Reader disagrees with Gene Edwards' article
By Editorial Staff
Published March 31, 2008
I am writing out of concern over an article found in the May 1990 issue of The Forerunner (“The Early Church” by Gene Edwards). In this article there were several comparisons between “The Early Church” and “Christendom.” The character-vehicle of the this thesis, “Nat,” met with some of modern Christianity’s “paraphernalia” and “had set his course, not toward knowing Jesus Christ, but toward tradition. Nat had set his course 180 degrees in the opposite direction from the life and experience which was known by the first century believer.”
It is my contention that Nat’s course would be totally different from the life and experience of first century believers primarily because he was born in the twentieth century and not because of his getting dressed up to go to a church.
Further, I believe that Christianity is a life lived in the context of the historical settings and cultures of the people who embrace it. It is not bound in the strict sense to the identical forms, mediums and customs of any particular century.
Go back to living-room floors, reject the modern idea of “pastor,” forget nice clothes, steeples, stained glass windows, pews, and pulpits if you want. But leading others down some rebellious chase for the past calling it “reclaiming the Early Church” still is not going to make a group of people in 1990 squatting on a living-room floor in Anytown, USA without hymnals “The Early Church.”
Glenn Branham
Peck, Michigan
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The Abortion Matrix: Defeating Child Sacrifice and the Culture of Death (DVD)
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Is there a connection between pagan religion and the abortion industry?
This powerful presentation traces the biblical roots of child sacrifice and then delves into the social, political and cultural fall-out that this sin against God and crime against humanity has produced in our beleaguered society.
Conceived as a sequel and update to the 1988 classic, The Massacre of Innocence, the new title, The Abortion Matrix, is entirely fitting. It not only references abortion’s specific target – the sacred matrix where human beings are formed in the womb in the very image of God, but it also implies the existence of a conspiracy, a matrix of seemingly disparate forces that are driving this holocaust.
The occult activity surrounding the abortion industry is exposed with numerous examples. But are these just aberrations, bizarre yet anomalous examples of abortionists who just happen to have ties to modern day witchcraft? Or is this representative of something deeper, more sinister and even endemic to the entire abortion movement?
As the allusion to the film of over a decade ago suggests, the viewer may learn that things are not always as they appear to be. The Abortion Matrix reveals the reality of child-killing and strikes the proper moral chord to move hearts to fulfill the biblical responsibility to rescue those unjustly sentenced to death and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 24:11,12; 31:8,9).
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Running Time: 195 minutes
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Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry’s insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation — and even more importantly — amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview!
Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue — but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today.
Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study — for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John’s famous letter “… to the seven churches which are in Asia.” (Revelation 1:4)
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That Swiss Hermit Strikes Again!
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After 40 years of intense study and world-wide ministry, Dr. Francis Schaeffer completed his crowning work of scholarship – to present profound truths in simple film language. Dr. Schaeffer’s brilliant analysis of the past and predictions for current trends have proven so uncannily accurate that this amazing series still feels contemporary almost three decades after its initial release. Ultimately, Schaeffer concludes that man’s only hope is a return to God’s Biblical absolute, the truth revealed in Christ through the Scriptures.
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