Uganda urged to remember Janani Luwum
“More than 20,000 people gathered in Mucwini, Kitgum, today to honour and celebrate the life, ministry, and martyrdom of Archbishop Janani Luwum, the Church of Uganda’s 2nd Ugandan Archbishop.
After arresting him on false charges, former President Idi Amin Dada assassinated him on 16th February 1977…”
– from The Church of Uganda.
Many readers will remember Bishop Festo Kivengere visiting Sydney after the assassination – and his powerful evangelistic talks and book “I love Idi Amin”.
Related: Moore College’s audio files of Bishop Festo Kivengere.
Richard Johnson — the background
“In the summer of 1784, the Newtons took their orphaned niece Eliza to bathe at the seaside for her health.
John Thornton had invited Newton to accompany him to Lymington and the Isle of Wight. A stranger, Charles Etty, invited Newton to stay at his home near Lymington en route.
In December 1783, Richard Johnson had been licenced as curate to St John’s, Boldre, a village in the New Forest only 3 miles from Etty’s home.
It is conceivable that Newton and Johnson may have met there in the late summer of 1784. Certainly they subsequently knew the same group of friends in the Lymington area.
And it was only a few months later, on 25 March 1785, that Newton reported to William Bull:
“Yesterday I put Mr. Johnson in my pulpit,
(who I think gives us an earnest of a judicious good preacher).’…”
– Marylynn Rouse at The John Newton Project has been researching how John Newton came to know Richard Johnson and came to recommend him to be Chaplain on the First Fleet.
It’s a fascinating work-in-progress with more to come – read it here.
Related: St John’s Boldre is having “Australia Day Matins” on Sunday 1st February.
Photo courtesy Google Maps.
‘Go, bear the Saviour’s name to lands unknown’
This Australia Day long weekend, it’s a good time to bring the people of Australia before our heavenly Father in prayer.
Even before European settlement, the inhabitants of “lands unknown” were in the prayers of men and women like John Newton.
On 8th July 1777, Newton wrote this in his diary –
“My leisure time and rather more than I can well spare taken up with reading the accounts of the late voyage of Capt. Cook in the Southern Ocean and round the Globe.
Teach me to see thy hand and read thy name in these relations. Thy providence and goodness are displayed in every clime. May I be suitably affected with the case of the countless thousands of my fellow creatures, who know thee not, nor have opportunities of knowing thee.
Alas that those who are called Christians, and who venture through the greatest dangers to explore unknown regions, should only impart to the inhabitants examples of sin and occasions of mischief, and communicate nothing of thy Gospel to them. Lord hast thou not a time for these poor benighted souls, when thou wilt arise and shine upon them?”
(Special thanks to Marylynn Rouse of The John Newton Project, who transcribed this entry from Newton’s diary.)
Part of the answer to John Newton’s prayer was the Rev Richard Johnson (pictured), who sailed, in May 1787, on the First Fleet as the first Chaplain to the Colony to be established at Botany Bay.
Newton wrote to Johnson –
“Go, bear the Saviour’s name to lands unknown,
Tell to the southern world his wondrous grace;
And energy Divine thy words shall own
And draw their untaught hearts to seek his face.”
So let’s give thanks for Richard and Mary Johnson, and for those who sent them – and be committed afresh to “bearing the Saviour’s name” to all in our land.
Related: Richard Johnson’s An Address To The Inhabitants Of The Colonies Established in New South Wales And Norfolk Island (pdf).
Possible first-century fragment of Mark’s Gospel discovered
“In 2012, Dan Wallace dropped a bombshell during a debate with Bart Ehrman. Ehrman had pointed out that our earliest copy of Mark’s Gospel is dated 140 years after the gospel was first written. It’s a point often made by critics to show the unreliability of the New Testament. Wallace then revealed that he had knowledge that a first century copy of Mark’s Gospel had been discovered. …
LiveScience.com has a report today verifying Wallace’s claims about work being done on a fragment of Mark’s Gospel that appears to be from the late first century”
– Denny Burk has a little more on Daniel Wallace’s 2012 claim.
And some cautionary thoughts from Justin Taylor
“Let’s think critically and wait to see the published results. Until then, debating the details won’t get us very far.”
and Peter Williams, Warden of Tyndale House in Cambridge.
(Photo: Dr. Daniel Wallace at Dallas Theological Seminary.)
A mind soaked with Scripture: Samuel Marsden
“Marsden was probably born in 1765 and grew up in the Yorkshire area of England. …
Whatever led to Marsden’s call to ministry is not known but the financial means came through the Elland Society – a group of evangelical clergy who met to support one another and who began to fund suitable young men who were considering the ministry.
Marsden trained in Cambridge, being influenced by older men such as William Romaine, John Newton, Rowland Hill, William Wilberforce and his mentor Charles Simeon. … He cut short his theological studies when the invitation came to become the assistant chaplain in New South Wales…”
– Tomorrow marks 200 years since Samuel Marsden preached the first Christian sermon in New Zealand. Bible Society Australia has this article from Simon Manchester.
Related: “Hundreds of people are expected to gather at the small Northland beach of Oihi on Christmas day to commemorate the first Christian service on New Zealand whenua.” – Radio New Zealand.
‘Logic on Fire’ trailer
At The Gospel Coalition, Justin Taylor shares the trailer for a forthcoming film, “Logic On Fire: the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones”.
George Whitefield @ 300
“Today, three hundred years ago, on December 16, 1714, was born the man Martyn Lloyd-Jones said was ‘beyond any question, the greatest English preacher who has ever lived”. The great Bishop J. C. Ryle had said, ‘No Englishman … dead or alive, has ever equalled him.’…”
– Sandy Grant at The Briefing gives thanks for George Whitefield – and also provides some links to learn more.
Related:
Church Society has a lecture by Lee Gatiss which some of the opposition Whitefield faced, and puts it into its 18th century context.
Hear the audio of the talks given at the Whitefield Symposium at George Whitefield College in Cape Town in August 2014. (You may need to scroll down in the list of audio files.)
Hold lightly to this world: Anne Bradstreet
“God has given us many Christian brothers and sisters throughout history whom we can benefit from, and whom we do benefit from. They teach, challenge, and comfort us largely through the ministry of writing that lives on many years after they have died. These writings include books, sermons, tracts, songs, letters, and poetry. Many of these men and women are well known, but others are less so. One of our lesser known sisters is Anne Bradstreet.
Anne Bradstreet (nee Dudley) was born in 1612 and died in 1672…”
– Never heard of Anne Bradstreet? Now’s a good time to learn, thanks to Jane Tooher, Director of the Priscilla and Aquila Centre at Moore College.
Prayer in the English Reformation
In the latest issue of Credo magazine (h/t Tim Challies), Gerald Bray contributes part 1 of an essay on Prayer in the English Reformation.
Take the time to read it – it starts on page 24 of the 13MB PDF file linked from this page. (Image: Moore College.)
Grace Abounding — Tim Keesee on John Bunyan
“Bunyan’s book has blessed the world, but in Bedford, little remains from his life and long imprisonment…”
– Tim Keesee of Frontline Missions reflects briefly on the occasion of John Bunyan’s birthday.
Lotteries, Divorce and Australian Church History
“At Moore College, each year the Bachelor of Divinity fourth year students have the opportunity to research and write a 6,000 word essay in Church History on some aspect of evangelicalism in Australia or Britain (post-1600).
The Church History Department first launched the online journal Integrity last year in order to share some of the quality essays written by our students with a broader audience.”
The 140 page second volume is well worth downloading from the Moore College website. Here are the papers in Volume 2 –
- The Unexpected Chaplain: Henry Fulton and Early Colonial Evangelicalism. – Tom Melbourne.
- The Response of the Anglican Dioceses of Perth and Sydney to the Introduction of State Lotteries from 1920 to 1945. – Cameron Howard.
- A survey of the Federal Methodist Inland Mission and an account of the ministry of the Rev Keith Lachlan Doust. – Katherine Cole.
- An Analysis of the Reasons for the Opposition in Tasmania in the 1850s of the Rev Dr Henry Fry and other Evangelical Anglican Clergy to their Bishop, Dr Francis Nixon. – Sam Gough.
- An Assessment of the Contribution of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney to the Debate on the Introduction of ‘No-Fault Divorce’ in the Family Law Act (1975). – Mark Wormell.
To End All Wars
Here’s Glen Scrivener’s throught-provoking contribution to Remembrance Day.
Chappo’s contribution to the Anglican Diocese of Armidale
“This weekend (8/11/2014) the good people of the Anglican Diocese of Armidale are celebrating their centenary.
Before 1914, the Armidale Diocese existed as the Diocese of Grafton and Armidale, which covered a huge amount of New South Wales from 1867 till 1914. Over the past 100 years the Diocese has undergone massive change, and as part of my 4th year program at Moore Theological College I had the opportunity to do a large research project on the diocese.
Specifically, I wanted to look into Chappo’s time in the diocese as I had hardly heard anything about his work there. What I found was deeply encouraging for my life and ministry. As the Armidale Diocese celebrates this weekend, feel free to get acquainted with our brothers and sisters of the north…”
– Tim Stevens writes on someone close to the heart of many in Australia and around the world.
Free Reformation Day resources from Ligonier Ministries
“In celebration of Reformation Day, for the first time ever we’re replacing our usual $5 Friday sale with Free Reformation Day Friday.
Until 11:59pm ET on Friday, October 31, 2014, [2:59pm AEST Saturday, November 01] you can download the following digital resources for free.”
– A generous gift. eBooks, plus audio and video resources on the Reformation, with a focus on Martin Luther and John Calvin. (Around 2GB in total.)
70 years ago today: The conversion of J. I. Packer
“On Sunday, October 22, 1944—seventy years ago today—it is doubtful that anyone noticed a soft-spoken, lanky, and decidedly bookish first-year university student leaving his dormitory room at Corpus Christi College and heading across Oxford for an evening Christian Union service at a local Anglican church.
18-year-old Jim Packer had arrived at Oxford University less than three weeks prior, a single suitcase in hand, traveling east by train from Gloucester using a free ticket available to family members of Great Western Railway employees…”
– Justin Taylor fittingly marks the anniversary.
(Photo: Dr. Packer, right, with David Short, in Vancouver three years ago.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…