Anglican Church of Canada: General Synod vote count in error – the vote for same-sex marriage was actually passed
“A stunning reversal of a divisive vote has paved the way for the Anglican Church to perform same-sex marriages in Canada, but that won’t happen before 2019 at the earliest.
The canon change must be approved by two successive General Synods before it is official…” – Report from CTV News.
Photo: Screenshot from this Anglican Church of Canada video.
(Even if the error had not been realised, several Canadian bishops had said they would go ahead and marry same-sex couples anyway.)
Gospel DNA one-day forum: last chance to register this week
“A one-day forum wants to examine the very core of our ministry and lay bare whether we are being as effective in godly leadership as we could be.
To be held at Brighton-Le-Sand’s Novotel Hotel on July 20, ‘Gospel DNA – Replicating Effective Ministry’ will feature several prominent experts and practitioners sharing ways to cultivate a culture of discipleship, focus and direction…”
– See the Moore College’s Centre for Ministry Development for details and registration!
Latvian Lutherans end ordination of women priests
“The General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia … has voted to end the ordination of women to the priesthood…”
– News from last month via Anglican Ink: a counter-cultural move in Latvia. (Photo: Riga Cathedral.)
Archbishop of Canterbury intervenes to stop Sunday schools being affected by anti-terrorism laws
“The Archbishop of Canterbury has reportedly persuaded the government to drop some aspects of a counter-terror law after arguing it would unfairly affect church Sunday schools…”
– Story from The Independent.
Samson and Delilah (the Israelite Woman)
“In the book of Judges, we encounter the mighty Israelite judge, Samson. He is perhaps best known for his herculean strength. Yet, he is also known for his weakness for women—especially Philistine women. His relationship with Delilah, often portrayed as a sneaky seductress, was his undoing. She coaxed him into divulging the secret of his strength: his long braids of hair. Though they were the symbol of his devotion to God, they were also his ‘Achilles’ heel.’
But was Delilah a Philistine?”
– At With Meagre Powers, Dr George Athas at Moore College shares some shares some fascinating insights from a careful reading of the Biblical text.
Pastoral Letter from GAFCON Chairman Archbishop Okoh, July 2016
Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council has released his July Pastoral Letter.
Read it here at the GAFCON website.
The Hunting of Andrea Leadsom
“It’s the hunting season again.
With the Tory party in the throes of choosing a new leader its time for our PC secularists to start trawling the web in order to find dark and hidden secrets of the various candidates. Have they ever lied in the past? Cheated on their taxes? Kicked the cat? Gone fox hunting?
But the big sin – the one that guarantees the Twitterati and Facebook pages go ballistic – is ‘are they Christian?’. Like, really Christian. Not David Cameron’s ‘my faith is like the patchy reception of Magic FM in the Chilterns’. Instead, a Christian who actually reads the Bible (!), goes to church (!) and even prays!!!
If so, they must be hunted down and burnt at the secular stake…”
– Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland, David Robertson, comments at The Wee Flea.
Trouble in Bakersfield
“A popular, longstanding, and effective member of a schoolboard has had to stand down—not because he does not enjoy the confidence of the community, but simply because he does not accept the latest demands that every knee must bow to whatever the political taste of the moment has decided is non-negotiable…
it is time to face that fact and abandon the myth that the world is run by people who respect difference and diversity…”
– At First Things, Carl Trueman writes about some of the fallout from California’s mandated school transgender policy.
Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit welcomed by GAFCON Primates
“Following his enthronement as the sixth Archbishop of Kenya on Sunday 3rd July in All Saints’ Cathedral, Nairobi, the Most Rev Jackson Ole Sapit met with the GAFCON Primates who had travelled from as far away as South America to be present for this day of prayer, preaching and colourful celebration…”
– from GAFCON.
Moore’s treasures unveiled
“A campaign has begun to preserve a major collection of Australian Christian history at the library of Moore College, including two of the first books ever printed by press, the first book distributed in Australia, an ancient Hebrew parchment, a first edition of the King James Bible and rare photos of the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The historic, and eclectic, group of ‘treasures’ is to be housed and exhibited in the college’s new library, due for completion in 2017, and the college is raising funds to display and preserve the irreplaceable collection.
‘Some of Australia’s priceless national heritage is found in the Moore College library – not surprising, since the college is one of the oldest tertiary educational institutions in the country and it became the repository of special books and artefacts from the earliest days,’ said Moore’s former principal Dr Peter Jensen, who is backing the effort to conserve the treasures.
One of the most historic items of Australiana is ‘Address to the Inhabitants of the Colonies’ by the chaplain of the First Fleet, the Rev Richard Johnson. It was printed in England in 1794 with editing by the slave trader-turned evangelist John Newton. Johnson used it in his work in Sydney, making it the first book conceived and distributed in Australia…”
– Read the full story by Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Richard Johnson’s ‘Address to the Inhabitants of the Colonies Established in New South Wales and Norfolk Island’ (with some editorial input from John Newton) was republished in PDF format for the ACL website several years ago. It is a wonderfully direct gospel tract.
Photo credit: Moore College.
After lawsuit ‘ChristianMingle’ dating website allows same-sex options
“ChristianMingle.com will open its 16 million-member site to gay and lesbian users following an anti-discrimination lawsuit.
According to a settlement approved by a California judge last week, the country’s most popular Christian dating site will offer options for same-sex matches, rather than limiting searches to “a man seeking a woman or a woman seeking a man,” the Wall Street Journal reported…”
– Story from Christianity Today.
Assisted Suicide: A Quadriplegic’s Perspective
“Culture is so easily influenced by the entertainment industry. This is why I am sounding an alarm about a very dangerous message in a film released this summer. The movie? Me Before You.…”
– The wonderful Joni Eareckson Tada has a few things to say about a tragic movie. (h/t Tim Challies.)
Religious schools and discrimination in Victoria
“Recently a Greens MP in Victoria, Sue Pennicuik, has introduced a Bill into the Victorian Parliament to reduce the ability of religious schools to deal with potential admissions, or their current student body, on the basis of the school’s religious beliefs. The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Equality for Students) Bill 2016 had its second reading in the Legislative Council on 22 June 2016.
The legislation is arguably an impairment of the religious freedom of parents and the schools, and ought not to be passed…”
– In his latest post at Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster discusses the latest moves in Victoria. Among other observations, he wonders of the proposed changes are constitutional. Once again, Neil has done the wider community a service by teasing out some of the key issues for us.
An Unsung Evangelistic Hero
“An unsung hero is one who does great deeds, but receives little or no recognition for them. They fly under the radar making great contributions, but rarely find their way onto news reports or into the history books. There are and have been countless unsung heroes around the globe.
Take ‘Gunner’, for example: this stray male kelpie helped save perhaps hundreds of Australian lives during the Second World War. The dog, first found injured and whimpering under a destroyed hut at the Darwin Air Force base in 1942, was discovered to have particularly acute hearing: he could detect the approach of Japanese planes 20 minutes before the arrived—and before they showed up on the radar! But have you ever heard of him?
There is an unsung hero when it comes to evangelism. Well, an almost unsung hero…”
– At GoThereFor.com, Stephen Liggins has an encouraging article that’s worth passing on.
‘A debate on marriage equality need not be hate-filled’
“In a wide-ranging speech delivered last week and published in the Guardian (“Straight politicians don’t understand what it’s like to hide their relationships in fear), Senate opposition leader Penny Wong made the case against a plebiscite on the redefinition of the marriage.
Her three claims were: that opposition to same-sex marriage is essentially homophobia; that the Australian people cannot be trusted to have a respectful discussion about such matters; and so the matter should be left to the parliament. …
The fact is that many ordinary Australians are both pro-gay people and pro-traditional marriage. They know and love people with same-sex attraction and want only the best for them. They know that such people have often suffered injustices in the past and sympathise with the complaint that something is being denied to them still. But they also believe that marriage is a unique relationship that unites people of the opposite sex as husband and wife and, more often than not, as father and mother. Such ordinary Australians are not bigots.”
– This opinion-piece by Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher was published in The Guardian just before the federal election. (h/t SydneyAnglicans.net. Photo: Archdiocese of Sydney.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…