News At A Glance
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
FATHER OF CONTEMPORARY Chr*stIAN MUSIC JUSTIFIES USE OF ROCK
In a recent interview, Ralph Carmichael, who has been called “the Father of Contemporary Chr*stian Music,” was asked how he justified using rock and other forms of pop music. He replied, “In the 1700s and 1800s, poets wrote many of our traditional hymns, combining the unchanging message with popular secular melodies. And they were sternly criticized. The musical “pop” style of the 1800s is what we now call traditional, though it did not come from within the church” (“He Started the Revolution in Chr*stian Music,” AssistNews.net, May 8, 2010).
It is wrong to compare the use of an innocent secular tune in Chr*stian music to the use of the world’s filthy party music. Just because a tune is “secular” does not make it wrong. What is wrong about using rock music in the Lord’s service is that it was designed from its inception to flaunt God’s laws. It is irredeemably sensual. The book Rock Facts, which is published by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, admits that rock is not just a type of music, IT IS A LIFESTYLE. “… rock and roll has truly become a universal language … rock and roll also refers to an attitude, a feeling, a style, a way of life…” (Rock Facts, 1996, p. 7).
In his interviews with Playboy, John Lennon said, “The whole Beatles idea was to do what you want.” The philosophy of rock & roll was encapsulated in hits in the 1960s by the groups such as the Rolling Stones (“I’m free to do what I want any old time”), the Animals (“It’s my life and I’ll do what I want”), the Mamas and the Papas (“You got to go where you want to go/ do what you want to do”), and the Isley Brothers (“It’s your thing/ do what you want to do”). To take such music, which by its very rhythm preaches licentiousness and rebellion, and to use it in the service of Chr*st is confusion and apostasy. Carmichael’s music is popular across all denominational lines in the most apostate hour of church history, and if that doesn’t convince you that it is not spiritual music you are beyond convincing. CCM is music to scratch the itching ears of those who live by their lusts. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
NETANYAHU SAYS JERUSALEM BELONGS TO ISRAEL
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the Bible recently to prove that Jerusalem belongs to Israel. At a parliamentary session commemorating Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in 1967, Netanyahu stated that Jerusalem and Zion appear 850 times in the Old Testament. He then said, “As to how many times Jerusalem is mentioned in the holy scriptures of other faiths, I recommend you check” (“Netanyahu Turns to Bible,” Reuters, May 12, 2010). The answer is none. Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Koran, for example.
It is fascinating to see secular Jews like the thrice-married Netanyahu quoting the Bible, even though they don’t believe it or obey it. They are back in the land, but they don’t know how or why. They have fierce enemies, but they think this is just bad luck, not willing to recognize that the reason, as in days of old, is Israel’s own stubborn rebellion to Jehovah God and her vicious rejection of the Messiah 2,000 years ago. Israel is back in the land in wonderful fulfillment of prophecy, but she is spiritually dead according to Ezekiel 37:8.
We are now waiting for the other prophetic shoe to drop, when the church-age saints will be Raptured, followed quickly by the AntiChr*st’s rise to power, Israel’s conversion after the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” and Chr*st’s glorious return. Even so, come, Lord J*sus!
U. N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION POPULATED WITH HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSERS
The United Nations is a ridiculous, sorry organization that consumes vast amounts of money (primarily at America's expense) accomplishing next to nothing. It is also grossly hypocritical. As a case in point, nearly half of the members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission are human rights abusers, including some of the worst abusers on the planet. The current Commission features freedom-loving nations like Libya, Uganda, Angola, China, Cuba, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia (“Many ‘Free” Countries Voted for Libya to Join,” CNSNews.com, May 14, 2010). Past members of the Commission include Russia, Vietnam, and Syria. The United States had wisely refused to join the Human Rights Commission or even to participate as an observer until President Obama changed that policy last year.
Another area of hypocrisy is in the UN’s disarmament program. Their vehicles carry stickers promoting pacifism and disarmament (a gun inside a blue circle with a slash across it), but their “peace keepers” are well armed and their workers are quick to call for armed protection if they are attacked. They only want to disarm everyone else!
Pastors comments: Our current Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, obviously under the direction of President Obama's administration, is pledging America's support of the UN's effort to disarm the people of the world from its weapons. It is clear that many of our politicians and national leaders have little or no regard for the Constitution of our country. It seems that there is no restraint in their quest to promote their socialist agenda even if it means undermining the very foundations upon which our nation was built.
- FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
June, 2010
