Whatever happened to that same-sex marriage boom?

“Now that all the glitter has settled after last year’s non-binding voluntary postal survey – remember, we couldn’t be trusted to have a plebiscite, let alone a fair dinkum referendum – just exactly how many of the LGBTIQ community have tied the knot?

Well, rather than being the over-whelming flood, it has turned out to be nothing more than a trickle. In short, we were conned.…”

– At The Spectator Australia, Mark Powell asks the question.

That’s me, 34th from the right

“I am a 2008er. That is, I was probably one of the first Australians to know about the Global Anglican Future Conference and one of the first to register in 2008.

I went to the London leadership conference in 2012, GAFCON II in Nairobi in 2013 and I have just returned from GAFCON III in Jerusalem. As a member of the media team at all three GAFCONS, I have been privileged to see things up close.

I have never been prouder to be an Aussie – given the way my brothers and sisters from Anglican churches across Australia got stuck in to help in Jerusalem. …”

– Russell Powell (who is only 4th from the right in the photo above) shares his reflections on GAFCON 2018 at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Photo: GAFCON Media.

“Letter to the Churches” encapsulates authentic Christianity with clarity, firmness and grace

“The Conference in Jerusalem which has just ended was an extraordinarily rich experience. Not just the dynamic worship, outstanding teaching, and cross-cultural fellowship in small groups and one to one.

A huge amount of information has been presented formally from up front and informally in the form of interviews and blogs. Much of this will be lost in time; the life-changing experience of delegates may fade, but what remains is the Conference Statement. …”

– At Anglican Mainstream, the Rev. Andrew Symes provides some initial reflections on GAFCON’s ‘Letter to the Churches’.

Undivided – An Open Letter to Vicky Beeching

“Vicky Beeching is a relatively well-known Christian singer songwriter who is now better known for being gay and an advocate of the LGBT agenda within the church.

When she came out as gay she knew that her career on the American Christian music scene was over, but she now has a new career as a darling of the regressive establishment, as they continue their ‘redefinition’ of the Christian faith.

Her new career has resulted in numerous media appearances, an award from the Archbishop of Canterbury and a new book. ‘Undivided’ has just been published to a mixed reception. This is my review in the form of an open letter.”

– At his blog, The Wee Flea, David Robertson has published a very thoughtful open letter. Do take the time to read.

Letter to GAFCON Primates from Anglican Consultative Council Secretary General

George Conger at Anglican Ink has published the letter from Dr Josiah Idowu-Fearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council, to the GAFCON Primates – dated 13th June 2018.

“I am persuaded to write to you all, as members of the Primates’ Meeting and therefore and one of the four instruments that make up the smooth running of our Communion of Churches, about this month’s letter from the Chairman of GAFCON. …”

– The full letter may be read here (PDF), courtesy of Anglican Ink.

Related:

The urbane voice likely to capture the CofE

“As GAFCON gathers in Jerusalem, a sermon on June 7th preached at a church in Clapham in south-west London would probably not be deemed worthy of an agenda item or even of much passing discussion. But actually it is highly significant in the battle for biblical orthodoxy in the Church of England.

For the sermon by the Revd Dr Sam Wells, vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields on London’s Trafalgar Square, entitled ‘Not until you give me your blessing’, aptly illustrates why the LGBTQI++ movement is so close to capturing the Church of England as well as the English alphabet. …”

– Julian Mann in the UK writes of “the urbane, erudite-sounding voices of apparent Anglican moderation”.

When the Content Police came for the Babylon Bee

“Facebook has always been the main source of traffic to my websites. When I started out, I was just excited that so many people were reading my stuff – I wasn’t worried about the implications of it all.

The first hint I got that something troubling was afoot was in November 2015 …“

– Adam Ford, who has just sold The Babylon Bee to focus on his new website, Christian Daily Reporter, says “it’s time to push back”.

Sin and Error in the Church

“One of the most striking things about the Bible is its reality. It has often been observed, for example that only one of its heroes – the Son of God himself – is without sin.  Sometimes the sins of the saints are very serious indeed.

The Bible’s reality includes its description of the Church. As Acts 4 draws to its conclusion with a description of the wonderful generosity of Christian people to those in need, we may think that the presence of the Spirit has led to instant and complete holiness. Then comes the story of Ananias and Sapphira to bring us back to reality. …”

– Read Dr. Peter Jensen’s latest post at the GAFCON website.

The Irish Vote

“The world’s press are reporting expressions of relief and rejoicing all over Ireland since the vote on legalizing abortion. It is seen as a victory for justice and the right of women to control their own bodies. …

… it might be helpful to spell out what exactly is to be repealed as a result of the referendum vote. Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution …

The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.

The fact that the repeal of this provision in the Irish constitution was the immediate subject of the referendum frames the entire discussion in a different and highly significant way.”

– Read the full article by Dr. Mark Thompson at Theological Theology.

Image: togetherforyes.ie

Bishop Michael Curry offers the world ‘Christianity-lite’

“Yes, Bishop Curry, as St John wrote, God is love. But unlike you, St John defines Love and shows us that it is a longing and meeting of longing that travels the way of the cross, the way of renunciation.

But if you want to be popular, don’t invite the people to renunciation. And Bishop Curry didn’t. But Jesus did. …”

– At his blog, Gavin Ashenden echoes the thoughts of many who watched TEC Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s passionately-delivered sermon at the royal wedding.

And further reflections from Gavin Ashenden:

“The dear couple had no idea who was being asked to preach at their wedding. It was an idea that Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had suggested to them. They were hardly in a position to know or refuse.

And at one level, the choice was brilliant. Michael Curry is a gifted preacher and black. What a great way of signalling the coming together of American and British culture, white and coloured.

But there was a hidden sting in the tail. There is a civil war raging at the moment in Anglicanism (and elsewhere) between progressive Christianity that takes its priorities from the zeitgeist, the present culture, and a faithful orthodox belief, that keeps faith with what Jesus taught in the Gospels.”

More from David Robertson at The Wee Flea:

“… for the moment let me simply say that this was at best a pick ‘n’ mix Christianity – a Gospel sermon without the Gospel – a Christian sermon without Christ. …

It is not ‘curmudgeonly’ nor ‘unloving’ to ask that preachers should preach the Christ of the Bible. Indeed it is unloving to feed the people anything other than the bread and meat of the Word.”

See Bishop Curry’s sermon – Text (Episcopal News Service) and Video (BBC).

Photo: Episcopal Church of the USA.

Why Cranmer would have approved of the Oxford Martyrs’ Memorial

“How many British national newspaper journalists apart from Peter Hitchens would be willing and able to write so knowledgeably about the sixteenth-century Protestant martyrs burned at the stake in Oxford? Surely not very many.

Mr Hitchens’s highly educative piece about the English Protestant martyrs in First Things, the magazine for the New York-based Institute on Religion and Public Life, certainly achieved its purpose. It showed the moral difference between the Protestant Christians martyred under Mary Tudor and the Jesuit fanatics executed for high treason under Elizabeth Tudor.

But his portrayal of the conduct in the fire of persecution of respectively Bishop Hugh Latimer, burnt at the stake in 1555, and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, burnt in 1556, calls for a rejoinder for the sake of a more complete picture of the Church of England’s theology as expressed in its historic formularies, namely its 1662 Book of Common Prayer, Ordinal and 39 Articles of Religion. …”

– Julian Mann, Vicar of Oughtibridge in South Yorkshire, reflects on Peter Hitchens’ characterisation of Bishop Latimer.

Defending Liberty in a Perilous Age

“Consider the fact that religious liberty is now described as religious privilege.

By definition, a privilege is not a right. It can be revoked or redefined as circumstances may dictate. It can be withdrawn or subverted by the courts in the name of liberation and justice. And, in our day, privilege is suspect in the first place – an embarrassment to be identified and corrected. …”

– Albert Mohler writes of the collision of the secular age and religious liberty – focussing on the American context.

Euthanasia and Assisted Dying — the law and why it should not change

“This is a paper I presented recently at an evening considering issues around euthanasia and assisted dying: Euthanasia Paper May 2018. It presents reasons why changing the law in these areas is not a good idea in the interests of society at large and the vulnerable sick and elderly in particular.

For further material on this issue, see the excellent site “Health Professionals Say No”, which as well as providing a long list of health professionals who oppose euthanasia, also links to a set of resources for further study. …”

– Associate Professor Neil Foster writes at Law and Religion Australia.

Dear @Channel9, Help me out and cut the family-targetted soft porn

“Dear Channel 9,

We’re both adults. We need to talk.

Because we’re adults we’ll start by not pretending about where we’re coming from.

I’m a Christian and an Anglican minister at a cathedral. You’re in the business of making money off advertising by promoting TV shows that you think will be popular. …”

– David Ould writes an open letter to the Nine Network on their promotion of an upcoming series.

What is the biggest problem facing Evangelicalism? Comfort

“The biggest problem facing the British Evangelical church today is, without doubt, our own personal comfort.…

Far too many of us are happy in our middle-class Christian enclaves, in comfortable areas of the country, going to churches full of people exactly like them. …

… there is no soft and dressed-up way to say this, a generation of middle-class believers will have to give up their idolatrous worship at the altar of comfort and commit to taking the gospel to the urban poor and deprived communities.”

– Here’s a hard-hitting article by Stephen Kneale, minister at an evangelical church in Oldham, near Manchester.

← Previous Page — Next Page →