say about his view of religious movies. In an article on religious movies, he gives gives seven reasons for his opposition to religious movies. He opposed them because they violated the scriptural law of hearing; because they embody the mischievous notion that religion is, or can be made, a form of entertainment; because they are a menace to true religion because it embodies acting, a violation of sincerity; because those who present the gospel movie owe it to the public to give biblical authority for their act: and this they have not done; because God has ordained four methods only by which Truth shall prevail: and the religious movie is not one of them; because the religious movie is out of harmony with the whole spirit of the Scriptures and contrary to the mood of true godliness; and because of the harmful effect upon everyone associated with it. This article has much which needs to be considered in this day of religious movies and drama presentations. I recommend you read the entire article.
The Social Security Administration has released the 1,000 most popular baby names in the United States for the year 2005. Their site has some fascinating search tools for baby names that go all the way back to 1879. Names go in and out of popularity in interesting ways. In 2005, the top five boys names were Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Matthew, and Ethan. Interestingly, four of these are Bible names. In fact, 12 of the top 20 boys names come from the Bible. This does not hold for girls names. The top five for 2005 were Emily, Emma, Madison, Abigail, and Olivia. Of these, only Abigail comes from the Bible. Of the top 20 girls names, only 4 are Bible names; 5 if Grace is included.
Near the Orissa state capital Bhubaneswar in India, Bimbala Das wore a silk saree while Hindu priests chanted a mantra for the wedding ceremony. The groom, a cobra that lives in a nearby ant hill, failed to attend the ceremony. A specially prepared brass serpent stood in for the real groom. Das, who is 30, had been very ill until she began taking milk to the cobra. She credited the snake with her healing and fell in love with her benefactor. The villages welcomed the wedding as a sign of good fortune and made a great feast on the wedding day. Das has moved to a hut close to the ant hill where her "husband" lives. Hinduism venerates snakes and especially King Cobra who is worn by Lord Shiva, the god of destruction. Das is not the first woman to marry an animal with the blessings of the Hindu priests. Earlier this year, a woman in the area was married to a dog. The brass serpent was used in the Bible for the healing of the disobedient Israelites (Numbers 21:4-9). However, when the Israelites later made an idol out of the brasen serpent, it became a sin to them and Hezekiah destroyed it. He called it Nehushtan, meaning, a piece of brass (2Kings 18:4).
Pat Robertson, the 76 year old broadcaster of "The 700 Club" fame, is purportedly setting strength records. The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) recently posted a video of Mr. Robertson leg-pressing 1,000 pounds. However, the related new release on the website (www.cbn.com) reported that he had pressed 2,000 pounds. This is a bit more than the world record of 1,335 pounds. Robertson gives a portion of the credit for his feat to a health shake he himself concocted and actively promotes on "The 700 Club." Questions have come up as to how he can use donor-supported air time to promote a health shake that has been sold through GNC health stores. Now, without explanation, GNC has ceased offering the shake. For those still wanting to leg-press 1,000 or 2,000 pounds, a free recipe for the special shake is still available on the CBN Website. (Information taken from today's "New York Times").
