‘Christmas 2.0’ (updated)

Apparently created to showcase the services of a Portuguese web-design company, this three minute viral video could have several uses this Christmas! See it on YouTube.

Also available in Portuguese(!).

(h/t Bishop John Harrower.)

And here’s another ‘social networking’ version of the Christmas story – but with a more reflective tone – linked by Steve Kryger at Communicate Jesus.

‘It is the moment I was really reborn’

“On Sunday 31st of October six young adults joyfully declared their faith before the congregation of Holy Trinity and were baptised. It was a time of much rejoicing…”

– A brief but encouraging report from Holy Trinity Adelaide – in the Diocese of Adelaide’s Guardian for December 2010. (3MB PDF.)

Oak Hill College Commentary magazine Winter 2010-11

David Peterson will be heading back to Oak Hill College in London to give the annual School of Theology lectures in May. That’s just some of the news in Oak Hill’s latest Commentary magazine for Winter 2010/2011.

Lots of great articles. Download your copy – a 6MB PDF file – from the College website.

BBC Radio 4 to devote day of reading of King James Bible

“The Daily Telegraph reports that the BBC will devote nearly a whole day of Radio 4 to readings from the King James Bible to mark the 400th anniversary of its publication…”

– Report from EV News.

Anglican TV on the Vancouver appeal decision

Kevin Kallsen at Anglican TV spoke with Cheryl Chang, Special Counsel to the Anglican Network in Canada, on the background to the latest ruling (which went against the ANiC parishes in Vancouver), and on the decision to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

See it here. Helpful background. (Runs for 18 minutes.)

TEC focus on ‘climate justice’

“The Episcopal-Anglican gathering coincided with the second week of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico… Although there were many environmental action groups on the ground in Cancun, the Episcopal-Anglican gathering was the only known religious gathering of its kind taking place at the same time…”

– Anglicans, Episcopalians issue statement on climate justice, form commitments.

Also, Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, has written a Christmas message about those who walk in darkness.

Vancouver churches to appeal to Supreme Court of Canada

This news release is just in from the Anglican Network in Canada:

“This is not the path any of us would have preferred; however, we initiated court proceedings when threats to replace trustees began to be carried out and when the Diocese caused banks to freeze two parishes’ bank accounts.”

Parishes initiate appeal to Supreme Court of Canada

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  12 December 2010

Vancouver, BC – After several weeks of consultation within the parishes, the Trustees of four Vancouver-area churches have instructed their legal counsel to file an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada of a BC Court of Appeal decision (November 15, 2010) which removed their right to use their church buildings.  Read more

‘Another day, another reason to dislike WikiLeaks’

“Listening to Radio 4’s Sunday programme this morning, there was an interview with Andrew Brown from the Guardian in which he said something like this: that the reason the WikiLeaks cables were so useful was that, unlike journalists, they could disclose their sources, because those who sent them assumed that they were speaking confidentially — “But of course, they were not.”

Now this was interesting, coming as it did from a journalist…”

– This last week John Richardson has been posting some thoughtful comments on the Wikileaks saga – at The Ugley Vicar. Today’s is no exception.

Roger Nicole (1915–2010)

Yesterday, Ligioner Ministries posted an online appreciation of Dr Roger Nicole on his 95th birthday.

“Widely recognized as one of the great Reformed theologians of the last seventy years, we want to honor the 95th birthday of Dr. Roger R. Nicole. A native Swiss Reformed theologian with an M.A. from Sorbonne, a Th.D. from Gordon Divinity School and a Ph.D. from Harvard University, Dr. Nicole has long been regarded as one of the preeminent theologians in America.”

Late this morning, Australian time, they posted an update: “We have learned that Dr. Nicole went home to be with the Lord tonight (Saturday) at 7:40pm.”

Justin Taylor has a tribute at Between Two Worlds.

New Themelios online – Volume 35, Issue 3

The latest issue of Themelios (Volume 35, Issue 3) is available as a free download from The Gospel Coalition. Articles include:

Editorial: Contrarian Reflections on Individualism – D. A. Carson
Minority Report: Terrible Beauty, Beauty, and the Plain Terrible – Carl Trueman
Fiction and Truth in the Old Testament Wisdom Literature – Daniel J. Estes.

Spiritual Warfare 101

“Several years ago I read David Powlison’s book, Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare. (Sadly, no longer in print—though I believe a second edition may be forthcoming.) I found it extremely helpful and persuasive. I took notes, and thought it might be worth posting them…”

– Justin Taylor’s notes are indeed helpful and worth reading.

‘The Anglican Church League’

“In his book The Chosen Ones – The Politics of Salvation in the Anglican Church journalist Chris McGillion paints a somewhat unflattering picture of the inner workings of the diocese of Sydney over the 1993–2001 period. Crafted chiefly from interviews with some of the protagonists, it is a story of manoeuvrings, tactics, parties and vote-counting…”

– Michael Jensen writes about Sydney and the Anglican Church League – at The Blogging Parson.

Part 2.

The latest from Canberra & Goulburn

Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, Stuart Robinson, has posted the latest Stutube – for December 2010.

The Lord’s Supper in Human Hands — Epilogue

Available now from The Australian Church Record.

“Sydney’s discussion of lay and diaconal administration of the Lord’s Supper has occurred for some forty years. After a related legal question was referred to it, the Appellate Tribunal handed down its opinion in August 2010. This legal opinion needs to be set within its proper context, and the biblical-theological discussion about the issue needs to continue.”

How churches lose the plot

“I have spent the last few weeks reflecting on the general question as to why churches lose the plot and end up going liberal. Of course, the simple answer is, ‘Because of human sinfulness,’ but that is not particularly helpful as an explanation of why particular churches lose the plot at particular points in time.

Thus, over the next few days I want to offer a series of posts, in no specific order of priority, about more particular, immediate causes for the phenomenon of theological decline within churches. I should add that my reflections are avowedly Presbyterian, and I make no apologies for that; but I do believe that the causes I outline have their parallels within other Christian ecclesiological traditions such as evangelicalism etc.…”

– Carl Trueman has been exploring the question at Reformation21.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

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