Be Inspired by Mr Eternity!
From St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney:
“Written in Chalk – the echo of Arthur Stace!
On the evenings of Friday 11th and Saturday 12th November, on our doorsteps, St Andrew’s Square is hosting outdoor screenings of a fascinating documentary on the inspirational impact of the Eternity Story on Sydney’s history and culture! The documentary starts at around sunset, 7:30pm, and runs for about 70 minutes.
It occurs at the 90th anniversary of Arthur Stace first writing ‘Eternity’ on Sydney’s streets (14 November 1932)!
All welcome for a unique experience. View the trailer here.”
Whatever line the film takes on the legacy of Arthur Stace, you can learn about the man and his story –
Making your life count for eternity.
The Eternity waterfall after 40 years – 12 July 2017.
Arthur Stace in his own words.
Marcus Loane on The English Reformation
In 1954, Marcus Loane – later Archbishop of Sydney and Sir Marcus – published his landmark “Masters of The English Reformation”.
It was republished in 2005 by Banner of Truth. If you haven’t read it, you ought to. (Availability.)
Here’s the Introduction —
“It was Martin Luther who declared that the doctrine of Justification by Faith Only is the article of a standing or falling church. The recovery of this doctrine was the key to the Reformation in Europe. It was the corollary of the translation of the Bible into the language of everyday life and its circulation in the homes and hands of ordinary people. These two momentous factors were to penetrate the Realm of England during the reign of Henry VIII and will forever be associated in a special sense with the names of Thomas Bilney and William Tyndale. These two, and many others as well, were to die at the stake as a result of their unswerving loyalty to the doctrines of Grace as made known in the Word of God. Nor did they die in vain. The supreme authority of Holy Scripture in all matters of faith and conduct was written into the sixth of the Articles of Religion; and the doctrine of Justification by Faith Only was summed up in unforgettable language in the Eleventh Article. Those two “Articles of the Christian Faith” are the bedrock on whIch the history of the Church of England since the Reformation must stand or fall.
But the pivot of the Reformation in England during the reign of Edward VI was the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. Ridley’s discovery of the work of Ratramnus led him to reject the doctrine of Transubstantiation and the Sacrifice of the Mass as totally foreign to the teaching of the New Testament. Ridley was able to convince Cranmer that Ratramnus was right; they came to believe that the bread and wine are “the pledges” of God’s redeeming love and that the presence of the Lord Jesus is not to be found in an earthly altar, but in the hearts of those who feed on Him by faith with thanksgiving. Ridley was to expound this doctrine with clarity and dignity in his Treatise on the Lord’s Supper, and Cranmer was to defend it with great learning in his controversy with Gardiner. This was the doctrine enshrined in the Source of the Holy Communion in the Book of Common Prayer in 1552.
When Queen Mary came to the throne, Ridley, Latimer and Cranmer were the outstanding Reformers who were thrown into prison. In all the debates which ensued, in their trial and condemnation for heresy, and in the sentence of death which consigned them to death by fire, the one basic issue was their doctrine of the Lord’s Supper as opposed to the dogmas of the church with regard to Transubstantiation and the Mass. If the Church were right and they were wrong, they were not only condemned to a terrible form of death as heretics but were doomed to a lost eternity. Their real greatness was seen in the fact that they dared to stand by their convictions, formed as a result of intensive study of the Scriptures, and to die at the stake rather than yield to the pressures that were brought to bear on mind and feeling. And the candle they lit is one which by the grace of God will never go out.
What happened more than four hundred years ago is still vitally relevant. The integrity and authority of the Bible have been under constant assault from many quarters and it is no longer the one Book in the homes and hands of all. Many people today think that a good life, a good name, and a good reputation will somehow make them acceptable to God. And the reformed doctrine of the Lord’s Supper has been obscured by an emphasis on the Real Presence which approximates more and more towards medieval teaching and practice. Let Bilney and Tyndale speak again; let Latimer and Ridley and Cranmer be heard afresh. They witnessed “a good confession” for their heavenly Master and sealed it with their lives.
May this book renew the impact of their life and death on another generation “in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” [1 Cor. 6:11].”
Photo: Ramon Williams. (This is a repost from 2014 in remembrance of the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer on 21 March 1556.)
Ashley Null on Thomas Cranmer
In 2001 we spoke with Dr Ashley Null about Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and primary author of the Book of Common Prayer.
“Thomas Cranmer was born in 1489 and baptised into the medieval catholic church. He studied at Cambridge, receiving a Doctorate of Divinity in 1526, and served there as a don.
As a theologian, Cranmer was very much influenced by Erasmus’ emphasis on going back to the original sources for the Christian faith, in particular, of course, the Bible.
In the late 1520s, the authority of Scripture was at the centre of the most pressing English political issue of the day – Henry VIII’s divorce case. …”
– In this interview Dr. Null speaks about why it is important for Anglicans to know about Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.
Reformation Sunday & Slogans
“Friends in Christ, this Sunday we celebrate Reformation Sunday (including Bach’s cantata 79, written for the occasion, as part of the 10:30am service).
The Reformation began as a series of protests (hence ‘Protestant’) against abuses of the mediaeval Roman Catholic Church, perhaps most notably the sale of indulgences. By the way, in this context, an indulgence is not something to do with giving into luxury, one too many chocolates or wines. Nor is it the collective noun for grandparents, as in an ‘indulgence of grandparents’!
The word had and still has a special meaning for Roman Catholics. That Church taught that God forgives believers the eternal punishment for our sins. But we must also purify ourselves from the ‘temporal punishment’ due to every sin, either in this life, or after death in Purgatory. Purification takes place through prayer, acts of charity, patiently bearing suffering, and so on – or via gaining an indulgence. …”
– At the Cathedral website, Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant explains why Reformation Sunday is worth celebrating.
‘Men Have Forgotten God’: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Back in 2018, to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The National Review republished an article adapted from his 1983 Templeton Address.
Among his remarks are these words which have great relevance today –
“Within the philosophical system of Marx and Lenin, and at the heart of their psychology, hatred of God is the principal driving force, more fundamental than all their political and economic pretensions.
Militant atheism is not merely incidental or marginal to Communist policy; it is not a side effect, but the central pivot. To achieve its diabolical ends, Communism needs to control a population devoid of religious and national feeling, and this entails the destruction of faith and nationhood. …”
– Read it all.
Photo: US Library of Congress, via The National Review.
‘Jesus Has Left the Building’: Scotland’s Secular Slide — and Signs of Hope
“The Church of Scotland had it all — good theological heritage, good attendance, and good buildings. It also had the strong support — yet not the interference — of the government. …
Not long after, Scottish Christianity collapsed. In 60 years, the Church of Scotland plummeted from 1.3 million to 300,000 members. Meanwhile, the proportion of Scots who claim no religion has risen to nearly 60 percent.
Aberdeen is now the most secular city in Scotland, which is the most secular country in the United Kingdom. Her massive granite church buildings are restaurants and apartments and bars with names like Soul. A few years ago, a photographer documenting the shift called it ‘Jesus Has Left the Building.’ …
On Queen Street in downtown Aberdeen, near the police station, the city council offices, and the local newspaper, sits one of the largest church buildings in the city. Four years ago, it was sold — not to a nightclub or a retail store, but to a gospel-centered congregation.”
– At The Gospel Coalition, read this sobering, yet encouraging, account of what is happening in Scotland.
Also hear this interview with Sinclair Ferguson who has returned to Aberdeen.
Cranmer’s Collect, the Christian voice of hope
“During the Queen’s funeral in Westminster Abbey, the words of Thomas Cranmer, burnt at the stake in 1556 for his evangelical Christian beliefs, were heard by more people on a single occasion than at any other time in history.
As Archbishop of Canterbury, Cranmer was the author and compiler of the Book of Common Prayer, commanded for use in public worship in England’s parishes in 1552 during the reign of King Edward VI.
Cranmer’s liturgical book, with minor changes, was reintroduced in 1662 for public worship in the Church of England after the restoration of the Monarchy under King Charles II, hence it is now known as the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP). …”
– Julian Mann reminds us of where that prayer came from! and what it means.
Luther’s monumental achievement
“500 years ago today, on 21 September 1522, one of the landmark moments of the Protestant Reformation took place, one that is not often celebrated as much as the posting of the 95 theses, Luther’s stand at the Diet of Worms in April 1521, or the formal ‘Protest’ submitted to the Diet of Speyer in April 1529.
On that day the first copies of Martin Luther’s German translation of the New Testament emerged from Melchior Lotther the Younger’s print shop in Wittenberg. …”
– Moore College Principal Dr Mark Thompson draws attention to a significant anniversary.
The Bible in the hands of the Sovereign
“At the Coronation of the Boy-King, Edward VI, in 1547, three swords were placed in his hands, one each to represent his right to the realms of England, Ireland, and France.
But to the great surprise of the prelates and statesmen in the Abbey, Edward declared that there was another sword which had been overlooked; and in answer to their astonished inquiries, he said that this was the Word of God. …
On the eleventh birthday of the Princess Elizabeth in 1937, the personal gift of the Queen to her daughter was a beautiful Morocco bound copy of the Bible. …”
– The Australian Church Record has republished this piece from their archives – The Royal Law – by the Rev. Canon M. L. Loane, M.A., Vice-Principal of Moore College, May 28, 1953.
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Click the photo for a larger version: Archbishop Marcus Loane escorts Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh outside St. Andrew’s Cathedral in October 1973. Acting Dean of the Cathedral, Canon Stuart Barton Babbage, is following behind. The Queen was in Sydney to open the Sydney Opera House. With special thanks to Ramon Williams, Worldwide Photos.
Special Edition of The Briefing in Honor of Queen Elizabeth II
Dr Albert Mohler has produced a special edition of his The Briefing broadcast to honour Queen Elizabeth II.
Sydney’s One Special Evangelist John Chapman — The Pastor’s Heart
Prior to the launch of Baden Stace’s book, “Sydney’s One Special Evangelist: John C. Chapman and the Shaping of Anglican Evangelicalism and Australian Religious Life 1968-2001”, Dominic Steele speaks with Baden about Chappo.
“Baden’s new work showcases the impact of John Chapman, but also gives a window into issues facing evangelicals in Sydney in the later part of the twentieth century, controversies about preaching, the place of evangelism in church life, social justice, and what role each of us plays in the evangelistic process.”
Most encouraging and informative. A ‘must watch’ episode.
Related:
Invitation to the book launch on 14 September 2022.
Chappo: “Do you really believe the gospel can convert your friends?”
The Making Of The Western Mind — John Anderson speaks with Tom Holland
“John joins Tom Holland in his London home to discuss Christianity’s role in shaping Western civilisation.
Holland prompts us to reflect on the intricate moral web our society still upholds today and consider the intertwined history of the Western imagination and Christianity.”
Related:
Review: War on the West, by Douglas Murray – at John Anderson.net.au
Elegant Orthodoxy: The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion
“A new visitor to our parish recently told me, ‘I read your Thirty-nine Articles, and I was underwhelmed. It just seems like a basic Christian statement of faith.’
A basic Christian statement of faith. Exactly.
The Anglican Church’s Thirty-nine Articles of Religion aren’t comprehensive. They don’t answer every theological or ecclesiastical question a follower of Jesus might have. But there’s an elegance in the Articles’ brevity and simplicity that both roots us in the historic church and is timely today. …”
– At the Gospel Coalition, D. J. Marotta, Rector of Redeemer Anglican Church in Richmond, Virginia, introduces the Thirty-nine Articles to a wider audience.
The Myth of the Via Media, and other Canterbury Tales
“Sometimes it is called fudge … And I say, hey, I like fudge, it’s a lot better than killing each other.”
So said Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, on the topic of Anglican identity, in an interview during the recent Lambeth Conference a fortnight ago. Personally, I too like fudge. Perhaps as much as Archbishop Cottrell. However, I am not as convinced that ‘fudge’ is a desirable description of authentic Anglicanism.
And I trust, most of you will agree with me that ‘fudge’ is not what we wish Australasian Anglicanism to taste like; that Anglican ‘fudge’ does not supply sufficient sustenance for us Australasian Anglicans, as we seek to proclaim the glories of Christ to the nations, and as we seek to strengthen the spiritual lives of the men, women, and children within our parishes. Milk it may very well contain, but something more meaty is needed to sustain Anglican identity.
– The Australian Church Record has published the text of Dr Mark Earngey’s seminar at the GAFCON Australia Conference in Canberra last week.
He says, “I want to take you through two major misunderstandings: that of the so-called Anglican via media and that of the so-called Anglican three-legged-stool.”
It will repay careful reading!
Mark is Head of Church History at Moore College.
Happy 142nd birthday, Australian Church Record!
“On the first of July, 1880 the ACR began. Its name back then was ‘The Church of England Record’.
Its very first article explains its object and purpose – and it’s remarkable that (1880s language conventions notwithstanding) it’s still the ‘vibe’ of the ACR, 142 years on. Note the references to ritualism, liberalism, mission, children’s and youth ministry, godliness of life, personal evangelism, etc. …”
– And you thought the Anglican Church League (founded c. 1909) was old.
Read about the ACR’s Object and Purpose as it was in 1880.
Related:
ACL Centenary Dinner Address, September 2009.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…