Church Society updates on C of E General Synod
Church Society is posting updates on the meeting of the General Synod of the Church of England – here.
(Photo: Church of England website.)
Josephus: the man and the myths
The folks at The Centre for Public Christianity have been busy uploading resource videos to their Vimeo account.
Added recently is a two part interview with Professor John Barclay of Durham University – on Josephus. Part 1, part 2.
(Related: a recent broadcast from The White Horse Inn.)
How to Protect our Children Online
Steve Kryger at Communicate Jesus has a very helpful post – with links to resources.
What is the Gospel? — Available free on Kindle
For a limited time, Crossway publishers have made available Greg Gilbert’s new book What is the Gospel? free on the Kindle – from Amazon. (Download the Kindle app if you don’t own a Kindle.)
Of the book, William Taylor of St Helen’s Church in London says,
“Clarity on the gospel brings both confidence in the gospel and conviction concerning core gospel truths. This excellent book is wonderfully clear and biblically faithful, and will repay reading with renewed gospel focus.”
and Archbishop Peter J. Akinola:
“Greg Gilbert has called the church back to the source of her revelation. In a simple and straightforward manner, he has laid bare what the Bible has shown the gospel to mean.”
For those with access to the iBook Store (not yet in Australia), you can also get it free there.
‘C of E ‘blocks’ gay cleric from becoming bishop’
“An openly gay cleric has been blocked from becoming a Church of England bishop, amid fears the controversial ordination could have further strained the Anglican movement, reports said Thursday…”
– Report from AFP. (Photo: The Cathedral and Abbey Church of Saint Alban.)
DVD Sale from Desiring God
Desiring God are selling all of their DVDs for $US9.99 during July 2010.
(Bear in mind that these are all in NTSC format – and are probably also Region 1. Many Australian DVD players – though not all – would be able to play them.)
Recovering the priority of relationships
“Some recent conversations to which I have been a party suggest we talk a good game when it comes to the priority of relationships while our practice is practically indistinguishable from the relational desert inhabited by those around us.
Is there, as some people are beginning to suggest, a sad disconnect between our confession and life at this point?”
– Mark Thompson asks some fair questions at Theological Theology.
Call for Prayer from Anglican Mainstream
This just in from Canon Chris Sugden, Executive Secretary of Anglican Mainstream. –
“Reports in the press over the weekend indicate the urgent need for prayer with regard to the nomination of a new Bishop of Southwark. They follow earlier reports about the timing of the proposed changes to the Church of England’s discipline with regard to divorce being driven by the need to consider a particular candidate for Southwark. Read more
Corroborating Evidence
“If Jesus was a real historical individual, then do we have any confirming evidence for his life and ministry from sources outside the New Testament? Some point to the writings of Josephus, but isn’t it true that his famous passage about Jesus was proven to be a fabrication? Interacting with the hosts on this topic is historian Paul L. Maier, author of In The Fullness of Time, and editor of Josephus: The Essential Works.”
– broadcast on June 20, 2010, Paul Maier’s interview is well worth hearing.
A Dangerous Structure: Can General Synod Stave Off Collapse?
“London’s Lambeth Council has some helpful advice on its website about dangerous structures: ‘If you notice a building or structure that appears to be in a dangerous condition, or in serious neglect, an engineer will inspect the problem and take the necessary action. If the structure is unsafe, but there is no immediate danger, then the owner will be contacted to make it safe – if they don’t, they may face enforcement action.’
There is no question of course that the material fabric of Lambeth Palace, the historic London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is in good order. In fact, the Archbishop’s website reassures us that there are ’plans for future work to upgrade the fabric of the Palace’, but the spiritual fabric of the Church over which he presides is looking increasingly precarious.…”
– Charles Raven observes how quickly the Church of England is losing the plot.
Latest 9Marks eJournal: Pastoring Women
Jonathan Leeman, editor of the 9Marks eJournal, writes about the latest issue:
“There’s safety in homogenization. If you treat men and women as the same, you don’t risk offending anyone. Or limiting anyone. Or hindering anyone.
But what if God created men and women differently? What if it’s not a question of limitations but a matter of distinct divine purposes for different parts of the body? I guess you could say that the eye is limited because it cannot hear. Or that the ear is limited because it cannot see. But that would be missing the point, wouldn’t it?
The egalitarianism of Western culture, for all its good purposes, leads to the homogenization of men and women. To unisex clothes, colognes, roles, and lifestyles. The lovely and distinct color palettes of men and women mush together into a gray-brown muck.
You can have that if you want it. But we think God intends something better. That’s why this issue of the 9Marks eJournal is dedicated to how to distinctly pastor women. We want to reflect on what he uniquely and wonderfully intends for women in the life of the church, and how to specially pastor them.”
Grab your copy at 9Marks.
The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer — free audiobook
This month’s free audiobook from ChristianAudio is The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. (July 2010)
Don’t know Tozer? J. I. Packer is quoted as saying: “Through all of Tozer’s books and articles there shines a passion for God that puts our shallowness to shame. Reading him is like drinking at an oasis in the desert.” Details of the audiobook at ChristianAudio.
Reformed Evangelical Anglican Library
Lee Gatiss writes about a new series – The Reformed Evangelical Anglican Library.
“By constitution the Church of England is a Reformed, Protestant, and Evangelical denomination. In its original foundation it was never intended to be merely the religious expression of changing English culture; nor was it designed as a pluralistic melting pot of various contradictory persuasions. As John Stott rightly asserted in 1970, ‘according to its own formularies, this church is reformed and evangelical’ (in Christ the Controversialist). Read more
Shedding some Light on Twilight
“The highly anticipated third film in the wildly popular Twilight series opens today. … The first two movies — Twilight and New Moon — took in a sensational $1.1 billion at the box office. In 2009 and 2010, the movies topped the teen choice awards, and swept virtually all the categories at the MTV Movie Awards. Twilight has become the hottest love story of our time. It’s a teen rage, and a significant cultural phenomenon.
The question that I always ask, when I see something so grip the hearts and minds of women, is “Why?”. And it was this question that was foremost in my mind when I finally sat down a couple weeks ago to watch and analyze the first two movies…”
– Helpful analysis from Mary Kassian. (h/t Tim Challies.)
ESV Bible Atlas
The Crossway ESV Bible Atlas has been released in the US. Details – and links to a 45 page preview – at Between Two Worlds.