The applause was equal to the one given to Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa when he later declared, "We all belong to one family. Bush [President George], bin Laden, all belong, gay, lesbian, so-called straight--all belong and are loved, are precious."

The participants at this major assembly were from nearly every Christian group, as well as some from the Hindu, Islam and the Buddhist faiths. They all came together in Porto Alegre, Brazil under the theme, "God in your grace, transform the world."

The Assembly is the "supreme legislative body" of the WCC and meets every 7 years. Its announced purpose is to review programs and determine policies of the WCC, as well as to elect presidents and appoint a 150 member Central Committee which serves as the chief governing body of the WCC until the next assembly. It is a time for all of those gathered together to voice their intentions to continue the search for the visible unity of a one-world church. Even though it was revealed that the WCC was building up a large financial debt, they went ahead and spent between $7 and $8 million to make this assembly a reality.

This was the first assembly to take place in Latin America. It was evident that a major attempt had been made to secure the support of the Roman Catholic leaders and the Pentecostal/Evangelical churches that were growing so rapidly all around that continent.

While only 728 were actual voting delegates who were permitted to speak and vote, the larger number of those present could only observe the activities without right of franchise. However, they were honored guests and a few of them were invited to speak.

His Holiness Aram I, who was serving his last term as the WCC moderator, reminded everyone at the opening session that "assemblies are an important stage in our ecumenical journey. Assemblies are occasions to deepen our fellowship 'on the way' towards the visible unity of the church. Peace seems to be almost unattainable and violence and insecurity have become dominant in all spheres of human life.

The church is called upon to discern the signs of the 'hidden' Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit in other religions. According to biblical teachings, God's gift of salvation in Christ is offered to the whole humanity."

Aram I qualified this even more as he then declared that the Holy Spirit operates in non-Christian religions. He said, "Likewise, according to Christian pneumatology [the doctrine of the Holy Spirit] the Holy Spirit's work is cosmic, it reaches in mysterious ways to people of all faiths."

The moderator went on to say, "In this turbulent world we turn to God and pray, 'God, in your grace, transform the world'" acknowledging that during the last seven years, since the previous assembly in Africa, there had been many crisis within the WCC. "Loss of our income and reducing our programs and staff should be a concern to all." He went on to admit that "mainstream Christianity, as represented by the WCC, was aging and falling in numbers while para-church and mega-churches were advancing. As a result people are looking for a church that can meet their pastoral needs; a church that can provide answers to their questions."

Following the moderator's address, delegates from the various regions of the world were recognized. More than 500 were present from the USA and 60 of those were permitted to vote.

Greetings were brought by Bishop de Souza Maia on behalf of the Brazilian churches. He said with sadness that his "greatest desire would have been to come together around the table of the Lord." But the fact remains there is a sharp division between the Orthodox and the Protestant church leaders. The Protestant will permit the Orthodox to participate in their Eucharist (Lord's Supper) service, but the Orthodox strongly oppose anyone but Orthodox to gather with them for that service. So this dichotomy remains in the WCC. There does appear to be some unity about "baptism." Dr. Sam Kobia, General Secretary of the WCC, explained that the only requirement for church groups seeking membership in the WCC is baptism. Kobia said, "When you are baptized, then you are a Christian."

Another who brought greetings was Cardinal Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Kasper later told the press the reason the Roman Catholic Church had not become a member of the WCC was "for structural reasons as the Roman Catholic Church was a universal rather than a local body, but it worked with the Council without rivalry or competition, but in friendly collaboration." (The Roman Catholic Church is also a member of at least 70 regional groups of the WCC.)

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi A. Annan, spoke and in defending the United Nations said that the UN's mission was "to serve the cause of peace and to defend the dignity of every human being. As you pray for the United Nations, I hope you will pray that this indispensable instrument [the UN] will be as effective as it can be." Greetings were also brought to the WCC from the World YWCA and World Alliance of YMCAs.

At another plenary session, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a Roman Catholic and a supporter of socialistic causes spoke. Security by his police was very evident as protesters stood outside objecting with loud noises to him speaking at this assembly. He responded to those who opposed him by saying, "There is no more pleasurable sound than that of people shouting-whether it is for or against does not matter. Here in Brazil we are issuing a guarantee to all religions, even to the many Evangelical and Pentecostal denominations, the right to function because we want to promote mutual respect among all religions."

This was followed by an address by Katsunori Yamanoi, a member of the Buddhist organization Rissho Kosei-kai. He asked the WCC to walk "hand in hand with all of the Buddhists in this organization and to participate in the Buddhist Assembly scheduled for August 2006." Immediately he was followed by a Hindu who shared a few lines from the Hindu's sacred text that included these words, "God is the ocean; God's servants are the rain clouds; God is the sandal tree; God's servants are the winds."

One of the most publicized incidents took place when a few leaders of the USA/WCC issued a formal apology to the Assembly on behalf of the churches they represented. With a great show, these liberals from the USA had the audacity to ask the WCC for forgiveness because of the USA's actions. The first draft was headlined as being from "The Churches of the United States" but a "corrected" version followed and was changed to "The U. S. Conference of the WCC."

The two-page letter was read by the Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, moderator of the U.S. Conference for the WCC. Others involved were the Rev. Michael Livingstone, president of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Rev. John Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ.

This shameful letter acknowledged that "we are citizens of a nation that has done much in these years to endanger the human family and to abuse the creation. Our country responded to the terrorist attacks by raining down terror on the truly vulnerable among our global neighbors. Our leaders entered into imperial projects that seek to dominate and control for our own national interests."

It continued, "We lament with special anguish the war in Iraq, launched in deception and violating global norms of justice and human rights. We acknowledge with shame that we in the USA failed to raise a prophetic voice loud enough and persistent enough to deter our leaders from the path of preemptive war. Lord, have mercy."

However, according to these few religious zealots not only was the USA guilty of "raining down terror" but our nation "brought God to the USA national agendas that are idolatrous and also violated the rivers, oceans, lakes, rainforests and wetlands that sustain us, even the air we breathe because global warming goes unchecked while we allow God's creation to veer toward destruction. The USA has a culture of consumption that diminishes the earth. Christ, have mercy."

The third and final part of the "letter of apology from these USA leaders to the WCC" dealt with poverty and racism. "Our nation enjoys enormous wealth, yet we cling to our possessions rather than share. We have refused to confront the racism that exists in our own communities and the racism that infects our policies around the world. In the face of the earth's poverty, our wealth condemns us. Lord, have mercy."

At the press conference that followed the reading of this letter to the WCC, a member of the press challenged those who read and promoted this "Letter of Apology" by asking if the 34 church bodies they claimed to represent had approved this letter that declares the United States as a dangerous nation. They admitted their church bodies had not acted upon this but they believed that most of those in their denominations would approve it. Another reporter reminded them that they were including the United Methodist Church in which President Bush has his membership. They responded by saying that it is sad that the President does not listen to his own church bishops and instead stays close to some evangelical leaders. These liberal clergy concluded the press conference by saying that it was their responsibility to "speak a prophetic and pastoral word as we believe God is offering it to us."

Later on a brief opportunity was given to Dr. J. Norberto Saracco to speak for the Evangelical Churches of Latin America. He told how in recent years, "Evangelical and Pentecostal churches have been working the hardest in the quest for the visible unity of the church. In the past, we evangelical churches evangelized by exposing the weaknesses of the Catholic Church. Today it is different and we have repented of doing that. However, unity becomes difficult when any of you treat us as a sect and Pentecostalism as a threat. Is it not time for a new Pentecost? Only a Spirit-filled church will see the barriers come down."

An interesting side light to this was to hear the WCC General Secretary, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, speak in a very critical way of the spread of mega churches. He accused these "huge Protestant churches with charismatic pastors of using lively music and mostly making worshipers feel good but they were very shallow in their theology." He went on to say such churches could be described as "two miles long and one inch deep!"

But the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) International Director, Rev. Geoff Tunnicliffe, presented a statement to the accredited press that had been prepared with three other Pentecostal/Evangelicals praising the WCC. The WEA is made up of 127 Evangelical Alliances (including the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) led by Dr. Ted Haggard of Colorado Springs, CO). They expressed gratitude that the WCC invited them because after all they represented almost 400 million Evangelicals around the world. At a private meeting with Rev. Tunnicliffe, this reporter reminded him that the Evangelicals and the Pentecostals were not being given any place of prominence on the platform or program.

The WEA leader admitted that was true, but wanted the WCC to understand they desire to get more involved with social action by "deepening Christian engagement with the poor and to cut world poverty in half by the year 2015. Here in Porto Alegre evangelicals are found in Pentecostal, Baptist, Anglican, Reformed and other churches too. It is our hope that we will have a positive influence on the outcomes of the assembly." He added, "As in the life of Jesus, being, doing and saying are at the heart of our integral task."

One major speaker who was welcomed by the entire Assembly was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, who declared, "The exclusive claims of Christianity are not claims to absolute knowledge. I reject aggressive efforts to convert those of other faiths." At the press conference when questioned about his address, he said that two approaches were very unhelpful - "One was to claim an exclusive possession of the truth, while the other was to lose confidence in one's faith."

Following Williams remarks, a Karen Baptist from Myanmar spoke to the delegates and told of her family's experiences with Buddhist and Muslim neighbors. She concluded by saying, "My Muslim and Buddhist neighbors may not know the name Jesus, but I believe God has found a path for himself to them."

In his prepared remarks, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa told those gathered, "A united church is no optional extra for it is indispensable for the salvation of God's world." He then went on to thank the WCC for sending money years ago to buy guns for the Revolutionaries in South Africa. "These men were not terrorists," he said. "Nelson Mandela was no terrorist." He added in reference to the Muslims, "I hope that the WCC will preach it is the adherents of a faith who are good or bad, not the faith."

While His Holiness Aram I is no longer Moderator, the new WCC Central Committee elected Rev. Dr. Walter Altmann as moderator for the next 7 years. He is the president of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil. The new vice moderators are Metropolitan Dr. Gennadios of Sassima of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Turkey and Rev. Dr. Margaretha Hendriks-Ririmasse of the Indonesian Christian University in Moluccas in Indonesia. The new Central Committee Executive Committee Members from North America are Ms. Carmen Rae Lansdowne, United Church of Canada; Rev. Dr. Tyrone Pitts, Progressive National Baptist Church (USA) and Rev. Dr. Larry Pickens, United Methodist Church (USA). The Executive Committee and the Central Committee of 150 are the ones who really control the policies and practices of the liberal WCC. Only those loyal to the WCC goal of building the one-world church are ever elevated to those places of leadership.

Observations by this reporter:

1. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who is a radical socialist, in defending the actions taken in South Africa, said, "God had a dream for He longs for the time when we all belong to each other. We can help God by belonging to one family." It is important to understand Tutu was not referring to the unity we enjoy by being in the family of God because we received Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Rather he and the leaders of the WCC are speaking of all being together in one religious organized body - the WCC with the Roman Catholic Church as well as with other religions in the world.

2. Several WCC leaders in speaking of the violence taking place around the world, emphasized that "children have a right to protection and well being." But never - not even once - is there a mention of the awful curse of abortion upon demand and the murder of the millions of babies every year. The WCC is strangely silent about such acts of violence.

3. At a workshop on Human Sexuality, a Filipino member of the WCC International Reference Group said that "any sexual act that is done with an attitude of love and respect is morally legitimate - it does not matter whether you are married or not. After all, sexual rights are also human rights." Nothing of what the Bible teaches about moral purity was offered.

4. The WCC did not focus at all on evangelism but rather on radical liberation theologies that were very anti-Western and especially anti-American. These apostate church leaders are really not confessing their own sins but attempting to confess the sins of our President. One can ask as to the time George Bush asked them to confess his sins? Denominations represented at the oral reading of this "letter of apology" included the United Church of Christ, the Orthodox Church in America, Church of the Brethren and Disciples of Christ. Remember they said they represented 34 denominations which are a part of the NCC/WCC.

5. While there was much talk about "a transformed world," at no time was the answer given from the Bible that "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation" (II Cor 5:17). The change comes not from without but from within, but that answer was never given. Rather the WCC teaches that all religions are equal. According to Aram I, the Holy Spirit dwells in other religions than Christianity. Nothing could be farther from the truth of God's Word.

6. It is important to understand that even the very words these liberal clergy use have a different meaning. We must do what the apostle John tells us to do and " Try the spirits whether they be of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world"(I John 4:1).

7. God's Word speaks of a "cage of every unclean and hateful bird" and the WCC fits that picture. But the Lord also says in that same chapter in Revelation 18, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." THAT INVOLVES SEPARATION!

8. It would be wise to check on those organizations that were the invited guests of the WCC such as the World Evangelical Alliance, Baptist World Alliance, Habitat for Humanity, United Bible Societies, Salvation Army and Church World Service. Should not their participation disqualify them from receiving support from God's faithful believers?

9. Another meeting took place at the same time the WCC held their Assembly. It was the Congress of Fundamental pastors, missionaries and lay folk where the banner of Truth was held high and a witness given that there is vast difference between Bible believers and the WCC.

http://www.amcouncilcc.org
Email: accc@juno.com
Copyright © 2002 American Council of Christian Churches