Waldron Mission Fund

 

Under the oversight of the elders of the Crossville church of Christ, PO Box 211, Crossville, TN 38557

BULLETIN BRIEF

 

Vol 1                    OCT 1998                          No. 10

 

WORLD POPULATION

Jim E. Waldron

The World Population Reference Bureau,  175 Connecticut Ave., Ste 520, NW, Washington, D.C. 2000-5720, estimates there were 1.6 billion people on earth at the beginning of the century.  They also report world population will surpass the 6 billion mark early next year.

 

Our King, just before returning to heaven for His inauguration at the right hand of the Father affirmed: 

 

     WORLD POPULATION - “All authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:18-20).  Again He said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).  These are commands that must be obeyed.

 

There are about 12,000 churches of Christ in the United States and the saints who make up these congregations are the most blessed of human beings on this planet.  Not only have we been redeemed by the mercy of God from our vain lives of sin (cf. I Pet. 1:18-19) but Christians at no time in history have ever been so blessed materially.  Being blessed with such abundance and with salvation we have the greater obligation.  For it is written, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required;...”   (Luke 12:48).

 

Thus as congregations of God’s people and true disciples we must radically re-think our obligation toward the billions with whom we share this planet, for our Father “...desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2:4).  Every congregation must be mission minded.  Some urgent things needed are,

 

1)  Our young men should be trained to do the work of evangelists (II Tim. 4:1-4) not trained to be glorified babysitters.  Even if they never preach fulltime they need the training.  We are at war.  Let every congregation, or with others through congregational cooperation, begin a preacher training school in the evenings, on Saturday or on Sunday afternoon. For the apostle Paul required, “the things that you have heard from me...commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (II Tim. 2:2).

 

 2) When they are well trained in the word then parents and grandparents must encourage and support young Christian men for one or two years as “apprentice” evangelists on the field.

 

3)  Dedicate our material wealth to evangelism (domestic and foreign missions).  At the present time much of the church's wealth goes to para-church organizations instead of going through congregations to support world evangelism.  God is to be glorified “in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end” (Eph. 3:21). God has not authorized brethren to set up corporations, boards or similar bodies to do the work of the church.  Yet, churches are regularly bombarded with requests (not to say demands) for money to fund some semi-church organization. 

 

4)  Resist false teachers who would restructure the churches of Christ into being just another evangelical community church.  The Holy Spirit warned “there were also false prophets among the people even as there will be false teachers among you...” (I Cor. 11:19).

 

EVOLUTION - A SCIENCE-FICTION FANTASY

Jon Gary Williams

 

When questioned about evolution, believers in the theory do not know why they believe it, and, surprisingly, this is true even among scientists.  Dr. Henry Morris stated the case well: “...the main reason most educated people believe in evolution is simply because they have been told that most educated people believe in evolution” (The Twilight Of Evolution, P. 26).  The theory of evolution is a philosophy based on nothing more than science-fiction, a proposition easily established.

 

First, a very large number of scientists totally reject the theory.  And in addition there are many others who have serious doubts about it.  The February, 1988 issue of Industrial Chemist published the results of a survey taken among scientists world-wide.  It revealed that one fifth rejected the theory!  How can a view be considered scientific if one out of every five scientists reject it?

 

Second, any theory that can be denied without denying any fact of science must be unscientific.  For example, one can deny the theory that rats are produced from old rags by spontaneous generation, without denying any fact of science.  Hence, that theory is unscientific.  The same is true regarding evolution - since it can be denied without denying one single fact of science, it cannot be classified as science.  Let the defender of evolution produce just one fact of science that must be denied when denying evolution!  It cannot be done.

 

Third, evolution does not fit the evidence.  The only place to go to find concrete, empirical evidence for evolution is the fossil record.  However, there is not a single case of a transitional form!  The respected A.H. Clark noted this emphatically nearly seventy years ago when he said,  “since we have not the slightest evidence either among the living or the fossil animals, of any intergrading types following the major groups, it is fair supposition that there never have been any such intergrading types” (The New Evolution:  Zoogenesis, William and Wilkins, Baltimore, p.189, 1930.)

 

Later George Gaylord Simpson, formerly of Harvard and considered to be the world’s foremost evolutionary paleontologist in this centrury spoke of the same lack of evidence for evolution in the fossil record,

                                                                                                                                       

 EVOLUTION A SCIENCE FICTION FANTASY

 

The fossil record backs up creation record of fully developed creatures of all kinds.  Where is the fossil evidence for evolution?  There is not.  Evolution is not science, but science-fiction!

(P.O. Box 35  LaVergne, TN  37086)

 

 

GREAT FAITH BUILDING RESOURCE

 

Evolution is the ungodly foundation of much of the evil, which isdestroying American homes and families. The book, The Otherside of Evolution by Jon Gary Williams is an outstanding book as a Bible class resource, as a home school text or for great reading for Christians young or old.  It deals with scientific reasons as to why evolution is false science.  It contains 11 chapters in 65 pages and it costs $4.00.  Order from the author at P.O. Box 35, LaVergne, TN  37086 or phone 615-793-6312

 

Christ was God from eternity, before coming to earth to be God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14, 18).  Furthermore, Jesus is specifically said to be our Advocate before God the Father (I John 2:1-2).

THE NEW AND IMPROVED MARY?

Jerry Bates

 

Just when you think that religious people cannot get any further from revealed truth, another event happens which shakes you back to reality.  Recently I read that many Catholics were petitioning the Pope to proclaim a new dogma; “that the Virgin Mary is Co-Redemptrix, Meatrix of All Graces and Advocate for the People of God” (Newsweek,  Aug. 25, ‘97).  This movement is supported by several prominent Catholics, such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who recently died.  Of course, for centuries catholics have elevated Mary to a position far higher than has been revealed in Scripture, but to proclaim her to be an equal with Jesus Christ himself is something else.

 

How could many sincerely religious people support such an idea?   I believe that it can be answered very simply.  Either people do not know the Bible or do not respect the simple written authority of the Bible.  The author of the article made this very revealing statement:

 

         “The secret of Mary’s mysterious power may be just this:  having no history of her own, she entices every new generation to draw her portrait.  The Bible offers only scraps to build on.”

 

In other words, it doesn’t matter what the Bible says.  It is not particularly important that the Bible says absolutely nothing about such a doctrine.  It makes little difference that such a doctrine contradicts a plain teaching of Paul when he wrote:  “For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Tim. 2:5).  Just forget that John warns, “Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ hath not God” (2 John 9).  The crux of the matter for the bishops is this :  we like it; we want it; let’s have it.                       (Box 753  - Palestine, AR  72372)

 

(Editor Ted J. Clarke):  The latest Catechism of the Catholic Church says of Mary, “The Virgin Mary...is acknoledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer” (New York: Image Books - Doubleday, 1995, p. 273).  Jesus truly loved the mother of His fleshly body and honored her, but when a woman tried to elevate Mary’s role in His birth beyond its God-given significance, note what Jesus said,    “And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the breasts which thou hast sucked.  But he said, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” ( Lk. 11:27-28).  Mary was a devout woman and blessed by God to be chosen to be the mother of Christ’s fleshly body, but Christ was God, from eternity, before coming to earth to be God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14, 18).  Furthermore, Jesus is specifically said to be our Advocate before God the Father (I John 2:1-2).

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