Australian Independent Baptist Newsletter

www.enneagram.com.au THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF THE PERSONALITY IN AUSTRALIA Conference 2004 (Edited by DCB) This is supposedly "An exciting, moving and not to be missed non-denominational Interfaith Conference…held at the Bardon Conference Centre in Brisbane in August (6th to 9th)." The promoters say the conference has "21 distinguished presenters from around Australia and internationally. Bringing together writers from Christianity, Islam, indigenous Australia, Buddhism, Judaism, Psychology, Medicine, Science and the New Age the conference will explore the fusion of modern and ancient belief and what might constitute the soul of a modern Australian spirituality."

Editor’s Comment: The Christianity presented at this conference is not the Christianity of the Bible for that is for sure. Sadly these false teaching are growing here in Australia and around the world. People need to know Him Who is the Water of life but they will not find him at this conference!

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s THE RELIGION REPORT 7 July, 2004 (ABC’s Stephen Crittenden speaking to Australia’s Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer.) (Edited by DCB) Crittenden "…Australia’s Foreign Minister…was at the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta last week, when he made a surprise announcement, that Australia would host a regional conference of religious leaders as a way of building understanding." "Alexander Downer, welcome to the program. This is a most unexpected and interesting idea." "Where has this idea come from in your case?"

Downer: "…we have in Canberra been thinking about whether it mightn’t be a good idea to bring Islamic leaders in a group…and have a sort of big meeting with them of some kind." "…look, Australia is essentially, for all the churches and mosques and synagogues we have in Australia, it’s essentially a pretty secular sort of a society…" "…the bulk of Australians would say they believed in God and they were kind of Christians, and …there are Muslim and Jewish and Hindu and Buddhist minorities. But the bulk of people would say that they had some sort of adherence to Christianity, but they’re not religious in the sense of going to church every Sunday…."

Crittenden: "Would you agree that the Islamic fundamentalists hate us, not because we’re Christian, but precisely because they see us as decadent secularists?"

Downer: "Both. They wouldn’t distinguish between Christianity and decadence I’m afraid. Whereas we might do that. But I’d like to feel as a Christian myself, I would do that."

Crittenden: "You said there was a perception that Australia’s a Christian country but really we’re very secular. That struck me as an odd thing to say."

Alexander Downer: "…the bulk of Australians would say they believed in God and they were kind of Christians, and of course there are Muslim and Jewish and Hindu and Buddhist minorities. But the bulk of people would say that they had some sort of adherence to Christianity, but they’re not religious in the sense of going to church every Sunday, that religion has a bearing on all facets of their lives." "…60% of Australians I would guess would believe in God. But religion doesn’t weave its way through all facets of our lives, as we know."

Editor’s Comment: Sadly there are many Australians that are "kind of Christians" that believe in God but the question is "What God?" This war on terrorism is just another way by which Satan is bringing together the false religions of the world under one umbrella.

Earth Report 2003 www.earthcharter.org "We have raped the soil and denigrated the ecosystems of the Earth because of our greed. And in the process we have lost touch with our inner self, and the sense of sacredness of the Earth, and all that which nourishes our spirituality and sustains us." - Dr. Kamla Chowdhry, Earth Charter Commissioner, India

Editor’s Comment: Romans 1:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen."

Des Moines Register 18 July, 2004 CALENDAR GIRLS (Edited by DCB) "Villisca, Ia. - If you should get your hands on one of those special calendars they're turning out here, the ones with the 10 local church ladies in various stages of undress..."

The women who were mostly in their 60’s and 70’s "...say it was all for a good cause. Money raised from the calendars goes to the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. They say they exposed nothing they'd be ashamed to tell their pastors about. In fact, at least one of their pastors has bought a calendar."

Editor’s Comment: 1Timothy 2:9 "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety..." Titus 2: 3-5 "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

The Daily Telegraph Sydney 7 July, 2004 PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (Edited by DCB)

"WITH rock, bare feet, sun and free massages, Hillsong Conference looks more music festival than ministry. But the chilled-out atmosphere outside Sydney SuperDome this week belies a very serious conviction within. Hillsong church is an evangelical phenomenon, boasting two churches, a congregation of more than 16,000 and a shrewd business sense."

This conference is said to have attracted almost 21,000 people from around the world of whom many are "...young, funky and serious about Christ." At lunchtime inside the SuperDome a pastor from the USA "Steve Kelly is leading 200 people in song under blue lighting and a huge screen. Many close their eyes, hands raised as they clap and shout together, Kelly encouraging them to ‘get excited – God stirs up with a clap and a shout’."

The pastor of Hillsong says "...church is to be enjoyed, not endured." Hillsong is said a "...church for the contemporary world and it's not afraid to compete in it, raising up to $1 million in weekly collections."

Editor’s Comment: John 21: 17 "...Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep." Acts 20:28 "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

Agape Press 27 July, 2004 Edited by DCB) "The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) frowns on homosexual clergy, but the parishioners at a Lutheran church in Minneapolis applauded when Jay Wiesner was ordained on Sunday. His ordination was the third of an openly homosexual pastor from an ELCA congregation in the Twin Cities."

Editor’s Comment:  Titus 1:16 "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk 26 July 2004 WILLIAMS TO MAKE 9/11 SPEECH PRAISING ISLAM (Edited by DCB) "The Archbishop of Canterbury is to mark the third anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks by praising Islam in an address from the pulpit of an Egyptian mosque, reports the Sunday Times." Williams’s speech will be given at Cario’s Al-Azhar University where "90,000 students" attend. He will tell the "Muslim congregation of the common ground between Christianity and Islam with their shared inheritance as ‘children of Abraham’".

Editor’s Comment: Jeremiah 9:3 "…they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD."

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk 23 June 2004 RADICAL NEW TRANSLATION MAKES BIBLE ACCESSIBLE TO UNCHURCHED (Edited by DCB) "A radical translation of the New Testament released with the personal backing of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and aimed at the those disillusioned with institutional religion, has been met by the mainstream media with a focus on a small number of biblical passages that relate to sexual ethics." The Good as New Version was translated by a former Baptist minister and has been praised by the Church of England’s by the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. Williams says this version is different from others in that it has taken out "the stale, the technical, the unconsciously exclusive words and policies".

The Good as New shows absolutely no reverence for the Words of God as shown in these examples:

Mark 1:4 "John did baptise in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." King James Bible

The Good as New Version reads: "John, nicknamed ‘The Dipper’, was ‘The Voice’. He was in the desert, inviting people to be dipped, to show they were determined to change their ways and wanted to be forgiven."

Mark 1:10-11 "And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him. And there came a voice from the heaven saying, Thou are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." King James Bible

The Good as New Version says: As he was climbing up the bank again, the sun shone through a gap in the clouds. At the same time a pigeon flew down and perched on him. Jesus took this as a sign that God’s spirit was with him. A voice from overhead was heard saying, ‘That’s my boy! You’re doing fine!’ "

Editor’s Comment: John 12:48 "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."