Give Working Families a Rest
“Work is a profoundly social activity. Few if any of us function as single subsistence farmers, disconnected from everybody else. We all work in a large complex network of relationships. From the suppliers of raw materials, to the manufacturers, the marketers and sales people, the distributors, the wholesalers and retailers, to the purchasers and delivery agents – interpersonal relationships in the division of our labour is normality.
A well ordered society can feed, clothe, house and entertain millions of people in safety, comfort and justice every day. Indeed the evolved modern market place is one of the testimonies to human ingenuity that no central planner could have devised…”
– Read the full text of Dean Phillip Jensen’s latest commentary.
Recovering the Missional Passion of the Church
“The only thing that really matters is this: our God has a mission. That’s why he sent Jesus here on subversive terms. And that’s why he established the church– churches like yours and churches like mine– to join him on mission to reestablish his glory over all creation…”
– Ed Stetzer wants us to remember why we are here.
St Patrick — The Irish Evangelical
“St Patrick’s Day is a Saint’s day. There is nothing wrong with celebrating saint’s days, though there is nothing particularly right either. As our Apostle says: “One man esteems one day as better than another while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5) …
However, the problems of saints and saint’s days should not stand in the way of remembering with gratitude, those whom God has used in the past to spread the gospel and contribute to the welfare of the world. We are to remember our leaders and in particular ‘the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith’ (Hebrews 13:7).”
– The Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, sets the record straight for St. Patrick’s Day – this Sunday.
Idolatry and the God of History
“I love art. I have to say that because nobody believes I do when I speak on idolatry. It’s the same with music. I have to protest my love of music whenever I question something about the use of music in Christian life. My protestations matter little to those who have art or music as their idols. However, I hope that you, dear reader, will not dismiss my criticisms as the mere prejudice of a Philistine…”
– Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen writes in his column for the Cathedral.
My Brittle Bones
“I belong to a very ordinary Australian family, albeit with two obvious differences. First, compared with the stereotypical sports-loving, tough Aussie, some of us are quite weak and physically frail, thanks to a mutant gene. Second, my family has resisted the secularism that is a dominant feature of modern Australian life.…”
– a disturbing article relating to eugenics. Worth your time to read. (h/t SydneyAnglicans.net)
The Marcions have landed!
“When one asks the most influential thinkers in the modern evangelical church are, one might find names such as Jim Packer, John Stott, and Don Carson.
I would like to suggest, however, that there is one whose influence is perhaps much greater than we are aware of, yet whose thinking all but pervades the modern evangelical church: Marcion. …”
– There’s plenty to think about in Carl Trueman’s article at Evangelicals Now.
The Long Haul
From Mark Thompson’s blog:
‘How long should we think about staying in any one parish?’ asked an eager theolog, only months away from his own ordination. ‘Well Calvin spent all his life in Geneva’, answered Peter, ‘why don’t you give that a go?’
Read it all here: Read more
Freedom is the issue
“Any expression of the view that marriage is between a man and a woman is held to stigmatize those who believe that marriage is gender neutral.
Such alternative views are claimed to be prejudiced, to stigmatise others, and to be the source of unhappiness and searches for “change”. Such stigmatization has to be banished from society by the state.
Therefore even holding such an opinion is wrong – or rather causes offence and hurt, and must be eliminated. Even if the state admits diversity and plurality, certain pluralities cannot exist. …”
– The American Anglican Council has published an important article from the UK by Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden. Read it all here.
(images via Anglican Mainstream and GAFCON.)
The first step is always a study committee
‘How Denominations come to tolerate, accept, and then endorse homosexuality’ – that’s the title of a brief post by Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition.
“Tom Oden, writing in his book Requiem way back in 1995, explains how it happens. The first step is always a study committee…”
Related:
How Revisionist Activists Subvert the Church – at Stand Firm.
Aberdeen church breaks away over gay ministers row – The Scotsman.
Prizes and Consumables
Carl Trueman draws attention to a very thoughtful piece by Matthew Vos. Prizes and Consumables: The Super Bowl as a Theology of Women.
The American Super Bowl might not be big in Australia, and there are differences in our cultures, though perhaps the differences aren’t as great as we might think.
Mohler on the Boy Scouts of America
“The announcement this week that the Boy Scouts of America may soon rescind its national policy prohibiting the participation of openly homosexual members and leaders fell like a thunderclap. The B.S.A. national board is expected to approve the change early next week, just six months after that same board had announced that no change would be made…”
– Albert Mohler writes on the capitulation of the Boy Scouts of America.
The temptation to keep quiet
At The Gospel Coalition, Thabiti Anyabwile shares an honest but encouraging story about personal evangelism. (h/t Tim Challies.)
Epiphany – Five Reflections from a Lifetime
Bishop Paul Barnett spoke at the Mere Anglicanism Conference in Charleston, South Carolina this morning.
He’s posted his fascinating and encouraging talk on his blog. Even without the accompanying slides, this is worth reading and passing on.
Ichabod
In July 2009, we linked to this article by David Robertson, Minister of St. Peter’s Free Church in Dundee.
“More than a century of theological liberalism being taught in and through our churches has finally come home to roost. If anyone doubted how sick the Church in Scotland has become, the recent events in the Church of Scotland General Assembly have provided more than enough proof.”
– Three and a half years later, it’s worth re-reading as a reminder of the context of the departure of The Tron, and also as a reminder to pray for Scotland.
The article was an editorial in The Monthly Record of the Free Church of Scotland. (PDF – pages 3-5.)
Teaching Historical Sense
“I was asked last week why some evangelicals convert to Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism.
Reasons vary, I am sure, but I commented that one theme I have noticed over the years is the fact that evangelicalism lacks historical roots. That is not to say that it has no history; rather it is to say that a consciousness of history is not part of the package. …”
– Carl Trueman has some excellent ideas you can use in your church – Ref21.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…