‘Equality and Diversity’ for Christians in Britain?
“Christians in the U.K. are continuing to warn that the government’s planned ‘equality’ legislation will drive Christian believers out of public life. The Christian Institute, Britain’s leading evangelical Christian lobby group, has issued a report titled ‘Marginalising Christians,’ detailing the many recent cases of Christians who have been disciplined or lost work because of conflicts between faith and the government-sponsored and increasingly aggressive secularism.
The government’s recent equality and diversity laws, the group says, leave Christians “the first to be punished and the last to be protected…”
– Story from LifeSiteNews.
Very different paths to God
“Everything I know about God comes from God himself.”
– Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen and ‘militant agnostic’ Brian Schmidt are both featured in today’s Sydney Daily Telegraph on ‘seeking the truth of our existence’.
Objections to Christmas
“Column 8 of the Sydney Morning Herald last week had an interesting entry from a man identifying only as a ‘Canberra Anglican parish priest’. In the lead up to Christmas he had organised some community carols in his local shopping centre, but met some resistance.
‘To my great amusement,’ he wrote, ‘the manager of the centre objected, because she thinks the “[expletive] Christians want to take over Christmas.”
I’d always assumed that the “Christ” bit in both words might serve as a clue.’ …”
– read the full article by Simon Smart at the Centre for Public Christianity.
The saint(s) go marching in
Over at SydneyAnglicans.net, Glenn Davies, Bishop of North Sydney, provides some much-needed Biblical perspective for the current excitement about Mary MacKillop.
Archbishop Jensen on Sunrise
This morning (December 21 2009), Archbishop Peter Jensen was interviewed briefly on the Seven Network’s Sunrise programme.
The segment was a result of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s comments about the place of the Bible in a good education.
Bp John Rodgers on the Anglican Covenant
Bishop John Rodgers:
“If we cannot confess that Gospel and Faith together, we have no unity to confess and intensify.”
Rowan Williams on the Anglican Covenant
Archbishop Rowan Williams calls for the just-released ‘final version’ of the Anglican Covenant to be ratified by the Provinces.
Washington-based Anglican blogger BabyBlue notes the claimed ‘centralized authority’ of what is now called ‘The Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion’. (Indeed, they have just issued a press release.)
J I Packer interviewed at Oak Hill
In May 2009, Dr Jim Packer spoke at Oak Hill College’s annual School of Theology.
While at the college, he was was interviewed on camera by Principal Mike Ovey.
Each segment runs for about 10 minutes.
Part 1: Knowing your stuff – theological training in a climate of cultural scepticism.
Part 2: The faith taught not caught – the challenge of being a pastoral theologian.
Part 3: Training the congregation – the greatest challenges facing Christian ministers today.
Also see the new Commentary magazine online.
The death of Oral Roberts
“Roberts was a pioneer in the use of modern electronic media. Early on, Roberts recognized the power of television. He understood that radio could reach untold thousands, but he saw television as the way of reaching hypermodern America.”
– Albert Mohler writes about Oral Roberts’ methods, his message, and his legacy.