Tribunal disagrees with diaconal administration

Anglican Media Sydney has posted this story on the latest opinion from the Appellate Tribunal –

‘The tribunal was not asked to consider the theological merits of persons other than a presbyter administering the Lord’s Supper, given a previous opinion which endorsed its doctrinal validity.’

“An Anglican judicial panel has disagreed with Sydney’s Synod on the introduction of diaconal administration of the Lord’s Supper.

The Diocese of Sydney Synod in 2008 overwhelmingly agreed there was no impediment to persons other than a presbyter administering Holy Communion.  Read more

Australian Christian Book of the Year 2010

Losing My Religion by Bishop Tom Frame has been announced as the 2010 Australian Christian Book of the Year by SPCKA.

And The Trellis and the Vine was awarded second place.

Related: Dr Stuart Barton Babbage reviewed Losing My Religion in a recent issue of CASE Magazine (320kb PDF download from CASE).

The Wages of Spin

“…I think that the attitude of the reformers to tradition was very different to that which we have today.

Today we have, I would say, culturally a suspicious attitude to tradition. … But the reformers’ attitude towards theological traditions was different. I think if you look at how Calvin and Luther connected to the tradition of the church—which to an extent as young men they inherited, and then they reformed, or critiqued and interacted with it—they have what I say to the students is a “hermeneutic of trust.”  Today we have a “hermeneutic of suspicion,” we are naturally suspicious, if you like, of traditional things, of anything that comes from the past…”

– Carl Trueman was recently interviewed on US radio about his book The Wages of Spin – and Westminster  Seminary has the transcript.

‘Religious agencies seek gay adoption bill exemption’

“The New South Wales Cabinet will consider exempting two adoption agencies from a plan to allow gay couples to adopt.

Independent MP Clover Moore introduced a bill in June that seeks to legalise adoption for gay couples.

But Anglicare has written to MPs urging them to vote against the bill and is threatening to withdraw its adoption services if the laws are introduced. … Its chief executive Peter Kell wrote to MPs outlining 11 reasons why the bill should be rejected, including that children need the opportunity to have both a mother and a father. …”

– Report from ABC News. (Photo of Peter Kell: Anglicare.)

Who is Arthur Bennett?

At Between Two Worlds, Tony Reinke shares his research on the author of the much loved collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, The Valley of Vision.

Federal Election resources

While not supporting any party, the Centre for Public Christianity has assembled a range of material to help Christians to make an informed choice in the coming Australian Federal Election.

As well, the Australian Christian Lobby has just posted a new interview with Julia Gillard, in addition to its earlier material.

August–September DNWA prayer notes

The latest Diocese of North West Australia Prayer Notes and Bishop’s Letter are now available on their website – for your prayers.

Preach Christ

“The motto of all true servants of God must be, ‘We preach Christ; and him crucified.’ A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.”

– At Between Two Worlds, Tony Reinke has assembled some challenging reminders from C H Spurgeon.

Looking for a Minister for Paraburdoo / Tom Price

Bishop of North West Australia, David Mulready, is looking for the right man to be Minister of the Parish of Paraburdoo / Tom Price. It will become vacant in January 2011.

Read the parish profile (2.1MB PDF file) and see a summary of Census data (Tom Price, Paraburdoo).

Interested? Bishop Mulready would be glad to hear from you.
(In any case, you can use the Parish Profile to inform your prayers for the church.)

Killing a Church

“Murchison argues that Old Money helped define, and unravel, the Episcopal Church. Growth and dynamism require entrepreneurship and risk. But who wants that when you have endowments and beautiful buildings? Provocateurs like Pike and Spong could push far, but there was far too little push back. Why risk the conflict?

Meanwhile, comfortable Episcopal elites, ever with a sense of noblesse oblige, embraced the Civil Rights Movement, denouncing segregation in 1955 as ‘contrary to the mind of Christ.’ Ten Episcopal bishops joined Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. The Episcopal Church then and now has few black members. But commendable civil rights activism sated a thirst for social change among Episcopalians that led directly into the feminist movement, including the 1970s ordination of women, and ultimately homosexual causes in the 1980s to the present. No longer mostly confined to saving souls, church elites saw themselves as liberating American society from ‘privilege.’…”

– in The American Spectator, Mark Tooley reviews Mortal Follies: Episcopalians and the Crisis of Mainline Christianity by William Murchison. (The book was published in 2009.)

Oak Hill online magazine

The current issue (Summer 2010) of the Oak Hill College magazine Commentary is now available from their website.

It’s a 5.6MB PDF file (direct link).

Carl Trueman interviewed at Oak Hill

Carl Trueman, Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary was a Visiting Lecturer at Oak Hill College in London earlier this year.

Principal Mike Ovey asked him about the doctrines of Scripture and of Justification in three videos just posted on the Oak Hill website.

Part 1: The doctrine of Scripture.
Part 2: The doctrine of Justification.
Part 3: Holiness and the New Perspective on Paul.

Total running time of about 24 minutes. Worth watching.

PTC Open Night

The Presbyterian Theological Centre in Burwood is having an Open Night on Wednesday 25th August 2010 at 7:30pm.

(And Moore College is having an Open Day on 25th September.)

New Moore College video: Meet some of our Students

This 3 minute 30 second video from Moore College could be used to promote the college in your church. (The 29MB file is downloadable if you are registered with Vimeo.)

Moore College School of Theology 2010

(Repost) The 2010 Moore College School of Theology is on 1 Corinthians, The Wisdom of the Cross, 15–16 September.

Dr Brian Rosner speaks about it in this video.

In addition, Dr Philip Kern is giving this year’s Moore College Annual Lectures, August 3, 5, 6 10 and 12. His topic? The Story of Jacob in Biblical Theology. Details from the Moore College website.

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