Heartbreak, Humiliation and a Death Certificate

Assoc Prof Neil Foster“‘Heartbreak and humiliation’ were the opening words of the current affairs show ‘The 7:30 Report’ on the national public broadcaster, the ABC, on Thursday Friday 21, 2016. The story? The tragic accidental death of David Bulmer-Rizzi, one member of a UK same sex couple who were visiting the country.

The tragedy was compounded, the report said, by the fact that the South Australian authorities were proposing to issue a death certificate which stated that the deceased was ‘never married’. But the couple had entered into a same sex marriage under UK law…”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster provides the legal context behind some of the media reporting surrounding a tragic death.

My request for Australia Day: Please stop attacking extremists

mlkPhillip Jensen argues we need more extremists, not fewer –

“Extremism is not the problem. There is nothing wrong with extremism. It all depends on what cause you are extreme about, and how you implement it.

For people or societies that have no morality and no religion, ‘extremism’ is the worst of all behaviours. For Governments who believe in management over justice and truth, extremism is the chief ‘sin’ that has to be opposed and controlled. Western societies are trying to fight ‘extremism’ because we, in the West, refuse to even discuss religion, or religion based morality. So we are left opposing all religions as if they, and their extreme expressions, were the same thing. And we are paranoid about all extremism and only fight when something disturbs our peace.

But consider some extremists: A couple of successful, capable, health professionals leaving all the comforts, prosperity, security, and career advancements in Australia to help the desperately sick in an isolated, dangerous, impoverished, dysfunctional society. They have not done it as a short-term stint to help the needy in a crisis but starting in 1972 have continued for over 40 years. Here is a surgeon still working in his 80’s, for there is no other to replace him, amongst the thousands of well remunerated, western surgeons. He is the only surgeon for a couple of million people, building a hospital from nothing. He and his wife have not worked for money or fame but for their ultimate aim “to show the love of God”.

These people are extremists. Their whole life is anything but normal, average, usual or mainstream. They are extremists: Christian extremists. They are not alone. All over the world there are Christian extremists like this: People who have voluntarily given up the great Australian secularist life for something higher, grander, better. Extremists who have sacrificed the materialist dream to serve Christ by serving the poor, marginalised, endangered and sick.

When Muslim extremists kidnapped them, their life came into the public domain. At first they were called ‘humanitarian workers’, as were the other seven who were killed at that time elsewhere in Burkina Faso. But their motivation was not simply humanitarian, it was religion that made them extremists. And not simply religion but Christian religion – for each religion has its own ways of living extremely – and sacrificing your life for the benefit of others is profoundly Christian. We do not follow a warrior prophet but the crucified Christ. Our extremism is good for the world, which is why wise governments have supported and promoted it – for it is for the common good.

Sadly Christians don’t always get it right. But when we are wrong, call out what is wrong. Don’t blame extremism or religion. In 1963, some clergy opposed Rev. Martin Luther King’s campaign of non-violent protest. They were wrong. But they were right when they called him an extremist – for he was!

In his famous letter from the Birmingham gaol he wrote:

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label.

Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.”

Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.”

And John Bunyan: “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.”

And Abraham Lincoln: “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.”

And Thomas Jefferson: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . .”

So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?

In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime–the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.

Please stop attacking extremists; we need more of them not fewer. But we need extremists for the right causes not the wrong ones. And that means we need to face the hard issue of saying what is right and wrong and why it is right or wrong. Otherwise, we will simply end up making conformity the great good and extremism (of any form) the great evil. And that, in the end, is a recipe for tyranny.”

– Phillip Jensen.

First published at PhillipJensen.com. Formatting of the Martin Luther King quote adjusted for clarity.

Face 2016 with Prayer

David Cook“We live in a disturbing, unsettled world. This year we will face a Federal election in Australia and the possibility, if the Coalition is returned, of a national plebiscite on the nature of marriage…”

– Amid all the challenges 2016 will bring, Presbyterian Moderator-General David Cook calls Christians to prayer.

AP scores a hit with scoop on ISIS’ destruction of Iraqi monastery

monastery-destroyed-2“Certainly, journalists can’t do enough to explain what’s up with this orgy of monument desecration that ISIS and Al Qaeda enjoy doing. But there’s a deeper issue here…”

– Julia Duin at Get Religion looks at coverage of the destruction of the 1400 year old St. Elijah’s Monastery of Mosul monastery. (Image: CCTV.)

‘ISIS destroys Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery’

iraq“Satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press confirm what church leaders and Middle East preservationists had feared: The oldest Christian monastery in Iraq has been reduced to a field of rubble … St. Elijah’s Monastery stood as a place of worship for 1,400 years…”

– Report from Fox News.

Change, or Die Out — Dr Andrew Cameron

Dr Andrew Cameron“The Western world is rapidly changing. And this brings with it many challenges, particularly for Christians. So to get a better handle on these changes, I’ve started interviewing a number of Christian leaders.

What follows is an edited version of an interview I did with the Reverend Dr Andrew Cameron, who is the Director of St Marks Theological Centre, in Canberra, Australia…”

– from Akos Balogh.

Priscilla & Aquila Centre Annual Conference 2016

paa-annual-conf-2016The Priscilla & Aquila Centre Annual Conference is coming up on Monday 1st February. Moore College Principal, Mark Thompson is speaking – and there’ll be a number of electives.

The theme? “The Christian and Submission”.

Registration for the conference closes January 22.

The scandal of Biblical illiteracy

Albert Mohler“Christians who lack biblical knowledge are the products of churches that marginalize biblical knowledge. Bible teaching now often accounts for only a diminishing fraction of the local congregation’s time and attention…”

– Albert Mohler addresses a scandal which is not confined to the USA.

‘Primates reaffirm teaching on marriage’ — encouragements and concerns

The Rev Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream“In the immediate aftermath of the gathering of Anglican Primates last week, what are we to make of it all? … Some of the initial headlines suggested that all will be well for the Church, but a closer analysis shows that there are some real concerns going forward, as well as some encouragements…”

– Anglican Mainstream’s Rev. Andrew Symes comments on the outcomes of the Primates’ Meeting.

Amidst some real encouragements, he turns to the apologies which have been voiced by some –

“While part of the Church’s role is to encourage love of neighbour and pastoral care of all people, its Gospel witness is compromised if it suggests that it is saying sorry to people whose feelings have been hurt by the clear teaching of the Bible and basic principles of Christian discipleship.”

Read it all here.

What they’re saying about Moore College

Here are four brief videos, with clips from Gerald Bray, Michael Horton and Kevin Vanhoozer, sharing their impressions of Moore College.

Especially useful to pass on to anyone considering studying at Moore.

Another three videos below:

Read more

Wedding venue owners fined for declining same sex wedding

wedding cake“In the latest in what seems like a long series of religious freedom cases involving Christian small business owners in the ‘wedding industry’, a New York couple, the Giffords, have been fined $13,000 for declining to make their venue available for a same sex wedding ceremony, and a New York State appeal court has now upheld the verdict…”

– in his latest post at Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster (Associate Professor in Law, Newcastle Law School) looks at a ‘religious freedom’ case in the USA, and similar cases in Australia.

A Response to the Primates Gathering 2016 Statement — Canon Phil Ashey

Canon Phil AsheyThe American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey:

“I am writing from Canterbury, England, where the staff of the American Anglican Council has been on site assisting Archbishop Foley Beach and the GAFCON Primates in their witness at the Primates gathering this week. There is a saying about the fog of war: when it descends, there is often confusion and disorientation in the midst of the fight. Here, it would certainly be fair to say that situations changed on a daily, if not hourly basis. In the fog of war, rarely are battles decisive. More often, they turn out to be one step among many in a long and costly road to victory. Read more

‘On the Death of the Anglican Communion’

AS Haley“My prediction about the sun setting on the breakup of the Anglican Communion is coming true, even as I write before the final session of the primates gathered at Canterbury.

Enough has leaked from the gathering to be able to form a picture of what went on. The Archbishop of Canterbury and his staff had tried to direct the progress of the group’s deliberations by resorting to a standby from ++Justin Welby’s corporate days: the RAND-developed group facilitation mechanism known as the ‘Delphi Technique’…”

– The Anglican Curmudgeon, A. S. Haley, gives his take on the washup of the gathering in Canterbury. (There is one more day of meetings scheduled, with a press conference scheduled for 1500BST Friday / 0200AEDT Saturday).

The days ahead will give some clarity, however the Statement issued this morning by GAFCON Chairman Eliud Wabukala and General Secretary Peter Jensen is worth re-reading.

Getting to know the new Dean of Sydney

Kanishka Raffel, Dean of SydneyKanishka Raffel has now begun as the Dean of Sydney – he will be installed as Dean on Thursday 4th February, at 7:00pm.

David Ould took the opportunity to speak with Kanishka at last week’s CMS Summer School at Katoomba (at which Kanishka spoke).

Topics in the conversation include:

Please be encouraged to pray for Kanishka in his new role.

nexus-conf-2016Also, Kanishka will be speaking at Nexus 16 on Monday 23rd May at Village Church Annandale.

Do we need to Contextualise our Preaching?

William TaylorDo we need to Contextualise our Preaching?

In the latest Preaching Matters video from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, William Taylor addresses that question.

He argues that we need better communication, rather than contextualisation, because the gospel is relevant in every culture and context. Very helpful, as always.

There’s a great quote from Broughton Knox’s book “Everlasting God”.

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