June 2010
Volume 5 #6
Wading River Baptist Church
P.O. Box 438, 1635 Wading River-Manorville Road, Wading River, NY 11792
(631) 929-3512; 929-6022
www.wrbc.us
You may have not heard this yet, but
there is a development in Washington
D. C. that should be of concern to every
church in America, a partnership initi-
ated by the White House intended to
transform America’s churches into
agents for two of their primary liberal
political agenda priorities: the green
movement and social justice. With the
conservative press, radio and television
talk shows, and the Tea Party movement
loudly proclaiming global warming and
man-made climate change to be a hoax,
the administration has lost the potential
support of many otherwise unsuspecting
Americans for their radical environmen-
talism and social engineering, the pur-
pose of which, of course, is much more
than environmental stewardship or so-
cietal equality. Like everything else the
current administration is attempting to
do, this effort seeks to impose greater
governmental control over our nation’s
industries and even over individual
American citizens.
According to the White House’s own
web site, the President’s Advisory Coun-
cil on Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships “brings together leaders
and experts in fields related to the work
of faith-based and neighborhood organi-
zations in order to make recommenda-
tions to government on how to improve
partnerships.” In other words, this is an
effort to incorporate churches into a na-
tionwide community organizing effort
(remember that the President was a
community organizer in Chicago). The
objective is to identify the best ways to
deliver social services, develop public
policy, and recommend changes in poli-
cies and programs to the President. The
membership of the Council (numbering
25) changes each year. In 2009-2010,
office@wrbc.us
The Camel’s Nose
only one of the 25 could even remotely
be considered evangelical.
Many of us had grave doubts about
the wisdom of “faith-based initiatives”
when President Bush established the
White Office in 2004. At that time, some
regarded it as the camel’s nose under the
tent. Perhaps so, and if so, then the
camel has now got its whole neck in the
tent.
It’s bad enough that not many seem
to care that President Obama's Advisory
Council on Faith-Based and Neighbor-
hood Partnerships is seeking to forge an
alliance between the government and
religious organizations. But here’s a new
development. A “faith office” has been
established at the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA), the purpose of which
is to expedite loans to churches who are
seeking to “green up” their property.
We dare not forget that the EPA is a
collection of unelected and unaccount-
able bureaucrats. Nor should we ignore
the fact that the EPA is considering such
actions as regulating lawn mowers and
string trimmers (“grass mileage stan-
dards”); installing radio controlled
thermostats in homes and businesses,
thus preventing the inhabitants from
controlling the temperature; issuing
permits for large, single-family homes;
and requiring millions of new permits
for forklifts, trucks, restaurant stoves,
warehouses, and generators. Non-
profits (such as schools, churches, and
hospitals) would be bound by these regu-
lations, and that means being subjected
to the expensive, time-consuming permit
processes. Obviously, this is bad news.
But here’s the “good news”! The
new EPA faith office will assist churches
and other non-profits in obtaining “ac-
cess to financing,” including “establish-
ing revolving loan programs or working
with utility companies to help finance
greening building projects.” There’s a
catch, however: as it is proposed, a
church which refuses to participate could
lose its 501 (c)(3) (i. e., tax exempt)
status. Cooperation, however, could
speed up the approval of loans. Just
think what this will mean for a church
that wishes to construct a new building
or expand its existing facilities.
The churches are therefore supposed
to preach the “gospel” of cap and trade,
but it doesn’t end there. Speaker of the
House, Nancy Pelosi, is now urging
churches to preach and promote immi-
gration reform. Here are her exact, but
sometimes incoherent, words:
On the subject of immigration be-
cause I think the church is going to
have to play a very major role in how
we, how people are treated. The car-
dinals, the archbishops, the bishops
that come to me and say we want
you to pass immigration reform and
I said but I want you to speak about
it from the pulpit. I want you to in-
struct your, whatever the communi-
cation is — they — the people some
oppose immigration reform are sit-
ting in those pews and you have to
tell them that this is a manifestation
of our living the Gospels.
But these initiatives cost money, and
most religious non-profits don’t have
much of that. Enter the government
with offers of funding! But what about
giving money to churches? Isn’t that a
violation of the separation of church and
state—one of the political left’s “sacred”
cows? Well listen to the President,
speaking in Zanesville, Ohio, recently:
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Now, make no mistake, as someone
who used to teach constitutional
law, I believe deeply in the separa-
tion of church and state, but I don’t
believe this partnership will endan-
ger that idea – so long as we follow a
few basic principles. First, if you get
a federal grant, you can’t use that
grant money to proselytize to the
people you help and you can’t dis-
criminate against them – or against
the people you hire – on the basis of
their religion. Second, federal dol-
lars that go directly to churches,
temples, and mosques can only be
used on secular programs. And we’ll
also ensure that taxpayer dollars
only go to those programs that actu-
ally work.
So it’s all right for the government to get
entangled in religion as long as religion
isn’t too religious! The government
wants to hand out money to churches in
order for them to do secular work. No
proselytizing (evangelism), no discrimi-
nation (preaching against sin), and no
restrictions in hiring based on religious
convictions (i. e., no freedom). Churches
simply become social agencies—
extensions of the government.
On March 11, 2010, the Advisory
Council recommended that the govern-
ment clarify how religious charities re-
ceive and use government funds to pro-
vide social services, and then streamline
the process. They also recommended
bringing “the power of 370,000 houses
of worship across the country to the fight
of climate change by greening buildings
and promoting environmental steward-
ship in their congregations.” It won’t be
long before the camel’s whole body is in
the tent!
One of the leading advocates of gov-
ernment interference in the churches is
the radical religious leftist, Jim Wallis,
Missionaries of the Month – Phil and Shelly Ormsby
“We will not
conceal them
from their
children, but tell
to the generation
to come the
praises of the
LORD, and His
strength and His wondrous works that
He has done” (Psalm 78:4).
The Child Evangelism Fellowship
(CEF) of the Greater New York City Area
founder of Sojourners and a religious
advisor to President Obama. He likes to
call himself an evangelical, but he is
really an avowed Marxist. Asked by pro-
gressive Catholic activist and radio host,
Maureen Fielder, whether he advocates
the redistribution of wealth, he replied,
“Absolutely. Without any hesitation.
That's what the Gospel is all about.”
Well that’s not what the Gospel is all
about. In fact the biblical Gospel con-
tains nothing whatsoever that validates
state socialism or Marxist-Leninist
communism. All told, however, these
developments place some heavy de-
mands upon us, the faithful remnant of
committed Bible-believing Christians.
1. We must know the Gospel thor-
oughly. We no longer have the luxury of
being ignorant of biblical content and
sound Christian theology. We need to
know what we believe and be committed
to defending it (Jd 4). To that end, the
Word of God is our primary defense, the
sword we use to defend ourselves against
the attacks of the enemy (Eph 6:17).
2. We must know the Constitution
of the United States and advocate for it.
Never in my lifetime has the Constitu-
tion been so frontally and brutally as-
saulted. As citizens of this nation and
stewards of its liberties, we must stand
boldly for the principle that the separa-
tion of church and state is nowhere to be
found in the Constitution—especially
when it means the removal of religion,
and specifically biblical Christianity,
from public affairs. We must interpret
the Constitution literally and in histori-
cal context, according to the intentions
of the Founders, vigorously contending
for the First Amendment which prohibits
the government from making any law—
and that means issuing any regulation—
which hinders the free exercise of our
is a ministry that partners with churches
to evangelize boys and girls with the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to
establish them in the Word of God.
Their mission field is 2.5 million children
in the Greater New York City Area in-
cluding Long Island, Westchester
County, Rockland County, and all of New
York City. Phil Ormsby is the Long Is-
land Ministry Coordinator for CEF.
Phil’s wife, Shelly, previously served
as the bookkeeper for CEF; but as of Au-
faith. Our message to our government
is: leave us alone!
3. We must maintain vigilance in
the face of the enemy. Paul saw his re-
sponsibility, and that of the Christian
church, as wielding the powerful weap-
ons of our spiritual warfare for the de-
struction of the evil spiritual fortresses
established by Satan and his hosts, tak-
ing every thought captive to the obedi-
ence of Christ (2 Cor 10:4-5). Paul de-
clares that we must not allow Satan to
take advantage of us, “for we are not ig-
norant of his schemes” (2 Cor 2:11).
Sometimes those schemes are subtle;
always they are dangerous.
4. Above all, we must pray. “With
all prayer and petition pray at all times
in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on
the alert with all perseverance and peti-
tion for all the saints” (Eph 6:18; 1 Tim
2:1-2). The prayer meetings of evangeli-
cal churches in America should be filled
with God’s people, pleading on the au-
thority of God’s Word, to our sovereign
Heavenly Father, through the interces-
sion of God’s Spirit and our great High
Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, for mercy
on the United States of America and a
spiritual renovation of our elected and
appointed civil authorities in Washing-
ton and in our state capitals.
As we look forward to the celebra-
tion of our nation’s birth this July 4, let
those of us who love the Lord Jesus and
cherish God’s Word prove to be faithful
stewards of our freedoms, believing God
for the powerful revival for which we
pray and which alone will stem the tide
of evil and restore our nation’s right-
eousness (Prov 14:34).
— Pastor Ron Glass
gust 2009, Shelly completed her job as
the bookkeeper to begin the kindergar-
ten home schooling of their eldest son,
Michael. Their second son, Nathan, at-
tends the program for 3-year-old chil-
dren at Northport Christian Preschool.
Praiseworthy is
the arrival of their
third son, David
Josiah Ormsby,
born November
27, 2009.
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During the month of May and the
first Saturday of June, Phil held a 30-
hour training course for Sunday School
teachers in which 20 students enrolled.
The course, TCE (Teaching Children Ef-
fectively Level 1), involved training on
how to use the wordless book and how to
teach an evangelistic Bible lesson with an
invitation for children to believe.
Phil continues with a summer mis-
sionary training school; eight days of
training for those who will serve with
CEF for the summer. Phil will then lead
a ministry at Hofstra University; he will
run a 4-day children’s program for the
New York Summer Conference. The fol-
lowing week he will then lead the chil-
dren’s program at a Deaf Family Camp.
Getting Acquainted with Pastor Noel R. Faustinorio
Pastor Noel R. Faustinorio has gone back
to the Philippines but not out of our
hearts here at the WRBC. We knew so
little of him but what we did know de-
fined the man. We know that he loves
God very passionately, very boldly and
with a joy that is contagious for those in
his presence.
Psalm 37:3-5 is Pastor Noel’s favor-
ite Scripture passage—a selection that
reveals the depth of his passion. “Trust
in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou
dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt
be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord;
and he shall give thee the desires of
thine heart. Commit thy way unto the
Lord; trust also in him; and he shall
bring it to pass.”
Pastor Noel was born on December
2, 1954, in Negros Occidental, Philip-
pines, to parents Felix and Ramona
Faustinorio. His father was an elemen-
tary school teacher while his mother
stayed home to care for their nine chil-
dren (Pastor Noel is the youngest).
Noel’s beloved mother died when he was
only five years old, bringing a bit of
struggle to his young life as well as to his
father’s.
But adversity grows a man and can
bring character to the soul as it did for
Pastor Noel. At the age of 16, Pastor
Noel accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as
his Savior while active in the youth group
of his church.
As a high school student, Pastor
Noel, being very athletically inclined,
The rest of Phil’s summer’s calendar
is fast filling up with backyard Bible
Clubs in various locations on Long Is-
land. There are still openings the last
two weeks of July and the first two weeks
of August if anyone is interested in invit-
ing the children in their neighborhood
and hosting one of these clubs. If inter-
ested, please contact Phil Ormsby at
psormsby@svrees.com or call him at
(631) 864-3061.
We were privileged to have Phil here
at the WRBC last summer to teach the
Bible lesson at the “Bible and Baseball”
camp held August 3-7, 2009.
As you can see, there are many
praises and prayers to be offered on be-
half of the Ormsby family. We need to
continue to pray for the establishment of
was on the baseball team as well as the
basketball and volleyball teams. After
graduating from high school, Pastor Noel
attended the Manila Baptist College in
the Philippines, earning his Bachelor of
Theology degree in 1980.
Also there in Manila was a Bible
Baptist Church that he attended while in
college. Thoughts at this time began
turning to finding a wife and Pastor Noel
began praying for a partner who was
faithful to the Lord, was musically gifted,
played the piano, and was able to sing.
Also attending the church was a
young girl by the name of Nora who
loved the Lord and was quite talented in
the music department. A friendship de-
new Good News Clubs throughout Long
Island and for new opportunities to be
involved with teacher training on Long
Island. We need to pray for financial
provision for CEF.
Pray also for their family and that
they will continue to grow in Christ-like
character. Pray that God will guard their
physical health and give Shelly wisdom
in her home schooling. Pray that God
will give them the wisdom to manage
well the money, the time, and the re-
sources entrusted to them. Pray for their
three young sons.
— Joan Tyska
veloped between Nora and Pastor Noel
which was a bit one-sided at first as Pas-
tor Noel patiently waited to court Nora
in a proper
Christian way.
Eventually
prayers were
answered and
Pastor Noel
married Nora
on December
18, 1979.
Shortly after obtaining his Bachelor
of Theology degree, Pastor Noel began
pioneering two churches in the Philip-
pines. The growth of these churches
coincided with the growth of Pastor
Noel’s own family. In 1981, their first
child was born—a son, Joseph. Daugh-
ters Jecheliah, Jaazeniah, and Jewels
were born in 1983, 1987, and 1989, re-
spectively.
In February of 1993, with encour-
agement from Nora’s brother, a pastor of
the Bergen Baptist Church in Lodi, NJ,
the family came to the United States as
immigrants and settled in New Jersey.
There Pastor Noel worked for Black &
Decker as a repair technician for several
years.
From 1995-1996, Pastor Noel volun-
teered as a Chaplain of the New York
Guard and initiated the process of be-
coming a U.S. citizen. As a result of Pas-
tor Noel and Nora’s two youngest daugh-
ters being minors when Pastor Noel be-
came a citizen of the United States,
continued on page 4
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Jaazeniah and Jewels automatically be-
came U.S. citizens. In 1997, the family
again moved, this time to Long Island
where Pastor Noel worked in a medical
laboratory and part time as a licensed
asbestos tester, primarily in schools.
By 1998, Pastor Noel’s heart was
back in the Philippines. He moved the
family back to the Philippines to begin
his pioneering of the Hillside Baptist
Church (established in 1999), named
after the Hillside Baptist Church in New
Jersey where Pastor Noel was first com-
missioned.
Because of health issues and his
need for a kidney transplant, Pastor Noel
began seeking medical attention in the
United States and began many years of
traveling back and forth between the
Philippines and the U.S. During these
years, the family lived in Sound Beach
and, most recently, Patchogue.
At this time, Pastor Noel began seek-
ing a Baptist church on Long Island with
a strong Biblical message. After visiting
many churches in the area, it took only
one visit to the WRBC in 2006 to hear
Slavery, Deceit, and Religious Freedom
The statement “no man can serve two
masters...” (Mt 6:24) should be familiar
to everyone. It seems that many people
believe they are free to serve no one but
themselves. The Jews in Jesus' day mis-
takenly believed they were slaves to no
one. Scripture teaches that every action
ultimately serves the true God or Satan,
the father of lies, and everyone who does
not serve God is a slave of sin. Only the
truth can make one free (Jn 8:32-36).
Ever since the fall of man, people
have desired to dominate others through
coercion or outright force. Recorded
history is full of tribes and nations that
were not above forcing slavery upon
their own people. Many of our ancestors
immigrated from Europe to escape reli-
gious persecution. I believe that reli-
gious freedom and freedom in general
are more likely to flourish when author-
ity in a society is vested closest to its
people. The further away from people
the authority is, the easier it is for a cen-
tralized authority to rule by forced slav-
ery rather than by mutual agreement and
respect.
I think societies work best when the
people in them are free to associate and
Pastor Glass speak to know that this
would be his home church for his re-
maining time in the United States. As a
pastor himself, he sought out Pastor
Glass’s message not only to be taught the
truth of the Word but to accept Pastor
Glass as a mentor while in the U.S.
His children call him the “Walking
Bible” because Pastor Noel knows it so
well. He loves to read and has read the
Bible through and through at least 7 or 8
times. When not reading the Bible, Pas-
tor Noel will seek out Christian literature
to read; while living in Patchogue, he
would frequent the local library.
Pastor Noel is very comfortable in
the kitchen and has a great imaginative
ability to create his own style of cook-
ing—one that does not depend upon a
recipe to follow. You can count on one of
his main ingredients being one of the
staples of the Philippines: rice.
He also enjoys gardening when he
has time for it.
It was in September 2009 that the
long wait was over as the doctors gave
the okay to go ahead with the kidney
contract with whomever they wish. The
more companies and people that are
available to contract with, the better it is
for society. Does religious freedom en-
tail solely where people can go to church
or does it encompass every aspect of life?
When we let third parties pay for things,
we lose authority and freedom. People
cannot be free unless they take the re-
sponsibility to pay for what they con-
sume by honest means. If we have reli-
gious freedom, why are we forced
through taxation to pay for schools that
teach things that are against our religion
(e.g., Darwinian evolution)? Free people
ought to be able to support any school
they choose or none at all. If a person
gets ordered to do something he believes
to be wrong, is there little pressure on
him to do it when his employer is the
only game in town and his family's
health insurance is through work? When
a person has an idea he believes will
serve the public better but he cannot
convince his boss to allow him to pursue
it, is it better when there are no other
companies that he can contract with and
the barriers of entry into business are
great? If a person's ideas are in agree-
ment with God and His laws of nature, is
transplant. His daughter, Jecheliah,
agreed to give him a kidney and together
they went into surgery trusting the Lord.
Afterwards, both made amazing recover-
ies.
Once Pastor Noel recovered com-
pletely, was re-commissioned at the
WRBC, and was fit to travel, he returned
to his church in Quezon City, Philip-
pines, where he received a warm wel-
come from the church members.
Now you might think this is a wee
bit late in getting to know Pastor Noel
better, now that he has returned to the
Philippines and his wife Nora is prepar-
ing to do the same in June after she be-
comes a U.S. citizen. But remember
this—Pastor Noel has not only become a
dear friend of the WRBC but is someone
who is carrying a testimony of the Bibli-
cal truths beyond the doors of the
WRBC. It gives the WRBC purpose to
continue to pray for Pastor Noel, some-
one that the WRBC will surely miss. His
“amen’s” will continue to be heard in our
hearts. Amen!
— Joan Tyska
not the denial of practicing them a denial
of religious freedom?
It seems that God has ordained so-
cieties to rise or fall by the amount of
good and truth recognized among the
people. If a society is honorable, then
the honest, competent, and wise rise in
stature in their vocations and in political
power. The people are generally able to
suppress the wicked and foolish from
gaining stature and the society rises with
an abundance of wise leaders. This soci-
ety can become great if God's laws of
nature continue to be observed and the
people are allowed to reap what they
sow. However, if a society becomes im-
moral, people swallow up what they want
to hear (2 Tim 4:3-4) in their ignorance
or malice. Scheming charlatans can
suppress the honest, competent, and
wise—making a clear path to deceive
their way into power. Laws in an honor-
able society where the aim is to reward
those who do right (1 Pet 2:13-14) and to
emit equal justice for all are transformed
into weapons used to suppress the peo-
ple who dare to stand against the in-
creasingly evil authority (Eph 6:10-17).
Then the rulers are able to devour the
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society’s people into slaves of the politi-
cal class which ultimately results in ruin
if this condition is allowed to continue
unabated.
The seeds to our current condition
were sown long ago. In our Civil War,
the states who fought for freedom from
the United States believed in their right
to own slaves. Paradoxically, the aboli-
tionists who believed they were fighting
to end slavery and to preserve the Union
ended up fundamentally transforming
America by successfully enslaving the
states to the Union. By this action, the
Federal government's future power was
only limited to whatever it could get
away with because states were stripped
of their means to suppress it. I believe
the Pledge of Allegiance with the word
“indivisible” is a great instrument in ce-
1. On Wednesday, April 28, 2010,
Awana leaders Chris & Jackie Hallstrom
assisted by Liz Hyland (Truth & Training
leader for the girls; also the music
leader), Katie Glass (Cubbies leader),
Carl Chapman (Truth & Training leader
for the boys), and Sue Hart (Sparks
leader) planned and carried out the an-
nual Awana Grand Prix. The Grand Prix
has been in existence since 1964; the
program was extracted from the Boy
Scouts and their Pinewood Derby
wooden car race but adopted under the
name of Grand Prix. The program was
designed to combine two essential com-
ponents: the gospel message and
promptness to bring in the fathers on
time in order to hear the message. Each
Awana participant crafts a small race car
out of a block of wood and enters it at the
beginning of the meet in order to qualify
to run on a custom race track built to
accommodate the wooden cars.
WRBC’s Awana extended an invita-
tion to all family members to join in the
evening’s activities. There were 23 en-
tries of originally designed wooden cars.
In addition, there was a cake baking con-
menting this relationship to our Federal
government by indoctrinating the na-
tion’s children into believing it is wrong
under all circumstances for a state to
divorce the Union. States cannot seri-
ously threaten secession or negate what
they believe to be abusive unconstitu-
tional powers by nullification. Essen-
tially, this means that if states believe
that Federal policies will lead them to
disaster, they have little choice but to
wait for its fulfillment because past his-
tory shows that the Federal Government
will stop at nothing to maintain its grip
on them. Ironically, people who talk of
these things are usually labeled as evil
racists who long to enslave people. In
our current state of affairs, the chains of
the Union will break only when it ceases
to exist.
May in Review
test tying in to the theme of the Grand
Prix with 8 entrants. After careful judg-
ing of the cakes and cars the awards were
given out. Sarah Hart took first prize for
the tastiest cake while Kara Hallstrom
took first prize for the
design of her cake, a rep-
lica of a church. First
place for the design of
the race car was Cassan-
dra Trimingham while
Emma Longboat had the
fastest car in the Grand
Prix.
2. WRBC is great in fellowshipping
and can find various forms to advance
the art of fellowshipping. On Saturday,
May 1, 2010, sixteen individuals gath-
ered at the home of Marcelle Ritzmann
to move her to her new residence at Jef-
ferson Ferry Retirement Home. Dennis
Tyska acquired a 14’ truck for the move,
arriving at Marcelle’s at 9 am with the
team ready to load up the truck. By 2
pm, the move was complete and the
team was sitting and enjoying the fruits
of their labor with pizza and iced tea that
Marcelle had thoughtfully arranged to be
delivered by Jefferson Ferry’s on-
premises kitchen. Not only was the fel-
lowshipping extraordinary but it pro-
vided a testimony to what a church fam-
ily can offer to support one of their own.
The second phase of the move con-
tinued as Chris Hallstrom and Peter
Albrecht assembled the bookcases; Bon-
nie Heuzey and Jackie Hallstrom helped
Our nation needs prayer! We are di-
vided amongst ourselves (Mk 3:24), our
financial system is built on sand (Mt
7:26-27), and the people who long for
our public officials to submit to our con-
stitution are being labeled terrorists (Isa
5:20) while the Federal government re-
fuses to enforce our immigration laws
against the people who invade Arizona.
It seems that the end of the road our na-
tion is on will not be pretty. Pray that
God will open the eyes of people who will
unite around the truth and that those in
power who continue to do harm will
cease to be recognized as authoritative.
— Carl Chapman
Marcelle unpack 90% of the boxes; and
Kaitlyn, Kristen, and Kara Hallstrom did
some interior decorating for Marcelle
and saw to it that her bed was made up
for a well-earned night’s sleep. By 6 pm
of the same day, Marcelle’s new home
was ready to be lived in. Remarkably
enough, the only damaged goods from
the move were a half a dozen eggs des-
tined for an immediate omelet.
3. May 6, 2010 was the 59th annual
National Day of Prayer and members of
the WRBC joined together on that
Thursday evening to pray collectively for
our government; for our military; for our
media; for our businesses; for our educa-
tional system; for our churches; and for
our families. There were also prayers
said for others to join in prayer for a re-
vival within our nation; our state; our
community; our church; our homes as
well as within each individual. For this a
continued effort will be made at the
WRBC’s weekly prayer meeting held
each Wednesday at 7 pm.
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4. On Saturday, May 15, 2010,
WRBC’s gardening team led by John
Piraino took advantage of a perfect
spring planting day. Flower beds were
weeded and a dozen or more flats of im-
patiens and marigolds were planted by
seven volunteers that included the young
Admiring Israel: Appreciating the Achievements of God’s Covenant People
A Review of The Israel Test by George Gilder (Richard Vigilante Books, 2009)
Placed on the inside cover of the Janu-
ary/February 2010 issue of Israel My
Glory was a strong endorsement of
George Gilder’s The Israel Test (Richard
Vigilante Books, 2009). Despite being
written from a mainly secular perspec-
tive, The Israel Test offers compelling
evidence—drawn from the realms of eco-
nomics and intellectual achievement—of
the truth of the promise the LORD made
to Abraham: “And I will bless those who
bless you, and the one who curses you I
will curse. And in you all the families of
the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:3).
Gilder’s keen insights into God’s cove-
nant nation—a nation whose peace we
are instructed to pray for (Ps 122:6)—
and how it is treated by the rest of the
world merit a review.
Gilder begins by identifying Israel as
“the central issue in international poli-
tics.” But what is the Israel test? Gilder
introduces one aspect of the test in the
opening chapter: “What is your attitude
toward people who excel you in the crea-
tion of wealth or in other accomplish-
ment? Do you aspire to their excellence,
or do you seethe at it?” The author
points out that as a result of Israel’s
small population of just 7.23 million,
their per-capita technological contribu-
tions to global advancement far exceed
those of any other nation. I found
Gilder’s early review of the tenets of
capitalism and his comparison between
zero-sum and positive-sum economics
helpful for understanding his later ar-
guments.
In chapter 3 (“Tale of the Bell
Curve”), Gilder contends that the root of
anti-Semitism is envy of “Jewish intellec-
tual and entrepreneurial superiority.”
The author supplies data to support this
assertion, such as a 1954 measurement
of IQs in New York public schools which
revealed that 85% of IQ scores over 170
belonged to Jews. Although Jews com-
prise less than one-third of 1% of the
as well as the young at heart. Other than
disturbing a sparrow’s nest which put a
pair of sparrows into a protective mode
with regard to their young, the gardeners
succeeded in a morning’s work beautify-
ing the grounds of the WRBC.
— Joan Tyska
world population, so far 32% of the 21st-
century Nobel Prize recipients have been
Jews. Moreover, a study at the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology con-
cluded that Jews were 5 times more
likely to become high-tech entrepreneurs
compared to other MIT graduates.
Gilder would later tie this in to his notion
of an Israel test: “The Israel test revolves
around a fact that is recognized by most
people…but is rarely acknowledged…in
any rivalry with intellectual dimensions,
disproportionate numbers both of the
challengers and of the winners will be
Jewish.”
In Gilder’s analysis of the three eras
of Palestinian economic history since
1948, he explains how Israeli admini-
stration of Gaza and the West Bank be-
tween 1967 and 1987 resulted in a tri-
pling of both population and per-capita
income, higher investment levels, drasti-
cally reduced unemployment rates, and
advances in health care. “After 1967, and
under Israeli rule, the Palestinians
proved that by focusing on enterprise
complementing the Israeli economy they
could become prosperous.” In contrast,
Gildner shows how abundant foreign aid
after 1993 led to economic decline and
increased Palestinian violence.
In The Israel Test,
considerable attention is
given to John von Neu-
mann (b. 1903), a Hun-
garian Jew who mas-
tered numerous abstract
scientific fields. Von
Neumann was one of a
number of “largely homeless Jewish in-
tellectuals [who] honed in like neutrons
into the nuclei of the most receptive cen-
ters of Western science and technology.”
Von Neumann played an instrumental
role in the Manhattan Project, and his
understanding of algorithms led to a
computer architecture utilized in nearly
all personal computers today.
Gilder points out that von Neumann
and Albert Einstein did not practice the
traditional Jewish religion. However, in
their scientific pursuits both reflected a
Jewish monotheism and conviction that
the universe was one of order and mean-
ing. To the observation that Jewish ac-
complishment tends to be proportional
to the degree of abstraction in any field
of competition, Gilder offers the follow-
ing explanation: “Is it simply that the
Jews have known from before the fa-
therhood of Abraham that it was the
word that made the world—the ultimate
assertion of algorithmic power?” The
doctrine of creation by divine fiat is
taught by Scripture: “By the word of the
LORD the heavens were made” (Ps 33:6);
“By faith we understand that the worlds
were prepared by the word of God, so
that what is seen was not made out of
things which are visible” (Heb 11:3).
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, is portrayed in Part 3 of The
Israel Test. In chapter 15 (“The Meaning
of Netanyahu”), the author compares
Netanyahu with current U.S. President
Barack Obama and predicts that “Israel
under Netanyahu will beckon as a land
of hope and hospitality to frustrated
American venture capitalists and entre-
preneurs.” Furthermore, Gilder sees a
Netanyahu-led Israel, with a renewed
commitment to free-market policies, as a
potential driving force for a period of
Palestinian prosperity as was witnessed
between 1967 and 1987.
Throughout The Israel Test, Gilder
argues for the mutual dependency of the
United States and Israel. In his conclud-
ing remarks he declares, “We need Israel
today as much as Israel needs us.” Gilder
cites the fight against terror as a mission
demanding U.S.-Israeli unity. He sums
up the Israel test as placed before Amer-
ica right now: “We can resent [Israel] or
embrace it as a divine gift to the world.”
— Peter Albrecht
6
 June Bible Quiz Questions May Bible Quiz Answers
1) What was the name of Jesus’s mother’s sister? 1) Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:20).
2) Who did Peter bring back to life? 2) Samuel, the prophet (1 Samuel 15:32-33).
3) What name was Jerusalem originally known by, and who 3) Amos (Amos 7:14).
were its inhabitants?
4) Kiriath-arba (or Kirjath Arba) (Joshua 14:15;
4) Who hid the two men sent out by Joshua to spy out the 15:13).
land, especially Jericho?
5) Asaph (1 Chronicles 16:4-5).
5) Who was the mother of Boaz and the great-grandmother
Bonus: Eutychus (Acts 20:9).
of King David?
Bonus: Who married Ruth?
― Felix Acerra The Birthday Corner
June 1st – Robert Hart
June 17th – Mike Pandolfini
Submit the answers and Bible reference to: office@wrbc.us. June 24th – Gerry Cosgrove
June 27th – Jim Perry
The answers for this month’s quiz will be announced in the
June 29th – Bonnie Heuzey
next newsletter!

The Anniversary Corner

June 3rd – Patrick & Elizabeth Hyland
June 15th – Vic & Reeva Bellard
June 24th – Warren & Alice Teufel

June 2010 June 30th – Mike & Diane Pandolfini

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 8:00 AM Ladies Prayer 3 4 5
– Joan Tyska (727-5998)
7:00 PM Prayer Meeting
and Exposition of Psalms

6 9:45 AM 7 8 7:00 PM 9 8:00 AM 10 11 12

Sunday School Board of Ladies Prayer
11:00 AM Morning Deacons 7:00 PM Prayer Meeting
Worship Service Meeting and Exposition of Psalms

13 9:30 AM 14 15 16 8:00 AM 17 18 19
Sunday School Ladies Prayer
(Joe Holman) 7:00 PM Prayer Meeting
11:00 AM Morning and Exposition of Psalms
Worship Service

20 9:45 AM 21 22 23 8:00 AM 24 25 26
Sunday School—“God’s Ladies Prayer
Universe” starts, taught 7:00 PM Prayer Meeting
by Dr. Vic Bellard and Exposition of Psalms
11:00 AM Morning
Worship Service

27 9:45 AM 28 29 30 8:00 AM
Sunday School Ladies Prayer
11:00 AM Morning 7:00 PM Prayer Meeting
Worship Service and Exposition of Psalms

7
PO Box 438
Wading River, NY 11792
Wading River Baptist Church
• For the Exaltation of God in All Things
• For the Proclamation of Faith in Christ
• For the Transformation of God’s People
Our Purpose
1. To glorify God through sharing
the good news of salvation by God’s
sovereign grace through faith in His
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. To nurture believers through a
strong program of Christian educa-
tion, youth ministries, and expository
Biblical preaching.
3. To provide an opportunity for
Biblical worship, service, and fellow-
ship.
4. To extend our ministry through-
out America and around the world
through participation in home and
foreign missions.
WRBC is affiliated with the Conserva-
tive Baptist Association of America
and the Conservative Baptist Mission
to the Northeast.