Freedom of Slavery

From Phillip Jensen –

“Dear friends,

Slavery is one of the ancient world’s most common practices. The notion that chattel slavery would be banned around the world was unthinkable until relatively recent times; yet today in our society, it is chattel slavery itself that is unthinkable.

All slavery is a restriction of freedom, and so our title ‘Freedom of Slavery’ is intentionally paradoxical. But then, Paul’s attitude to slavery in 1 Corinthians 9 is something of a paradox. For in this freedom, he chooses to enslave himself for others that they may enjoy the freedom of the gospel. It is in this context that we have one of the great passages on cross-cultural evangelism.

I hope you enjoy this episode of Two Ways News. If you want to contact us with a comment or question, please email us at respond@twm.email.

Yours,

Phillip”

– Listen at Two Ways News.

Why the Giggle v Tickle judgement is bad for women’s rights and a risk to religious freedom

“In her recent article, Paula Gerber argued the decision of the Federal Court of Australia in Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle was ‘good for trans rights and women’s rights’. With respect, I disagree and would like to explain why.

I believe the decision is bad for women’s rights — especially the rights of women to enjoy single-sex spaces and activities — and may also be bad for the rights of those from religious groups to control their spaces and activities in accordance with their faith commitments. I suspect the decision may also be bad for ‘trans rights’ in the long term. …”

– The ABC’s Religion & Ethics has published this opinion piece by Associate Professor Neil Foster.

Mark Earngey’s New Book

From Moore College –

“A recent book by Moore College faculty member, Dr Mark Earngey, offers a major new study of John Ponet (1516-1556), one of the most significant yet often overlooked figures of the early English Reformation.

John Ponet (1516-1556): Scholar, Bishop, Insurgent (Brill) draws on newly discovered archival material and a reconstructed catalogue of Ponet’s personal library to provide the most comprehensive account of his life and thought to date.

Earngey first encountered Ponet while undertaking postgraduate research at Oxford into the life and theology of Thomas Cranmer.

‘I realised that the little-known but prodigious Ponet was patronised by Cranmer and became his right-hand theologian,’ he says. ‘When I began work on Ponet an avalanche of new manuscript material came to light, and the project in recovering his story began!’

The book presents Ponet as a leading scholar, bishop and reformer whose influence extended across theology, church leadership and political thought. Earngey traces Ponet’s role in advancing evangelical reform during the reigns of Henry VIII (as Cranmer’s chaplain) and Edward VI (as Cranmer’s theological advisor) and examines his later writings during the reign of Mary I, in which he became one of the earliest English Reformation voices to argue for a limited monarchy and resistance to tyranny.

The research also uncovered a number of significant discoveries about Ponet and his influence.…”

– Read the full article here.

Canada steps up its war on the Bible

“The Canadian parliament has passed Bill C-9, known as the Combating Hate Act; it received Royal Assent on June 18 and the provisions come into force on July 18. Mark Carney, the liberal Prime Minister, considers that the legislation is ‘a huge step forward in our mission to build a stronger, safer country’.

Bill C-9 will usher in a ‘dark day’ for Canadians of faith. Conservative MP Brad Redekopp described the Bill as ‘a tool to enforce liberal DEI ideology while leaving fundamental freedoms dangerously exposed’. Such is the danger to the church that the legislation been dubbed the ‘Bible Ban’ Bill. …”

– Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack, retired Presbyterian minister in Scotland, wrote this opinion piece for TCW.

The Hidden Cost of Avoiding Theology

At The Gospel Coalition, Jacob Perry argues for the importance of theological clarity in churches. As part of his conclusion, he writes –

“Theological clarity isn’t a burden pastors impose on their people, but a gift. By teaching doctrine clearly, a shepherd protects his sheep from wolves in sheep’s clothing, from predators who speak in the sheep’s own language. Doctrine is an expression of love for Christ’s body. By teaching it, pastors help their congregations know what they believe and why it matters. …”

– Read it all here.

“Theology has consequences” — The Episcopal Church heads for Extinction

“It was over 30 years ago that the Wall Street Journal ran an analysis of the Episcopal Church that had the unforgettable headline, ‘The Episcopalian Goes the Way of the Dodo.’ …

This was a prediction made over three decades ago that the Episcopal Church in the United States would go extinct, and that was simply from a dispassionate look at the statistics…”

– in his The Briefing for 24 June 2026, Albert Mohler comments 0n the planned sale of The Episcopal Church’s headquarters at 815 Second Avenue, New York.

Related:

Presiding bishop authorizes marketing of Episcopal Church Center building in New York City – The Episcopal Church website.

“Celebrate Pride Month with pride resources” – TEC website.

The Church of England’s Problem with Antisemitism

“This week, the Archbishop of Canterbury is visiting Israel/Palestine and meeting with Palestinian Christians there, who have made a plea for churches in the West to support them and campaign for peace in the region.

For reasons I will explain below, I think this visit, like the earlier one by Rachel Treweek, Graham Usher, and Guli Francis-Dehqani (bishops of Gloucester, Norwich, and Chelmsford) are disastrous for the Church of England, for Jews in Britain, and for our relationship with the Jewish community. …”

– At Psephizo, Ian Paul shares his possibly controversial, but very interesting, commentary on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s current overseas trip.

Image: Ian Paul speaking at the Church of England’s General Synod in February 2024.

William Tyndale: The most important Englishman in history?

“William Tyndale was the first person to translate the New Testament into English from Greek, and this was the first NT printed in English. It had an immense impact on the English-speaking world, which reverberates down into our own time. …”

– Tony Watkins at Tyndale House in Cambridge has this sketch of the life and importance of William Tyndale.

“In 2026, Tyndale House [celebrates] the 500th anniversary of the Tyndale New Testament (1526).

This anniversary marks a turning point in the history of the English Bible and an enduring reminder of why William Tyndale matters today: he placed the word of God into the hands of ordinary people, doing so with attention to the original languages and giving his life for this mission.”

Click this link for more.

Why do young people leave the church, and what do we need to change to help them stay? Ruth Lukabyo

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“New research suggests that around 70% of those who attended church regularly at age 11 are no longer attending by their late twenties, with the most vulnerable years stretching from around age 10 through to 25.

Dean of Students at Youthworks College Ruth Lukabyo explores why young people disengage, how inherited faith becomes owned faith and what churches can do to better navigate the critical transitions from childhood to adulthood.

We discuss the practical changes pastors, parents and churches can make to help more young people keep following Jesus for the long haul.”

– Very helpful.  Watch or listen here.

ACL AGM Address 2026 — Dr Lionel Windsor

The Rev Dr Lionel Windsor, New Testament Lecturer at Moore Theological College and ACL Council Member, gave the occasional address at the Anglican Church League’s 2026 Annual General Meeting.

His topic was: “Built on the foundation, joined together: Does God care about inter-church organisations?”  A talk on Ephesians 2:20–22.

“How do we define who the ACL is from a theological point of view? There are two dangers when we attempt to define ourselves theologically. At one end of the spectrum, we create too grand a vision and start believing church political networks like the ACL are central to God’s purposes in the universe. Yet at the other end, there is the danger that we become purely pragmatic, seeing the ACL as exclusively a human organisation. …”

– Listen to the full 19 minute talk here:

 

Or download the 19MB mp3 file at this link.

My Rights — Freedom, life, and liberty?

From Phillip Jensen –

“Today we are looking at freedom from slavery in the beginning of 1 Corinthians 9, but we decided to call this episode ‘My Rights’, for the way the passage has been translated raises the question of ‘rights’. The passage is really about the authority of the Apostle—an authority he does not use in his concern for other people’s salvation.

It is an extraordinary explanation of the nature of Christ’s work of salvation, preached in the apostolic gospel and lived out by the Apostle Paul.”

– Listen (or read the transcript) at Two Ways News.

(You can also join the Supporters Club – scroll down at this link.)

Nine Questions every Pastor should ask about their Church’s music

9Marks has republished this 2014 article by Keith and Kristyn Getty, excerpted from their book Sing!: How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church –

“The one thing we have learned above all others as we have traveled with our music these last ten years is this: Good congregational singing begins with the pastoral leadership.

Whatever the denomination, musical style, or cultural background, the singing is directly proportional to the senior pastor’s or leadership team’s care for the subject. It is not primarily the music, or the musical leadership, or the budget. Just like parents can’t blame their child’s ballet teacher if she behaves badly through the week, so the leader of the church, and not the music leader or team, is ultimately responsible for how well the congregation is singing.

With that in mind, here are 10 questions we encourage every pastor to ask. …”

– Read it here.

Last week we linked to Liv Chapman Leggett’s review of the book at The Australian Church Record.

“Magnifica Humanitas”. The Chart of Roman Catholic Humanism and Its Theological Problems

Leonardo De Chirico takes a look at the first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, of Leo XIV, Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. The encyclical is his response to the rise of Artificial Intelligence.

De Chirico examines the place, in this document, of sin and the Atonement – “In MH the cross is only mentioned once… in a quotation from a 19th century French theologian…”

In summary, he writes,

“The voice of the Pope adds new strength to the choir of those who don’t want to succumb to the technocracy of AI and should be heard by all those who share this concern.

Having said that, the theological vision of MH is embedded in the Roman Catholic account of the nature-grace interdependence. …

The language used is Christian as far as the use of words is concerned, but the meaning is Roman Catholic rather than biblical. This results in doctrinal ambiguity at best…”

– See his reasoning at Vatican Files.

What is the Church of England for?

Carl Trueman offers a devastating commentary on too much of the Church of England –

“H. Richard Niebuhr famously denounced the liberal church of his day, summarizing its theology in a single withering sentence: ‘A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.’ What he did not note—but perhaps implied—is that such theology typically manifests in worship that is infantile, offering a pastiche of the wider culture’s predilections that would qualify as kitsch, if its purveyors had the wit to see it as such. The progressive church is always a poor imitation of what the world considered cool the day before yesterday.

Walking through the streets of London in early June, I encountered a first-class example of such third-class theological life…”

– Read it all at First Things.

(Thanks to Julian Mann for the link.)

Anglican Heroes: Katherine Brandon — Church Society podcast

From Church Society –

“Clare Heath-Whyte tells the story of Katherine Brandon’s life through 16th century England and Europe.

Born Katherine Willoughby, she first married Charles Brandon, one of Henry VIII’s closest friends, and later Richard Bertie, her Master of the Horse.”

– Listen here.

See a portrait by Hans Holding the Younger.

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