Why GAFCON truly matters
“We are now walking in a new spiritual darkness. The churches are ill-prepared. But God is thoroughly prepared; he is not at a loss. There is nothing to fear; but we need to work out what new tactics are required for this new context. Without doubt, we will walk by faith; but what does this mean?”
– GAFCON General Secretary Peter Jensen writes an encouraging reminder of why we need GAFCON.
Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
“Hard times come with hard questions, and our cultural context exerts enormous pressure on Christians to affirm common ground at the expense of theological differences. But the cost of getting this question wrong is the loss of the Gospel.”
– Albert Mohler answers the question in the light of controversy over the suspension of a professor at Wheaton College.
Related: Thinking Theologically About Islam – Kevin DeYoung.
Star Wars and the Ancient Religion
“The appearance of a new episode of the Star Wars film series is an important moment for Christian witness. To be sure, we can shrug our shoulders, since Star Wars is old news. …
However, in examining Star Wars’ account of the mystery and nobility of human life, the Bible’s answer, in comparison, emerges with incomparably more convincing power.”
– At Ligonier Ministries, Peter Jones asks his readers to consider the worldview of the hugely popular movies.
Hearing both Sides of the Argument
“In a nation where all things in politics seem possible, some things still amaze me – or perhaps the word should be ‘stagger’ me.
It is always dangerous for a man of the cloth to make political comment. While I appreciate the separation of church and state, that does not exclude the church and the sum of its members from entering national debate. So as a citizen of this great country, who happens to be a Bishop of the Anglican Church, I write.
Occasionally, the foolish thoughts of politicians expressed in emotive and seemingly protective and manipulative rhetoric should be exposed. …”
– Bishop of Armidale, Rick Lewers, responds to reported comments by the Leader of the Opposition about a plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
To Mend the Net?
“The Archbishop of Canterbury has taken a major risk in calling together the Anglican Primates in January next year and he has already achieved what his predecessor was unable to do with the announcement that the Anglican Global South and GAFCON Primates will attend.
For these Primates, the decision of the Dar es Salaam Primates Meeting of February 2007 must be one of the great ‘What if’ moments of recent Anglican history and they might well want to revisit it. What if Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury, had stood by the Primates’ collegial mind to subject TEC to discipline if it failed to give assurances by 30th September 2007 not to authorise Rites of Blessing for same sex unions nor to consecrate persons in such relationships as bishops?
As it happened, Rowan Williams set aside the Primates’ decision by inviting the TEC bishops to the 2008 Lambeth Conference before the deadline. This led directly to the utterly unprecedented withdrawal of over two hundred bishops from the conference and to the first Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in Jerusalem, out of which the Anglican Church in North America was birthed.
But there is another and now largely forgotten ‘What if’ which is just as relevant…”
– Charles Raven reminds us of some not-that-distant history, at Anglican Ink. (h/t Anglican Mainstream)
Free speech and religious freedom even for ADF members
“The Federal Court has recently handed down a very important decision on free speech, with connections to religious freedom, in Gaynor v Chief of the Defence Force (No 3) [2015] FCA 1370 (4 December 2015). It encouragingly reaffirms the right of Australians, even members of the Defence Force, to be able to speak their minds, even when their views are not popular…”
– Associate Professor Neil Foster bring us up to speed on another legal ruling – this one with important implications for free speech in Australia.
Relativity, Moral Relativism, and the Modern Age
“This intellectual revolution began with four lectures in late 1915 presented to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. The lectures were given by Albert Einstein, and before the end of the year Einstein would publish his argument for a ‘General Theory of Relativity.’ Those lectures launched an intellectual revolution, and Einstein’s theory of relativity is essential to our understanding of the modern age…
By the middle of the twentieth century, moral relativism was a major influence in the cultural revolutions that reshaped entire societies.”
– Albert Mohler looks at the cultural impact of Einstein’s theories.
Following Rob Bell: The Edges of Orthodoxy and the Center of the Zeitgeist
“This past Sunday, Kent Dobson, successor at Rob Bell’s famous Mars Hill Bible Church, stepped down as teaching pastor. He opened his announcement/sermon by reading the Scriptural story which gives name to the church, the account at Mars Hill. …”
– Even if you’ve never heard of Rob Bell’s successor, this piece by Dustin Messer at Reformation21 is challenging and disturbing. (Image: Mars Hill Bible Church.)
Need Ministers be Theologians?
At Church Society’s blog, Kirsty Birkett (who now teaches Pastoral Counselling and Youth and Children’s Ministry at Oak Hill College) reminds readers of a 1994 Churchman article by the much-missed John Richardson.
In his article, John draws some important conclusions for evangelicals in the Church of England, reflecting on his year of study at Moore College.
(Readers can also rightly give thanks to Almighty God for the growth of Oak Hill College in London in the years since John wrote that article.)
‘Doubting Thomas Welby is no help in these terrible times’
“I doubted God after the Paris attacks, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby told a reporter for the BBC’s Songs of Praise. He said when the jihadis struck in Paris he was left asking why? …
I hate to think where Christianity would be if Welby’s predecessors had suffered from the same lack of conviction.”
– Opinion from The Conservative Woman.
On freedom of speech
In a Private Members Statement on Tuesday, Member for Hawkesbury, Dominic Perrottet, spoke in NSW Parliament on the importance of freedom of speech in democratic societies.
In particular, he referenced the controversy in Tasmania regarding the “Don’t Mess with Marriage” booklet (“A Pastoral Letter from the Catholic Bishops of Australia to all Australians on the ‘Same-sex Marriage’ Debate”).
You can watch his speech here, or read the transcript.
Related: First they came for the Catholics… – Law and Religion Australia.
‘We are at war’, but ours is not against flesh and blood
“In the Archbishop of Canterbury’s short and moving statement in response to the Paris attacks, the terrorists, their beliefs and actions are described as ‘evil’, ‘wicked’ and a ‘demonic curse’ which Christians are called to oppose. What does he mean by these words, and how are Christians practically to engage in this opposition? …
Whether the Archbishop is referring to this or not, it’s important once again to remind ourselves of what the Bible teaches about spiritual warfare…”
– Andrew Symes writes at Anglican Mainstream.
A Call for Christian extremists
“The effects of extremism have been on display all weekend. Even this morning they are splashed across every television screen, every news site, the front page of every newspaper. The attacks in Paris have shown us extremism at its most brutal and bloody, the kind that celebrates death, destruction and mayhem.
But did you know that the Bible calls Christians to extremism as well? It calls Christians to be zealots in a cause, to go to great lengths to carry out extreme deeds in the name of Jesus. We see this in Paul’s little letter to Titus where we are reminded of Jesus Christ ‘who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works’ (Titus 2:14)…”
– Tim Challies calls on Christians to examine their own levels of ‘extremism’.
Related:
At Lapido Media, Mark Durie speaks of the religious and cultural background to the Paris attacks.
“ISIS believes that killing disbelievers is a moral act, in accordance, for example, with Sura 9:5 of the Qur’an…”
First they came for the Catholics…
“The proposed action for sexual orientation vilification against a Roman Catholic bishop for teaching what the Roman Catholic church believes about marriage, which I noted at an early stage in a previous post, is now becoming broader…”
– Associate Professor Neil Foster expands on his previous posts about the anti-discrimination case brought against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hobart.
Related: Bishops face discrimination case – The Australian.
“All Australia’s Catholic bishops have been drawn into a national test case for freedom of religion and speech after Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Commission found they have a case to answer over humiliating gay, lesbian and transgender Australians by distributing a booklet supporting traditional marriage.”
Article 32 and the CofE Same Sex Marriage case
“The case of a gay clergyman whose Permission to Officiate was revoked and who was refused a licence to minister after marrying his same-sex partner, has hit the headlines again. Peter Sanlon reflects on Jeremy Pemberton’s defensive use of Article 32.”
At the Church Society blog, Peter Sanlon, Vicar of St. Mark’s Tunbridge Wells, looks at the use and misuse of The Articles in the case of a gay clergyman who married his same-sex partner.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…