Excommunicating Fox News

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | July 13, 2006 | Mark D. Tooley

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

According to Edgar, America’s "founding fathers and mothers" would never have supported "prison camps at Guantanamo, torture at Abu Ghraib....

Hmmm.....he may have a point.

[Digger]

The members of the above churches are guilty of aiding and abetting this garbage.

Just another victory notch for communism as in the Communist Manifesto.

[OKIEDOC]

I believe Jesus would say they have lost their way.

Back sliding of churches is nothing new.

One only has to read the words of Paul in Corinthians to understand that these factions may well be wrong in Gods eyes:


1 Corinthians 1

9God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

10But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony and full agreement in what you say, and that there be no dissensions or factions or divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and in your opinions and judgments.

Snip:

18For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.

19For it is written, I will baffle and render useless and destroy the learning of the learned and the philosophy of the philosophers and the cleverness of the clever and the discernment of the discerning; I will frustrate and nullify [them] and bring [them] to nothing.(A)

20Where is the wise man (the philosopher)? Where is the scribe (the scholar)? Where is the investigator (the logician, the debater) of this present time and age? Has not God shown up the nonsense and the folly of this world's wisdom?

21For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).

Snip:
27[No] for God selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is foolish to put the wise to shame, and what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame.

28And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are,

29So that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.

Snip:

1 Corinthians 2

14But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.

Snip:
1 Corinthians 3

19For this world's wisdom is foolishness (absurdity and stupidity) with God, for it is written, He lays hold of the wise in their [own] craftiness;(D)

Snip:

1 Corinthians 5
1IT IS actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, impurity of a sort that is condemned and does not occur even among the heathen; for a man has [his own] father's wife.(A)
2And you are proud and arrogant! And you ought rather to mourn (bow in sorrow and in shame) until the person who has done this [shameful] thing is removed from your fellowship and your midst!
10Not [meaning of course that you must] altogether shun the immoral people of this world, or the greedy graspers and cheats and thieves or idolaters, since otherwise you would need to get out of the world and human society altogether!

11But now I write to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of [Christian] brother if he is known to be guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater [whose soul is devoted to any object that usurps the place of God], or is a person with a foul tongue [railing, abusing, reviling, slandering], or is a drunkard or a swindler or a robber. [No] you must not so much as eat with such a person.

[denydenydeny]

Edgar is a disgrace. On his many visits to Cuba, he has never once said a word about the persecution of Christians there. Instead, he'd rather rail against the "fundamentalists."

[Enterprise]

LOL - I can just imagine the left's reaction to John Smith's policy:

"His policy that “he who does not work shall not eat” was extremely unpopular, particularly among members of the elite classes. But, as Smith clearly surmised, this was the policy that kept the colonists alive: during Smith’s administration the survival rate among colonists rose dramatically to more than ninety percent."

link

[bcsco]

"Lutheran (ECLA)

Thanks for the heads-up. Time to do some research and then go talk to my pastor.

We left the ELCA after many years a year ago April for the LCMS. Best move we ever made. One of our congregation sat on the ELCA commission that did the study on 'sexuality'. His wife was a synod VP at the time. Both are against the sexuality issue in the ELCA and remain to fight against inclusion without Biblical control.

Our pastor was extremely liberal (a sore spot with my wife and I who taught him in 8th grade Sunday School). His confirmation classes consisted of taking the group to movies then later discussions on how the movies related to God. These children were completely unprepared for membership in the Church.

When he left for another Church, the interim pastor was very liberal and very anti-WOT. His sermons often covered such things as his hero worship of an anti-war zealot who had been arrested over 50 times for her anti-government work. His posturing that we were torturing people within our military system almost had me walk out one Sunday. After that we never returned.

If you talk to your pastor, first find out where he stands on the issues. If he follows ELCA dogma you probably won't get far. OTOH, if he is against where the EOCA is headed then he may be a good source of information. There's also a lot online if you want to search for it. Also talk to others in your congregation you trust. They can often be very helpful.

Prayers for you and your quest for information.

[bcsco]

Leni:

See my post #46. We moved (back for me) to the LCMS from the ELCA last year. We're in Rochelle, IL. I'm sure you know where that is being from DuPage County.

Our pastor was VERY liberal. The interim, when he left, was even more so. Neither my wife nor I could stand it and started going to our local LCMS parish on Ash Wednesday last year. Best move we ever made. I was baptized LCMS, confirmed Wisconsin Synod then became ELCA due to convenience. WRONG MOVE!

[untrained skeptic]

Where have you been, LOL? The ECLA has been pinko and social gospel for years. It's been discussed on this forum for years.

I was raised Catholic. Disagreeing with the official actions of the Church in some areas, and the less official actions of groups within it is pretty much they way things have always been for me.

It's a good church with excellent pastors that do good work in the community.

I never really looked at what the ECLA or organizations it associates with it do on a national level.

Churches, though entities dedicated to God, and made up of human beings. It's often hard enough to find a church that isn't constantly getting sidetracked from Gods work in local issues and even with issues among the congregation.

It's often difficult to find a Pastor that doesn't simply preach platitudes and mush, and doesn't fear to address hard truths. One that preaches about grace and forgiveness while reminding us that does not simply exempt man from personal responsibility.

I don't believe that I'm going to find a perfect Church. I do however see that I need to make my voice heard in the church I am in now, and see what is the best path to follow.

I guess I'll just have to see where God leads me.

However, if you have some other information regarding the actions of the ECLA that you'd like to send my way, I'd be very interested.

[untrained skeptic]

Not to pile on

Pile away.

I'm a member of this particular church because of the Pastors (primarily one of the two).

I grew up Catholic and I'm used to not agreeing with the Church on all things, but I've been pleased with the Church in which I'm a member on most things, and I believe that they do very good work in the local community.

I haven't really concerned myself with the ELCA as a whole, but the more I find out about them the less happy I am that I'm indirectly supporting some of their efforts.

I guess it's time to open my eyes to the broader picture of the Church of which I'm a member.

If you have truthful information and justified criticisms, feel free to send them my way.

If the truth hurts it just makes it more clear that it's something I need to hear.

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP - There will be a final reckoning for all those who use "religion" for political ends, as opposed to people of The Faith who work out their faith in the Public Square.

[GadareneDemoniac]

Let's put it this way: the CBF is backed by Jimmy Carter and the former president of Mercer University who wrote a book entitled, "When We Talk About God, Let's Be Honest" or some such title. Do a search on Kirby Godsey, the university president and author, and see what kind of Baptists these are.

This is how the CBF came to be. A few years ago, the SBC had a big conservative push to get professors in seminaries to address the issue of whether the Bible has errors or not. Those that want to "interpret" scripture through the liberal lens were forced out of their cushy jobs and the CBF was created by and for them.

[MEGoody]

Bob Edgar, former Democratic congressman and former seminary president is now an ordained Methodist minister and general secretary of the National Council of Churches (NCC)

All that proves is that this guy is a CINO (Christian in name only).

[untrained skeptic]

If you talk to your pastor, first find out where he stands on the issues. If he follows ELCA dogma you probably won't get far. OTOH, if he is against where the EOCA is headed then he may be a good source of information. There's also a lot online if you want to search for it. Also talk to others in your congregation you trust. They can often be very helpful.

The Church is right next to a major air force base, and we have many members in the military.

I have never heard an anti-WOT sermon in the Church and have heard a number denouncing terrorism and moral decay. However, it's not something that he touches on ofter and our second pastor seems to avoid the subject.

In general their sermons stay away from politics as much as possible while not ignoring such important issues.

If my pastor was preaching against the WOT and was anti-military, there would likely be a number of people standing up and walking out, and I wouldn't be surprised if one or more didn't interrupt to say a few things before leaving.

I suspect the reason I don't hear about the ECLA's stance on such issues, is because our Pastor doesn't agree with it.

Prayers for you and your quest for information.

Thank you.

[Presbyterian Reporter]

You may want to start by asking your pastor why the ELCA gives around $150,000 each year to the NCC. And you may also want to ask your pastor why your church gives money to the ELCA leadership who gives a portion of that money to the NCC.

"The Ford Foundation, for example, gave $150,000 to the NCC during its last fiscal year—an amount exceeding the contributions of the 5-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the NCC’s second-largest member denomination."

Read the entire report on NCC funding at this url:
http://www.ird-renew.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=fvKVLfMVIsG&b=470197&ct=1506741

[horse_doc]

In general their sermons stay away from politics as much as possible while not ignoring such important issues.

LOL. My LCMS pastor prayed for "victory in battle, and confusion to our enemies", when the Iraq War started.

Good luck to you, in your church. It sounds like your local ELCA congregation is a great place, despite the messed up leadership on the national level. The Church on this earth will always have problems, because men are involved.

[untrained skeptic]

It didn't take more than a glance at the NCC's web site to figure out that it is a humanistic organization, not a Christian one.

Thanks for the info.

[Pop Fly]

Wow a former DemoRAT Congressman is taking a shot at Fox News? Shocker.

Also, Fox News has long been a friend of the religious and faith communities, and always provides ample opportunities for the perspective of religious leaders.

[Mom MD]

Come join us in the LCMS (Missouri Synod). We have held the line and don't go in for this stuff.

[Mom MD]

Interestingly Jon Scott graduated from Lutheran High School in Denver a few years before I did. Definitely LCMS (although this was before the whole ELCA thing)