Authority: God’s Good and Dangerous Gift

Authority: God’s Good and Dangerous Gift – that’s the theme for the latest 9Marks Journal, just released.

Why I’m Complementarian

“None of us are called to be ‘complementarian’, but we are called to live in response to God’s freeing word as the person that we are, and we are called to be a Christian man or a Christian woman. Because each calling is shaped by the other, then we end up being what is so suitably described as ‘complementarian’…”

– Jane Tooher, Director of The Priscilla and Aquila Centre at Moore College, shares why she finds ‘complementarian’ the best term to describe the relationships between men and women in Christ. She writes at Thinking of God.

ACL Pre-Synod Briefing — TONIGHT Wednesday 5th October

Pre-Synod Briefing, This Wednesday 5th October, 6:30 – 8:00pm at Chapter House.

As a service to the Synod, the ACL is holding a Pre-Synod Briefing for Synod members.

The Rev Craig Roberts, Rector of St Augustine’s Neutral Bay, Standing Committee member, and ACL Vice-President, will discuss the main issues for this year’s Synod.

Download your invitation here.

The Synod Survival Guide — got your copy?

New to Synod? The Synod Survival Guide (4th edition), by Robert Tong is an invaluable help to make sense of it all.

Presented by the ACL as a service to the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney, you can download your PDF copy here.

Some of Victoria’s ‘inherent requirements’ amendments may be unconstitutional

“The Victorian Government introduced the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Religious Exceptions) Bill 2016 into its Parliament on 30 August 2016. It has passed the Legislative Assembly without amendment, and is presently before the Legislative Council. …

I have commented in a previous post as to why I think this is poor legislation from a policy perspective. In that previous post I briefly noted that an argument could be made that some of the amendments, at least, would be unconstitutional. Since that previous post I have looked into the area further and am fairly sure that this is the case. Here I want to develop the case a bit further. …”

– In his latest post at Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster sheds light on the proposed Victorian bill.

Confident Disciple Making for Tasmania

The Diocese of Tasmania is running an event to equip church members in Confident Disciple Making – in Hobart, on 29th October. Colin Marshall is the keynote speaker.

From Bishop Richard Condie:

“Making disciples is our great task, set for us by none other than the Lord Jesus himself. But the task is challenging, especially in our present time. We need help and assistance to know how we are going to do it effectively and confidently.”

Details here.

Why ‘No Creed but the Bible’ is a lousy creed

“First, it’s impossible not to be confessional. Everyone is confessional; now, whether it’s written and whether it’s biblical is another matter. And everyone is a theologian…

It’s always better when we’re clear on our theology, and for that nothing beats writing it down on paper. Writing does not guarantee infallibility, of course, but it does make it easier to determine whether the doctrine we’re confessing aligns with Scripture.

Second, the point of a confession of faith isn’t to put something above Scripture. The point of a confession is to ensure the public teaching of the church is as close to the teaching of Scripture as possible. When we don’t write down our theology and confess it publicly as a church, it leads not to healthy freedom but to unhealthy restriction.”

– Is it biblical for the church to use confessions of faith? How should a confession be used? What makes a good confession of faith?

At The Gospel Coalition, Jeff Robinson put these and other questions to Ligon Duncan, Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.

Sadly, many churches seem to think creeds are outdated. It’s not too late to repent – check out:

Creeds and other affirmations of faith – from the Diocese of Sydney’s Better Gatherings.

The Athanasian Creed – from Church Society’s An English Prayer Book.

The Legacy of Broughton Knox — MTC Library Day 2016

Don’t miss this special event coming up at MooreTheological College on Saturday 29th October.

David Broughton Knox (26 December 1916 – 14 January 1994) was the long serving Principal of Moore Theological College from 1959 until 1985.

DBK is considered by many to have been hugely influential, under the Lord, in the shaping of Sydney Diocese into what it is today.

The 2016 Moore College Library Day will explore Broughton’s life and theology as well as its enduring influence on Sydney diocese and beyond.

When: Saturday 29 October, 2016, 9:15 am for 9:30 am start, 3:30 pm finish

Where: Broughton Knox Teaching Centre, Moore Theological College, 15 King Street Newtown

Registration: $40 includes coffee/tea on arrival, morning tea & lunch.

Speakers include:

Mark Thompson
Robert Tong
Peter Jensen
Robert Doyle

Details and booking at Moore College.

Who was Broughton Knox? See these tributes in our Resources section.

David Broughton Knox – What we owe to him – by Archbishop Donald Robinson.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus – tribute to Broughton Knox – by Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane.

No need for a censor if we censor ourselves

“It happened again this week. It will doubtless happen many times in the weeks and months and years to come.

A Christian dared to elaborate publicly on why he thought homosexual practice was morally wrong, and was greeted not with counter-argument or rebuttal, but outpourings of abhorrence and anger, as well as regret and apology on the part of the event organisers (that such a view had come to be to be expressed on their platform)…”

– At Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living, Tony Payne writes about the strong temptation for Christians to ‘self censor’.

Related: “Can we talk about same-sex marriage?” – Wednesday 19th October at the Centre for Christian Living.

For the Bible tells me so: Biblical authority denied … again

“‘Jesus loves me — this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’ This is a childish error

Evangelical Christianity has a big problem, says Andy Stanley, and that problem is a reliance on the Bible that is both unwarranted and unhelpful. In a recent message delivered at North Point Community Church and posted online, Stanley identifies the evangelical impulse to turn to the Bible in our defense and presentation of Christianity as a huge blunder that must be corrected.”

– Albert Mohler warns against diluting Biblical authority in an attempt to connect with our culture.

Inboxes. Getting all the stuff out of them. Every day.

“This post is about a core habit that helps me to reduce everyday stress: emptying inboxes. I’m not just talking about getting my email to ‘inbox zero’ every so often. I’m talking about identifying all my inboxes in life, and daily emptying them. That means getting all the vaguely undefined and stressful “‘stuff’ out of those inboxes and into my trusted system, where they can do some good.”

– At Forget the Channel, Lionel Windsor continues his series on “sustainable sacrifice” in Christian ministry.

John Howard and the Myths of the 2004 Marriage amendments

“The debates over redefining marriage in Australia have acquired in recent years some high profile “myths” or, to use the modern parlance, “memes”, which are regularly repeated.

One of the most enduring is that the battle for same sex marriage is impeded by a supposedly shocking set of amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 which were made by conservative Prime Minister John Howard in 2004.

To take some recent quotes which illustrate the points:

“It was the Howard Government that in 2004 changed the Marriage Act to specifically refer to marriage being “the union of a man and a woman,” locking out any possibility to include gay couples in the definition without a change in the law.”

“[T[his weekend marks the twelfth anniversary of John Howard’s amendments to the Australian Marriage Act. You know, those amendments that didn’t require a plebiscite? Those amendments that made it a legal requirement for celebrants to remind champagne-tipsy wedding parties around the country that marriage was between a man and a woman at the exclusion of all others?”

There are two ‘myths’ being presented here…”

At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster tackles two oft-repeated myths –

“Myth 1: the 2004 amendments redefined marriage” and “Myth 2: Celebrants reading out the words”.

Science and the Bible, debates about committees, hope and courage in mission

“Another week, another revisionist Church Times leader article penned by an academic heavyweight.

This time a consultant psychiatrist and Professor of Theology insists that we need to allow the latest scientific findings to inform our understanding of Scripture…”

– Anglican Mainstream’s Andrew Symes comments the state of the Church of England.