‘Malcolm Turnbull urges Australians to say yes as thousands in Sydney rally’

“Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has urged Australians to say yes in the postal survey as thousands packed out Sydney’s CBD to rally for same-sex marriage. …

Mr Turnbull pointed to the fact that same-sex marriage had already been legislated for in 23 countries, including several with which Australia has close cultural affinities.

‘In any one of those nations, has the sky fallen in? Has life as we know it come to a halt? Has traditional marriage as we know it been undermined? The answer is no.’ …”

– Report from ABC News. Image: ABC News.

Since the Prime Minister raises the issues, see also:

John Anderson argues for a No vote:

“We need to be honest, and we have the right to ask the hard questions. The evidence here and abroad suggests that it would be naïve to think it’s simply about marriage…”

What’s changed in Britain since same-sex marriage?:

“I urge every Aussie to examine the evidence, analysis the results and be clear about what you’re voting for. If it was solely marriage, it would worth preserving. It’s infinitely more. …” –David Sargeant at Spectator Australia.

There’s never been a better time to be a Christian

“What a mess our poor nation is in. There is so much conflict, so much confusion, so much pain.

We have forgotten what a human being is. We have forgotten what male and female is. Men and women have forgotten how to have sex. We have forgotten how to marry. We have forgotten how to care for the children we bear. Children are taught that boys can be girls, and girls can be boys.

Our freedom to speak is dissolving before our eyes. Pastors are called before government tribunals for teaching the Bible. And Christian doctors who speak their mind are threatened with deregistration.

All this while marriage remains as yet un-redefined in our laws.

Moreover, the Opposition Leader has promised that if marriage laws change, Christian businesses will have no protections for acting according to their conscience.

If marriage is redefined there’ll be a relentless flood of de-registrations and prosecutions.

And so there has never been a better time to be a Christian!

There are two reasons why I believe this is true. …”

– Campbell Markham spoke at the Tasmanian launch of the Coalition for Marriage.

John Anderson argues for a No vote

“Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson says, ‘We need to be honest, and we have the right to ask the hard questions. The evidence here and abroad suggests that it would be naïve to think it’s simply about marriage’.”

– An important video message from John Anderson – on Facebook.

John Howard kickstarts No SSM case

“John Howard has called for ­proposed same-sex marriage legislation, including full protections for parents, religion and free speech, to be produced before the postal survey vote closes in ­November, as he launches his support for the No campaign.

The former prime minister said yesterday it was disingenuous for the Yes campaign to argue that changing the law to ­include same-sex marriage did not affect other rights and that the survey involved a simple yes/no question. …”

– Dennis Shanahan writes in The Australian (Subscription.) Photo: ABC.

Christchurch Cathedral to be rebuilt

“More than six years after being destroyed in the deadly earthquake that struck Christchurch, the city’s iconic cathedral will be rebuilt by the Anglican Church in New Zealand. …”

– Report from ABC News.

Assisted suicide opposed

“Anglicans in New South Wales and Victoria have been urged to contact their MPs to oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation.

The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia, which met in Queensland, passed a motion opposing the legalisation of ‘assisted dying’. …”

– Report from SydneyAnglicans.net.

Related:

Dr Megan Best’s Synod speech on the Euthanasia motion – from Sydney Synod 2010.

Albert Mohler’s The Briefing, 08 September 2017, from 9’40”.

What’s changed in Britain since same-sex marriage?

“Four years ago, amid much uncertainty, 400 British members of parliament voted to redefine marriage in the United Kingdom.

Then prime minister David Cameron announced that, despite having made no mention of the issue in his party’s pre-election manifesto, it would be MP’s who decided the fate of marriage.

Now, it’s Australia’s turn to choose. There’s one key difference. Unlike in Britain, it will be the people who decide.

Everyone agrees, whether they admit it or not. This is a decision of enormous significance. …

In retrospect, the silent majority in Britain remained silent for too long.”

– This is an important article from Spectator Australia and many would benefit from reading it.

High Court rules on Plebiscite

“The Coalition for Marriage welcomed today’s decision by the High Court to allow the voice of the Australian people to be heard through the same-sex marriage postal vote.

‘We reiterate our support for a people’s vote as the most appropriate way to allow Australians to have their say on proposed changes to the definition of marriage,’ said the Most Reverend Dr Glenn Davies, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. ‘Australians deserve to have a say on a change to the foundational unit of our society.‘…”

– from The Coalition for Marriage.

General Synod news – 7 September 2017

Stories from SydneyAnglicans.net –

Domestic violence ‘first priority’

“The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia has condemned domestic and family violence in all its forms, saying churches are committed to being safe places for all people, especially children and vulnerable adults.

In a motion moved by Melbourne’s Bishop Stephen Hale and seconded by Sydney’s Archdeacon Kara Hartley, Synod described domestic violence as sin, saying Scripture should never be twisted to justify or excuse any abuse. …”

Scots ‘impair’ communion with Australia

“The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia has acknowledged that relationship with the Scottish Episcopal Church has been impaired by the SEC removing gender from its marriage canon.

In June, the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church voted in favour of altering the church’s Canon on Marriage to remove the definition that marriage is between a man and a woman allow same-sex couples to marry in church.…”

On the vote concerning the Scottish Episcopal Church:

Read Dean Raffel’s speech (PDF file):

“Across the Anglican communion churches are trying to work out how best to love people of diverse sexual orientation.

This is important because all people are made in God’s image; and God hates nothing that he has made.

It is important because all people are to be valued honoured and loved not only because they are created in God’s image but because of Christ’s costly redeeming love for them.

It is important because Christians have often failed to love same sex attracted people, making it difficult or impossible for them to hear and experience the welcome and power of Jesus in their lives.

And it is important because same sex attracted people are our friends, our family members, our colleagues, members of our churches, and we might assume, members of this Synod. …”

Bishop Richard Condie’s speech (via David Ould).

“We want to express a deep welcome to homosexual people in our church. We should treat all people with love and respect. We shun actions and words that demean and marginalise; we reject discrimination, and especially grieve the way people who identify as homosexual have been treated in our society and churches.

While the SEC’s action is ostensibly about the inclusion of homosexual people in the church, it actually undermines the Biblical witness to the ultimate trajectory of salvation, our union with Christ. We must not fall for the world’s view that holding to the teaching of Christ on marriage means we can’t be welcoming to homosexual people in the church. …”

General Synod Day 3 – More bills, less lunch, less Jesus

“As the afternoon kicked in we turned to considering issues surrounding future ministry, particularly two related debates around future structures and what are being called “pioneer ministries”. …

As we heard about the need to being doing ministry beyond the Sunday service it seemed like some people were, for the first time, grappling with what many of us simply call “evangelism”. But even then the struggle to actually be clear on the overall aim was soon going to manifest itself. …

I moved the following amendment:

after the words “The General Synod”, add:

“, captivated by the declaration of Christ that repentance for the forgiveness of sins be preached in his name to all nations”

Readers will recognise the language as being a direct citation from Jesus’ final charge to his disciples in Luke 24.47. Not controversial, surely?…”

– David Ould reports on the third day of General Synod, meeting in Maroochydore. Tragically, it seems the gospel of the Lord Jesus was narrowly voted down.

‘Secretary General of the Anglican Communion rebukes Nigerian primate for boycotting meeting’

“Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion has told Premier it is “sad” that the leader of Anglicans in Nigeria has decided to not attend a meeting called by The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Rev Justin Welby.

The meeting scheduled for next month in Canterbury is for the Primates from the 39 provinces.

But Most Rev Nicholas Okoh Primate of All Nigeria has refused to attend because of what he deems as a lack of progress on the issue of sexuality.

The last meeting of its kind was in January 2016 where there was much disagreement about the Church’s view on sexuality.

Archbishop Josiah disagrees with the primate’s stance.

He told Premier: “At their meeting in January 2016 the Primates agreed to walk together.

“The primate of Nigeria was present at that meeting. In effect, he is now reneging on this decision which is very sad. …”

– Report from Premier UK. Photo: Abps Justin Welby and Josiah Idowu-Fearon.

However, Archbishop Okoh’s reasons are much more serious: (emphasis added)

“The only difference between the present and 2008, when Gafcon was formed, is that we have a different Archbishop of Canterbury. Everything else is the same or worse.”

“I attended the Canterbury Primates Meeting held in January 2016 because I believed it might be possible to make a new start and change the pattern of repeated failure to preserve the integrity of Anglican faith and order. I was disappointed.

The Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Lusaka the following April neutered the Primates’ action to distance The Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC) from Communion decision making. TEC has not repented, and continues to take aggressive legal action against orthodox dioceses. For example, the congregations of the Diocese of San Joaquin are currently having to turn over their places of worship to TEC, which has no realistic plan for filling them with worshippers.  At the same time, the Diocese of South Carolina is now facing the potential loss of many of its historic buildings.

My disappointment was shared by the other Global South Primates who gathered in Cairo last October and we concluded in our communiqué that the ‘Instruments of Communion’ (which include the Primates Meeting of course) are “unable to sustain the common life and unity of the Anglican Churches worldwide” and do actually help to undermine global mission.

The only difference between the present and 2008, when Gafcon was formed, is that we have a different Archbishop of Canterbury. Everything else is the same or worse. There is endless debate, the will of the orthodox Primates is frustrated and misrepresented, false teaching is not being corrected, and nothing is being done to halt orthodox Anglicans in North America (and maybe soon elsewhere) being stripped of the churches that have helped form their spiritual lives.

In these circumstances, I have concluded that attendance at Canterbury would be to give credibility to a pattern of behaviour which is allowing great damage to be done to global Anglican witness and unity. Our energies in the Church of Nigeria will be devoted to what is full of hope and promise for the future, not to the repetition of failure. …”

– Read all of his Pastoral Letter for September 2017.

Territorial Anglicanism?

“The ordination of Bishop Andy Lines as missionary Bishop to Europe by 50 Bishops including 11 Primates has upset some Anglicans.

They protest that this action opposes the 4th Century Canons of Nicaea, though it is not clear how those Canons apply to this situation, nor what authority they have today.

The claim is made that Anglicanism is opposed to having more than one Bishop in one territory. This claim is less plausible when seen in the light of the reality of Anglican practice …”

– Church Society has republished this opinion piece by Dr. Peter Adam. It first appeared in The Melbourne Anglican.

Related: Loose Canons? Andy Lines and the Canons of Nicaea – Dr Mark Smith.

Calls for WordPress to remove rainbow banner from hosted sites

“Christian bloggers are among those calling for hosting organisation WordPress to remove a rainbow banner from the top of its Australian hosted pages, saying that it makes an unwanted political statement on their sites.

The banner, which was spotted on sites over the weekend, appears at the top of sites when users are logged in. …”

– from Sight Magazine.

GAFCON Chairman’s September 2017 letter

“Gafcon is about hope and the future. It is about godly unity and faithful witness for generations to come, and I want to state these positive things very clearly as I share my reasons for not attending the Primates Meeting in Canterbury next month.

I attended the Canterbury Primates Meeting held in January 2016 because I believed it might be possible to make a new start and change the pattern of repeated failure to preserve the integrity of Anglican faith and order. I was disappointed. The Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Lusaka the following April neutered the Primates’ action to distance The Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC) from Communion decision making.

TEC has not repented, and continues to take aggressive legal action against orthodox dioceses. For example…”

– Read the latest pastoral letter from The Most Rev’d Nicholas D. Okoh, Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council.

General Synod passes National child protection measures

“Binding rules on all clergy and church workers have been passed during a debate on child protection at the Anglican Church of Australia Synod, meeting this week in Queensland. …”

— News from SydneyAnglicans.net.

Photo courtesy Anglican Media Melbourne.

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