CARM Newsletter 05-23-07

Welcome to the May 23, 2007 Newsletter

Please support CARM
 If you have not already, would you please consider a monthly donation of five dollars? It isn't much and it would really help.  You can easily set it up an automatically recurring account (that you can cancel at any time) at http://www.carm.org/goods/donations.htm.  This ministry relies on the faith support of donors.  If you think CARM is important on the internet, then please help us out.  It takes a lot of work to keep it going.  I've done the heavy theological/apologetic lifting so you don't have to.  God bless and thanks.

 Santa Cruz, CA

This Sunday, the 27th, my wife and I will be in Santa Cruz, California.  She's joining me on the drive down from Boise so that I can attend an emerging church.  I'll be meeting with the pastor for an interview.  This is part of my ongoing research in CARM.  We'll be staying with friends near the church. 

The emerging church seeks to reach the lost with the Christian gospel by adapting to present day culture.  There are many critics of the emerging church as well as proponents.  Some emerging churches are so liberal they aren't even Christian.  But, others are very orthodox.  As with most things, there is is good and bad.

Though I have been doing research by reading books on the emerging church (for and against), it is always a good idea to have first-hand experience with what I'm researching so I might more accurately represent it.  Please pray for this encounter and safety in traveling.

Seattle, WA Sponsorship

As I continue to research emerging church, I also plan to travel to Seattle, Washington during the weekend of June 9 through 12th.  There are two emerging churches there and would like to attend both of them.  So, I'm looking for sponsors to cover the costs.

Ryan Turner is a student at Norman Geisler's Graduate school who, Lord willing, will graduate next year with a Masters in apologetics.  He has expressed a very strong desire to work with CARM.  Ryan will be flying out to Boise on June 8 and will stay here for 10 days, in our home.  This is so he can check us out to see if he wants to make a commitment to work with CARM by moving here next year.  Anyway, I plan to drive from Boise to Seattle with Ryan and stay there for two, three, or four days while we check out two emerging churches and also, hopefully, the Discovery Institute that works with intelligent design theory.

Again, if anyone would be willing to sponsor us for our trip up there (hotel and gas), please let me know.  Or, if someone has a spare couple of rooms in their home for a few days, that would be fine, too.  My car gets great gas mileage and has GPS navigation so directions aren't a problem, nor is traveling an hour (or less) to get to the churches should we find lodging at a distance.  So, if you want to help out, please contact me at [email protected]

Steve the Mormon

For about three weeks, on Mondays, I have had a Mormon in studio.  We've  been discussing Mormonism.  Steve makes for good radio, but he is a lousy debater.  He's been insulting and completely illogical, a real test of my patience.  If you want to hear the latest show, go to http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=432798.  You won't be disappointed.... unless you're a Mormon.

Radio Show
The radio show seems to be getting more popular.  However, the support for it has dwindled.  I know there are about 100,000 page views on the podcast monthly with around 12 to 15,000 downloads a month.  There's a lot of interest but almost no support to keep it going.  Since everything has slowed down the summer, the show may or may not continue.

Video Camera

I haven't purchased the video camera yet.  But I have been doing a great deal of research trying to make the best purchase.  As I have stated in a previous newsletter, someone donated $2000 to purchase a camera and in my research I discovered that I can probably get two cameras for the price of one that will do the job of the original one that I had initially considered.  Having two cameras would enable me to produce better quality videos (i.e., two angles instead of one, better editing abilities) for release on the Internet and along with DVD distribution through CARM.

I hope to provide a series of lectures on Christian theology, apologetics, witnessing, evangelism, et cetera.  I would also like to produce five minute presentations for release on youtube.com, as well as longer presentations for distribution through CARM.

As CARM expands and we try and hire people to work for us, I'm hoping that this video work will provide the funds by which we could pay those who seek to be employed here.  Quite literally, we're living by faith and trusting the Lord to provide as we continue to move forward.

Advertising Space

Are you interested in purchasing advertising space on CARM?  If so, please let me know at [email protected]  CARM gets about 400,000 unique visitors a month.

Logos Software

By way of reminder, if any of you are interested in perhaps one of the very best, if not the best, Bible programs available, please check out http://www.logos.com/carm.  I use it all the time.  If  you purchase software through the CARM link, you can get a discount and it helps to support CARM as well.

If you get anything at Logos, use CARM as the coupon code during checkout.

Love and Hate Mail
CARM is constantly getting e-mails of thanks and praise and condemnation.  Here are a few...in the raw.  (At the suggestion of a reader, the hate mail is first so that the last taste in your mouth, is the love mail).

  • Hate mail:
    • I have come to the conclusion, that you have NO IDEA what you are talking about, and I would rather talk to a Stop sign, than to an idiot.  I rest my case, and you go on believing what you want, regardless of the truth.  If you're going to be that close minded to the gospel of Jesus Christ, you're hurting nothing but yourself.  You may want to consider, removing all of the information about Mormons from your website because, none of it is correct, and within the Ten Commandments we were commanded Thou Shalt Not Lie.  Regardless of your religion, race, sex, or anything else for that matter, we are all loved the same by God.  Do yourself some good, and quit bashing other religions, and just because it's not within your realm of beliefs, doesn't mean it isn't true! What Would Jesus Do?
    • Hey you illiterate moron, the early Christians didn't practice tithing because they were practicing a higher law, the Law of Consecration...Your such a loser, and you will go to the telestial kingdom for your cold and hard heart.... Something your church knows nothing about because you have no revelation, no modern Prophets, and the Holy Ghost doesn't come near your church.
    • CARM is the Anti-Christ of freedom of religion, like so many government agencies and their Laws restricting freedoms that "once upon a time" were rightfully given to us at birth.
  • Love mail:
    • met you a few years ago at an apologetics conference in Colleyville, TX.  You provided lots of materials and since then I've stayed connected via your newsletter and website.  I started a mission ministry in India and I enrolled the top guy there (Rajeev Mahan) in your online school and he printed MANY pages from it that they are studying from even now... But what I really wanted to say is this - you are a HUGE encouragement to me.  I've seen what you've gone through, and what you've accomplished over the years. Most others would have quit, but you have forged ahead and in doing so you've been a great example to others. Your CARM website is a beacon of light shining out into the darkness of the Internet.  I pray that God enables you to keep that light burning even brighter in the years to come.  I thank God for you and your ministry. Please let me know if I can ever do anything for you and your family - perhaps you will need a place to stay in the Dallas area, or something like that.  Put me in your address book as someone that you can call on if you are ever in need in north Texas.
    • I thank God for the great work that He is doing through you with the site and the newsletter! it has affected me and the bible college that I teach at very Much! you have become required reading for the students at the small bible college where my wife and I minister at in South Eastern Nicaragua. We enjoy seeing the students grow and be prepared for the new cults and the occult that is rapidly infiltrating our area. May God richly bless the ministry that He has given you, and may He make you effective in your ministry!
    • The intellectual integrity of CARM blows my mind. Particularly the dialogues and the sections on Atheism and Evolution. You present the Christian faith in a very cogent format that is entirely consistent with the Scriptures. Thanks to CARM, I don't trip over my words when arguing with Wiccans, Mormons, and Skeptics anymore. Ha-ha. God bless you brother.
    • Dear Matt, I would love for you to use this comment on your website:   Every time I read the Love/Hate Mail on CARM, it never fails that the LOVE mail is logical and well thought out and the grammar is good and makes sense, but by contrast, 99% of the HATE mail is written very illogically with so much nonsensical rambling .... and most importantly, the way they spit out their hate, sounds like satan himself.   Thank you for your ministry and I pray that God continues to bless it, you and your family.

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    Same as Last Newsletter

    1. Podcast Link -  If you are interested in listening to the radio podcasts of faith and reason,  there are several options.  One is to go to the CARM home page and click on the radio link, or go to www.carm.org/radio/radio.htm, or click on this link http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=432798 and enter your e-mail address.  Its free and you'll be notified every time the podcast page is updated.
    2. Feedback and Suggestions - I would love to have feedback and suggestions from the CARM readers about the website, the radio show, and this newsletter.  Please feel free to let me know what you would like covered and/or addressed.  [email protected]
    3. Please Support CARM - CARM is supported by the voluntary gifts and offerings of people like you.  I have revamped the donations system and hope that this new year will bring in more support so that we can hire an additional staff person.  Even $5 a month can make a big difference.  CARM is on the front lines and we need all the help we can get.  Please pray for us.  We need it.
    4. Discussion Boards - The CARM Discussion Forums are doing extremely well.  In less than a year we have over 13,700 people signed up as participants. We even have a donation option for people to support the Ministry and have extended posting privelaes.  If you are interested in learning how to defend your faith as well as finding out what others believe about vendors, than the CARM discussion forums are the place to be.
    5. Chat Room http://www.carm.org/boards/chat.htm.  Want a live discussion?
    6. Thanks Again - Thanks to all of you who have been signing up for the online schools and donations to CARM.    They have been a real encouragement to this Ministry as they have increased lately.
    7. Prayer Ministry - CARM does have a prayer Ministry.  If you are interested in joining us as we pray for others' needs, or if you have needs that you need prayer for, please go to http://www.carm.org/prayer.htm and sign up.
    8. Online Schools. Theology, Apologetics, and Critical Thinking.  You can support CARM and also learn.
    9. Live Radio Show! - The show is called "Faith and Reason with Matt Slick."  I am on for one hour, five days a week, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Mountain Time). It's a live call-in show where people can ask all kinds of questions dealing with Christianity, the Bible, cults, counseling, the occult, etc.  You can call in to the number is 208-377-3790 and/or listen live via the Internet at www.myfamilyradio.com on the AM station.  P odcasting CARM now has podcasting ability for past radio shows:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/carmorgpodcasting.
    10. Suggestions?
      Do you have any suggestions for the CARM newsletter or the CARM website?  If so, please contact us at [email protected]  We want to know what you think, areas of need that you would like to see addressed, as well as any comments you might have.
      11.

From the CARM Theological Dictionary

Heaven
Heaven is the dwelling place of God and for those who go there a place of everlasting bliss.  Scripture implies three heavens, since "the third heaven" is revealed to exist (2 Cor. 12:2). It is logical that a third heaven cannot exist without a first and second. Scripture does not describe specifically the first and second heaven. The first, however, apparently refers to the atmospheric heavens of the fowl (Hosea 2:18) and clouds (Dan. 7:13). The second heaven may be the area of the stars and planets (Gen. 1:14-18). It is the abode of all supernatural angelic beings. The third heaven is the abode of the triune God. Its location is unrevealed. (See Matt. 23:34-37; Luke 10:20; and Rev. 22:2, 20-27).

 

Be fishers of men, not keepers of the aquarium

In Jesus,

Rev. Matt Slick, your missionary to the  Internet. Equipping the church to defend the faith in a secular society.

_________________
Notes

  1. Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

 

 

 

 
 
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