Sumber: Way of Life Ministry, Friday Church News Notes
Penerjemah: Dr. Steven E. Liauw
Graphe International Theological Seminary
Untuk berlangganan gratis, kirim email ke: gits_buletin-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
PELAJARAN SEKOLAH MINGGU STAR TREK
Pentakosta "Star Trek" adalah judul sebuah seri pesan-pesan audio "di mana Kapten Kirk, Spock, Bones dan Scotty berangkat dengan berani dalam suatu perjalanan pencarian akan Roh Allah." Diproduksi oleh GFR Christian Radio, pesan-pesan yang disampaikan dimaksudkan untuk memberi "materi-materi yang menggugah pikiran" bagi kelas-kelas sekolah minggu. Adalah kekonyolan yang menyesatkan untuk masuk ke dalam dunia mitologis Star Trek guna mencoba menemukan kebenaran rohani! Gereja-gereja kontemporer, seperti para Yahudi yang sesat di zaman dulu, telah menukarkan Allah dalam Alkitab dengan berhala modern (mis., allah yang cool dan tidak menghakimi seperti dalam buku The Shack) dan telah menukarkan Firman Allah yang murni dengan doktrin-doktrin yang kotor. "Sebab dua kali umat-Ku berbuat jahat: mereka meninggalkan Aku, sumber air yang hidup, untuk menggali kolam bagi mereka sendiri, yakni kolam yang bocor, yang tidak dapat menahan air" (Yer. 2:13).
STAR TREK SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS (www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org) - Star Trek Pentecost is the title of a series of audio messages “where Captain Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty go boldly on a voyage of discovery in search of the Spirit of God.” Produced by GFR Christian Radio, the messages are intended to provide “thought-provoking material” for Sunday School classes. It is heretical folly to delve into the mythical world of Star Trek in an attempt to find true spiritual insight! Contemporary churches, like the apostate Jews of old, have exchanged the God of the Bible for a modern idol (e.g., the cool and non-judgmental god of The Shack) and have exchanged the pure Word of God for adulterated doctrine. “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).
FATIMA: MARIA ANTAR-AGAMA MILIK ROMA DEMI SEBUAH GEREJA DUNIA
Berikut ini disadur dari buku yang bagus sekali, The European Union and the Supra-Religion by Robert Congdon (Congdon Ministries, 2007, http://www.internetbibleinstitute.com, robertcongdon@bellsouth.net). "Sebagian dari penampakan-penampakan Maria yang paling terkenal terjadi di Fatima. Desa Fatima diberi nama sesuai dengan putri Muhammad, pendiri Islam. Nama Arabnya memiliki arti `yang bersinar.' .....Pada bulan Mei 2004, Dalai Lama mengunjungi dan berdoa di kuil Fatima. Setelah seorang imam Hindu, Sha Tri, berdoa di altar tersebut, Rektor dari kuil itu mengatakan bahwa pertemuan-pertemuan demikian memberi mereka kesempatan untuk `mengingatkan kita semua bahwa kita hidup dalam komunitas.' Imam Hindu itu menaruh sebuah syal khas imam Hindu, yang bertuliskan kutipan-kutipan dari Bagavad Gita, `pada pundak perwakilan tertinggi Gereja di Fatima.....Vatikan, bersatu dengan PBB, mensponsori sebuah kongres antar-agama di kuil Fatima pada tanggal 10-12 Oktober 2003, yang berjudul `Masa Kini Manusia - Masa Depan Allah.'..... Pemilihan desa Fatima berdasarkan fakta bahwa kuil Fatima telah dengan cepat menjadi pusat penyembahan banyak agama-agama dunia. Lebih dari 4,5 juta orang mengunjungi Fatima setiap tahunnya. Kongres yang terakhir ini melibatkan Hindu, Muslim, Yahudi, Ortodoks Timur, Buddha, dan perwakilan orang-orang kafir Afrika. Di Kongres tersebut, rektor dari kuil berkata, `Masa depan Fatima, atau penyembahan terhadap Allah dan ibuNya di Kuil suci ini, harus melalui suatu penciptaan sebuah kuil di mana agama-agama yang berbeda dapat bercampur... .'" (Robert Congdon, The European Union and the Supra-Religion, hal. 219, 221, 222; untuk dokumentasi, lihat kutipan-kutipan di buku ini).
FATIMA: ROME’S INTERFAITH MARY FOR A ONE-WORLD CHURCH (www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org) - The following is excerpted from the excellent book The European Union and the Supra-Religion by Robert Congdon (Congdon Ministries, 2007, http://www.internetbibleinstitute.com, robertcongdon@bellsouth.net). Some of the Mary’s most famous apparitions have occurred at Fatima. The village of Fatima was named after the daughter of Mohammed, founder of Islam. Her Arabic name means “shining one.” ... In May 2004, the Dali Lama visited and prayed at the Fatima shrine. After a Hindu priest, Sha Tri, prayed at the altar, the Rector of the shrine said such meetings gave them the opportunity to “remind ourselves that we live in community.” The Hindu priest placed a Hindu priestly shawl, engraved with inscriptions from the Bagavad Gita, on the shoulders of the highest representative of the Church in Fatima. ... The Vatican, uniting with the United Nations, sponsored an interfaith congress at Fatima’s shrine on October 10-12, 2003, entitled “The Present of Man-The Future of God.” ... The choice of Fatima reflected the fact that the Fatima shrine is rapidly becoming the center of worship for many of the world’s religions. Over 4.5 million people visit Fatima each year. This latest congress included Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Buddhist, and African Pagan representatives. At the congress, the shrine's rector said, “The future of Fatima, or the adoration of God and His mother at this holy Shrine, must pass through the creation of a shrine where different religions can mingle...” (Robert Congdon, The European Union and the Supra-Religion, pp. 219, 221, 222; for documentation of the quoted statements see the book).
BERHENTILAH MAKAN DOMBA DAN SELAMATKAN DUNIA
Para penasihat pemerintah di Inggris telah memberi peringatan bahwa mengkonsumsi domba adalah ancaman yang serius bagi lingkungan, karena mereka "menghasilkan sedemikian banyak gas metan" ("Burping of the Lambs," The Sunday Times, 24 Mei 2009). David Kennedy, chief executive dari Komite Perubahan Iklim, mengatakan bahwa "merubah gaya hidup kita, termasuk apa yang kita makan, akan menjadi salah satu elemen penting dalam pengurangan emisi karbon." Untuk menghasilkan 1 kg domba, katanya akan membebaskan gas metan yang sama denagn 37 pon karbon dioksida ke atmosfir. Untuk memproduksi jumlah daging sapi yang sama akan membebaskan 35 pon CO2. Saat ini, para agensi pemerintah sedang "menyarankan, " tetapi waktunya akan tiba mereka mengatur apa yang boleh orang tanam, jual, dan makan, atau minimal mereka akan menetapkan pajak yang sangat berat terhadap produk-produk yang kata mereka membahayakan lingkungan. Mitos tentang global-warming yang terjadi karena manusia bukanlah bertujuan untuk menyelamatkan planet; ini semua bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kekuasaan pemerintah.
STOP EATING LAMB AND SAVE THE WORLD (www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org) - Government advisers in England have warned that eating sheep is a serious threat to the environment, because they “burp so much methane” (Burping of the Lambs, The Sunday Times, May 24, 2009). David Kennedy, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, says that “changing our lifestyles, including our diets, is going to be one of the crucial elements in cutting carbon emissions.” To produce 2.2 pounds of lamb allegedly releases the methane equivalent of 37 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. To produce the same amount of beef release 35 pounds of CO2. Right now, government agencies are suggesting, but the time will probably come when they will legislate what people can grow, sell, and eat, or at least they will impose heavy taxes on products that are alleged to be a danger to th e environment. The man-made global warming myth is not about saving the planet; it is about increasing the power of government.
MENGELUS SERIGALA
Berikut ini disadur dari John Ashbrook, Axioms of Separation (Mentor, OH: Here I Stand Books, n.d.): "Bertahun-tahun yang lalu, saya makan malam bersama dengan seorang muda yang lulus dari Fuller Seminary. Tamu saya itu berkata, "saya menganggap diri sebagai seorang fundamentalis; tetapi saya harus mengaku bahwa fundamentalis sering tidak penuh kasih dalam pendekatan mereka kepada para liberal. Mereka menolak untuk berdialog dengan mereka dan telah gagal menunjukkan kasih Kristiani kepada mereka." Orang ini rupanya telah menyerap filosofi Fuller. Sekarang saya tanya kepada anda, di manakah dalam Kitab Suci ada pengajaran bahwa kita harus berbaik-baikan dengan para pengajar palsu dan rasul-rasul sesat? Ini adalah kebalikan dari pengajaran di 2 Yohanes: "Jikalau seorang datang kepadamu dan ia tidak membawa ajaran ini, janganlah kamu menerima dia di dalam rumahmu dan janganlah memberi salam kepadanya. Sebab barangsiapa memberi salam kepadanya, ia mendapat bagian dalam perbuatannya yang jahat" (2 Yoh. 1:10-11). Kitab Suci menyebut orang-orang yang menyebarkan doktrin-doktrin sesat ini sebagai "serigala-serigala yang ganas" (Kis. 20:29). Para gembala yang setia sepanjang sejarah tidak berdialog dengan serigala-serigala ganas."
PATTING WOLVES (www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org) - The following is excerpted from John Ashbrook, Axioms of Separation (Mentor, OH: Here I Stand Books, n.d.): Years ago I sat at our dinner table with a young man trained in Fuller Seminary. Our guest said, "I think of myself as a fundamentalist; but I have to confess that fundamentalists have been very uncharitable in their approach to the liberals. They have refused to dialogue with them and have failed to demonstrate Christian love toward them." He had absorbed the Fuller philosophy. Let me ask you, where in Scripture do you find the teaching that we are to treat false teachers with charity and the apostles of apostasy with Christian love? That is exactly the opposite of the teaching of 2 John. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. Scripture terms the purveyors of false doctrines as "grievous wolves.” The faithful shepherds of history have not dialogued with grievous wolves.
SEORANG ANAK PEREMPUAN YANG MENGUJI DISIPLIN ORANG TUANYA
Berikut ini disadur dari Training Your Children to Turn out Right, sebuah buku yang sangat bagus oleh David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- "Anak-anak kami perlu belajar bahwa setiap kali mereka melanggar sebuah aturan rumah tangga, maka akan ada pengalaman yang sudah dapat diprediksi dan yang tidak menyenangkan. Anak-anak sepertinya berpikir bahwa jika mereka mengikis orang tua mereka untuk waktu yang cukup lama, maka orang tua akan kecapekan dan akhirnya mengalah. Pertahankan aturan-aturan anda secara konsisten. Ketika salah satu anak perempuan kami masih kecil, dia memutuskan suatu malam bahwa dia tidak mau tinggal di tempat tidurnya. Dia telah dimasukkan ke dalam tempat tidur, tetapi dia memutuskan dia mau bangun. Dia memanjat keluar dari tempat tidurnya dan keluar ke ruang tamu. Dia diceramahi mengenai fakta bahwa ini sudah jam tidurnya dan bahwa jika dia keluar dari tempat tidurnya lagi, dia akan dipukul pantatnya (spanked). Dia dimasukkan ke dalam tempat tidurnya. Beberapa menit kemudia, dia keluar lagi. Sepertinya telah dijanjikan, dia dipukul dan dimasukkkan kembali ke tempat tidurnya di tengah tangisan yang cukup memberontak. Lalu dia mulai marah-marah. Setelah beberapa lama dia mulai lagi keluar dari tempat tidur dan masuk ke ruang tamu. Sejauh yang dapat kami periksa, tidak ada alasan yang sah bagi dia untuk bangun. Dia hanya tidak mau berada di tempat tidur. Sekali lagi dia dipukul. Ini berlanjut sekitar setengah jam, tetapi akhirnya dia mengerti pesannya; jika dia dengan terbuka menantang Mama dan Papa, dia akan dipukul. Ini terjadi secara konsisten. Ini terjadi setiap kali....Malam itu, sebuah pertarungan yang besar telah dimenangkan. Kehendaknya yang kecil dan pemberontak telah dipatahkan. Dia telah mencoba sekeras-kerasnya untuk menantang otoritas orang tua, dan dia telah kalah....Apakah kami sebagai orang tua merasa senang memukul anak perempuan kami? Kami sangat membenci setiap detik dari pemukulan itu. Dia adalah kebanggaan dan sukacita kami. Tidak ada yang dapat memberi kami kenyamanan yang lebih dari saat-saat dia duduk-duduk berpelukan dengan kami di ruang tamu. Tetapi kami tahu bahwa dia memerlukan pengembangan disiplin dalam hidupnya" (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, hal. 71, 72).
A LITTLE GIRL WHO TESTED HER PARENTS DISCIPLINE (www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- Our children need to learn that every single time they violate a household rule, there will be a predictable and unpleasant experience. Children seem to think that if they whittle away at their parents long enough, the parents will wear down and then give in. Consistently enforce your rules. When one of our girls was small, she decided one evening that she did not want to stay in her bed. She had been put to bed, but she decided she wanted to get up. She climbed out of her bed and came out into the living room. She was lectured about the fact that it was her bed time and that if sh e got out of bed again she would be spanked. She was placed back in her bed. A few minutes later, she came out again. As promised, she was paddled and placed back into her bed. ... A few minutes later, she came out again. She again was paddled and placed back into her bed amidst rather rebellious crying. She was throwing a tantrum. After a while she proceeded to get out of bed and come out again into the living room. As far as we could tell, there was no legitimate reason for her to get up. She just did not want to stay in bed. Again she was spanked. This went on for about a half an hour, but she finally got the message; if she openly defied Mom and Dad, she would be spanked. It was consistent. It happened every single time. ... That night a major battle was won. Her rebellious little will was broken. She had tried her hardest to challenge parental authority, and she had lost. ... Did we as parents enjoy spanking our little girl? We hated every moment of it. She was our pride and joy. Nothing would have pleased us more than for her to cuddle up to us out in the living room, but we knew how she needed to have discipline developed in her life” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, pp. 71, 72).
MATA YANG SANGAT SENSITIF
Berikut ini dari Creation Moments: "Mata manusia sedemikian sensitifnya, sehingga ia dapat mendeteksi satu partikel cahaya – sebuah foton. Faktanya, mata manusia sedemikian sensitifnya, sehingga kalau bukan karena fitur-fitur spesial di dalam mata yang memproses milyaran informasi yang masuk setiap sepersekian detik, kita pastilah terbanjiri oleh cahaya. Walaupun mata dapat mendeteksi satu foton cahaya, ia tidak akan meneruskan suatu gambar kepada otakmu kecuali ada minimal enam foton yang mengenai bagian mata yagn sama. Jika tidak demikian, maka pada malam hari yang gelap kita tidak akan dapat melihat apa-apa selain statis, karena terang yang kurang dari enam foton tidak dapat difokuskan menjadi suatu gambar dan yang telihat hanyalah statis. Hal-hal seperti ini membuat kita bertanya-tanya apakah mata didesain oleh seorang Pencipta yang mahabijak? Karena bagaimana mungkin kebetulan-kebetulan yang tidak disengaja dan mutasi dapat mengetahui hukum-hukum dasar fisika yang mengendalikan perilaku cahaya? Rentang sensitifitas mata juga jutaan kali lebih besar dibandingkan dengan film-film fotograifk modern kita, dan memberikan kepada kita rentang dinamis antara 10 milyar hinga satu. Sementara sensitifitas yang terbesar diperlukan pada malam yang gelap, ada kontrol internal dalam mata yang menurunkan sensitifitas itu untuk situasi hari yang terang benderang. Ilmu pengetahuan sama sekali tidak menyingkirkan Allah! Pengetahuan kita tentang cara kerja mata menuntut kesimpulan bahwa kita adalah ciptaan dari seorang Allah bijak dan kuasa.
THE INCREDIBLY SENSITIVE EYE (www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org) - The following is from Creation Moments, http://www.creationmoments.com/radio/transcript.php?t=2295: The human eye is so incredibly sensitive that it can actually detect a single particle of light--a photon. The truth is, the human eye is so sensitive that were it not for special features inside the eye that process the billions of pieces of information coming into the eye every spilt second, we would be overwhelmed. While the eye can detect even one photon of light, it will not pass an image on to your brain until at least six photons strike in the same area of the eye. If this weren't the case, on a dark night we would see nothing but static, since less than six photons could not be focused into an image and would appear to us as just static. This special provision makes one wonder if the eye was not designed by an all wise Creator. After all, h ow could mindless chance and mutations know about the basic laws of physics that control light's behavior? The range of the eye's sensitivity is also a million times greater than our modern photographic films, providing us with a dynamic range of 10 billion to one. While the greatest sensitivity is needed on dark nights, an internal control in the eye reduces that sensitivity for bright daylight. Science doesnot rule out God at all! Our knowledge of the eye's working demands the conclusion that we are the creation of a wise and powerful God!
Diterjemahkan dari
June 19, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 25
ROBERT SCHULLER APPOINTS DAUGHTER TO LEAD THE CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL (www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org) - Robert Schuller has announced that his daughter is the new leader of Crystal Cathedral Ministries. Sheila Schuller Coleman steps into the shoes that were previously worn by Schuller’s son, Robert Anthony, who resigned last year under mysterious circumstances. When the son’s removal as the host of the Hour of Power television program was announced last October, the elder Schuller simply said that they had a different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry. Those differences were never spelled out. The son has subsequently partnered with his son-in-law Chris Wyatt, founder of GodTube, to acquire AmericanLife TV, which they plan to use to broadcast “family-friendly” programs (Schuller’s Daughter to Lead Crystal Cathedral, Orange County Register, June 10, 2009). On June 7, the elder Schuller told his congregation that from now on Scheila is “the leader of leaders”. Robert Schuller has had a vast influence on modern Christianity. He has been one of the most popular religion television personalities in America for decades. His books sell by the millions. Schuller reinterprets the Bible to conform to his heretical self-esteem philosophy. To Schuller, sin is the lack of self-esteem. His christ is a psycho-savior who is “self-esteem incarnate”. His gospel is to replace negative self-concepts with positive ones. Schuller believes that all men are the children of God. Robert Schuller wants to create a new kind of Christianity: one that accepts the Fatherhood of God, that is positive and non-judgmental, that worships a self-esteem Christ, that denies the necessity of Christ’s blood atonement. (For documentation of Schuller’s heresies see Robert Schuller and Evangelicals at the Way of Life web site)
PETER MASTERS WARNS ABOUT WORLDLY EMERGING CHURCH CALVINISTS (www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org) - Dr. Peter Masters, pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, England, has sounded a warning against the worldliness of American pop-Calvinists such as Mark Driscoll and John Piper. Driscoll calls himself “theologically conservative and culturally liberal” and his Mars Hills Church in Seattle has rock & roll champagne parties, watches R-rated movies, learns how to brew beer, and hosts secular rock concerts. In an article in The Sword and Trowel, 2009 No. 1, entitled “The Merger of Calvinism with Worldliness,” Dr. Masters says: “The new Calvinists constantly extol the Puritans, but they do not want to worship or live as they did. One of the vaunted new conferences is called Resolved, after Jonathan Edwards” famous youthful Resolutions (seventy searching undertakings). But the culture of this conference would unquestionably have met with the outright condemnation of that great theologian. Resolved is the brainchild of a member of Dr John MacArthur’s pastoral staff, gathering thousands of young people annually, and featuring the usual mix of Calvinism and extreme charismatic-style worship. Young people are encouraged to feel the very same sensational nervous impact of loud rhythmic music on the body that they would experience in a large, worldly pop concert, complete with replicated lighting and atmosphere. At the same time they reflect on predestination and election. Worldly culture provides the bodily, emotional feelings, into which Christian thoughts are infused and floated. Biblical sentiments are harnessed to carnal entertainment. In times of disobedience the Jews of old syncretised by going to the Temple or the synagogue on the sabbath, and to idol temples on weekdays, but the new Calvinism has found a way of uniting spiritually incompatible thi ngs at the same time, in the same meeting. ... Truly proclaimed, the sovereignty of God must include consecration, reverence, sincere obedience to his will, and separation from the world.
CONCLUDING NOTE FROM BRO. CLOUD: While we do not agree with Dr. Masters sovereign election theology, we could not agree more with his reproof of worldliness and we are thankful for the stand he has taken against the contemporary program. The Bible call to not be conformed to the world, to not love the world, and to come out from among them and be separate refutes the ridiculous philosophy of cultural liberalism (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 6:17; Ephesians 5:11; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17).
POLL SHOWS THAT AMERICANS ARE OPEN TO NEW “WAYS OF EXPERIENCING GOD” (www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org) - According to a new Barna poll, a large percentage of Americans are open to new ways of experiencing God apart from traditional church structures. 75% said they sense that God is motivating people to connect with Him in different ways and through different types of experiences than in the past. “71% say that they want to develop their own religious beliefs rather than to accept an entire set of beliefs that a particular church teachers.” 64% said they are open to pursuing their faith in an environment that differs from that of a typical church. This is the product of the rock & roll pop culture that has captured American minds and hearts with its message of individuality and resistance to authority. The pop culture wields far more influence on the average prof essing Christian than the Bible does. The contemporary philosophy of doctrinal tolerance and the multiplicity of modern versions have helped create an appetite for a spiritual smorgasbord.
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