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"Fearful
lest it be relegated to the position of an isolated sect, Christianity
seems to be making frenzied efforts at mimicry in order to escape being
devoured by its enemies--a reaction that seems defensive, but is in fact
self-destructive. In the hope of saving itself, it seems to be assuming
the colors of its environment, but the result is that it loses its
identity. . . ."
--Leszek Kolakowski, from Modernity on Endless Trial |
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THE RECORD
Online Newspaper
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In This Issue:
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Monday July 18,
2005
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The
Reward
of
Unrighteousness
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Wolves
in
Sheeps'
Clothing
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The
Heart of
the
Beholder
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Legislature
Responds
to
‘Offensive
and
Inappropriate
Use’ of
Hall of
Flags
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"But these, as
natural brute
beasts, made to
be taken and
destroyed, speak
evil of the
things that they
understand not;
and shall
utterly perish
in their own
corruption; And
shall receive
the reward of
unrighteousness,
as they that
count it with
their own
deceivings while
they feast with
you.
Having eyes full
of adultery, and
that cannot
cease from sin;
beguiling
unstable souls:
an heart they
have exercised
with covetous
practices;
cursed children:
Which have
forsaken the
right way, and
are gone astray,
following the
way of Balaam
the son of
Bosor, who loved
the wages of
unrighteousness;
But was rebuked
for his
iniquity: the
dumb ass
speaking with
man's voice
forbad the
madness of the
prophet.
These are wells
without water,
clouds that are
carried with a
tempest; to whom
the mist of
darkness is
reserved for
ever. For when
they speak great
swelling words
of vanity, they
allure through
the lusts of the
flesh, through
much wantonness,
those that were
clean escaped
from them who
live in error.
While they
promise them
liberty, they
themselves are
the servants of
corruption: for
of whom a man is
overcome, of the
same is he
brought in
bondage."
(2 Peter
2:12-19)
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It would be an
understatement
to call John
Shelby Sprong,
the former
Episcopalian
Bishop of
Newark, and the
man who ordained
the first openly
homosexual
clergyman, a
heretic.
Sprong’s views
are so extreme,
that he no
longer can be
considered
Christian in any
sense of the
word.
Sprong, who has
written many
provocative
works, including
“Why
Christianity
Must Change or
Die” and
“Rescuing the
Bible from
Fundamentalism,”
has denied
virtually every
tenet of the
Christian faith,
from the Virgin
Birth to the
Resurrection,
and even denies
the existence of
the God as a
personal being.
And therein lies
the popularity
of this
“religious
leader,” a man
who incidentally
is now offering
his writings to
the public
online for a
paid
subscription.
Sprong is
something of a
media celebrity,
and has made the
rounds of such
shows as “Good
Morning America”
“Firing Line”
and “Politically
Incorrect” with
Bill Maher.
Having wiped his
feet on Biblical
Christianity, he
is now
acceptable to
the mass media
and the Liberal
elite, while
true preachers
of the Gospel,
who struggle to
make ends meet,
are kept at arms
length.
Sprong has
published a list
of ten
propositions
which he claims
will cause a
“new
Reformation.”
Among these
propositions are
the rejection of
a personal God
and the
rejection of the
divinity of
Christ. Sprong
claims that the
true God exists
within each man,
which is of
course, the core
belief of the
New Age
movement.
Indeed, Sprong
has written of
the need to
“reshape
Christianity for
a new age.”
About Easter,
Sprong writes
“Easter with its
story of the
Resurrection can
also be
transformed, I
believe…. the
miracles of
physical
resuscitation,
the angels who
roll stones away
from tombs, and
the bodies that
appear out of
nothing and
disappear into
thin air must be
dismissed for
the legends that
they are.”
Nor are these by
any means
Sprong’s most
extreme
statements. It
is interesting
to note that
many New Age
groups, as well
as the most
dangerous and
sinister occult
organizations
refer to
Sprong’s work.
It is easy to
see in light of
John Shelby
Sprong’s
beliefs, how the
acceptance of
homosexuality
within the
church is very
much tied to
heresy, occult
forces, and what
the late John
Paul II
correctly called
the “Ideology of
Evil.”
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Anti-Christian
bigotry is
usually only
incidental to a
movie, but this
time the movie
industry has
outdone itself.
Encouraged by
the complacency
of the
movie-going
public, the more
extreme elements
within the media
establishment
have taken the
next logical
step and
produced a movie
which is one
hundred percent
pure
anti-Christian
bigotry.
The low-budget
movie, “The
Heart of the
Beholder,” is
very loosely
based on an
incident in St.
Louis in which a
group of
Christians
picketed a video
store which
offered the
“Last Temptation
of Christ.”
Building on that
tiny incident,
the director of
the movie wrote
a script which
contains the
most fantastic
charges against
Christians.
One interesting
fact to come out
of all this is
that the
producer of the
movie, met at
20th Century Fox
studios in Los
Angeles with D.
J. Grothe, the
director of an
organization
called “Center
for Inquiry on
Campus” at which
the merits of
the movie were
discussed. The
producer was
formerly in
charge of
daytime
television
programming for
the Academy of
Television Arts
and Sciences,
and is currently
chairman of the
Daytime Emmy
Awards
Committee. She
is also
currently Vice
President at Fox
Cable Networks
in Los Angeles,
the largest
cable market in
the U.S. Prior
to holding this
position she was
Executive
Director of
Broadcast
Standards at
20th Century Fox
Broadcasting.
But does the
movie really
amount to
Christian
bashing? In the
movie, a
character
commits a
horrible crime
with a Christian
symbol. Add to
this the fact
that the
producer holds a
Ph.D. in
Communications,
and the answer
becomes obvious.
Although the
movie purports
to be about
censorship, the
deeper purpose
of the movie is
clearly to
inflame public
opinion against
Christians. The
website on which
much of this
information
appears, also
sells T-shirts
and cups with
the logo “I Love
Roman Lions.”
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The Christian
Civic League of
Maine
70 Sewall Street
Augusta, ME
04330
V-207-622-7634
F-207-621-0035
www.cclmaine.org
The RECORD is
published every
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Encourage them
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and praying
about current
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email your
suggestions for
articles to
mike@cclmaine.org.
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