CoE complaint about churches with no Bibles

Bible“They may be found in every hotel bedroom, and are widely available in prisons and hospitals, but members of the clergy claim one of the last places you will find a Bible is in a church.

The absence of the Word of God from the pews is of such concern to the Church of England that it is to debate the issue at the next meeting of its General Synod, or “Parliament”, next month. The complaint was raised by Tim Cox, a Synod member from Blackpool, who said he had been dismayed to discover that churches he visited “all too often” had no Bibles for worshippers to follow the readings and the sermon. …”

Full story from the UK Telegraph.

Evangelical Religion – J C Ryle

Bishop J C RyleWritten 130 years ago, Bishop John Charles Ryle’s tract on “Evangelical Religion” is still essential reading. The first Bishop of Liverpool in the UK, Ryle fought valiantly for the authority of the Scriptures in the Church of England.

“Since many religious disputes have arisen solely because there has been a lack of accurate definition, I am beginning this paper by explaining exactly what I mean by ‘Evangelical Religion’.”

The precise challenges faced by Ryle have changed, yet the need to ground the Christian life in the Bible remains. You can read his tract here.