Thomas Cranmer and the fear of death
“On 21st March 1556, Thomas Cranmer, was marched out to Oxford’s University Church.
However many thousands of services he had attended in over twenty years serving as Archbishop of Canterbury, this was to be his last. Condemned as a heretic, he was to be burned, like so many of his protestant colleagues and friends under the short but bloody reign of Mary. A small cobbled cross on Oxford’s Broad Street still marks the spot to this day…”
– For Church Society’s Formulary Friday, Sam Brewster draws us to consider the ninth Homily, ‘An Exhortation Against The Fear Of Death”.
How did we get to Now? — NSW Presbyterians challenged to remember
“Before I belonged to the Presbyterian Church I was a member of another Australian denomination that has now completely lost its way theologically.
I used to attend the Katoomba Convention and the CMS Summer School for my annual Bible teaching. I know what it’s like to go to church week after week and hear minister after minister have nothing to say from the Bible. Some of you can’t imagine a situation like that. Some of you have lived through it. We can’t afford to forget those days. We must make sure that we don’t become complacent.
That’s one reason why we need to play our part in meetings like Assembly and Presbytery. Where does theological liberalism begin to take its hold? It’s often in the decisions of Assemblies and Presbyteries. Carl Truman says that liberalism enters a church when evangelicals don’t bother turning up to the decision making meetings while the moderates and liberals slowly change the theological temperature. We must each play our part in making sure that we are a denomination that sticks to the Bible…”
– In his address to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in NSW recently, Moderator Kevin Murray challenged his hearers against complacency.
Read it on pages 8 and 9 of the August–September 2015 edition of The Pulse (PDF).
The illustration given above is also why the ACL is committed to its task. If you share our commitment, consider joining. Photo credit: Peter Merrick.
Be a Gospel Patron
At GoThereFor, Tony Payne interviews John Rinehart, an advocate of ‘gospel patronage’.
And his book is available at Matthias Media.
Reckless Abandon by the Sea
“This week marks the 150th anniversary of Hudson Taylor’s Brighton Beach experience – one of the seminal events of the Gospel’s advance in China and in the history of missions…”
– Tim Keesee marks a significant anniversary – with the hope of stirring hearts today.
Update: Tim Keesee has a guest post at Challies.com –
“One of my favorite quotes from Hudson Taylor, the very quotable pioneer missionary to China is ‘There are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.’ Taylor knew about impossible…” – read it all here.
The Battle of Waterloo and Moore College??
“To mark the bicentenary of the famous Battle of Waterloo on 18 June, Peter Bolt, Head of Moore College Department of New Testament and Greek, has organised a free event ‘The Battle of Waterloo and Moore College’.”
– Read on to see the unexpected link.
The Huguenot Heart
Bishop Paul Barnett spoke at the Huguenot Heritage Church service for the Huguenot Society at Scots Church in Sydney yesterday and shares his notes from the event –
“I am not of Huguenot descent. But let me speak today about the Huguenot heart…”
The Dunkirk National Day of Prayer
“When Britain was close to defeat during the Second World War, and the entire British Army was trapped at Dunkirk, in desperation George VI called for a National Day of Prayer.
This was held on 26th May 1940. In a national broadcast he instructed the people of the UK to turn back to God in a spirit of repentance and plead for Divine help. Millions of people across the British Isles flocked into churches praying for deliverance…”
– at Church Society, John Willans remembers an extraordinary time of prayer – and extraordinary answers.
Charles Simeon and his enduring influence on Australia
This year’s Moore College Library Day looks at the influence of Charles Simeon. It’s on Saturday 23rd May. Read the details and register for the day.
Thank God for William Tyndale
Potted history from Adam Ford.
Thank God for William Tyndale.
Paul in Rome in the Sixties
“The book of Acts indicates that Paul was under ‘house arrest’ in Rome, most probably between 60-62.
Luke’s text suggests that Paul was then released, something First Timothy and Titus also imply.
Second Timothy, written from Rome, however indicates that Paul was soon to face execution. Presumably, this execution was at the decision of Nero Caesar following the Great Fire in 64.”
– Confused about the Apostle Paul’s final years in Rome? Read this fascinating new article by Bishop Paul Barnett to understand better what was going on.
Tip: You may want to first read his earlier piece, ‘Paul lived in Rome two whole years’. The Mysterious Ending of Luke-Acts.
Sydney at Gallipoli
“This month marks the centenary of the landing at Gallipoli by Australian and New Zealand troops as part of a larger allied invasion force in April 1915…
Historians have noted how the Australian involvement at Gallipoli gained Australia the right to be treated as an independent nation. Thus, Australia was allowed its own independent seat at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and was not simply part of the British Empire delegation.”
– This article by Dr Colin Bale (Head of Church History at Moore College) tells the story of two Sydney Anglicans in the Great War. It was published in the April edition of Southern Cross, and has also been posted online by SydneyAnglicans.net.
When to make a stand
“Three great ‘stands’ in the history of the church:
- the stand of Athanasius over the person of Christ;
- the stand of Martin Luther over the authority of Scripture and justification by faith alone;
- the stand of the GAFCON Primates over the priority of Christ and his mission, the authority of Scripture over denominational processes, revisionist theology, and ethical practice. …
Being prepared to make a stand has characterised genuine Christian leadership throughout the last two thousand years. But why? And when? And how?”
– Moore College Principal Dr Mark Thompson gave this talk at a seminar during the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Conference in Melbourne last week.
Very helpful. Download it here as a PDF file.
(Picture: Detail from ‘Luther at the Diet of Worms’, by Anton von Werner, 1877.)
Is there a Future for Confessional Anglicanism? — conference audio
On Saturday 21st March 2015, the Anglican Church League held the “Is there a Future for Confessional Anglicanism?” conference in the Chapter House of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney.
Those present considered our Anglican inheritance, our current challenges and our potential future under God.
Glenn Davies, Archbishop of Sydney; Ashley Null, authority on Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation; and Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College, were the speakers.
Listen to the talks via these links:
Archbishop Dr. Glenn Davies:
The State of Play in the Anglican Church of Australia.
27MB mp3 file and 100kb PDF file outline.
“The ACL’s role in Sydney is to keep the Diocese evangelical. That’s our role. Our role is to be ever vigilant … What one generation fights for, the next generation accepts and the third one forgets. … The stronger ACL is, the stronger the Diocese of Sydney is; the stronger the Diocese of Sydney is, the better the national church will be.”
Dr. Ashley Null:
Our Inheritance.
“The very heart of Cranmer’s understanding of the mission of the church is to proclaim the gospel … to renew the hearts and minds and lives of the English people.”
Dr. Mark D. Thompson:
Where next for confessional Anglicanism?
17MB mp3 file or 160kb PDF file.
“I am an Anglican – not just by historical accident but by conviction. I am convinced that here is a good – more than good, something that has proven to be powerfully effective over almost five hundred years — expression of gospel principles and gospel priorities … Yet to be true to that heritage I must be a gospel man first.”
Photo by Scott Blackwell.
Professor Edwin Judge — Engaging Rome and Jerusalem — book launch
On March 11th 2015, Bishop Paul Barnett gave this address at the launch of a collection of essays by Professor Edwin Judge. Very encouraging:
(Update: See also Assoc. Prof. Stuart Piggin’s remarks, and ordering details for the book.)
Book Launch – Text of Bishop Paul Barnett’s remarks:
E.A. Judge, Engaging Rome and Jerusalem,
(ed. S. Piggin; North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2014).
In 1966 E.A. Judge, Reader in History at the University of Sydney had a small third year Roman History class of which I was a member, along with a younger Tom Hillard.
Tom has gone on to great things as a Roman historian and I have pursued the study of Christian origins within the canon of Jewish, Roman and early Christian texts. Another in the class, Judith Nicholls, now a senior mature age student, is researching her PhD on Jerome.
Edwin Judge’s office is lined with the higher degree theses of his dozens of supervised students. These volumes are silent tribute to a master teacher’s scholarship but equally to his generosity. Read more
Australia’s Christian Heritage
Weekend reading, new in our Resources section:
Associate Professor Stuart Piggin gave this address at a gathering on 3rd February 2015 to commemorate the First Christian Service in Australia.
Held in Richard Johnson Square, Sydney, the gathering was close to the site of the first service, conducted by the Rev. Richard Johnson, Chaplain to the Colony, on 3rd February 1788.
“We are at the site of:
• the First Christian service on Australian soil,
• the first sermon preached,
• the first church and
• the first schoolhouse
The preacher at that service, held under a ‘great tree’, beginning at 10 o’clock on 3 February 1788, a hot midsummer’s day, was the Rev Richard Johnson, Australia’s
• first minister,
• first educator,
• first carer for orphans,
• first carer for aboriginal children …”
Click here to open the PDF file of Dr. Piggin’s address in a new window.
Photos: Ramon Williams, Worldwide Photos.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…