Arguing for GAFCON
Wallace Benn and Mark Burkill respond to Iain Murray
The Christian work and fellowship started by GAFCON in Jerusalem in June 2008 has only just begun.
We are well aware that it faces plenty of dangers and obstacles as it seeks to renew the Anglican Communion in the work of the gospel. We know that it has already been misunderstood in various quarters. This may lead some to hesitate about supporting it. That is why we want to respond to the particular misunderstandings and historical errors that are stated in the article by Iain Murray in the September 2008 issue of EN, although both of us have enormously appreciated books he has written over the years…
– Wallace Benn and Mark Burkill in Evangelicals Now – in response to ‘The Church of England in crisis’ by Iain Murray.
(Photo of Bishop Wallace Benn at GAFCON: Peter Frank.) h/t Anglican Mainstream.
How others see us: What’s up Down Under?
“The recent decision of the Diocesan Synod of Sydney, in the Anglican Church of Australia, to allow the administration of Holy Communion—i.e., the celebration of the Eucharist—by deacons and eventually laity seems outlandish to many overseas Anglicans. It makes considerably more sense within the context of Australian Anglicanism, which has a very different history than The Episcopal Church (TEC) and its various offshoots (I will get to that later). Australian Anglicanism is exceptionally diverse as a result of that history, and its diversity has led the Anglican Church of Australia to adopt a unique pattern of organization.
Just as some Episcopalians are frustrated when other Anglicans cannot understand TEC’s particular form of synodical governance, so I expect Australians feel when outsiders try to apply their own context to matters Down Under. I write the following as an American outsider, but one who has long been fascinated enough by the local variations on the common Anglican theme to make a study of them. (I hope that any Australians who read this will take the trouble to correct my inevitable mistakes by commenting below.)…”
– A thoughtful piece by Dale Rye in Covenant. (Photo: Covenant.)
Hat tip: Anglican Mainstream.
‘Christless Christianity’ reviewed
“I am not arguing in this book that we have arrived at Christless Christianity,” says Horton, “but that we are well on our way. … My concern is that we are getting dangerously close to the place in everyday American church life where the Bible is mined for ‘relevant’ quotes but is largely irrelevant on its own terms; God is used as a personal resource rather than known, worshipped and trusted…”
– Tim Challies reviews the new book by Michael Horton.
Petition in support of St. John’s Shaughnessy
Just a reminder about that petition…
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…