FIDELITY AND FELLOWSHIP

We at World Wide Web Witness Inc. are exceedingly grateful to God that it seems He has raised up not one but three creation-specialising, scientifically oriented bodies, in Australia or through Australians.

Creation Research, with its desirable stress that it seems to have had on the doctrine of separation, education and field trips, Answers in Genesis with its strong expository style in its field and entrepreneurial flair, especially in the matter of its exhibitions and teaching methods, and Creation Ministries International, with its often very soberly scientific magazines, with a considerable variety of features as well, some also in a less academic vein: these all, in one way or another, have contributed knowledge at the scientific level and/or provided useful facilities.

This is a useful addition for the people of God in combating the devil's obvious and ostentatious desire to use ballyhoo instead of truth in order to make a mythical masterpiece, evolutionism, as if it were an option alternative to creation. This has long been done, though this philosophy has no resemblance to the rigours of scientific method, and every resemblance to logical farce. This is as foretold (II Timothy 4:3-4, II Peter 3:1-5 cf. SCIENTIFIC METHOD, SATANIC METHOD AND THE MODEL OF SALVATION).

Just as a Prime Minister or President may be able to escape from ridicule at times, when he is propounding various foolish notions from his executive heights, so here, scientists, a good percentage of them at least, have been propounding in this field, wishful hopes without help from the empirical domain, mere artistries of empty thought: this in the name of evolutionism. Some even claim to do it in the name of science!

Like a chanting army, they have been noisily pushing doctrines which are palpably absurd. Thus the mere passing of time is made the equivalent of a creative nursery of life’s brilliance, while in ‘nature’, sub-moronic matter – that is, something without any mind at all – is magically moved to become a genius beyond measure, author of myriads of miles of detailed information, not only imprinted with commands and supplied with executive direction with astounding finesse, but marvellously miniaturised in DNA. Thus the least becomes the most, matter’s a secretary, exhibiting the constraints and code of a mental strength without mentality, while all comes from nothing at once or in steps, cause becomes irrelevant and arrivals are like Peter Pan, flitting in from a paradise of ingenuity, like a breeze blowing from where nothing is.

So here is found sprawling self-contradiction, a very masterpiece of verbal emptiness, where calumny of the Creator comes in sight as a way of anti-empirical life, many dimly or even actively disdaining Him on the one hand, or on the other, wedding Him to the curse which is laid upon sin, as if by this He created! As to the latter, it is nothing but an aggravation of folly, an extrapolation of evil, where sin decides to condemn the Judge for its own whippings (Romans 5:1-17, 8:17ff. cf. Spiritual Food and Spiritual Drink Chs. 1 and 12), while vainly trying to wash its own hands (cf. Beyond the Curse).

It is however necessary for us at Word Wide Web Witness Inc., an arm of the Australian Bible Church - continuing in principle on the original and unharassed 1901 basis of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, with its grand composure of biblical elements, to clarify a point in this area. It is this. Although we use the work of such bodies as the above three creation organisations, this is not to be taken to mean that their various positions or methods are always ones we could endorse.

Quite the contrary is the recent case where a difference between two such Christian bodies reportedly became a matter of secular law despite exceedingly clear words in the Bible, at I Corinthians 6:1ff.. Some years ago, one of us did not take legal action against acutely evil action by a particular body calling itself Christian, in view of this scriptural prohibition, and because of a natural desire not to bring the name of the Lord into any disrepute.

In the above creationist case, however, one secular newspaper took the opportunity to lampoon Christian creationism, marvelling that it took these two Christian creationist bodies so long to settle their differences, several years eventually, it declared, before settling out of court: this, when God took only six days to create the universe. Such was their jibe.

They apparently forgot, or chose to forget that God is infinitely wiser and better than we are. Whoever was responsible must answer to God for supervening His word.

Indeed, this lapse from the Bible’s directions cost dear. This is a source of deepest concern. After all, Solomon did exceedingly well, but in the end took the law into his own hands in no small measure! That King slid too close into certain convenient relations with false religions.

Christ the Citadel Chs. 5 and esp. 6, in
Hapless Hitches ... Ch. 1 as marked - in two places,
Open to Him ... Ch. 3 as marked, and the
Sermon Galatians 4-5 as marked.

No less applies to other sects, such as Romanism (cf. SMR pp. 1032-1088H, The Holocaust or Morality … Ch. 5), where these arise for view. It has become necessary to emphasise this.

It is equally intolerable, as has occurred in literature forwarded by a creationist body, to seek to try to make it appear that the Romanist pope during World War II was not supine or fearful, but actively heroic in saving many lives. Whatever the truth of this matter, with behind the scenes concepts imagined or asserted, one thing is clear. Softness on the follies of Rome, instead of facing the issues it involves, is not wise (cf. I Timothy 4:1-6). For reference, it may be noted that this, together with a parallel issue in the same field, is traced for concern in The Holocaust of Morality and the Coming of Christ the King Ch. 5.

The pope did NOT expose the folly, cruelty and horror of Hitler and his rule, which gained initial power in a way much helped by subtle political action directed from Rome, according to report (SMR pp. 968ff.). This aided at the first, Hitler's coming to power, something thus aided even to mount at all, by this same, very Romanist body. In this way, the Nazi Party was even helped into power at the crucial point, by political intervention, through deliberate Romanist action. Nor is this all. Once Hitler was in, the acme of horror at his sanguinary hand was not seen to be condemned by the body that so helped him! Rome did not repine in horror, appalled by its folly, and denounce to clear its stricken conscience of its guilt. Far from it.

Did the pope pillory Nazism for its anti-Jewish tortures and genocide ? Where is this found! for it is missing.

If it is not so, and if the war-time pope did in fact hold forth with eloquent condemnation and arousal of the world to the situation as fast as he knew of it, it is not known to be so!

In view of these atrocious developments, a severance and a disjunction, a condemnation and an exposure was entirely necessary from Rome, danger or not; for the truth counts and love rejoices in it. Could not Christ have LIVED and continued to HELP if He had merely said to the angered High Priest, demanding whether He was or was not the Christ: "Oh I don't really have anything to say about that! " when asked by the High Priest whether or not He were the Son of God! (Mark 14:62 cf. Possess Your Possessions Vol. 6, Ch. 3).

Could it not then be argued that a little longer for Him to live, would have accomplished much ? It would of course have imperilled the forecast of Daniel re His death date; it would not have been valiant for the truth, but instead given place to secondary aims and ideas, above the atonement, if continued and so on ... It was met indeed by no small retort and reproach to Peter when Christ's death was imminent and Peter had other ideas (Matthew 16:22-23).

What then ? As soon as policy and deception, hiding your light under a bushel, comes in, or in terms of our exemplar and Saviour, being the Rock and cracking, being so 'prudent' that you do not attest the truth, while leaving it unclear by omission, then the Truth is no longer the essence of the matter, but has a more junior role: impossible to the One who IS the truth (John 14:6).

WARNING was necessary, and have we evidence that the Pope warned Hitler about his astoundingly evil, utterly blatant and shamelessly evolutionary concepts, put into heartless practice, violating thought as well as life! Alas, where is it to be seen! Proverbs 24:11 is far from satisfied with forbearing to deliver those who are being taken to their death: will not the Lord bring them to account! No man can defend such action without crossing swords with the Lord!

The papal procedure for year after year of torturous, genocidal, horrendous works, deleting from this earth in maximum horror, a whole people, day by day, those demeaned, bled, torn apart, debased, exterminated, used for experiments, left to starve, or to work and to wither, children not immune: this was by the evidence, nothing other than infamous. We do not play God: if it is evil, and we have power, it is to be used, not made into a chess game. If we cannot stop it, we can use whatever other power is before us, when like the pope, we are deeply involved! and who more than the body who helped Hitler become leader politically!

Such action appears ENTIRELY LACKING from the papacy when Hitler's power threatened menacingly. If then, this was so in general, it was more so in the Jewish case. You do not, in the kingdom of heaven, twiddle your theological thumbs; and if you presume to speak for Christ (apart from the sanctions which His word imposes on all, as in Matthew 23:8-10, not to invent truth but relay it), then to fail to expose what you helped to impose is a course of moral failure, the more so when in the Romanist Inquisition, not only Christians in their thousands but Jews were harangued, harassed and smitten.

Hitler's action was the coping stone of the arch of persecution in Europe, over the centuries; it by no means began it. The rigorous condemnation of that heartless inhumanity by one who spoke about humanity in the name of Christ at all, and assumed a universal position, was like omitting a report on a cancer tumour, in a health review.

It saves trouble if you do not speak, and perhaps your neck; but if you roundly condemn, then you reject, expose, impugn, raise a human voice against inhuman barbarity and depravity, set a tone in the realms of celestial speech, and of course, in this case, unequivocally differentiate yourself from the tortures that Romanism so freely conferred on Jewish people in the past. This is not to be done when it is safe and appears admirable, but when it COUNTS most, and when it is a bound moral duty. With such a past from Romanism relative to the Jews, here was a time paramount, for setting the record straight, even though nothing can remove what was done, in direct violation of Christ's command (John 18:36, Matthew 26:52ff.).

Universal condemnation was needed to inform human beings of inhumanity on a gross, selective and vile scale, to arouse moral integrity to action in a war against the man who contrived such follies, to assist awareness of the point of the conflict and its perils if lost, to engender an attitude of pain and grief for Jews that would stir vast energies of heart, just as the fear of the atomic bomb did, leading to new initiatives by Europeans, some of the most expert of which went to America, to help overthrow such horrors.

Truth is not a thing to be ignored, but propounded; and the mind of man is not to be squashed into ignorance, instead of being opened to reality, so that the immoral gates might be pounded with fresh energy and initiative, from greater depths of revulsion, and awareness of the importance of time. Even when Christ was before Pilate, HIS position had been made exceedingly clear, applied, paraded, imparted with pith and point; and His refusal to reply was in the midst of implicit mockery, where mere antics were required. This is no cover for categorical silence!

It was decisively needed that people should expose with special knowledge when they had it, what would fortify opposition, remove misplaced romanticism even if it exposed those who so spoke, themselves to peril DURING the war, and possible death after it! What had helped to establish Hitler would need speedily to expose the folly, heartlessness and grotesqueries of the madman, intoxicated with power and philosophy, like rum and whiskey in unholy harness.

The pope did not find it necessary in stark courage and total honour for the Lord, to speak openly and persuasively on behalf of those so treated, to expose the treatment and its source, to call on the world to act speedily, to aid the challenge to all to assist, to augment the moral power of the right in its resistance to such murderous mania; nor did he find it needful to act as one valiant for the truth (Jeremiah 9:3).

Nor yet did he exercise the denunciation which might have eroded earlier and more fully some of the panache of Hitler. This might have shown that there were those who at whatever cost, would not cower or plot or consign themselves to secrecy, but with the valour of fidelity and the sweep of spiritual zeal use every way available to testify in truth concerning whatever things demand it, for moral integrity.

Thus in comparative silence on this holocaust, there was less danger to pope and to his regime, whoever won the war; and the initial use of Hitler as of so many others in their day (SMR pp. 968ff.), did not become a thing decisively cast off, or treated with due abhorrence with all the moral force available. It left open the option, used so often before, of having an alliance with murderous powers, such as was the case for centuries in the Holy Roman Empire. If you are going to follow JESUS CHRIST, the place of force in the spiritual domain imposed by the Church is ZERO (John 18:36), and that for violence where faith is not met to the satisfaction of the marauding body concerned, is zero likewise. If it were otherwise, as Christ declared to Pilate, then would His servants fight; but as He indicated, this is by no means the nature of the kingdom of truth.

Rome's silence on the other hand, before such violence to so many, left still possible an alliance which could proceed and continue with EITHER the Allies or Hitler, after the war. In fact, since Romanism was quite used to deploying princes and Emperors, as in the long day, the dreary centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, with its cunning contrivances and brazen power, political and religious, in disharmonious but fearful assault on humanity, here was an opportunity to show repentance and appalled horror at such things. After all, they were wrought by a dictator in a fashion with tangible parallel to the force used before by Rome, so that the former things could at least be judged when such judgments would be eloquent.

Truth needs to be spoken (Isaiah 59:14); and when the enemy comes in like a flood: the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a banner against him (Isaiah 59:19). Deception, delusion, profusion of distortion, propaganda: it all rushes in and reality needs its attestation in whatever climate. Mankind is not a twiddle patch, but made in the image of God, must be shown the truth, allowed to discern and decide in the light of it, not be treated like children by those who manage levers, themselves escaping the vast perils, instead of instituting vast impetus to overcome the now revealed evil. Whatever was done, this was NOT done.

Much the same, only worse, has happened in the field of evolution, where report is now to hand of celebration of the Darwinian anniversary in pontifical places. There can be no excuse for the developing papal endorsement of the type of thing Darwin has envisaged, or for hiding it, as if the pontiff did not claim utter and universal power to teach in God's name, whatever doctrine he has in mind concerning things moral, spiritual and especially biblical.

It is stated at papal coronation, that the pope is "the Father of princes and Kings, Ruler of the World, the Vicar of our Saviour, Jesus Christ." In the New York Catechism, he is deemed the "father and teacher of all Christians, " and further, "the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author and judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth ... God himself on earth."

Indeed, in the Bull, Unam Sanctam, the pope claims this, "If, therefore, the earthly power err, it shall be judged by a greater," which is then identified as that claimed by Rome; and he adds the 'spiritual sword' to his hand, at divinely authorised to himself, who being human yet has this authority divine as a person in a line. HOW divine was the authority which grossly abused the command of Christ, and carried on in the Inquisition and in empires, as if obedience meant contradiction, is shown by the contrast.

Those who would wish it different, even in Rome, as one article featured in the work of one creationist body suffered to appear, do not alter the grand and pompous pretensions of the papacy concerning their power to interpret the Bible or impose their own doctrines, at will, whatever they may deem its source concerning man before God, and God over man. Thus in the First Vatican Council, Encyclopedia Britannica notes of the claims of the papacy there affirmed, that for the pope, "his primacy includes the supreme teaching power to which Jesus Christ added the prerogative of papal infallibility, whereby the pope is preserved free from error when he teaches definitively that a doctrine concerning faith or morals is to be believed by the whole church." (See Britannica under First Vatican Council).

Nor is doctrine ALL that is claimed for him! Power over princes is added! Responsibilities are therefore morally proportionate: or should truth bow, judgment be kept silent, and this alleged divine representative omit judgment when what he has forwarded explodes into horror all but unimaginable!

In the realm of creation and evolutionism, the doctrine of the papacy has declined in decisive steps into these most abominable lairs of cruelty, implying acceptance of evil as if it were a productive resource. In biblical creation, natural things are most differently brought to be, and all the types of evil espoused by evolutionary imaginations as productive and creative, are on the contrary, by God consigned to vanity because of sin (Romans 8:17ff.). In other words, the curse with its divine subjection of the world to a vanity which is neither its virtue nor method of creation, is no place to find the blessing of the Maker!

Curse is rebuke, not a mode of creation. God did not create by punishment, nor did He institute by curse, nor again did He violate His own nature, which is love, but its exhibition in bringing forth the heavens and the earth. Nothing could be viler in its imputations than this. Yet it lies in alignment to the lie of the evolutionary mode in whatever form or degree. Here, just as truth is made subordinate in the political realm in the massively important case presented, so it is made to be twisted, almost as if the Saviour were once more lingering on the cross, in this false affirmation.

In fact, divine discipline as in Romans 8 and 5, and Genesis 3, is not at all the method of creation (cf. Beyond the Curse), either empirically or logically. The theistic evolution papally so progressively embraced is a horror story of defilement of the very name of God, using His curse as if it were His creation (cf. SMR Ch. 10, and in particular, pp. 30ff., 85, 88ff., 121, 126-127, 135-151, 149-159, 179-194, 195-197, S8, S19, 303-311, 316C, 482-498, 615, 999-1000 ).

It is not just morally evil even to consider such a thing; it is factually contrary to investigation (cf. The gods of naturalism have no go!).

From all such things, their methods, means and fellowship, the godly must separate. Lot was nearly swallowed with the lot of those grossly subverted, morally depraved, just as divine judgment was impending. For him, a near escape was managed (Genesis 19); while the Lord's detestation of toleration of evil spiritual words and ways is all too clear in Jeremiah 23, Deuteronomy 13 and Ezekiel 14. Methods change as the nature of society is theocratic or democratic; but the ATTITUDE OF GOD to false premises, to the gods that man acquires apart from the One who made him and told Him His way of doing it, this remains clear at all times.

The Lord abhors involvement with them or their provocateurs, with these mockers and mockeries, these religious pastiches. Stooping to share in any way with those who REPRESENT such evils, violates as if by ravishment, the purity the Lord requires (Romans 16:17 and see below). What names such names as these is self-excluded from fellowship with those who adhere to the words of the Lord, and His words ABOUT what does NOT so adhere! It is as without excuse, as without logical or empirical basis, and spiritual self-discipline is here as required, whether in this organisation or that, if be it Christian. As in Revelation 2-3, discipline yourselves rather than be rejected as a source of distributing light, or candle-holder. subject to dismissal as a body, being subject to the entire jurisdictive discipline of the Lord. Though any Christian, born of God is secure (I John 3:9, 5:11-12), yet the same is not said of vagrant bodies using the name of Christ!

In the long run, failure to honour these aspects of the word of God, to separate from all such teaching and teachers, and accordingly to honour the very nature of God, will be bound to lead to pathological consequences of an indeterminate but awesome character; and what one says in love, is nevertheless a matter for acute pondering and watchful application!

We who are freely redeemed by Jesus Christ for ever by His own blood and follow His own word of grace, mercy and authority (Ephesians 1:11, John 8:31, 6:46, Acts 5:32) need to be deep in obedience in these challenging days, avoiding all compromise, fellowship and aid to the ideas of anti-scriptural 'Christianity' as it moves on its fateful way (II Peter 2:1ff.). We need longing for carefulness according to the word of God, each helping the other, in meeting every challenge, none taking advantage of specialisation, whether church, the body of Christ as in Romans 12 and Ephesians 2,4, or tributary body. It is important that none depart from generic rules applicable to all, for specialised purposes.

NO ONE who is a Christian has ANY authority EVER to change the rules of consorting and fellowship, for ANY purpose.

As all this is now public - law, meetings and the rest - it continues so here. There are biblical limits to the ways in which one may relate to others, in particular to those involved in contra-scriptural 'Christianity', in fact a contradiction in terms, whatever one's calling. It is like a Hospital: however much you may like patients, fellowship with germs on a cordial basis is more than insensitive: it is blindness.

It must be stressed that nothing should be allowed to minimise the biblical prohibitions concerning fellowship and co-ordination of activities in spiritual frame, with what has moved categorically from the word of God, and the biblical testimony of Christ. Love obeys (John 14:21-23) and so far from being a ground for outage from what God declares, it is spur to desire to know His word and to do it (I Corinthians 13:6).

This is perhaps a good time to encourage Christians to become aware of some of the recent movements and of old stabilities in this Adventist sect as in these last phases of Romanism; and to recognise the enduring default from biblical Christianity multiply present within both. While these things do not prevent our using such materials, such as come from any creation body which should fail in this area - indeed we could use material from any source so long as it did not per se involve any form of fellowship or co-operation - it does put a pall over our joy in such matters, and it draws the deepest concern when such prohibitions and injunctions are not followed. It is necessary to be alert for many have fallen in the ways of this changeable medium, this variant from the Bible as in Proverbs 7 in its warning.

On the case of Galileo, for example, and Rome, see such an alert in The Holocaust of Morality Ch. 5. Not only what is correct, but what is adequate is needed, so that characterisation is not only not selective, but substantial and informative. On this, and Galileo, see Lord of Longsuffering ... Ch. 2, June 2011.

There is not only a need for clarity, but for warning and exhortation as seen when you read in II Timothy 4:1-6, for example, where some specifics of one type in the broad spectrum of such invasions of Christianity in its own name are predicted to occur, just as it is yet more generally revealed in II Peter 2.

Is it then spiritual to be supine about this ? Not at all, and quite to the contrary, scripturally. Love that does not heed the need to warn is like a mother who smiles when her child tells here he has found a new way of safely crossing the road without opening his eyes.

This is by no means all; but it indicates something of the current direction of our concerns. This is not to condemn a creation body, but a type of action; and this not for any joy it gives, but in the fear of God and the knowledge of where such things can lead. Spiritual gifts, in fact, are not self-sufficient, but are connected to graces and the call for obedience in one and in all, under the Head and His rules for all. We are all imperfect; but it is not wise to let peril pass, or through silence to allow others to be misled because something excellent in many ways, appears to be beginning to sway here and there, mainly outside its special field.

According to the measure of the gift, let it be used; and according to the command of the Head, let there be restraint. As in cricket, there are many methods of bowling with an eventual aim, but they should not be off the pitch. That is for some other game!

We therefore cannot allow our own use of technical materials to mislead anyone into any false direction, by giving no warning, when any specialised service body, even if creationist, an excellent thing in its specialty, takes liberties in bowling.

For us, Christ will always be our special field, and all that pertains to Him, whether in a specialised field or not. This is our policy, and our earnest desire is to follow Him in all things, according to His word, however imperfect, at any point or time, we ourselves may be, in this or that result. For the overall impact of what we are directed to do, and the moulding of ourselves who are commissioned to do it, we trust in Him, to whom our way is committed, seeking to be governed by His word as enabled within it, by His Spirit.

Part of our need here, then, is to prevent misconception from our usage of materials in this site, often in themselves, both excellent in their domain and useful.

May the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified and His people blessed. Alas, to carry one's cross is not at all an easy thing, and convenience is far from it. Lively fellowship with the people of the Lord has its challenges, and its purifications, and the fear of God must always, as Peter advises, be kept in mind. Indeed, it is not a craven fear for love casts out that trembling which has no faith; but it is a clean fear as in Psalm 19, and it endures forever, just as the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

Let then our hearts rejoice, for self-discipline is always fit for one who bears a cross, and joy is always active where He is obeyed (cf. Acts 5:32).

	Again, the advertised use by CMI of Seventh Day Adventist premises for meetings, by no means assuredly outside normal church time, creates more than bemusement. It creates grief.
	On that sect, the reader may desire to see -

	On separation from what does not adhere to all and only the Bible, the word of God as the criterion of doctrine, see Separation 1997. Avoiding what violates this - whether by addition, subtraction or mutation - as in Romans 16:17, Galatians 1, II Corinthians 11 - is rather different from formal co-operation, or uncritical usage.
	NOTE such and AVOID them is the command to the body of Christ. There must be no tics of countenance, but subjection to His word in this.