THIS and future issues of CETF will be sectionalised by the use of editorial banners, God willing, as per pages 3 to 35.

PSYCHOLOGY (pp 1-4) — We begin with a warning about Psychiatry in so-called “Christian Counselling”. The trend is spreading, especially in charismatic and pseudopentecostal churches. Freudian psychiatry is neither truly scientific nor practical and it’s basically un-christian and totally non biblical. Be warned and beware.

THEOLOGY (pp 5-15) — The second section contains articles by Olympia Barczynska, What Is The Gospel? (pp 5-7), Philip Powell, The Cost of Gaining Christ (pp 8-9) and Aeron Morgan, Perils Facing the Church (pp 10-15). We plan to include a THEOLOGY section in all future issues of CETF with a related theme running through the articles. This issue focuses on the cheap “only believism” of modern gospel preaching and the resultant exploitation of people by the “money preachers” of our time, just as Peter warns in his epistle.

SOCIETY & HOMOSEXUALITY (pp 16-19) — Most of our readers will be aware of the big homosexual debates raging within Christendom. Actually the discussion should not even arise. The biblical position is so crystal clear, but now that it has arisen we must speak out. CETF suggests that the Church is under siege (p16). Our comment is followed by two articles (pp 16-18) on the one theme but written from different perspectives. Peter Barnes, of the Presbyterian Church says of the Uniting Church of Australia (UCA), “Given the liberal Basis of Union, (1977) the acceptance of homosexual clergy was only a matter of time.” He suggests the UCA should be shelved. Gordon Moyes head of the Sydney City Mission and an ordained minister in the UCA argues, on the other hand, that the evangelicals (EMU) will ultimately win over the liberals in UCA.
The two conflicting positions are interesting in the light of Anglican archbishop Peter Jensen offering the hand of fellowship to groups that secede from the UCA. On p19 we bring the debate a bit closer to home for many of us. Read the shocking article in The Courier Mail by so-called “theologian” at Garden City College of Ministries (AoG Queensland, Australia) Scott Stephens. Why is there no hue and cry from AoG leaders? CWM contacted them, but there was no response. Will the archbishop of Sydney extend his offer to those who secede from the heretical AoG, I wonder? A major division will happen sooner or later.

SOCIETY & PROPHECY (pp 20-21) — “Signs of the Time” is a controversial topic. On the one hand there will always be those who cry, “Extremism”, which, in my own view, is countered by our Lord’s condemnation of religious leaders who can’t “discern the signs of the times” (Matt 16:3 c/f Luke 12:56). Tony Pearce keeps his finger on the pulse of world affairs and is never afraid to interpret what is happening in the light of Bible Prophecy. You will find his Long Hot Summer stimulating and informative to say the least.

ECUMENICAL (pp 22-28) — Chris Pollard of Hobart, Tasmania returns to us as a writer. A former Roman Catholic he has undertaken mammoth research to come up with his Mary, Mary Quite Contrary Part 1 article, in which he investigates the rise and spread of Mariol-atry in the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) to 1500 AD. This makes for captivating reading and is most pertinent in the light of the frightening inroads being made by the RCC into the wider church and her prominent place in the ecumenical trend. Rome never changes and is hypocritical when it suits her purpose.
Even the aged and nearly dying pontiff can’t avoid hypocrisy. He recently regretted the historic rift between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches during the reign of Henry 8th in Britain. At the same time he protested to Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams about the position of the Anglican Church in Britain regarding the appointing of homosexual bishops. Of the latter the Pope said, “new and serious difficulties have arisen” in efforts to unify the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches. (Reported by ASSIST News Service).
As the person who sent me the report, himself a former member of the RCC, remarked: “I find this to be the height of hypocrisy. How many thousands of gay priests/paedophiles has he been hiding?” CWM is grateful to Chris Pollard for his exhaustive investigation and documented sources. I can hardly wait to read part two of his series.
UN-MASKED (pp 29-35) — Brett Bigg, whom we met in the previous CETF presents the 2nd in his three part unmasking of Kenneth Copeland, who has now inherited Kenneth Hagin’s heretical “mantle”. (Hagin died in September, 2003.) Copeland’s latest money appeal is for US$40 million to purchase two Cessna jet aeroplanes (one for Ken and the other for his wife Gloria) — and guess what? You can be a member of Copeland’s “Elite CX team” by simply donating US$2,000. Read all about his heresies and his attempts to rip off the gullible. It’s time Christians stopped sending money to false prophets and the churches and ministries that support them and re-directed their giving to those who preach the Truth.
FINALLY — The back cover has been devoted to detail about some of our CWM plans in both hemispheres including the visits of Bill Randles (Feb-March 2004) and Dave Hunt (August-Sept 2004) to Australasia and the third CWM Convention in UK, when we plan to return to Whitby in October 2004, God willing.
This means that due to lack of space we won’t be publishing your letters in this issue of CETF, which is the largest we have ever produced without the Letters Page. However we will plan to include Your Letters in the next and subsequent issues, so please keep them coming, preferably by email, as these are easiest to use and therefore get preferential editorial treatment.

EDITORIAL RIFT — I have reluctantly made a statement on the CWM website regarding my editorial dispute with Dr Siam Bhayro. The UK edition of CETF 26 also contained an article entitled BIBLICAL ECCLESIOLOGY – Another View written by myself. The statement and article will NOT appear in the Australasian edition of CETF. Those who wish to read them may do so at (see URL and URL). If you don’t have direct access to the internet then maybe a friend will provide you with a printout of the material.
I personally do not think that there was any need for Siam Bhayro to have divided from CWM over this issue and I did my best to avoid the rift. Now that it has happened and following this necessary statement we hope to let the matter drop.
VANGUARD will not be distributed by CWM in the foreseeable future and is unlikely to have widespread readership in Australasia. However those who wish to continue receiving VANGUARD may contact their UK office as follows:
VANGUARD
PO Box LB1475, LONDON W1A 9LB, UK
Phone/fax +44 (0) 1728-860671
Email: vanguard@freeola.com

We commend the reading of this issue of CETF and value your prayerful and practical support. Your views are invited. We will do our best to respond, but due to the volume of correspondence, can make no guarantees other than the promise to do our best. We assure you that your views are factored in even if we do not get around to replying. God bless you.


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Appeared in CETF Issue 27 2004
"...contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" -- Jude v3