Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience

Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience
Nov 20, 2009
One hundred forty-eight Signatories

Preamble

Christians are heirs of a 2,000-year tradition of proclaiming God’s word, seeking justice in our societies, resisting tyranny, and reaching out with compassion to the poor, oppressed and suffering.

While fully acknowledging the imperfections and shortcomings of Christian institutions and communities in all ages, we claim the heritage of those Christians who defended innocent life by rescuing discarded babies from trash heaps in Roman cities and publicly denouncing the Empire’s sanctioning of infanticide. We remember with reverence those believers who sacrificed their lives by remaining in Roman cities to tend the sick and dying during the plagues, and who died bravely in the coliseums rather than deny their Lord. Read more

Updated website for Moore College

The Moore College website has a new look, and the beginning of lots of new resources.

It’s clearly the result of much hard work. See it here – and watch a welcome message from the Principal, Dr. John Woodhouse.

Retire? Not in Bible, not in plans

“It’s been a good year for J.I. Packer, one of the world’s best-known theologians.

In March, the Anglican pastor and Regent College professor won Bible of the Year and Book of the Year honors for editing the English Standard Version Study Bible.

He also released two of his own books — ‘Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight,’ in June, and a yearlong devotional using his seminal work, ‘Knowing God,’ due out later this month…”

– an interview with J I Packer in The Modesto Bee. (Links added. Image: Anglican TV.)

Help and encouragement in sharing the gospel

“Paul E. Little’s book How to Give Away Your Faith was first published in 1966, a few years before the popular evangelist was killed in a tragic car accident. Since his untimely death, his wife Marie has overseen two revisions of Little’s book (1988, 2008). It is sometimes described as ‘the classic guide to evangelism,’ perhaps because of the way in which the book addresses practical issues surrounding personal evangelism.”

– Trevin Wax offers some good reasons to dust off your old copy – or perhaps to get a revised edition. At The Discerning Reader.

Of course, Chappo’s Know and Tell the Gospel, written for Australian conditions, is essential reading! (Photo of Paul Little: Ake Lundberg.)

The latest from the national capital

Stuart Robinson, Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, has released his latest ‘StuTube’ video.

He speaks of the encouragement of Back to Church Sunday and exhorts the churches of his diocese to continue to be ‘missional, engaging, and loving’.

He also commends the book “Facing the Future: Bishops Imagine a Different Church”, edited by Bishops Stephen Hale and Andrew Curnow, and reads an extract. (Related.)

See also “Starting Mission-Shaped Churches” by Stuart Robinson. (Moore Books, Gospel Outreach Ministries, Ridley Bookshop.)

The video runs for 8:38 at YouTube.

Keith Condie on Richard Baxter

Earlier this year, David Höhne and Michael Jensen interviewed Moore College Dean of Students Keith Condie about his research on Richard Baxter.

It’s a light-hearted but very interesting introduction to one of the key English Puritans – at The Common Room.

Theological Education: the Next Battlefield

Mark Thompson, Academic Dean of Moore College and also President of the ACL, writes about a challenge we need to be aware of –

“Strategic thinking, generous support and courageous initiatives are needed now.”

It should come as a surprise to no-one that theological education has emerged as a new battleground in the war against liberal revisionism. The leaders of liberal churches such as The Episcopal Church in America, reeling at the resistance their program of revision has encountered from the Global South and conservative elements in the West, have embarked on an ambitious plan to win the long term struggle by taking charge of the agenda for Anglican theological education and infiltrating seminaries in the two-thirds world. Read more