‘All not well in Rowanland’
“Of the 38 primates who could and should be in attendance at a legitimate Primates’ Meeting, we understand some 15 are absent. The GAFCON primates AND Presiding Bishop Mouneer Anis and Archbishop John Chew are among those with more important things to do than attend a meeting and be manipulated by procedural rules that Dr. Williams will dominate.
More important, because Rowan Williams structures the meeting to control the primates and disempower them from taking any action that he doesn’t wish, and when their photographs are taken together, the Anglican Communion Office (ACO) uses that photo to announce that all is well in Rowanland.”
– The American Anglican Council’s Bishop David Anderson gives his perspective on the Dublin Primates’ meeting. Full text below – Read more
Mary Kassian on Girls Gone Wise
We’ve mentioned Mary Kassian’s book Girls Gone Wise before (1, 2). Earlier this month she was interviewed on a Canadian Christian TV programme about the cultural pressures facing young women today. Watch it here.
Tribute for Bp John Wilson
Bishop of Tasmania John Harrower gives thanks for Bishop John Wilson, who has died in Melbourne.
The Dublin ‘Meeting’ — commentary
“It has been reported that on two occasions Primates of the Global South advised the Archbishop of Canterbury that they would not attend the current Primates’ Meeting if the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church were present.
Of the fourteen Primates who made this representation, it appears that only one will be attending any part of the meeting.
In this light, the defensive explanations of why Primates are not attending offered by the Secretary General and the Communion Office (e.g. visa problems, diary conflicts, etc.) must raise eyebrows. Why should we think that those who publicly stated two months ago why they were not planning to attend now really wanted to come, but forgot they had another appointment?…”
– The Anglican Communion Institute asks the obvious, but uncomfortable, questions.
(h/t Stand Firm.)
‘An act of love, an act of justice, an act of triumphant redemptive power’
“Last year the Sydney Doctrine Commission produced its report on penal substitutionary atonement in response to a request of the Sydney Synod in October 2007.
I think the report is worth wide reading (and not just because I am the chairman of the Doctrine Commission). As the report itself remarks, ‘Because the death of Jesus has a central place in Christian thought and Christian living, it is our ongoing responsibility to carefully consider its significance’ (§2).
Here is part of the conclusion:
Penal substitution is an indispensable element in the Christian proclamation of the cross. It does not say everything about the atonement but it says a crucial thing, one which also helps to illumine every other facet of the Bible’s teaching on the subject. It has been treasured all through Christian history because it enables us to see how the atonement which reconciles us to God can be at one time an act of love, an act of justice and an act of triumphant redemptive power. What has been done for us was truly, morally done. What was done for us was complete and entire, addressing every dimension of the predicament we have created for ourselves. What was done for us secures our freedom and gives us a solid ground for assurance and hope. Precisely because in this penal substitution the consequences of human sin have been dealt with for those who belong to Christ, the words of Jesus from the cross are cherished above all others: ‘it is finished’ (John 19:30) (§45).
The full report can be found here.” From Mark Thompson at Theological Theology.
(There’s a version of the PDF file with smaller margins here.)
Remember from where you have fallen
Archbishop Mouneer Anis spoke on Recovering the Power of the Word for the Anglican Communion at the Mere Anglicanism Conference in South Carolina, this last weekend.
He gives a historical overview of how the Anglican Communion has fallen from where it once was – with hope for the future. Worth watching / reading.
Kevin Kallsen at Anglican TV has posted the 50 minute video of his address, and Kendall Harmon has posted the transcript. (h/t Stand Firm.)
Griffith Thomas on The Lord’s Supper in the Prayer Book
Church Society is continuing to republish online excellent resources from days gone by.
They have just made available this chapter on “The Lord’s Supper in the Prayer Book”.
It’s from “A Sacrament of our Redemption — An Enquiry into the Meaning of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament and the Church of England” by W. H. Griffith Thomas, 1861-1924.
Some other chapters from the book are already on Church Society’s website, and you can download the entire book (in PDF, Kindle and other formats) from Archive.org.
Obama and the ‘constitutional right’ of abortion
“When Barack Obama was running for President, he was described by some observers as one of the most radical candidates in the nation’s history in terms of support for abortion. Once in office, President Obama has done little to dispel that judgment. Even as the President is tracking to the middle on many issues, this is not the case when it comes to abortion…”
– Al Mohler comments on President Obama’s speech marking the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.
Lats week in “What about the Twins?”, he wrote:
“The national abortion rate is over twenty percent. Just last week it was reported that the abortion rate in New York City is over forty percent, and among African-Americans in that city, nearly sixty percent. Across the United States, an abortion industrial complex now claims over a million unborn lives each year.”
Ask Phillip
“Ask Phillip includes short and pithy answers from Phillip Jensen to all your questions about Christianity.” – a terrific resource from reasonforhope.tv.
Several of these videos are featured at phillipjensen.com, including “Is A Minister A Priest?”
Since the videos are hosted at Vimeo, they could be embedded on church websites or downloaded for use as discussion-starters in small groups.