Worldviews
The Newsletter of the Apologetics Resource Center
September 2005

Why ARC? Why Now?
The Apologetics Resource Center is here to provide a vital and necessary dimension to the Church's calling and mission. The classic understanding of apologetics is to "give a reasoned defense" of the Christian faith (1 Peter 3:15) to skeptics and followers of false religions.

But actually, our application and the Bible's involves far more than that. The ARC's application involves four dimensions: to know the truth/faith (sound doctrine 2 Timothy 1:13; 4:1-4); to defend the truth/faith (Jude 3, 1 Peter 3:15); to advance the truth/faith (Matthew 28:18-20, 5:13-16); and to be the truth (1 Peter 3:15, 2 Timothy 2:23-26, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17).

Six years ago, God began to stir within me an understanding and passion for the need to assist the Church in recovering the apologetics dimension. I read the writings and exhortations from many Christian leaders like David Wells, Os Guinness, Carl Henry, Chuck Colson, Nancy Pearcy, and Barna & Gallup research polls. They reminded me (and us) of the trends of the Church to lose its discernment, a diminished interest in theology and doctrine, a lack of informed and intentional engagement with the culture, a horrible lack of personal evangelism, or accommodation of the cultural slide into relativism, consumerism, materialism, new age, and "feel good" Christianity.

As I traveled around the country speaking in a wide spectrum of Christian churches, and examining even my own life, I could affirm those concerns. So now we are here to stand up and support you in a radical engagement with Christ and with our holy calling to intentionally engage the lost and our culture.

As Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 and John 8:31-32 instructs us, our fundamental calling and purpose is to present our whole selves, all that we are, all that we do, to God's service. That necessarily involves an intentional commitment to internalize God's word of truth, recognizing we are in a battle with the deceptions of the world, flesh and devil.

Like Ravi Zacharias is fond of saying, "Let my people think!" A biblical approach to life will necessarily be ideological in its relationship to popular culture, seeking to determine the overt and covert messages of various cultural forms, as well as pointing out their universal significance. Also a biblical (normal) approach to popular culture must not shy away from the moral duty of exposing what is evil or what threatens to bring harm to individuals and society. It includes a missiological element as well. We are called to relate to popular culture in an informed way so that we can carry out our evangelical mission of proclaiming and embodying the kingdom of God in ways that will allow us to enjoy the blessings of using it in service to Jesus Christ--who sits as head, far above all rule, authority, dominion and power.

This calling is not for a few "expert" scholars, Church leaders, or intellectuals. This is both grass roots "stuff" and for the scholars. We at ARC are called to stimulate, equip, and partners with you in this marvelous calling.

The polls and social indicators demonstrate that while the number of religious people in America is relatively unchanged, the effect of Christian (biblical) principles is decreasing in the public square and life. Courts and organized liberal groups are slowly eradicating God from culture. Discipled conversions and subsequent influence in Congress, social institutions, and redemptive involvement in social justice issues and ministry are God's means and calling for true peace, prosperity, and favor.

Not only are we losing the culture, we continue to lose our own children. The growing pattern is that when they leave home for college or careers, they abandon faith--two-thirds of them! Why? I believe there are two reasons. First, young believers (and old) have not been discipled in a wholistic, biblical worldview and have a very truncated, limited view of Christianity which is not able to withstand the attacks on their faith. Secondly, "faith" is often not only shallow but compartmentalized and theoretical--not observed and modeled in their parents, radically and spiritually lived out.

For example, in this weeks Newsweek cover story (August 29-September 5), "Is Search of the Spiritual," the writer notes the title of the 1966 Time magazine cover story, "Is God Dead?" which was commenting on the waning state of religiosity. Science was the culprit and a blossoming of the Enlightenment where human rationality and science were thought to be the true savior of mankind. Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism were not even a blip on the cultural radar.

But man is incurably religious, being made in God's image, and therefore a spiritual being. So with the resulting growth of postmodern relativism and the prevailing socially acceptable attitude of so-called "tolerance," two reactions occurred.

The first was, ironically, an irrational position of hostility (intolerance) toward the Christian movement that advanced the idea of attempting to frame and adopt laws based on Christian morality. Leftist leaders like Barry Lynn, head of Americans United for the Separation of Church & State, is quoted in the Los Angeles Times (08/23/05), "This nation was founded specifically to avoid the government making religious and theological decisions. We are not to turn the Holy Scriptures of any group into public policy. Christians have no problem imposing their biblical worldview on every American."

Mr. Lynn needs to be reminded that alllegislation reflects someone's standards of morality. Imposing? Try "representing." Our government was formed to not allow a Church to make the decisions. But Christians have every Constitutional right to persuade and debate, and legislate moral convictions as policy and law.

The second reaction of spiritually oriented humans in a pluralistic, relativistic culture, is to react against a sterile secularism and explore eastern mysticism, or to pursue feel good, self-absorbed, personalized spiritual experiences.

One statistic sighted demonstrates that 68% of "born again" Christians said that a person could get into heaven outside the Christian faith (i.e. Jesus Christ) by being good. The national figure was 79% (Catholics 91%). How can this be? Part of the answer is that Americans are so consumer and quick-fix oriented and so focused on a self-centered personalized expression of worship (and experientially oriented) that dogma/theology is replaced by pragmatism and experience.

We pray that you will take advantage of our presence and resources.
Ask God to help you think out and walk out these things. As Nancy Pearcy writes in her wonderful book, Total Truth, "Genuine worldview thinking is far more than a mental strategy or a new spin on current events. At the core it is a deepening of our spiritual character and the character of our lives." Pray through Colossians 4:2-6 daily and be watchful for the answers. Step out in faith. Don't wait until you have all the answers before you begin or you never will.

We invite you to consider six areas of approaching culture that will better enable you to realize your true kingdom purpose in this inescapable area of life in the postmodern/rationalistic society, as found in T.M. Moore's Redeeming Pop Culture:

1. Approach cultural engagement prayerfully--for your involvement, for what you can learn, and for those who shape culture.
2. Approach popular culture intelligently--becoming more thoughtful and reflective and developing the mind of Christ through other teachers of the Word of God.
3. Approach the culture purposefully and intentionally.
4. Approach the popular culture critically--evaluating trends, media, movements, marketing, styles, and policies by biblical principles.
5. Approach popular culture dialogically rather than lob grenades from behind the fortress walls.
6. Approach culture redemptively--beginning with reflecting on the purpose of our own redemption, and with the view of redeeming others and the cultural institutions--not just to win an argument (2 Timothy 2:23-26).

Win-Win Offers (Fundraisers)
LOCAL--Sneak Preview!!
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
On December 9th, 2005, one of the most anticipated films in the history of cinema, C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will premiere in the United States.
But the Apologetics Resource Center has taken advantage of an opportunity to provide a "sneak preview" showing the night before, December 8th! We have reserved one of the local theatres (approximately 120 seats) for our Birmingham area Worldviews readers. ARC has two purposes for this event:

1) This is a superb quality film providing a wonderful edification for you and your family, as well as any invited guests who would benefit from a creative exposure to the gospel, and
2) as a fundraising opportunity for ARC. If you would like to be among the very first to see this epic film, perhaps even provide a ministry to friends, please consider sending a generous donation designating how many tickets you want on our request form at the end of the newsletter. More information about the time and other event details will come in September's newsletter.

LOCAL--Coupon Books
Once a year we promote a fund raising offer that is a tremendous stewardship benefit to you as well as a help to us. For the past five years we have offered the Entertainment Coupon Book, which has great savings for popular restaurants, rental cars, hotels and sports events.

However, this year we are changing our offer to the Birmingham Enjoy the City Elite Coupon Book. It is the same $20 donation, but we believe the discount coupons are for even better, more popular restaurants. Use the order form at the end of the newsletter to order your copy today! You can recoup your investment after using the book only once or twice, and then enjoy great savings!

Offers For Everyone
Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism DVD featuring Dr.
R.C. Sproul, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Dr. George Grant and many others, $30, produced by the Apologetics Group is now available. This three-part, four-hour professional presentation examines and details the historical struggle, the great mystery, and essential implications of the divine Sovereignty of God and man's responsibilities in salvation and daily living.
Even if you think you reject "Calvinism", you will be challenged and enriched by this important and popular DVD. Order Amazing Grace today using the order form at the end of the newsletter. (The staff of ARC just finished participating in the Apologetics Group's upcoming DVD on cults).

Local Events
1. Join us for a series Wednesday nights at Shades Mountain Independent Church, September 7-November 9 at 6:30pm. We will cover ten topics over the ten-week series. Topics include: responding to relativism, the attacks on the infallibility of the Bible, defending the resurrection of Christ, Islam, Oprah Winfrey and new age spirituality, developing a Christian worldview, the problem of evil & suffering, responding to the Jesus of the cults, "feel good" Christianity & Joel Osteen, and understanding cults.

2. Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church and ARC will begin a Sunday School class on "Personal & Corporate Evangelism and Apologetics," beginning September 11th from 9:15-10:30. This is a foundational and pressing call in the Christian life and in God's kingdom, yet it is one of the most neglected and misunderstood. Learn to walk with Christ and experience the joy of seeing His work in and through you.

3. Love Won Out Conference by Focus on the Family, Harvest USA, and Exodus Ministries will take place at Metropolitan Church of God, Saturday, September 17th, 8am-5:15pm.
This conference is designed to enlighten, empower and educate participants with a Christian perspective on the complex issues surrounding homosexuality. Individually, and corporately as the Church, have retreated and neglected an intelligent and Spirit-filled response and ministry to this growing mission field.

This conference responds to a wide range of important issues and is rich in content. Plenary session topics include the Condition of Male and Female Homosexuality, testimonies, and How Should We Respond? Breakout sessions include same-sex marriage, responding to pro-homosexual theology, hope for those who struggle, someone I love is a homosexual, reaching the homosexual, prevention of male homosexuality, Q&A on lesbianism, and addressing the pro-homosexual agenda in public schools.

This comprehensive conference will empower you to intelligently and compassionately respond to the misunderstood issues of homosexuality and the deceptive and destructive agenda of the radical pro-homosexual constituency, and just as important, to show the love of Christ to those affected.

The cost is $50 in advance and $60 walk-up registration. Visit www.lovewonout.com. Bring a delegation from your church. Groups of ten or more qualify for a reduced rate of $40 per person.

Culture Notes
Homosexual Urban Legends
The homosexual activist community (and liberal press) has been touting Alfred Kinsey's 1948 (prison) study which claimed that "10% of the male population are more or less exclusively homosexual for at least three years between the ages of 16 and 55." Not quoted by the activists are Kinsey's findings that "4% of white males are exclusively homosexual throughout their lives after adolescence."

We could easily argue that Kinsey's test population of prison inmates would likely reflect the skewed 10% figure of engaging in homosexual activity within that environment. But even his 4% figure is incorrect.

This fiction was finally admitted in a Supreme Court brief (Lawrence vs. Texas, 3-26-03) filed by 31 pro-homosexual groups when they quoted the "most widely accepted study" (not Kinsey) as stating that 2.8% of males and 1.4% of women were homosexual or bisexual (National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services).

There have been numerous U.S., French, Canadian and Scandinavian scientific studies that indicated a range of 0.7% to 1.4% were active homosexuals or had had same-sex contact in the past five years. A Canadian study showed 1% of college students were homosexual and 1% were bisexual. The Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey indicated that only 0.6% of public school boys and 0.2% of girls identified themselves as mostly or 100% homosexual.

Now the homosexual activists are creating other urban legends including a "gay gene" genetic identity, an agenda for promoting pro-homosexual curriculum in public schools (while inhibiting pro-family messages), same-sex marriage initiatives, and even a pro-homosexual theology for churches.

What?! In Churches?! Yes, several mainline denominations have significant battles taking place. The Episcopal, United Methodist, and Presbyterian Church (USA) are struggling with this, as well as homosexual ordination.

For example, an official United Methodist (UM) conference center in North Carolina allowed their facility to be used by the Methodist pro-homosexual lobby group for a four day conference whose participants included seven United Methodist bishops, an openly lesbian UM minister and a "female" Presbyterian minister who had had a sex change.
According to the conference center's guidelines, "Groups using our facilities should have a mission compatible with the UM church, its Discipline and Social Principles." The UM's Book of Discipline affirms love and human rights for homosexuals, but denies ordination for practicing homosexuals, refuses funding for pro-homosexual advocacy, does not allow same-sex unions, and affirms that sexual relations are only affirmed in the marriage bed.
This homosexual group, Reconciling Ministries, advocates the opposite of all those principles. Yet when confronted the director of the UM conference center (Lake Junaluska) responded that they were "within the guidelines" and were "opening our hearts, our minds, and our doors." Go figure.

Request our free information packet on responding to homosexuality and if you live nearby, plan to attend the upcoming conference noted under Local Events. Also make sure you subscribe to our bimonthly journal, Areopagus Journal. The next edition will cover responding to the homosexual agenda and to homosexuals.

Atheist Growth
Barna research indicates that the percentage of atheists (reject the idea of God) and agnostics (there probably is no God, or I don't care if there is one) has grown from 8% to 14% in recent years in America. According to the Cambridge Companion to Atheism, published by the Cambridge University Press (2005), the USA ranks 43rd of countries in number of atheists/agnostics with 12% (36 million souls). The highest-ranking countries are Scandinavian--Sweden 85%, Denmark 80%, Norway 72%, Finland 60%, and the Netherlands 44%, ranking 1, 3, 4, 7, and 14 respectively. Interestingly, many European countries, which were at one time the cradle of Christianity, were also highly ranked. France 54%, Germany 49% and Britain 44% ranked 8, 11 and 15th. Our neighbor, Canada, displayed 30% as unbelieving in God.

When it came to largest numbers of atheists/agnostics, the USA (36 million) ranked 7th behind China, Japan, Russia, Vietnam, Germany and France. We must awaken and rekindle our calling to be salt and light, not only in America, but throughout the world. "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore as you are going into all the world, make disciples...and I am with you always" (Matthew 28:18-20).

Roman Catholicism--Reality Check
I have a friend who was once a Jehovah's Witness and came out, becoming a committed Lutheran. Yet she then continued her search and has now become a zealous, proselytizing Roman Catholic. We occasionally see one another at counter-cult conferences where she always relishes an opportunity to advance Catholicism.

On one occasion, after I had just read some statistics gathered by George Barna, I attempted to offer a reality check to my friend by telling her to be aware of how low Roman Catholics fared compared to Protestants (even more so for evangelicals) when it came to frequency of Bible study.

My point was that this is some evidence of the reality of regeneration in Protestants compared to Catholics. But instead, she reasoned that the gap was there because Catholics received so much Bible in their weekly Mass, so they weren't so needful during the week. Yes, that was a weak answer. Most Protestants hear from God's Word in sermons too, but still are much more inclined to read, even study the Bible during the week.

Now Barna has published much more data comparing Catholics to Protestants (sometimes smaller subgroups like born-againers and evangelicals as well) in his release of The State of the Church: 2005. Of course, our opening premise is that the Reformation is still just as relevant today. The Roman Catholic "gospel is not the true gospel of grace. "You shall know them [false prophets] by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16), and speaking of true possessors of faith vs. false professors of faith, James writes, "You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without the works and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18).

Therefore, I believe the following data strongly supports our premise that Roman Catholicism has a "form of godliness but lacks the power" because it is a spiritless "gospel", a different (false) gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). It is a lot of Law without the regenerating, true life-changing work of the Holy Spirit. Consider the following and keep in mind that the category of "Protestants" is all-inclusive mainline members (a liberal-moderate-conservative mixture). The "born-again" group is more conservative and the "evangelical" group is the most committed Protestant group.

Protestants / Evangelicals / Catholics

1. Read your Bible each week 59% / 88% / 23%
2. Daily study your Bible 25% / 62% / 5%
3. Consider yourself full-time servants of God 67% / 78% / 49%
4. Likely to attend Sunday School 29% / 12%
5. Are involved in some small-group discipleship 31% / 61% / 12%
6. Tithed to church in 2004 7% / 1%
7. Average donation level in last 2 years $1304 / $3250 / $547
8. Have shared your faith with someone in 2004 69% (born again) / 47%
9. Have an active faith (pray, read Bible, churched) 50% (born again) 75% / 25%
10. "Notional" Christianity (claims Christianity but 39% / 79% without content)
11. Believe the Bible is infallible 60% / 32%
12. Strongly disagree that salvation can be gained 26% 3% by works
13. Believes that Satan is a real being, not a symbol. 41% / 53% (born again) 3%
*some stats not provided by Barna

Prominent Evolutionist Concedes
One of the most outspoken evolution proponents, Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education, issued a retraction for factual misstatements and false allegations she made in a magazine of the California Academy of Sciences.

Scott stated that a California attorney had submitted two young earth creation books to a local school board for adoption, which he hadn't, and she claimed that a science expert found the attorney to have a "gross misunderstanding of the nature of science."
The attorney filed a libel lawsuit against her and her organization.

The facts caused the California Academy of Sciences to print a retraction and for Scott to settle the suit. The attorney stated he hopes the settlement will serve as a wake-up call to the pro-Darwin crowd so they will begin to deal with the facts rather than using straw men and ad hominem arguments.

The attorney noted that, "Evolution scientists must realize that the integrity of their position is at stake when false allegations and misinformation take the place of fair, rational and well-informed debate."

Order our two back issues of Areopagus Journal on "Science vs.
Christianity" and "Creation or Evolution?" so you can be prepared to make a difference with your neighbors, school system and children.

Alternative Spirituality
Scientology
The stories continue to flow out of major newspapers and press offices. It is almost the latest soap opera because Scientology has so many scandalous dimensions. Some of you readers may recall a major news story concerning the wrongful death of a Scientology member, Lisa McPherson, at the hands of Scientologists administering one of their procedures on her (introspective rundown). The case was eventually settled for an undisclosed amount. This is only one of many suspicious deaths of Scientologists.

During the case the county medical examiner, Joan Wood, under much pressure from Scientology, changed McPherson's probable cause of death from "severe dehydration" to "accident", which hindered the original criminal case. Now a new story in the St. Petersburg Times (07/09/05) reports that Dr. Wood has voluntarily surrendered her medical license after the Florida State Health Dept. claimed that Dr. Wood "became an advocate for the Church of Scientology," letting personal prejudices and bias "affect her decision to amend the original ruling."

Scientology has "doctrinal" policies that command scientologists to do almost anything necessary to force opponents of Scientology to surrender or simply go away. Scientology has a good many front groups that serve to recruit people deceptively into their exploitive grip. Ask for our series of articles exposing the history, teachings, deception, exploitations and harmful operations of Scientology or visit our website and click on the Tom Cruise icon for that series.

Speaking of Tom Cruise, one recent news story reveals that Scientology is targeting Oprah Winfrey. Cruise and fellow Scientologist, John Travolta, are good friends of Oprah and are moving in, literally. Cruise just bought a house two doors down from Oprah and Travolta just gave her a $700,000 Bentley car for her birthday. Unfortunately Winfrey, who caters to a new age philosophy, has the star power and popularity to elevate her friends to great heights. Ask Phil McGraw and Susie Orme (both new agers).

And finally, I have been asked to review a new book for an apologetics journal. The book is The Church of Scientology written by J. Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the Study of Religion and author of the Encyclopedia of American Religions. I am halfway through the book and must say the two words that describe the book are hogwash and whitewash, excuse the vernacular. Melton has again lived up to his reputation among both Christian and secular cult experts as a "cult apologist." One can be sure Scientology, who has been courting Melton for years, will be circulating this book far and wide! Melton should be ashamed of this travesty and will be partly responsible for many others being raped spiritually, emotionally and financially by this insidious cult.

Meditation
One of the spiritual realities of postmodern relativism is the advance of the new age movement (Eastern mysticism--occultism) in the West. Sometimes the expressions are over (Wicca, neopaganism, crystals, yin-yang, Hare Krishna, Astrology, divination, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, spiritism, psychics, parapsychology, reincarnation, etc).
But often times they are disguised with impressive-sounding names such as Christian Science, Unity, Yoga, transcendental meditation, guided imagery & relaxation techniques, as well as many alternative medicine approaches (Reiki, therapeutic touch, energy healing, reflexology, homeopathy).

Occasionally, they are co-opted into Christian practice. Methodologies may or may not be neutral or harmless and then Christian content may be applied to them. Yoga is a case in point. Stretching exercises without the Hindu content and terminology actually ceases, then, to be Yoga.

But there is still a danger in too many of our churches where theological (truth) discernment levels are diminishing and self-centered "therapeutic" Christianity is ascending. Uncritical acceptance of spiritual "teachings" or approaches could open doors to acceptance of the actual new age practices from which they are morphed.

An example of this would be the Contemplative Prayer Movement (CPM). In response to Christian trends of adopting a too busy schedule, looking for quick spiritual fixes, developing a legalistic type approach to Christian living which reduces Christianity to a check list of biblical principles--the CPM seeks to recapture the existential, transcendental reality of our real faith relationship with an ever-present, living God.

But there is reason to exercise discernment with regard to the techniques of contemplative prayer as well as some of the content and spiritual goals of "centering" or contemplative prayer. Many of the leaders of this movement were and are Roman Catholic monastic monks who are pluralistic in their understanding of God and salvation. One of the problematic activities in this movement is the Prayer Path and Labyrinth. Ask for our free information packet on Centering/Contemplative Prayer.

Transcendental Meditation
The leaders and many followers of the Hindu cult, Transcendental Meditation, led by the Maharishi Mahesh yogi (the former Beatles guru), have developed a well-organized attempt to morph TM with medical science and hide its spiritual components. Maharishi's organization purchased the University of Bridgeport in Fairfield and Rapid City, Iowa and have virtually taken over those towns.

The Maharishi University has departments of physics and science whose professors are regular TM practitioners. They frequently attempt to have studies supporting TM benefits in respected scientific journals with little success. So they produce their own in-house journals, make them appear to be mainstream, and solicit the naive press to publish the results in news stories.

An example of this is a recent article published in the respected American Journal of Cardiology which is not affiliated with TM, touting a "study" (conducted by the TM group) that demonstrated 56 people in a group of 202 people who tried TM (compared with either normal relaxation techniques or only health information) had a 30% decrease in risk of dying from heart trouble, and 49% decrease in risk of dying from cancer. But Dr.
Ted Gansler, Medical Content Director of the American Cancer Society, responded that the study was too small for any definite conclusions, and the "study" didn't take into consideration other important factors such as smoking or nonsmoking of the test population.

TM leaders have been claiming for years that a TM concentration can bring about a cosmic shift (a quantum leap) and usher in world peace. They have attempted to demonstrate smaller versions of this by massing together thousands of TMers in cities to meditate, which they claim will drastically drop crime rates and promote love and good will. So far, in most of those cities the crime rates either remained the same or increased--never a dramatic decrease. Now they are building Peace Palaces in different locations in the U.S. There is one in Louisville, KY and one going up outside of Washington DC.

They claim each Peace Palace will serve as a center for instruction in TM and Yogic Flying (supposedly the ability to levitate). And they are claiming again that sickness, crime, and accident rates as well as all stress indicators will significantly decrease and ultimately world harmony will ensue through the influence of the U.S.

And again, we hear the same mantra from their spokesman, "The project is not a religious venture. The building (Global Center for World Peace) is classified as an educational, charitable and scientific organization, not a religious one." In an interview with Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, Kai Druhl, a former TM teacher at the Maharishi University who has now become a Christian, states emphatically, "I have no doubt that TM is derived from Hinduism." Do you know how to discern between TM and neutral meditation?

Do you understand the new age occult philosophy of TM? Do you understand the negative sides of meditation, both physiologically and spiritually? Ask for our free information packet on TM.

Science and Alternative Medicine
People often see a statistic that more than a third of Americans have tried "alternative medical practices" which serves as permission to explore what would otherwise be thought of as strange or kooky practices. But what is usually not understood is that their statistic include chiropractors, herbs, the Atkins diet, yoga and simple meditation. Now don't misunderstand. A significant amount of chiropractics is new age and bogus (although there are also a good number of legitimate, science based chiropractors). Herbal therapy is also a mixed bag of bogus and valid. Yoga is most often still connected to its Hindu basis. And meditation is also problematic on a number of fronts.

But one needs much discernment when you get into the areas of what's called "complementary medicine" (alternative medicine). This is especially true because of major medical schools and institutions appear to legitimatize these modalities by curriculum inclusion and partnership with new age institutions. Their spin is that in addition to the treatment aspect, they are moving into a focus of disease prevention and wellness maintenance. Who can argue with that?

Dr. Steven Barrett and his colleagues at Quackwatch (and other science-based organizations) say otherwise: "Alternative medicine programs are finding their way into mainstream institutions, not because there's proof the therapies work, but because administrators see it as a way to jump on the bandwagon of popularity and to get grant money."

Under President Clinton the Office of Complementary Medicine was established and huge research grants were given. To date, no real substantiation for these new age modalities has been proven. Some of these quack modalities are iridology, homeopathy, reiki, therapeutic touch, applied kinesiology, Deepak Chopra's quantum healing, etc. As I said before, there is a limited value in some therapies that are considered alternative, such as acupuncture, chiropractics, and some herbs. Use the form at the end of the newsletter to request an information packet.

More Specific Target Support
Many of you may recall that we previously requested support for a series of ads for our journal and ministry in World magazine. Because of some of you, we were able to realize that opportunity, which has produced 320 new subscriptions and over 500 responses for our newsletter and information packets.

So we are mounting a new campaign to run a smaller ad, every other week for a year in World. We still need 450 new subscribers of Areopagus Journal to break even on the printing costs. We believe that these ads will probably produce enough subscriptions to not only pay our productions costs but help fund needed ministry expansion. We need targeted support (beyond regular giving) of $13,000. Prayerfully consider this and designate it on the order form below.

Letters
I am a school counselor at a local high school and greatly appreciate this resource being available. Thanks for all you do!
Hoover, AL

I am involved with a Christian message board that has been overwhelmed by postmodernism. I'm sure these resources will be helpful. God bless and thank you! Bensalem, PA

I teach a high school youth class whose members come from diverse backgrounds and are being pulled at from all angles by their friends in school who are trying to lead them astray. I think these resources will help me prepare a Christian apologetics study for them. Thank you for your time and knowledge. Denham Springs,
LA

I am so thankful to have come across your ministry at this time. I am working towards becoming a schoolteacher and desire a Biblical understanding of pop culture and common complaints against the Lord. Unfortunately, I am unable to financially support your ministry at this time but I will be praying for the opportunity to do so in the future. Please be encouraged by the faithfulness of God to exalt Himself above all. Thank you!
Wenatchee, WA

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