THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES ( part 3 )

WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES DANCING WITH IDOLATRY: 6TH ASSEMBLY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, JULY 1983 

The Sixth Assembly of the World Council was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, in July 1983, attended by more than 4,000 people.In the opening ceremony, North American pagan Indians were invited to build an altar and a “sacred flame.” They tossed offerings of fish and tobacco into a fire for their nature gods and danced around the altar. Candles that were used in the worship services of this conference were lit from that pagan fire which was kept burning throughout the Assembly. A Native Indian Sweat Lodge, used in their heathen ‘purification’ rites, was also featured; and one of the evening worship services consisted of Native Indian dancing, chanting, singing and drum beating. (Foundation, Vol. IV, Issue III, 1983).Three Hindus, four Buddhists, two Jews, four Muslims, and a Sikh were official guests of the Assembly. There were readings from Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim scriptures. In the General Secretary’s report to the Assembly, Philip Potter said that it is God’s will “to unite all nations in their diversity into one house.”Pauline Webb, who serves on the WCC executive committee, welcomed the visitors from “other faiths” and said, “Let us meet as those who have nothing to defend and everything to share.” The World Council has nothing to defend because it has no truth.Dirk Mulder, moderator of the WCC interfaith dialogue program, said that he “does not believe people are lost forever if they are not evangelized.” Dr. M.H. Reynolds, editor of Foundation magazine, attended the Assembly with press credentials. In an interview with Mulder, he asked, “Would you feel that a Buddhist or Hindu could be saved without believing in Christ?” His answer was, “Sure, sure!” (Foundation, Vol. IV, Issue III, 1983).The 1983 WCC Assembly also featured a pagan dance by a Hindu woman from South India. It was a “classical Bharathanatyam dance” that is performed the Hindu “earth mother goddess.” 

CHILDREN ARE THEIR OPPRESSORS, AND WOMEN RULE OVER THEM 

The prophet Isaiah, in describing the apostate condition of Israel, said, “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths” (Is. 3:12). The apostate ecumenical movement is enjoying the fulfillment of this prophecy today. At the World Council of Churches Seventh General Assembly in Canberra, Australia, many who stood to preach and to lead the business meetings were women. Angry women! One of the two keynote addresses was delivered by radical Korean feminist Chung Hyun-Kyung. “Reverend” Violet Sampa-Bredt of Zambia told the ecumenical gang that Junia in Romans 16 was an apostle and that anyone who is involved in the work of the church is an apostle. She spoke of “the lie that only men can be ministers.” Aruna Gnanadasan of India, director of the WCC’s Sub-unit on Women, spoke disparagingly of the “male-dominated structures of the churches” and said, “It is urgent for the whole church to be in solidarity with women.” Andrea Carmen spoke on “that most important women,” Mother Earth, and longed for the return to the days of the strong “matriarchy which saw clans being passed on through women.” After describing the supposed exalted status of women in ancient North American Indian culture, she complained that “Western education and Christianity placed women on the bottom and not as a source of leadership.” Margot Kaessman came up with a unique interpretation of Genesis 3, asking, “Is it really sin to long for knowledge?” She claimed that Eve “was filled with the spirit of freedom,” and said, “Eve’s sin had nothing to do with sexuality, and yet the common interpretation is filled with hints at sexuality.” She was denying the traditional apostolic interpretation which says that Eve was deceived because she was the weaker vessel and that she was not supposed to make such decisions on her own. Or course “Ms.” Kaessman is from Germany, which has been on the cutting edge of theological weirdness for almost two centuries. “Reverend” Constance Parvey of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America claimed that the issue of the ordination of women was a unity issue. Men and women are one in the “body of Christ” and therefore should be allowed the same functions. “In the early life of the Church women were at the center but a patriarchal reading of the scriptures had marginalized them. Now a separate ecclesiology for women and men existed in the church.” Of course, this “patriarchal reading” could not possibly have anything to do with the fact that the Apostles plainly limited the women’s role in the church in regard to leadership, could it? She urged women to enter the theological arena and equip themselves as theologians. The children have their say at the WCC as well. Roughly 200 youth delegates and stewards “expressed concern at the failure of member churches to send the recommended proportion of youth delegates” (CCA News, Jan-Mar. 1991, Christian Conference of Asia, pp. 12,13). The Assembly repented and agreed to appoint a youth as one of the seven WCC presidents. Priyanka Mendis, 25, executive secretary of the Committee for Justice and Peace of the NCC in Sri Lanka, was later elected. (A youth is defined by the WCC as someone under 27 years old.) This didn’t satisfy the clamoring youth, though. They held up a banner warning the Assembly that it was committing “ecumenical suicide” by ignoring the youth. They were angry because only eight percent of those elected to the WCC Central Committee were youth. 

WORLD COUNCIL FINDS SPIRITUALITY IN PAGAN PRACTICES 

The following are some quotes from a World Council of Churches dialogue held Dec. 1-5, 1987, in Kyoto, Japan. The theme was “Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue,” and the amazing testimonies by those involved show a gross ignorance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and true Bible Christianity. The following quotes are from the WCC publication Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue edited by Tosh Ari and Wesley Ariarajah: “Listening to the Silence: Through Zen and Taize” - by Michael Como--I realized that just as the monks at Hosshinji [a monastery of Zen Buddhism where Como was staying] insisted that EACH OF US WAS SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA IN OUR OWN BODIES, SO TOO COULD I FIND MARY IN THE WOMAN BESIDE ME... (p. 6). Upon arriving here [Hiraizumi] I first stayed with the family of a Buddhist priest for six months. EVERY MORNING WE CHANTED SUTRAS BEFORE THE BUDDHA Dainichi, every evening I prayed before my Franciscan cross and an icon of Mary (p. 6). I now live in my own house, I CONTINUE TO PRAY DAILY BEFORE MY JAPANESE-STYLE ALTAR. UPON IT, ALONG WITH THE IMAGES OF JESUS AND MARY, IS AN ICON OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA... (p. 7). “Discovering the Incarnation” - by Diana Eck--My own capacity to “see” the incarnation has been extended greatly by the faith of Hindus (p. 10). In Shiva’s city I began to see that it is precisely in this place, in the full presence of suffering and death, that HINDUS AFFIRM THE FULL AND ETERNAL PRESENCE OF SHIVA and the faith of safe-crossing to the far shore (p. 11). “Enlightenment through Zen” by Thomas G. Hand, SJ--For almost twenty years now I have been engaged in interfaith dialogue, especially in the field of practical spirituality. I am an American Jesuit priest, and I have lived in Japan for 29 years. FOR SIX YEARS I FORMALLY PRACTICED ZEN under Yasutani Hakuum Roshi and Yamada Koun Roshi, Kamakura. I am still doing Zazen. For the past three-and-a-half years I have been on the staff of Mercy Center, Burlingame, Calif., USA, especially engaged in the programme of our Institute of Contemporary Spirituality (pp. 49-50). Beginning with the external and bodily, the main place of most of our meditations here at Mercy Center is the Rose Room (so called because the unfolding rose is the symbol of enlightenment in the West just as the lotus is in the East). On the walls are Japanese shikishi (fine paper squares) with Zen sayings in Sino-Japanese ideographs, two Taoist paintings and a picture of the Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya Bodhisattva) from Koryuji, Kyoto. These are well received by people and set a good tone to the room. However, the main shrine or centerpiece has, of course, the cross as central. IT IS HOPED THAT BEFORE TOO LONG THIS CROSS WILL GIVE WAY TO A STATUE OF CHRIST SEATED IN MEDITATION, a statue which will include clear influence from Buddhist statuary in its simplicity and feeling... Another area in which other faith influence is apparent is in our chanting. We chant briefly at the beginning of meditation periods, in order to bring our energies together and to create that special silence that arises after chanting. WE USE THE SACRED SYLLABLE OM IN ITSELF AND ALSO JOIN IT TO THE HEBREW NAMES OF MARY AND JESUS (Om Miriam, Om Jeshua). At first glance this may seem like a hybrid, but actually it turns out to be an excellent chant (pp. 50, 51). To find supposed spirituality in heathen religions is folly. There is no spiritual life whatsoever in paganism. Consider the testimony of Isaiah 8:20—“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Consider the testimony of John 14:6—“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Consider the testimony of Acts 4:12—“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” We see, then, the utter folly of these statements by so-called Christian leaders who attended the WCC “Spirituality in Interfaith Dialogue.” They are the blind leading the blind. 

WORLD COUNCIL ASSOCIATED PROFESSOR DISLIKES NEW-TESTAMENT MISSIONS.

In the weekly news publication of the World Council of Churches, the Ecumenical Press Service, for Nov. 11- 20, 1985, some quotes are given from a presentation made to a Church of South India consultation held in Bangalore, India, October 1985. The speaker was S.J. Samartha, a presbyter of the Church of South India, a consultant to the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, and a visiting professor at United Theological College, Bangalore. The title of his speech was “Dialogue and Mission in India.” Consider what this ecumenist thinks about missions and the Christian’s relationship with false religions: “The question before the church in India is not whether it should be in mission, but what kind of mission. In recent years the words from Matthew 28:18-20: ‘Go, baptise, make disciples, teach,’ have been interpreted and practiced in such a militant and aggressive fashion that mission has come to mean ‘conquest for Christ.’ It has become ‘Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war.’ Mission is understood as an activity against other religions. MOST CHRISTIANS UNDERSTAND MISSION AS WORKING FOR THE EXTENSION OF CHRISTIANITY AND THE EXTINCTION OF OTHER RELIGIONS. [THIS] IS A TRAGIC DENIAL OF GOD’S LOVE FOR ALL HUMANITY. This makes dialogue impossible. Those who hold this view should not use the word ‘dialogue’ at all. To do so would be a breach of trust with our neighbors. ... we need to recover the original sense of mission in a post-independent era, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT … THE THEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF OTHER RELIGIONS.”This professor rejects the Bible and the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says Jesus Christ ALONE is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Bible says no man can come to the Father except through Jesus Christ, that none other name given under heaven is given whereby men must be saved (Jn. 14:6; Ac. 4:12). The goal of the Great Commission is indeed the extension of true Christianity to the exclusion of false religions. We do not seek to destroy false religions through political or social efforts, but we do proclaim to them that salvation is only through Jesus Christ. The professor says this is a denial of the love of God for all humanity. Just the opposite is true. The love of God is witnessed through the offer of Jesus Christ. To replace the proclamation of the Gospel with dialogue is to rob men of the love of God.

 WCC PRESS SERVICE REPORTS NON-CHRISTIANS ARE “BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN GOD” 

The WCC Ecumenical Press Service for March 1-9, 1985, contained a “vision of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YWCA) in contemporary Asia.” The YWCA is a member of the World Council of Churches. Christopher Duraisingh, professor of theology at United Theological College in Bangalore, India, is the author of the article: “Forms of distorted and exclusive emphasis on redemption that lead to a spirit of separation of Christians from all else must be questioned. ... Any emphasis upon the doctrine of redemption to the exclusion of the doctrine of creation must be questioned. When we understand the doctrine of creation RIGHTLY, WE KNOW THAT WE BELONG TOGETHER ALONG WITH OUR NON-CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO GOD. WE CANNOT ARTIFICIALLY SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM THE REST OF THE HUMAN COMMUNITY IN THE NAME OF EXPERIENCE OF REDEMPTION. ... As we seek co-operation with persons of other faiths in Asia, we will be led to understand the nature of the church anew as well. WE SHALL REFUSE TO UNDERSTAND THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD IN ANTITHETICAL TERMS.”The Bible very plainly DOES understand the church and the world in antithetical terms. The Apostle John wrote “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 Jn. 5:19). James said, the “friendship of the world is enmity with God” (Jam. 4:4). The Lord Jesus Christ said, “I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine” (Jn. 17:9). The Bible does not say that non-Christians are brothers and sisters in God. On the contrary, the Bible says of those who are outside of Christ that they are “of your father the devil” (Jn. 8:44), “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), “children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2), “children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3), “having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12), “far off” (Eph. 2:13). 

WORLD COUNCIL PUBLICATION SAYS CHANTING BETTER THAN PRAYER

  An article appearing in the March 1988 issue of the World Council’s monthly publication One World, encouraged readers to adopt heathen practices from Buddhism and Taoism. Someone might argue that the WCC is not promoting heathen practices through publishing such an article but are only reporting what the author of the article believed personally. We would reply that no one publishes an article in a magazine without comment if they do not want their readers to give serious consideration to it. Don’t be confused by the double-speak of apostate groups. On the one hand they publish all sorts of heresies, and on the other hand they often try to escape the consequences of what they have printed. The record stands. These are the kind of things they consider important enough to take up space in their publications. Consider this strange report from the WCC publication: “Coming from an ordinary Chinese humanistic milieu, where the air is a mixture of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, I EXPERIENCED A SENSE OF UNSETTLEDNESS IN MY EARLY YEARS OF CHRISTIAN LIFE, A FEELING OF SOMETHING MISSING. “Finally in the late 1960s, I WAS ABLE TO SEE THE INADEQUACY FOR ME OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY. ... I turned to my own Chinese religious-spiritual traditions to search for a more wholistic and integrated philosophy of life. Since I found it difficult to make sense out of theology, I decided not to be troubled by my inability, but to follow the direction of Ch’an (Zen) Buddhist path to enlightenment: A SPECIAL TRANSMISSION OUTSIDE THE SCRIPTURES; NO DEPENDENCE ON WORDS AND LETTERS; DIRECT POINTING THE HUMAN HEART (SOUL); SEEING ONE’S NATURE AND ATTAINING BUDDHAHOOD. ... “I was no longer able to do this type of practice [normal Christian prayer]. With some necessary adaptation, I have taken up the practice of Mahayana Ch’an (Zen) meditation and Thervada vipassana (i.e., insight awareness) meditation.... “CHRISTIAN PRAYER for the most part remains in the dualistic realm where the experience of the ultimate One IS RATHER SHALLOW, that is, it remains still on the level of relationships. THIS IS PRECISELY THE PROBLEM OF WORDS, SYMBOLS AND LOGIC. “In order to go beyond this stage, in addition to silent meditation, I have also taken up the practice of mantra chanting. Mantra chanting, a short, simple repetitive form of vocal prayer, has the power to silence the mind and emotions and eventually to enable the chanter to sink into the abyss of utter silence, where the internal dialogue ceases and a true prayer happens” (Chwen Jiuan A. Lee, “The Search for an inclusive spirituality: A Chinese experience,” One World, March 1988, p. 22). The Bible, of course, condemns heathen practices such as these. Buddhist and Taoist meditation is not Christian prayer; it is communication with demons. Prayer is not seeking enlightenment in oneself; it is talking with the Living God through Jesus Christ. The Bible warns against losing control of one’s conscious mental activities as those who meditate seek to do. Christians are warned to be sober and vigilant (1 Pet. 5:8; Tit. 2:2,4,6), which means to be in control of one’s mind and to be on guard continually against spiritual error and deception. Those who practice heathen meditation are disregarding these warnings. Note also that the writer makes light of the role of the Holy Scriptures in prayer. This is demonic. Psalm 119 illustrates how important the Scriptures are in every aspect of the Christian life. Apart from the Scriptures, we do not know how to pray. The WCC article claims that words are a hindrance to prayer. Quite the opposite. God communicates in words! The very words of the Bible are an important part of the prayers of those who know God in truth and who know how to pray properly. The Lord Jesus also warned against repetitive “prayers” such as the mantra chanting mentioned in the WCC article. He said, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do... Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” (Mt. 6:7-8). Christ then taught us how to pray. 

WORLD COUNCIL PROMOTES “BAKERWOMAN GOD” 

To illustrate the radical heresy of the WCC, we offer some poems from a book published by them in recent years. The book No Longer Strangers was a joint project of the Lutheran World Federation, World Council of Churches, World Student Christian Federation, and the World Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). It was first published in June 1984 and reprinted three times in the first year. This WCC publication is supposed to be a guideline for worship. Consider some names we are supposed to call God during worship times--The Source, Lady of peace, Lady of wisdom, Lady of love, Lady of birth, Lord of stars, Lord of planets, Mother, Home, Bakerwoman, Presence, Power, Essence, Simplicity. Nothing could be more blasphemous than these names by which the WCC says we can address God. My friends, God is not a “lady,” nor is He a “bakerwoman” nor a “presence” nor the “Lord of planets”! Throughout this publication God is spoken of in female terms. Consider a few more examples: O God of a thousand names and faces Mother and father of all life on earth, Lady of peace, of love, of wisdom, Lord of all the stars and planets, Teach us to know and love you. BLESSING THE BREAD In the beginning was God ... And God loved what SHE had made And God said, “It is good.” Then God, knowing that all that is good is shared held the earth tenderly in HER arms God yearned for relationship God longed to share the good earth And humanity was born in the yearning of God We were born to share the earth... God said, You are my people, My friends, My lovers, My sisters, And brothers Then God, gathering up HER courage in love, said, Let there be bread! And God’s sisters, HER friends and lovers, knelt on the earth planted the seeds ... I BELIEVE I believe in God, MOTHER-FATHER SPIRIT who called the world into being, I believe in God, who because of love for HER creation, entered the world to share our humanity, to be rejected, to die, but finally to conquer death and to bind the world to HERSELF. PRAYER OF ST. ANSELM And Thou, Jesus, sweet Lord, Art Thou not also a mother? Truly, THOU ART A MOTHER, And Thou, Jesus, sweet Lord, Art Thou not also a MOTHER? THE MOTHER OF ALL MOTHERS ... BAKERWOMAN GOD Bakerwoman God, I am your living bread. Strong, brown, Bakerwoman God ... Put me in your fire, Bakerwoman God ... Break me, Bakerwoman God. ... Bakerwoman God, remake me. These quotations leave no doubt about the apostasy of the World Council of Churches. It would be difficult to conceive of things more blasphemous, more foolish, more unscriptural than the things we have quoted from this strange WCC book. 

WORLD COUNCIL LEADER SAYS WE MUST GIVE UP THE IDEA THAT ALL OTHER RELIGIONS LIVING IN DARKNESS

  The director of the World Council of Churches dialogue program, Wesley Ariarajah, a Methodist preacher from Sri Lanka, was in Norway in 1987 and said, “It is necessary to leave the idea that all other religions are living in darkness without any experience of God.” In an article entitled “Is Jesus the Only Way?” in the May 1987 issue of International Christian Digest, Ariarajah said, “I know many Buddhists for whom the conviction about the divinity of the Lord Buddha is so central that they will give their lives to defend it. CAN A CHRISTIAN TURN AROUND AND SAY TO THE BUDDHIST THAT HE OR SHE IS MISGUIDED TO THINK THIS ABOUT THE LORD BUDDHA? WE HAVE NO GROUNDS TO DO SO. ... Exclusive claims, presents as absolute truths, only result in alienation.” At the WCC General Assembly in Australia in 1992, Ariarajah said, “As a Sri Lankan Christian who has read the Hindu writings and the scriptures of the Hindu saints I simply cannot believe that there have not been other people [than Christians] who are familiar with God. It is beyond belief that other people have no access to god or that God has no access to other people. Who is listening to the prayers of the Hindu? ... MY UNDERSTANDING OF GOD’S LOVE IS TOO BROAD FOR ME TO BELIEVE THAT ONLY THIS NARROW SEGMENT CALLED THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH WILL BE SAVED” (The Australian, Feb. 11, 1991, cited in the Reformation Banner, Apr.-Jun. 1991). Ariarajah is absolutely wrong. We have every reason to tell the Buddhist that his lord is false and that his religion will lead him to Hell. Why? Because the Bible says so! Who is hearing the Hindu’s prayer? Nobody! God says of the idolater, “He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside...” (Isa. 44:20). Of the idolater’s prayers, God says, “...one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble” (Is. 46:7). Paul said, “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God...” (1 Cor. 10:20). Will only a narrow segment be saved? Yes, and it is a much more narrow segment than Mr. Ariarajah might think, because even most professing Christians will not be saved in that they have rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the traditions of men. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:13-14).

WCC PRESIDENT SAYS MARY NOT VIRGIN

 In a 1986 report in the Ecumenical News Service of the World Council of Churches, Lois Wilson, then one of the seven presidents of the World Council of Churches, made this statement: “And then there is the ‘Virgin Mary.’ IN MY VIEW, THE FACT OF HER VIRGINITY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HER SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR” (EPS, Dec. 21-31, 1986). Wilson is an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada and was also its former moderator. She is director of the Ecumenical Forum of Canada. She also has an unregenerate mind! If Mary was not a virgin when Jesus Christ was born, He could not have been sinless, as the sin nature is inherited from the father, through Adam (Ro. 5:12). Maybe Ms. Wilson doesn’t understand the facts of life, but virginity DOES have something to do with sexual behavior! The modernist and neo-orthodox delights in double-speak, in redefining Bible terms, but Bible words mean exactly what they appear to mean. Virgin means virgin. Our blessed Lord Jesus Christ was born of a woman who had never known a man sexually. His Father was Almighty God and He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. For this we can rejoice, because He was sinless and could therefore pay the sacrificial penalty the law demanded for our sin. Statements such as the one made by Lois Wilson reveal just how terribly apostate the World Council and its more than 300 member bodies have become. If the biblical command of separation does not apply to coming apart from this apostasy, it has no application whatsoever! God commands that His people come out from among this awful apostasy. Are you obeying? 

WORLD COUNCIL “EVANGELISM” MEANS EVERYONE ALREADY SAVED 

We warn our readers not to be deceived by the use of terms such as “evangelism” and “spirituality” by liberal ecumenists. They use these familiar terms, but they do not mean what Bible-believing Christians mean. A case in point is seen in a speech by Raymond Fung, who is evangelism secretary of the World Council of Churches. Evangelism secretary! One would think that this man is deeply concerned to see the lost men and women of the nations saved through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Not so. He believes all men are already Christians even if they do not know Jesus Christ, and even if they do not go to church, even if they claim to be atheists, even if they worship idols! His speech was delivered to a meeting sponsored by the Ecumenical Council of Denmark, the Danish Missionary Council, and Council on Inter-Church Relations of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark. The subject was “Church Without Limits.” Consider a quote from this World Council “evangelist”: BUT, HOW DO WE SEE THE 90 PERCENT [THE PERCENTAGE OF DENMARK’S CITIZENS THAT DO ARE NOT PRACTICING CHRISTIANS] THEOLOGICALLY? ... who are they in the eyes of God? ... Are they pagans? heathens?... I would suggest that it is proper and useful to relate to the inactive and indifferent as if they are indeed Christian ... HOWEVER SECULAR AND NON-RELIGIOUS THEIR OUTLOOK IS, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE SPEAK TO THEM AS IF THEY ARE INDEED CHRISTIANS” (Ecumenical Press Service, Dec. 1-5, 1986). The message of the Lord Jesus Christ to lost men was a different matter altogether than of Mr. Fung. “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:3). 

UPDATE FROM THE WCC CENTRAL COMMITTEE ANNUAL MEETING, SEPTEMBER 2003

The following information is from a firsthand report by Dr. Ralph Colas, Executive Secretary, American Council of Christian Churches:1. The Moderator of the WCC, His Holiness Aram I, stated, “Christ belongs to all humanity for He goes beyond Christianity. Let’s not ‘own Christ’ but rather engage in interreligious dialogue with all world religions.” When asked at a press conference about this declaration, he explained that Christ “goes beyond Christianity. We must understand other religions are part of God's plan for salvation and are not a mission field.”2. He also stated, “Religious fundamentalism is the greatest enemy of religion and the most dangerous force of our times. Overcoming fundamentalism is an urgent and top priority for all religions.” He made no distinction between violent Islamic fundamentalism and biblical fundamentalism.3. Aram I urged increased dialogue with other world religions to break down the walls of separation.4. Habitat for Humanity was welcomed as a partnering organization with the World Council of Churches. Habitat’s WCC application expressed its desire to receive recognition as “an ecumenical organization in a working relationship with the WCC.”5. A new General Secretary was elected. He is Sam Kobia from the Methodist Church of Kenya. Former General Secretary Konrad Raiser retired at the end of 2003.6. Kobia said, “The WCC is first and foremost a fellowship of churches whose primary purpose is to call one another to visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship, and to advance that unity so ‘that the world may believe.’” 7. Konrad Raiser stated that while the Roman Catholic Church is not a member of the WCC, it participates in 65 Regional Councils of the WCC.8. The WCC continues its radical anti-American stance. Dr. Colas observed, “Some years ago the WCC attempted to bring the USA before the United Nations on charges that our country was one of the worst in the world to promote violence within our borders. The UN refused to do what the WCC demanded. At this meeting the WCC leaders said that the USA ‘created a culture of fear, threat and insecurity. The war is over but it has not solved any of the problems cited as objectives of the war.’ This liberal diatribe fails to recognize that previous leaders in Iraq murdered untold thousands of their own citizens as well as their enemies. This fact is conveniently overlooked. The newly elected General Secretary, Dr. Kobia, said, ‘The USA's call for a war against terrorism is in reality a pretext to USA military presence and intervention in favor of USA interests everywhere in the world. It is the beginnings of reordering the world and empire building.’” 9. Dr. Colas concluded his report with these words: “The change of leadership in the WCC only furthers the continuation of fulfilling their goal of building a visible one-world church. The WCC seeks to weld together apostate Catholics and Protestants with compromising Evangelicals and Pentecostals.”

SOME FACTS FROM THE WORLD COUNCIL’S 9TH ASSEMBLY, PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL, FEBRUARY 14-23, 2006

At its 9th Assembly in Brazil the World Council of Churches demonstrated that it remains committed to the grossest of heresies. While there was much talk of a broader table that would include “evangelicals” and “charismatics,” it was only talk. No one with an ounce of biblical conviction would join the WCC. The WCC has lost about 30% of its funding since 1999 because the liberal Protestant denominations in America and Europe that provide the bulk of the money are dying. At the recent Assembly in Brazil, central committee moderator Aram I said, “The church is called to discern the signs of the ‘hidden’ Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit in other religions” (Alan Wisdom, “WCC Moderator Calls for ‘A Church beyond Its Walls’: Recognize ‘Holy Spirit in Other Religions,’” Institute on Religion and Democracy, Feb. 21, 2006). It is obvious that this man’s doctrine does not come from Scripture, which teaches us that the only “spirit” that is in pagan religions is the spirit of “the god of this world” who “hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Cor. 4:4). Methodist Bishop Adriel de Souza Maia, President of the Brazilian National Council of Churches, said he wanted the WCC to be “a voice of tolerance,” countering the forces of “religious fundamentalism.” The last time I looked, that is exactly what it has been for half a century. One workshop at the 9th WCC Assembly was dedicated to the Umbanda spiritist religion, which features the channeling of messages from spirits. An Umbanda priestess who called herself Mother Aguida Guiomar Pires led the workshop. Though the mutirão workshops were “unofficial,” all of them were endorsed by some church body related to the WCC, according to mutirão coordinator Faautu Talapusi (Alan Wisdom, “WCC-Related Workshop Features Brazilian Spiritists,” Institute on Religion and Democracy, Feb. 17, 2006). At a workshop on human sexuality, Erlinda Senturias, a Filipino member of the WCC’s “international reference group” to guide the council’s conversations regarding human sexuality, said any sexual act that is done with an attitude of love and respect is morally legitimate, regardless of whether it occurs in marriage. When a young Irish man in the audience asked whether it was acceptable for him to engage in sexual relations with his girlfriend, Senturias replied: “A sexual experience is a spiritual experience; if it is done in a spirit of mutual respect and love, it is a very beautiful experience--whether you are married or not” (Alan Wisdom, “WCC Sexuality Dialogue: Moving Slowly, But Toward Revisionism,” Institute on Religion and Democracy, Feb. 21, 2006). At the same workshop George Mathews Nalunakkal, a Syrian Orthodox priest from India, warned against appealing to the Bible and objected to statements that “reflect a rather negative anthropology, where man is seen as a ‘fallen’ creature and sin is sexual.” When a reporter asked Desmond Tutu of South Africa if there are any limits to plurality and diversity when seeking unity, he replied: “God is the God of all. We are too prone to excommunicate. God welcomes all of us. Today we Christians have moved a long way toward understanding that we don’t have a corner on the God market. Once we said that all who are not Christians are pagans” (“Report from WCC Tutu: ‘God is not a Christian,’” The Presbyterian Layman, Feb. 22, 2006). A special session dedicated to Latin America glorified the failed Marxist liberation theology dogma. Argentine leader Adolfo Perez Esquivel defined the Gospel as finding answers ‘in order to live in human dignity.” He never mentioned Jesus Christ, but he did exclaim, “When Bush prays, God covers his ears!” (Alan Wisdom, “Time Warp: WCC Session on Latin America Has the Sound of the '70s,” Institute on Religion and Democracy, Feb. 22, 2006). There is nothing judgmental about these folk! An evening interfaith peace rally featured generic prayers to “the spirit of the universe” (“Peace rally prays to no one in particular,” The Presbyterian Layman, Feb. 22, 2006). Appearing on stage to lead the ceremony were a Buddhist monk, a Muslim Imam and an Anglican bishop. Representatives of each “religious tradition” played a role in offering audible prayers to “the spirit of the universe.”

 MEMBERS OF THE WORLD COUNCIL

       The 340 member bodies of the World Council of Churches include the American Baptist Convention; Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches; Anglican Church of Canada; Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland; Canadian Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker); Christian Church in Canada; Church of the Brethren; Church of England; Episcopal Church in America; Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches; International Council of Community Churches; Methodist Church of the United Kingdom; Methodist Church in Singapore; Church of South India; Church of North India; United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India; Uniting Church in Australia; China Christian Council; Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches; Presbyterian Church of Korea; Korea Methodist Church; Moravian Church in Great Britain and Ireland; National Baptist Convention of America, National Baptist Convention, USA; Presbyterian Church in Canada, USA, and Wales; Progressive National Baptist Convention USA; Reformed Church in America; Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists of the former USSR; Union of Welsh Independents; United Church of Canada; United Church of Christ USA; United Methodist Church USA. (For a complete list see the World Council of Churches web site.) Updated April 10, 2008 (first published via the FBIS December 29, 2003). 

David CLOUD, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org;