Why Catechesis now?
“The church in Western culture today is experiencing a crisis of holiness. To be holy is to be ‘set apart,’ different, living life according to God’s Word and story, not according to the stories that the world tells us are the meaning of life.
The more the culture around us becomes post- and anti-Christian the more we discover church members in our midst, sitting under sound preaching, yet nonetheless holding half-pagan views of God, truth, and human nature, and in their daily lives using sex, money, and power in very worldly ways. …”
– Tim Keller lays out the need for a new Catechism to be launched next week by The Gospel Coalition.
Related: Grounded in the Gospel – J I Packer on The White Horse Inn.
Why Archbishops must lead Theologically
The latest issue of The Australian Church Record (number 1906 / October 2012) is now available for download at their website.
Here’s the Editorial – Read more
The Power of overlooking an Offense
“In her masterful biography of Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin records an interesting story in the mid-1850’s, when Lincoln was in the middle of his career in law. The story shines light on Lincoln’s ability to overlook major personal offenses. …”
– Trevin Wax gives an illustration with wide contemporary application. (h/t Tim Challies.)
The hermeneutics of homosexuality: A response to Michael Kirby
“In his winsome way, the Honourable Michael Kirby introduces his recent Marshall Memorial Lecture with a surprising autobiographical account of his Sydney Anglican Protestant credentials, given the more Melbourne Anglo-Catholic audience…”
– On the ABC’s Religion and Ethics website, Gordon Preece (co-editor of Sexegesis) responds to a lecture by Michael Kirby, also published on that website.
The Land of the Lost Weekend
Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen reminds us what this long weekend is all about –
“This long weekend celebrates Labour Day, but most 21st century Australians do not give it a second thought. We have forgotten the struggle of the 19th century when twelve hour shifts for six days a week was the normal lot of the worker.”
– Read it all at Phillip Jensen’s website.
Why I am a Complementarian
“God is graciously moving his universe towards the goal of all things being summed up under Christ (Eph 1:9-10). But this ultimate state of life has already begun, as the Father brings people to the Son, and unites them together under Christ as their head (Eph 4:1-16). …”
– Read Jane Tooher’s essay at the Moore College website.
‘Christians in the QandA fiery furnace’
“It takes courage to stand up for one’s faith… even when you’re the Archbishop of Sydney confronting an audience of unbelievers and a panel of atheists on ABC’s Q & A program. …”
– Dale Stephenson of Crossway Church in Melbourne gives his take on that recent episode of Q&A – from Eternity Newspaper – at The Bible Society website.
‘Staying in His Lane’
“The appearance of Osteen and Chopra together was a priceless demonstration of the fact that the New Thought positive thinking philosophy that drives them both can be grafted onto either Christianity or Eastern religion. In the end, it all sounds the same. Chopra’s New Age spirituality and Osteen’s updated version of the word-faith movement end up as the same message, only with different trappings.
O’Brien then shifted the topic to homosexuality, as would be expected. …”
– Albert Mohler writes on “the total theological bankruptcy of the word of faith movement and the gospel of positive thinking”. (Image: CNN.)
Carl Trueman on being different
“Every now and then I find myself reminded of just how much the world has changed. One such moment came for me on Saturday. I was up in Boston…”
– Read Carl Trueman’s witty but serious thoughts on living for Christ in a changing world – at Reformation21.
Related: When even Joel Osteen is Treated as a bigot – Justin Taylor.
The Devolution of Marriage
“Weddings and marriage have been in the news a lot recently. Same sex marriage and revising the wedding vows are not unrelated issues but reflect the community’s confusion about the nature of marriage and the place of weddings.
Over the last 30 years Anglican wedding services have evolved steadily away from the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. This change in theology and liturgy has undermined the minister’s ability to teach the faith and help couples to understand marriage. …”
– from Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen’s weekly column.
The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife? When sensationalism masquerades as scholarship
“The whole world changed on Tuesday. At least, that is what many would have us to believe. Smithsonian magazine, published by no less than the Smithsonian Institution, declared that the news released Tuesday was ‘apt to send jolts through the world of biblical scholarship–and beyond.’ Really? …”
– Albert Mohler at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary takes a look at the latest alleged sensation.
See also The Far Less Sensational Truth about Jesus’ ‘Wife’ – by Michael Kruger, Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Love and Subjugation
Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen draws out some implications of what he wrote last week:
“Sometimes people who live in a different culture only notice what is said when for them a politically incorrect word like ‘submission’ is uttered. Others have seen firsthand the horror of domestic violence and are rightly sensitised to anything that could contribute to such an awful abuse. …”
– Worth reading and passing around.
Questions and mockery
“Readers of The Australian are demonstrating a commitment to informed, polite and open-minded debate simply by opening these pages or clicking on our website. So we expect readers will share our concern at a disturbing, emerging intolerance towards pluralism in some sections of the public conversation. …”
– Editorial from The Australian.
Related: ‘Christian Character and Good Arguments’ – Michael Horton (h/t Tim Challies.)
Submission and the Clash of Cultures
“Behind the media brouhaha about the word ‘submission’, lies a clash of world views. It is a clash that feels difficult because of the heat of debate, but one that exposes something of the difference the gospel makes – not just in theory but also in practice. …”
– Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen writes on the hot topic of marriage in his weekly column.
The Great American Worldview Exercise — The 2012 Election
“The presidential nominees of the two major parties represent two very different worldviews and visions. President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney have adopted policy positions that place them in direct conflict, and the platforms of their respective parties reveal two radically different renderings of reality…
Though the two parties have taken opposing positions on many of these issues for years, the radical nature of the current polarization is new.”
– Albert Mohler looks at the widening gulf between to two major US political parties.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…