End of Hostilities in Persian Gulf
In the kind providence of the Lord, the war in the Gulf was brought to an end when a ceasefire was declared at the end of February. After several weeks of heavy bombardment by the Allied air forces, a land war was mounted which in a few days shattered the Iraqi land forces in Southern Iraq and in Kuwait. Before fleeing from Kuwait the Iraqi forces set the Kuwaiti oil wells on fire and executed wanton destruction on many buildings in the city of Kuwait. During their occupancy of the city the Iraqi forces also committed many atrocities. Iraq in the conflict has suffered a tremendous death toll while the allies suffered only a minimum of deaths and other casualties. The allied Commander of the forces described the small death toll as miraculous.
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq, who proclaimed himself a follower of Mohammed, the false prophet, and set himself in defiance to the God of heaven, has been taught a solemn lesson — that there is a God in heaven — the living and true God — who rules in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. Well it would be for him if he laid it to heart as his predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar did. For his crimes against humanity, Saddam will yet have to answer to the God whom he defied.
The British Forces and Islamic Rules
While the British forces were in Saudi Arabia to defend that country from aggression by Saddam Hussein and his forces, they found themselves subject to Islamic restrictions. This caused considerable resentment. Sad to relate, some of our soldiers were advised not to take their Bibles with them to Saudi Arabia. It is good that one American soldier at least would give no place whatsoever to such an idea. The Commander-in-Chief had his Bible by his bedside. His example is to be admired in comparison to the sycophantic example of the British authorities. How blind our rulers are to the truth of God’s Word: “Them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.”
Caledonian MacBrayne and the Sabbath
Under pressure it would seem from the Scottish Office, Caledonian MacBrayne have abandoned for the present at least, their attempt to begin a Sabbath service to Tarbert in Harris. The opposition to this evil venture was overwhelming and a blockade of the port by fishing vessels was threatened if the scheme went ahead. It is time that Caledonian MacBrayne learned that though Christianity has fallen low in the Islands as well as elsewhere, it is not dead yet, and that there are in the Islands still a godly seed who have the ear of the Most High.
Low Moral State of the Nation
The low moral state of the nation is reflected in the figures given for 1989 as to the number of births outside marriage. The figure of such births is 186,000 an increase of 8000 on 1988. The number of births within marriage dropped to 502,000, the lowest figure for more than a century. The declining moral state of the nation gives cause for serious alarm in view of the judgments threatened upon an ungodly nation. We should not be surprised if these judgments should prove to be swift and very terrible.
Rome and the Mass Media
That the mass media is manipulated by the Roman Catholic Church for its own ends has for long been obvious to those who take cognisance of what is happening around them in the world. The widespread coverage given to the recent installation of a new Romanist Bishop of the Isles by Press, Radio and Television reporters might well be regarded as providing a notable instance of this. Even the Stornoway Gazette, printed in the heart of Protestant Lewis, thought the event worthy of an almost full-page spread. Rome, long since has realised the propaganda potential of the mass media and its opportunistic policy has paid off handsomely. The present Pope is said to be an ex-actor and dressed in his pontifical uniform, surrounded by scarlet-clad underlings, has, in the course of his perambulations, particularly outside the Vatican, and on the world stage, made the most of all available opportunities to perform in front of the television cameras. Others, desirous of drawing attention to themselves, or the cause they espouse, might very well have to pay substantial fees but Rome gets free publicity for her Pope and advertises her wares by courtesy of television producers, of which not a few seem to be her devotees.
It is indicative of the importance Rome attaches to the mass media and the expediency of influencing what is communicated to the public that it has in place at least two communications organisations of its own. Towards the end of last year the “International Catholic Organisation for Cinema” and the “International Catholic Association for Radio and Television” held their World Congresses in Bangkok and they were addressed by an Archbishop Patrick Foley, himself the President of the “Pontifical Council for Social Communication”. “We need more Catholic programming,” delegates were told. “We need good devotional programming, whether it be through the tasteful coverage of the Eucharistic liturgy or through a compelling presentation of the Word of God in the language of the media.” We understand that to mean that prominence is to be given to Rome’s blasphemous mass and its perverted Gospel.
J. McL.
Britain’s First Mormon MP
“The Independent” informs us that Mr Terry Rooney, the Labour victor of the Bradford North by-election, has the distinction of becoming Britain’s first Mormon Member of Parliament. That is sad news as far as we are concerned and surely an indication of the spiritual apathy that must prevail in that part of our nation. Mormonism is a satanic cult which seeks to rob Christ of His glory.
J. McL.
Clerics and the Gulf War
The Pope, as far as one is able to assess his position, was opposed to the intervention of Allied Forces in the Gulf conflict and indeed received “glowing opinions in the Arab world for his outspoken condemnation of the Allied bombing campaign”. (The Times, 21/2/91). No doubt he will now try and put together some form of words which will place him in as favourable a light as possible in the eyes of both victors and vanquished. The media reported that the Vatican’s envoy to Baghdad remained there throughout the conflict. One wonders what he found to do. Surprisingly, Tarriq Assiz, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, is a practising Roman Catholic, and perhaps Rome’s envoy was at hand to act as his spiritual adviser. Archbishop Winning must now find himself out on a limb after boldly stating in his own diocesan newspaper: “Given the present circumstances, a Gulf war would be morally indefensible.”
J. McL.
The Decade of Evangelism
At the Annual Ordinary General Meeting of the Protestant Truth Society held in London on 14th January, 1991 the following resolution was passed unanimously:
“THAT this Annual Ordinary General Meeting of the Protestant Truth Society, while encouraging every effort in Bible based evangelism, expresses concern at the manner in which the Gospel is obscured through the recently launched Decade of Evangelism — Decade of Evangelisation — since there is no agreement among the participants as to what the Gospel is.
It is noted with regret that a Novena of Prayer to inaugurate the ‘Decade’ commenced with a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham on 29th December, 1990. It is also noted that the ‘Decade’ has the blessing of Cardinal Hume, and of other Church leaders who cannot be described as Evangelical.
We urge all Evangelical believers who value Biblical truth to beware of co-operating with those who proclaim ‘another Gospel’ which is a perversion of the Gospel of Christ. (Galatians ch. 1 verses 6 and 7). At the same time we affirm that it is the duty of all born again believers in every decade to proclaim the Gospel of God’s Saving Grace to lost sinners, who include those who ‘have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.’ (Romans ch. 10 verse 2)”.
A. J. Roberts
Secretary
18th January, 1991