Nothing Woke Under the Sun

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9

Woke: “aware of and actively attentive” – Merriam-Webster.com

Woke: “having or marked by an active awareness” – Dictionary.com

Many in the culture feel that they’ve been awakened (i.e., “woke”) to an awareness of new truths that will change the world. Unfortunately for their feelings of great revelation, nothing of their newfound insights is anything new under the sun.

For instance, the term “woke” is nothing new. It can be traced back to a 1938 song by folk singer Huddie Ledbetter. It was then somewhat popularized by a 1962 New York Times Magazine article “If You’re Woke You Dig It” by novelist William Kelley. Around the turn of the century, the term applied to being aware of potential infidelity, and now exists in the vernacular with its current connotations.

The current push of woke culture in identity politics and social justice is also nothing new. When the ten northern tribes separated themselves from Judah and Benjamin, their first king, Jeroboam, quickly realized they needed a new identity or else the people would return to follow the house of David (I Kings 12:26-27). His brilliant idea was to make “two golden calves; and he said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt’” (I Kings 12:28). Even this was nothing new as it was exactly what their ancestors did in their rebellion at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 32)!

Another example of woke culture can be found during the French Revolution. Construction of Notre-Dame cathedral began in 1163 and was completed in 1345. The cathedral stood as a prominent symbol of the Catholic faith for over 400 years until the revolution. In the late 1700s, revolutionaries had spread violence throughout the land, leading to a breakdown of law and order with attacks on aristocratic properties. As a new National Assembly, King Louis XVI, and Marquis de Lafayette worked on a new constitution, the economy worsened with food shortages and more violence. The government finally approved an end to feudalism, extended voting rights, and imposed state control of the Catholic churches. 24% of the clergy pledged their allegiance to the government; the rest stood in opposition to the government takeover.

In Nov. 1791, the Assembly gave the remaining clergy 8 days to comply or face conspiracy charges. King Louis vetoed the decree. In April 1792 as French armies were attacking Austrian and Prussian forces, the Assembly again threatened the clergy to swear an oath or be deported. King Louis again vetoed their decree. In August, the Assembly voted to “temporarily relieve the king”. The French First Republic replaced the monarchy in September, and King Louis was placed on trial. On Jan. 17, 1793, the Assembly condemned Louis to death for “conspiracy against public liberty and general safety”, and executed him on Jan. 21. The Committee of Public Safety became the reigning power, which led to the “Reign of Terror”, seeking the elimination of counterrevolutionaries, resulting in over 16,600 executions by July 1794. Again, all of this was done for “public safety”.

In the midst of this, Notre-Dame was seized and rededicated to the Cult of Reason in 1793, France’s first state-sponsored religion of atheism. They beheaded 28 statues of Biblical kings in the cathedral, tore down all the other statues, and the Goddess of Liberty was erected and enshrined. Eventually, a compromise was attempted with a new state religion of deism called the Cult of the Supreme Being.

When Napoleon Bonaparte seized power, he banned both cults and restored Notre-Dame to the Catholic Church in 1801-2, though the building itself remained and still is property of the state. The cathedral was in such great disrepair after the Napoleonic Wars that Victor Hugo wrote and published The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in 1831, generating great support for its restoration, which was so ordered by King Louis Philippe in 1844.

Fast-forward to today, and there’s nothing new under the sun. After the tearing down of statues and in the midst of ever-increasing violence, food prices, shortages, etc., a Nov. 26, 2021 article in London’s The Telegraph entitled “Notre-Dame interior faces woke ‘Disney’ revamp” claimed the addition of several “woke” and “politically correct Disneyland”-type displays in the current renovations and restorations from the 2019 fire.¹ The question today will be how many of the clergy this time will stand up against the forces seeking to eliminate the vestiges of Christianity.

While CTF does not condone Catholic church polity nor hold to several of Catholicism’s tenets (especially its acceptance of evolution),² we do want to sound the alarm for Christians throughout the world, including America. Cultures, governments, etc. can quickly turn on us. For a frightening example, consider the treatment of minister Artur Pawlowski in Canada.³

Therefore, have you resolved in your heart, in your family, in your church to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6)?

1. Henry Samuel, “Exclusive: Notre-Dame interior faces woke ‘Disney’ revamp”, The Telegraph, 26 November 2021, <https://www.telegraph.co.u/worldnews/2021/11/26/notre-dame-

risks-becoming-woke-disneyland-controversial-renovation/>, accessed 14 April 2022.

2. Consult: <https://www.catholicbridge.com/catholic/catholic-creationism.php> or <https://catholicexchange.com/brief-exploration-catholic-position-evolution/>

3. DailyMail.com, “Pastor jailed for speaking to Canadian Freedom Convoy says he was kept in cage, made to sleep on a concrete floor, deprived of his Bible and repeatedly strip-

searched”, 10 April 2022, <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10704959/Pastor-jailed-speaking-Canadian-Freedom- Convoy-says-sleep-concrete-floor.html>.

DailyWire.com, “Canadian Pastor Who Faces 4-Year Jail Sentence For ‘Inciting’ Church Warns Americans: ‘The Enemy Is Not Hiding Anymore’”, 23 August 2021,

<https://www.dailywire.com/news/canadian-pastor-who-faces-4-year-jail-sentence-for-inciting-church-warns-americans-the-enemy-is-not-hiding-anymore>, accessed 14 April

2022.

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September/October 2025 Printed Newsletter

October 2, 2025

Flooded Marine Reptile

By Matt Miles • October 2, 2025

The Flood during Noah’s day was a devastating judgement against the sin and wickedness of the time. Most people focus on what the Lord did as He saved the eight people and animals on the Ark. Yet while they were being saved, the Flood destroyed the earth and left behind some remarkable things. Geology around the globe shows water burial of plants and animals. Many of the animal remains show signs of drowning and then burial. One particular reptile that shows this is the Ichthyosaurus. From what we can understand, water was her home for everything in life, even giving birth to live young. This well designed creature may even help us trust the Word of God when it comes to the history of the Flood. In our Mobile Museum of Earth History we exhibit a research replica of an ichthyosaur called Stenopterygius quadriscissus . She is from Holzmaden, Germany and is one example of hundreds that have been found in the area. The reason we can so confidently state this fossil is a “her,” when we rarely know for sure about fossil animals, is because she is pregnant. She has three babies present with her remains: one under her tail, one in or near the birth canal, and one still inside. Our fossil is in situ, which means the fossil remains in the rock matrix it was buried in. So, the presence of momma and babies are how they were buried and not articulated in some manner after excavation. This is important to show the rapid, watery burial that must have taken place to lock this scene in the fossil record. The Flood trapped organisms all over the world in different life positions. Sometimes the fossils left behind have shown eating, hunting, sleeping, swimming, nesting, or drowning. When it comes to ichthyosaurs around the planet, there is a significant number of females that seem to be pregnant. They have been found in the fossil record on at least four continents. A fair assumption would be that Ichthyosaurs had a certain time of year they mated and gave birth to young, much like sea turtles today that nest from late spring to late fall depending on the region around the world. So it should come as no surprise that we find pregnant ichthyosaurs all around the world as the Flood lasted an entire year. It would have buried the females that were pregnant near their location of habitat. Evolutionists maintain that ichthyosaurs lived tens to hundreds of million years ago and each of the mothers found in the fossil record just died while giving birth. This is difficult to support in a millions magnitude time scale. That would mean every time a disaster happened, millions of years apart, the right conditions existed to quickly bury ichthyosaurs that just so happened to be pregnant. It just might take some “faith” to trust that “miracle” would happen over and over again through eons of time. Or you can have faith that the Word of God’s history is correct with a judgement of man’s sin bringing global devastation through the Flood during Noah’s 600th year of life. The Word of God is trustworthy, with even the fossil record showing us glimpses of historical evidence in support of our faith. I’m so thankful we don’t need blind faith to trust our salvation! Blessings.

Our God Whom We Serve Is Able

By Ryan Cox • October 2, 2025

14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? 15 …if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:14-18 In the 6th century BC, three young men stood up for their faith in the one true God, for which someone attempted to kill them. Today, in the 21st century AD, one young man was gunned down for his faith in the one true God. And sadly, Charlie Kirk is not the only one. According to The Esther Project, martyrdom for the cause of Christ is commonplace around the world ( theestherproject.com/statistics ). On average: 322 Christians are killed monthly. 214 churches or Christian properties are destroyed monthly. 772 forms of violence (beatings, kidnappings, etc.) against Christians are committed monthly. 100,000 to 160,000 Christians are killed annually in the 21st century. 1.093 million Christians were martyred between 2000 and 2010. And more than 70 million Christians are believed to have been martyred since the 1st century, with more than half killed in the 20th century alone under communist and fascist governments. And how should Christians respond? Peter wrote, “ if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but glorify God in this name ” (I Peter 4:16). Jesus took this a step further; He told us, “ …love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you ” (Matthew 5:44). Now, as Shawn Grant, minister at Kissimmee Christian Church, FL, preached on the Sunday following the assassination, th at may not be what you want to hear right now, but that is what Jesus has told us we must do. Why? So the world will see the difference Jesus makes! The night of and the days after the assassination, businesses did not have to board up their stores. Police and soldiers did not have to be deployed. There were no riots, no property damages, no police spat upon – only tears, prayers, and a witness to the world that Jesus is the answer. So noticeable is this to the world, there were more international press requests for the Charlie Kirk memorial service than are requested for Super Bowls. Within seven days of his death, Kirk’s ministry Turning Point USA had received over 54,000 campus chapter requests. And most importantly, scores of videos of young people considering or even deciding to give their lives to Jesus have been posted to social media platforms.