Mohler on Spurgeon
Albert Mohler delivered the annual Spurgeon Lecture at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Florida last week. He looks at Spurgeon in his intellectual and cultural context.
See it here via the Gospel Coalition.
(From 23:20, there’s mention of Bishop Colenso, whose actions precipitated the first Lambeth Conference.)
Remembering Leon Morris on the Centenary of his birth
Australian theologian Leon Morris was born one hundred years ago this weekend – on March 15th 1914.
The current Principal of Ridley College Melbourne, Dr, Brian Rosner, has a tribute. (Photo: Ridley College.)
If you are not familiar with the writings of Leon Morris, you can read three articles on the Church Society website:
The Person of Christ (1960).
The Authority of the Bible Today (1961, PDF file).
Christian Worship (1962, PDF file).
And if you can obtain a copy (and especially if you have some Greek), take the time to read his The Apostolic Preaching of The Cross – The Tyndale Press, London, 1955) – an enormously important book still today.
That book “is an attempt to understand certain key words, words which are crucial to the New Testament picture of the atonement, by seeing them against the background of the Greek Old Testament, the papyri, and the Rabbinic writings. Armed with our discoveries, we then proceed to examine them in their New Testament setting…” – from the Preface to the First Edition.
Update: Sandy Grant has just published this at The Briefing.
The False Teachers: Pelagius
“Pelagius believed that man had not been entirely corrupted by Adam’s fall and that he could, by his own free will, do works that pleased God, and thus be saved.”
– In his new series on The False Teachers, Tim Challies turns to write about Pelagius.
Happy 70th Birthday to Tyndale House
“70 years ago today, with the War still raging, Tyndale House was purchased for just 4,500 pounds Sterling to be established as a residential centre for biblical research.
Since then many hundreds of scholars have been supported and equipped through Tyndale House to serve the church. Around 300 PhD theses have been substantially written in our library. The Bible translations alone that have been produced by scholars who have spent time here have reached millions, and the impact of scholarship from Tyndale House has been global. We’re thankful to God for this and look to him for the future.”
– from an e-mail from Tyndale House in Cambridge.
A young Broughton Knox, then in the UK, was convinced of the worth of such an institution. According to the minutes of the meeting of the group that set up Tyndale House, the motion that it be a residential library and not simply a library, was moved by DBK.
See this video introduction to Tyndale House.
The False Teachers: Arius
“This morning I am setting out on a new series of articles that will scan the history of the church – from its earliest days all the way to the present time – and pause to examine some of Christianity’s most notorious false teachers. …
We will begin this morning with one of the very first, and certainly one of the most dangerous, false teachers: Arius.” – Tim Challies begins a new series.
The Execution of Lady Jane Grey: 460 years ago
“Lady Jane Grey… is a daughter of the Reformation whose story of faithfulness and grace deserves to be better known.”
– Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds remembers Lady Jane Grey, who was executed on this day in 1554.
Amazing Grace’s lasting impact — the John Newton story
Marylynn Rouse from The John Newton Project was interviewed about the impact of the hymn “Amazing Grace”. Along the way, she spoke about the background to the hymn, and about John Newton’s conversion.
Most encouraging – see it on Vimeo.
‘Downton Abbey’ and the Modern Age — What are we really watching?
“Americans by the millions tuned in to watch the premier of Downton Abbey’s fourth season, eager to enjoy the continuation of the saga of the Earl and Countess of Grantham and their household. …
And yet, most viewers are likely unaware of what they are actually seeing. They are not merely watching an historical drama, they are witnessing the passing of a world. And that larger story, inadequately portrayed within Downton Abbey, is a story that should not be missed. That story is part of our own story as well.”
– Albert Mohler writes.
Slavery’s Abolition and History’s Truth
“Memories shape us powerfully. For all of us there are defining events, the memories of which stay with us and determine how we view the world. Not only individuals, but communities and nations have landmark memories. The Gettysburg Address of Abraham Lincoln is one such. …
Nowadays it is taken for granted that equality is a value which everyone respects, but we should never forget that it was not always so.”
– Dr Mark Durie, Vicar of St Mary’s Caulfield in Melbourne, writes in Quadrant about the cultural amnesia afflicting so many today.
(Longer, original version, at his blog.)
The English Reformers’ teaching on Salvation
Church Society has posted a talk given by Donald Allister, now Bishop of Peterborough, at the 1991 Church Society Conference. (At the time, Bishop Allister was Rector of St. Mary’s Cheadle, near Manchester.)
How can you be right with God? Hear the “joyful and liberating truth” Bilney, Tyndale, Cranmer, Latimer and other English Reformers discovered.
60 minute talk – it’s a 30MB mp3 file. Take the time to listen – a very good way to start the new year.
Jesus’ Improbable Plan
“Jesus and the apostles expected the nations of the world to be won for him. This is a historical statement that is historically true that will stand in the face of even the most stringent, critical analysis.
Consider how improbable such a vision must have been.
‘Make disciples of all nations’ he said but those to whom he said it were but eleven in number, simple uneducated men, without friends in high places. Their own track record had not been good; one was a betrayer, another a denier and all were deserters.
He, their leader, had been handed over by the temple hierarchs and crucified by the Romans.
Yet he expected world conquest, but not achieved by naked power but by mere words backed up by an ethical life. …”
– Bishop Paul Barnett looks at Jesus’ ‘improbable plan’.
GAFCON Chairman’s Advent Letter
Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council has released this Advent Letter.
He begins by giving thanks for the meeting in Nairobi, before turning to what’s next –
“We have to come down from the mountain to face the challenges ahead.
And so we have. The Church of England has just released what is known as the Pilling Report, the conclusions of a Working Group commissioned by the House of Bishops to report and make recommendations on issues of human sexuality.
I am sorry to say that it is very flawed. If this report is accepted I have no doubt that the Church of England, the Mother Church of the Communion, will have made a fateful decision. It will have chosen the same path as The Episcopal Church of the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada with all the heartbreak and division that will bring. ”
The Spiritual Reformation
Just in time for Reformation Day (31st October), you can hear last Sunday’s sermon from St. Andrew’s Cathedral by Phillip Jensen – on ‘The Spiritual Reformation’.
Good to hear and to pass the link on to others.
Reformation Day
Back in 2011, Justin Taylor posted some resources for Reformation Day (observed on 31st October in many places, to remember Martin Luther’s nailing of the 95 Theses to the Wittenburg door on 31st October 1517).
Though the video links no longer work, there are plenty of other useful links to help in understanding what it was all about.
See also: Why the Reformation Is Not Over.
Integrity ejournal – A journal of Australian church history from Moore College
“Students in their fourth year of the Bachelor of Divinity degree at Moore Theological College 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 excellent quality of some of these essays has encouraged the Church History Department to seek a way to share the fruits of the research and writing of these students with a broader audience. This is the reason for the launch of this new journal Integrity.”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…