Christmas — Myth or History?

Bishop Paul Barnett responds to an article in last weekend’s newspaper.

“So don’t let the sceptics and atheists take away your hope.”

“You cannot but be impressed with the zeal of the modern sceptic and reciprocally unimpressed with the lethargy of the contemporary Christian. Right on track the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Weekend (3rd December, 2011) has a lengthy and well-researched article, ‘Divine Intervention’ (Fenella Souter) in which she debunks the historical basis for the first Christmas.

Her two main arguments are that there are only two gospel accounts and that they are contradictory, with the addition of many fictional details…”

– Read the full article on Paul Barnett’s website.

Update: If it comes in handy, here’s a PDF version formatted to suit a double-sided A4 sheet.

From Reformation to Revival

Lee Gatiss has been speaking in Cambridge at the ‘Saturday School of Theology’ on the theme ‘From Reformation to Revival’.

The audio of the first two sessions is now available, with the third to come. Below are the descriptions of each session:  Read more

The Sydney Family Album — 8, Howard Mowll

“It really is rather hard to overplay the contribution of Howard Mowll to the shape and character of the contemporary Anglican Diocese of Sydney.

His election as Archbishop in April 1933 was a critical moment in the diocese’s history, a decision for its evangelical heritage rather than the more eclectic theology others were advocating at the time. His tenure of the office during World War II and the equally critical post-war years set directions, embedded principles and fostered a new generation of leaders who enabled Sydney Anglicanism to remain unambiguously Protestant and evangelical while engaging seriously with the challenges of a new era…”

– Mark Thompson continues his series on those who shaped Sydney Diocese.

Some recent books on Church History

“It remains as important as ever for the church not to lose sight of where it has come from, to be inspired by the great examples of the past as well warned by the mistakes that we are in danger of repeating.”

– Lee Gatiss reviews seven recent books on church history to see how solid and how useful they might be for the church, in Churchman.

His Story is History and History is His Story

“Tacitus the great historian of First Century Rome leaves us in no doubt about the main historical outlines of the New Testament. Tacitus, a leading politician and a provincial governor, reports that the ‘Christians’ took their name from a person called ‘Christ’ who was executed by Pontius Pilate in Judea in the era of Tiberius Caesar.

Tacitus expected the movement to die with its founder but instead it spread to Rome where, by the time of the great fire in AD 64, it had become ‘immense’.

Tacitus’s history tell us (a) Jesus was known as ‘Christ’, (b) that he was therefore a genuine figure of history, (c) when and where he was executed, and (d) that in spite of his death as a disgraced felon within thirty years his movement spread from Palestine on the edge of the empire to its heart, Rome…”

– Read it all – at Dr Paul Barnett’s blog.

The Sydney Family Album — 7

Mark Thompson has returned to his theme of Sydney’s Family Album with the story of Nathaniel Jones, Moore College Principal 1897–1911:

“Jones’ legacy was a determined evangelicalism, determined equally to live out the faith in quiet godliness and to resist the liberalism (a.k.a. modernism) that would seek a foothold in the diocese over the next two decades.”

Nathaniel Jones, Principal of Moore College from 1897 until 1911, must be included in any reckoning of those who shaped contemporary Sydney Anglicanism. He influenced a generation of Sydney clergy during his fourteen years as principal of the college. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Katoomba Christian Convention. It would be Jones’ men who would promote Howard Mowll for Archbishop in 1933.  Read more

Why God became Man

“The title of this post is the translation of one of the most famous books in the history of Christian theology: Cur Deus Homo by Anselm of Canterbury. In it he expounded the biblical doctrines of Christ’s incarnation and atonement, demonstrating their fundamental connection. The one who died was God the Son become fully human. God the Son became fully human in order to die.

The necessity of the incarnation arises from both God’s character of holy love and determined purpose to have human beings for himself even in the face of the monumental attack upon God and his character that is human sin. …”

– ACL President Mark Thompson writes at Theological Theology.

Abandon the Reformation, Abandon the Gospel

“There they sat. Relics. Lots of them. There was a cut of fabric from the swaddling cloth of baby Jesus, 13 pieces from his crib, a strand of straw from the manger, a piece of gold from a Wise Man, three pieces of myrrh, a morsel of bread from the Last Supper, a thorn from the crown Jesus wore when crucified, and, to top it all off, a genuine piece of stone that Jesus stood on to ascend to the Father’s right hand…”

– At The Gospel Coalition, Matthew Barrett writes for Reformation Day (October 31).

Archbishop Cranmer’s immortal bequest

In the run up to Reformation Sunday (October 30), Church Society has republished a 1992 article from Churchman – ‘Archbishop Cranmer’s Immortal Bequest: The Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England: An Evangelistic Liturgy’ by Samuel Leuenberger. (PDF file.)

Worthwhile reading for a sense of where the Book of Common Prayer comes from, especially so as Sydney Diocese discusses liturgical revision.

The Reformation and the men behind it

“The Protestant Reformation stands as the most far-reaching, world-changing display of God’s grace since the birth and early expansion of the church. It was not a single act, nor was it led by one man. This history-altering movement played out on different stages over many decades. Its cumulative impact, however, was enormous…”

– Over at R.C. Sproul’s Ligonier Ministries website, they’re posting excerpts from the book Pillars of Grace by Steven Lawson, in the run up to Reformation Day (usually observed on October 31). h/t Tim Challies.

Remembering with gratitude Sir Marcus Loane, on the Centenary of his birth

Marcus Loane was born in Tasmania one hundred years ago – on 14 October 1911.

He grew up in Chatswood in Sydney, becoming a Christian at the age of thirteen. After completing school, he worked as a shipping clerk while studying at Sydney University in the evenings.

In 1932, he entered Moore Theological College, with a view to ordination for parish ministry. He excelled academically in the Th.L and also earned an MA in English from Sydney University.  Read more

Paul, Chronology and the Unity of 2 Corinthians

“It is generally agreed that Paul’s engagement with the church in Corinth was extensive and intensive, more so than with any Pauline congregation. This short paper addresses the question of the chronology of Paul’s relationship with the church in Corinth and the related issue of the unity of Second Corinthians. …”

– Bishop Paul Barnett has posted a very interesting and helpful paper he presented at the Society for the Study of Early Christianity at Macquarie University in August.

(Related: Society for the Study of Early Christianity website.)

Holding the Word of God in your hands

A few weeks back, Crossway, the publishers of the ESV, hosted a dinner at a Christian booksellers’ convention in Atlanta, Georgia. They asked someone who loves God’s word to give the keynote address.

John Piper spoke about William Tyndale, the 400th anniversary of the AV, the RSV, the NRSV, the rationale for the ESV – and the incomparable worth of God’s word. You can watch his 31 minute address on Vimeo. h/t Dane Ortlund.

Idea: Registered Vimeo users can download the 175MB file. Have a big TV? Invite your Bible Study group around to watch.

Iain Murray on reading church history

“The reason church history is not always thrilling is that people do not read it around the flesh-and-blood figures of men and women whom God used to shape its course.

Biographies raise the questions: Why were individuals so used? What made Mary Slessor or William Carey? What are the abiding spiritual lessons? Biographies show that doctrinal belief is not a secondary or theoretical thing; rather, it has vital consequence in the way Christians live. Weak doctrine produces weak lives. Those who ‘turn the world upside down’ are always those ’mighty in the Scriptures.’…”

– from an interview with Iain Murray (the Banner of Truth founder) at Ligonier Ministries.

Anglican Evangelism and Evangelical Anglicanism, 1945-2011 — the challenge we face

This week John Richardson spoke at the Evangelical Anglican Junior Clergy Conference in the UK, and he’s posted the text of his first address online. It’s a very interesting overview of Post-war UK evangelical Anglicanism. He includes mention of some help, in the Lord’s providence, from the colonies –

“Many in the Evangelical Anglican constituency were therefore increasingly uncomfortable with the direction being taken by the movement, and in the mid-1980s, under the leadership of Dick Lucas, the Evangelical Ministry Assembly and the Proclamation Trust struck out in a different direction.

The Proclamation Trust aimed unashamedly, and in its own mind principally, at a recovery of preaching. Nevertheless, this inevitably entailed a recovery of theology, and so the speakers invited to address the EMA were often men of theological acumen as well as skilled communicators.

Notably, however, most of them came from abroad — it seemed that in the UK they were in short supply. Many were from America but some, and in the end the most influential, were from the Diocese of Sydney in Australia.

Two key English Evangelicals made some revealing comments about the impact of just one of these visitors, John Chapman, who then headed the Department of Evangelism in the Diocese of Sydney. …”

– Read it all at The Ugley Vicar. (Photo of John Chapman, courtesy of AFES.)

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