A Roman Catholic monarch?
In the Autumn 2009 issue of Churchman, Gerald Bray has written a fascinating editorial on whether the English monarch should, or could, be Roman Catholic. It’s more complicated than you might have imagined.
Church Society have made the editorial available here (PDF).
We will not bend the knee to Caesar (Why I signed The Manhattan Declaration)
“I signed The Manhattan Declaration because it is a limited statement of Christian conviction on these three crucial issues, and not a wide-ranging theological document that subverts confessional integrity.
I cannot and do not sign documents such as Evangelicals and Catholics Together that attempt to establish common ground on vast theological terrain. I could not sign a statement that purports, for example, to bridge the divide between Roman Catholics and evangelicals on the doctrine of justification.
The Manhattan Declaration is not a manifesto for united action. It is a statement of urgent concern and common conscience on these three issues — the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage, and the defense of religious liberty.”
– Albert Mohler on why he was one of the first to sign The Manhattan Declaration.
Rowan’s Roman Bluff
“For a man hardly renowned for his robustness, the recent speech given in Rome by the Archbishop of Canterbury was remarkably robust. Of course, it was given partly in response to the announcement from Rome on October 20th of effectively a ‘safe haven’ for Anglicans disenchanted by the policies of the Church over which Rowan Williams presides…”
– John Richardson also writes about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s address in Rome — at The Ugley Vicar.
Rowan in Rome: Retreat from Reason
Charles Raven writes about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit to the Vatican:
“the implausibility of Williams position starts to become evident when, presumably without blushing, he commends the Anglican Covenant process…”
Apparently unabashed by the chaotic state of the Communion he represents, Rowan William’s provocative address to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome last Thursday was noted by the media for its strong challenge to the Roman Catholic Church’s position on the ordination of women, but its real significance is that it reveals an Archbishop who, far from being discouraged, does really seem to believe his own propaganda, even to the extent that, the recent humiliation of his non-consultation over the Ordinariate notwithstanding, he offers recent Anglican practice as a model for the Vatican to follow in ecumenical relationships. Read more
AAC President’s update 20 November
Weekly Message from Bishop David Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council, November 20 2009
“In a newly authorized advertising campaign, TEC begins by saying, “As Episcopalians, we are followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” and this sounds spot-on Christologically.”
Beloved in Christ,
Some banks, large and small, have gotten into a great deal of trouble during the last year and a half with uncollectible loans and assets that have steeply declined in value. In short, their books don’t balance, and people’s money is at risk. Fortunately for most bank customers, their accounts are FDIC insured, and when a bank fails, another absorbs it, and the customer’s accounts remain relatively safe.
When it comes to churches, another institution that people trust, the same safety isn’t always present. Banks hold our money, and if they lose it we can work to gain more, whereas churches deal with our soul, and if we lose that, we can’t pick up another at the shopping mall.
As an example, the Episcopal Church (TEC) has vastly overstated their membership strength, withheld the really bad financial news, degraded their theology, lost membership, and their members’ souls are in peril. Read more
The Influence of Liberalism upon Evangelicalism — ‘the Curate’s Egg’
“When a term is used frequently enough it can become over used and so end up being abused. We may think, for example, of the word, ‘awesome’. A mobile phone can now be described as ‘awesome’ and pretty soon everything is awesome which means nothing is so. We have a similar problem with the term ‘evangelical’. It can now mean little more than indicating that one prefers guitars to organs in public worship…”
– Church Society has just reprinted this 2007 Churchman article (PDF file) by Melvin Tinker.
As Night follows Day?
“The premise is wrong, the logic is wrong and the conclusion is wrong, but who cares so long as we can make the Bible say what we want it to say?”
– Church Society’s David Philips on the slippery-slope of making the Bible teach whatever you want. (90kb PDF file.) From the Autumn 2009 edition of Cross†Way.
Where now, after October 20th?
“As long ago as 1971, Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote a book titled, What is an Evangelical? John Stott addressed the same issue in 1977, as did Mark Thompson as recently as 1995 in a book titled Saving the Heart? subtitled, What is an evangelical?
However, in recent years the evangelical identity has become even more diffuse, even within Anglicanism…”
– John Richardson gave this address at Forward in Faith’s Manchester branch last weekend. (It was on October 20th that the Vatican made its offer to Anglo-Catholics.)
‘ABC outdoes BBC’
– says Russell Powell in his weekly roundup of media stories at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Has ‘the Anglican Experiment’ really failed?
Charles Raven: “The Anglican Communion crisis is not about Anglicanism in itself, but a crisis of faithfulness. Failure to maintain Anglicanism’s doctrinal and moral integrity precipitated GAFCON and is the root cause of the Pope’s offer of the Ordinariate.”
– Charles Raven responds to a statement by Forward in Faith UK’s Chairman (and also Bishop of Fulham), John Broadhurst, that ‘the Anglican experiment is over’. At SPREAD.
(Photo of Bishop Broadhurst: Diocese of Fulham.)
Responsible gambling?
Opinion from Peter Brain, Bishop of Armidale –
“From time to time I enjoyed watching Friday night football on the telly (quite an admission from one brought up on the other rugby!)
What surprised me was the statement by the commentators (at half-time, I think it was) that advised us that we could ‘get $1.18 for St George and $4 for Parramatta by ‘phoning … – but please remember to gamble responsibly.’ Read more
What Will Rowan Do?
“What will Rowan do?” That’s the question posed by Bishop David C. Anderson President of the American Anglican Council as he reviews this week’s moves by the Vatican:
Beloved in Christ,
The news that has overtaken much of the Christian media (and a good bit of the secular as well) is the announcement from Rome that they are opening up a personal prelature for orthodox Anglicans. This would allow Anglicans to maintain much of their liturgy and custom, and for many of the Anglican clergy, it would offer the option of becoming a Roman Catholic priest. Read more
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s solution?
From the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans – 23 October 2009.
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, which has previously been denounced by liberals of ‘splitting’ the Anglican Communion, could be the solution for an Archbishop of Canterbury who wants to keep ‘Orthodox’ Anglicans within the Church. Read more
Richard Bewes: 50 years ago and now
John Richardson has posted this thoughtful article by Richard Bewes on contending for the faith – then and now.
“Do you know, life was altogether more simple when I was ordained! The evangelical intake in September 1959 numbered about seven percent of the total.
Who were we? What were we? Nothing, in the minds of the wider church. It was Backs to the Wall for us despised evangelicals…
It was really in 1962 – with Honest to God – that true battle began.”
Richard Bewes was Rector of All Souls, Langham Place until late 2004 and has also served as Chairman of the Church of England Evangelical Council. (Photo: RichardBewes.com.)
Desperate bishops invited Rome to park its tanks on Archbishop’s lawn
“Rome has parked its tanks on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lawn after manoeuvres undertaken by up to fifty bishops and begun two years ago by an Australian archbishop, John Hepworth.
As leader of the Traditional Anglican Communion, a breakaway group claiming to represent up to 400,000 laity worldwide, he went to Rome seeking a means to achieve full, visible unity for his flock…”
– Ruth Gledhill writes in Times Online. Related: Traditional Anglican Communion website
(Photo: Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…