Bishop J.C. Ryle: strangely up-to-date
“In reviews, magazines, newspapers, lectures, essays and sometimes even in sermons, scores of clever writers are incessantly waging war against the very foundations of Christianity.
Reason, science, geology, anthropology, modern discoveries, free thought, are all boldly asserted to be on their side. No educated person, we are constantly told nowadays, can really believe supernatural religion, or the plenary inspiration of the Bible, or the possibility of miracles.
Such ancient doctrines as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the personality of the Holy Spirit, the atonement, the obligation of the Sabbath, the necessity and efficacy of prayer, the existence of the devil and the reality of future punishment, are quietly put on the shelf as useless old almanacs, or contemptuously thrown overboard as lumber!
And all this is done so cleverly, and with such an appearance of candour and liberality, and with such compliments to the capacity and nobility of human nature, that multitudes of unstable Christians are carried away as by a flood, and become partially unsettled, if they do not make complete shipwreck of faith.”
– Bishop J. C. Ryle (1816–1900) in chapter 19 of his classic book, “Holiness”.
Chancellor Peter Grogan resigns
Statement from the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen
June 16, 2008.
“The Chancellor of the Diocese of Sydney, His Honour Acting Judge Peter Grogan has presented his resignation to me due to health problems, and on the advice of his doctor, I have accepted his resignation with regret.
Judge Grogan was appointed Chancellor at a difficult time, following the death of the former Chancellor. He has filled the office with distinction, and has worked tirelessly. He has always provided advice which is wise, considered and godly. I know you will join with me in assuring Judge Grogan and his wife Val of our sincere appreciation and our prayers.
With my imminent departure overseas for GAFCON, I considered it important to ensure that the office of Chancellor was filled. I have therefore asked Mr Robert Tong to take on the role of Acting Chancellor. Mr Tong has long and extensive experience of the Diocese and of church law. I am grateful that he has agreed to act in this way, while I give consideration to the future.”
– Media release from Sydney Diocese. (Photo: Judge Grogan. Sorry for the late posting.)
GAFCON Slideshow Day 3
Here’s a slideshow of photos taken at GAFCON on Day 3 – Tuesday.
See also yesterday’s photos from the Mount of Olives.
Tentative steps to a new future
Bishop Bill Atwood, a US-based Kenyan bishop, told a press conference that agreed upon principles will lead to a new awareness of voluntary association which will, in turn, lead to a shared purpose and vision, and ultimately to shared structural mechanisms.
He stopped short of declaring a new Anglican entity or that GAFCON would be a rival or alternative Anglican Communion. “Structural life proceeds out of the realities of relationships. There is no constitution in the wings that people can line up…it has to grow out of relationships,” he said.
“Our authority is to the Holy Scriptures and the historic way in which the church has received and interpreted scripture.” …
– Report from David Virtue. (Photo: Russell Powell)
The Big Question: an inevitable split?
In recent decades the Anglican Communion has been sharply divided over a number of issues, particularly whether homosexuality should be accepted and tolerated in the Church. But things are really coming to a head. …
– from The Independent.
Bp Michael Nazir-Ali: Recover your nerve
The most senior English Bishop to appear at the GAFCON conference in Jerusalem has spoken of the need for Christian churches in the west to “recover their nerve”.
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, of the diocese of Rochester in the United Kingdom, announced this week that he would not attend the Lambeth Conference. …
– Story from SydneyAnglicans.net. (Photo: Joy Gwaltney)
Sola Panel on GAFCON
“Back at the Renaissance Hotel Ballroom, Henry Orombi (Archbishop of Uganda) preached a powerful sermon on ‘Jesus is Lord’, the high point of which was his emphasis on the powerful, transforming word of God. Expounding the story of the paralysed man healed by Jesus in John 5, Archbishop Orombi pointed out that Jesus exercised his Lordship by speaking a creative, healing word of power, and that he continues to do so today. …”
– Tony Payne is blogging from GAFCON. Catch his posts here.
Bible exposition central
“We turn to the Bible every day at GAFCON because we wish to hear the word of God saying what God wishes to speak to us,” said the Rev. David Short as he introduced GAFCON’s series of daily scriptural expositions. David spoke to introduce Archbishop Justus Akrofi, primate of the Anglican Church of West Africa as he began the expositions on Tuesday.
– Outline of this week’s Bible expositions from the GAFCON website. (Photo: Joy Gwaltney)
Secular media response to GAFCON
Secular media covering the Global Anglican Future Conference are seriously distorting both the content and message of the 1200 mostly Global South Anglican leaders, which includes 300 bishops from 38 countries …
– David Virtue comments at VirtueOnline.
(Photo: Joy Gwaltney)
Henry Chadwick dies at 87
The Very Rev. Henry Chadwick, an Anglican priest, professor, editor, translator and author whose historical voyages into early Christianity won praise for depth, insight and evenhandedness and helped shed light on modern religious problems, died Tuesday in Oxford, England. He was 87. …
– Obituary from The New York Times. (Graphic: Chadwick’s best known work, The Early Church.)
GAFCON Slideshow – Mount of Olives
We’ve added a slideshow of photos taken on the Mount of Olives – with a focus on people our Australian readers will recognise. Photos thanks to Russell Powell.
Dr. Mark Thompson: Just what is the Bible?
GAFCON participants have been organized into about 6 different workshops. I’ve fortunately been placed in the workshop that has to do with scripture. The first session was led this morning by Dr. Mark Thompson from Sydney. He discusses the nature of scripture, its clarity, its truthfulness, and its place in the church. These are my notes from his talk. It was brilliant and incredibly encouraging. …
– Matt Kennedy of Stand Firm blogs from GAFCON.
See also Mark’s Authority in the Church – on the GAFCON website.
(Photo from the pre-GAFCON leaders consultation – by Russell Powell.)
Sowada and Forsyth write from GAFCON
SydneyAnglicans.net has posted comments from Dr. Karin Sowada and Bishop Robert Forsyth – on their experiences so far at GAFCON.
(Photo: GAFCON Media team.)
Pilgrims help draft GAFCON statement
There is no advance text of a final statement of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), nor prepared plans for future organization and action. And there won’t be one until the 1,200 bishops, priests and laity meeting in Jerusalem June 22 – 29 has had a chance to seek God’s guidance and contribute their thoughts to the Statement Committee.
“The final statement is going to emerge as the work of all the participants of GAFCON,” said Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi of the Anglican Church of Kenya and chair of the Statement Committee. …
– Press release from GAFCON. (Photo of Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi: Joy Gwaltney.)
GAFCON Pilgrims on Mt of Olives
One thousand two hundred Global Anglican Future Conference pilgrims visited the Mount of Olives on Monday, June 23.
Traveling on close to 30 tour buses, the pilgrims worshipped, prayed together, and had their picture against the backdrop Jerusalem’s Old City. The Rev. David Pileggi, rector of Christ Church, Jerusalem, reminded pilgrims that it was on the Mount of Olives, which separates Jerusalem from the desert, that Jesus wept over the city. Pilgrims took time to pray for their own cities, provinces, dioceses, congregations, and families.
Pilgrims also walked down the valley slope to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus wrestled with God’s will and was arrested the night before his crucifixion.
The Rev. Martin Foord, from Perth, Australia, said of the experience: “It has revolutionised my reading of scripture. I can’t read the Bible the same way again. I can now visualise Jesus weeping over Jerusalem.”
His compatriot, the Rev. Gary Nelson, concurs: “I got this sense of history, being in the very place where real events happened. I got a feel for the distances. It has helped me visualise portions of scripture. You can understand how news (2,000 years ago) spread so quickly.”
– GAFCON Press release. (Photo: GAFCON media team. Click for a larger version.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…