Ashley Madison and the Death of Monogamy
“I wrote an essay on Ashley Madison as ‘Adultery Incorporated’ back in 2011, after Bloomberg Businessweek published a cover story on the business. Back then, it was clear that many people saw Ashley Madison as a joke. No one is laughing now…
Given the numbers involved, the exposures are likely to hit nearly every community, millions of families, countless churches, and just about every major corporation and institution…”
– Albert Mohler on the sobering story of Ashley Madison.
And Village Church in Annandale is offering hope to locals:
“Annandale has 455 Ashley Madison accounts according to the Sydney Morning Herald, which the newspaper describes as being 6.27% of the postcode …
If you are struggling, either you have hurt someone or been hurt, and you would like to see if it’s possible to fix things with God and your spouse then it’s possible we can help.”
8th Planned Parenthood video + resources
“C. S. Lewis once wrote in the preface to the Screwtape Letters,
The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid “dens of crime” that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices.
He could have been writing about Planned Parenthood and StemExpress.
Today (August 25, 2015), The Center for Medical Progress released its eighth video using undercover footage exposing the reality of what goes on behind these closed clinical doors…”
– At The Gospel Coalition, Justin Taylor has a description of the video, plus some resources for healing.
Shouting is not a debate
“As the discussion around the proposal to change the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples is played out in the media and in the parliament, other larger questions have been thrown into stark relief.
Perhaps the most important of these is how we will deal with those with whom we disagree. Put in its starkest form, will we still allow our citizens the freedom to dissent without reprisal?
The signs at this stage of the debate are disturbing, to say the least…”
– Moore College Principal, Mark Thompson, has this opinion-piece in today’s Sydney Morning Herald.
See also: Homosexuality: Jesus deeply loved ‘the sexually broken’ – Murray Campbell, lead Pastor at Mentone Baptist Church. (Brisbane Times. h/t SydneyAnglicans.net.)
A taste of life at Moore College
From Moore College: “Wondering what a theology student’s life looks like? Come along to our Open Events in August and September to find out!”
Open Night, Monday 31st August.
Open Week, Monday 31st August to Friday 4th September
Open Day, Saturday 26th September.
Russell Moore on the Planned Parenthood videos
Last week, Russell Moore spoke of what he hopes will be the end result of the release of the Planned Parenthood expose videos.
And today the seventh video has been released – Justin Taylor has the link and related material – however, please be warned that the subject matter is distressing and sickening.
See also:
- 5 videos every Christian should watch about abortion – Communicate Jesus.
- The Seventh Planned Parenthood Video: Ordinary, Everyday Evil – Stand to Reason.
NSW Summer School 2016 registration open
Registration is now open for CMS NSW Summer School – coming up in January 2016.
When ‘discernment’ leads to disaster
“The historic First Baptist Church of Greenville, South Carolina, announced in May that it would declare itself be ‘open and welcoming’ to all people and that it would allow same-sex marriage and ordain openly homosexual ministers.
The move came after the church had undergone a ‘discernment’ process under the leadership of a ‘LGBT Discernment Team.’ That team brought a report to the church’s deacons, who then forwarded it to the congregation. The church then approved the statement by standing vote…
The lesson – once a church or denomination is untethered from the inerrancy of the Bible, there is no brake on the relativizing effects of cultural pressure.”
– Albert Mohler writes an important essay on the slide into liberalism of a historic US church.
Catching up on the Annual Moore College Lectures
If you missed the 38th Annual Moore College Lecture series by Professor Kevin Vanhoozer, you can catch up here.
How did we get to Now? — NSW Presbyterians challenged to remember
“Before I belonged to the Presbyterian Church I was a member of another Australian denomination that has now completely lost its way theologically.
I used to attend the Katoomba Convention and the CMS Summer School for my annual Bible teaching. I know what it’s like to go to church week after week and hear minister after minister have nothing to say from the Bible. Some of you can’t imagine a situation like that. Some of you have lived through it. We can’t afford to forget those days. We must make sure that we don’t become complacent.
That’s one reason why we need to play our part in meetings like Assembly and Presbytery. Where does theological liberalism begin to take its hold? It’s often in the decisions of Assemblies and Presbyteries. Carl Truman says that liberalism enters a church when evangelicals don’t bother turning up to the decision making meetings while the moderates and liberals slowly change the theological temperature. We must each play our part in making sure that we are a denomination that sticks to the Bible…”
– In his address to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in NSW recently, Moderator Kevin Murray challenged his hearers against complacency.
Read it on pages 8 and 9 of the August–September 2015 edition of The Pulse (PDF).
The illustration given above is also why the ACL is committed to its task. If you share our commitment, consider joining. Photo credit: Peter Merrick.
Moore Theological College insights with a fairy-tale commute
Check out this neat video from Moore College.
And here’s where to find info on the courses on offer.
Read “Knowing God” with Tim Challies
“One week from today I am going to begin a very public reading of a very good book. I would love for you to join me. Why don’t you read on to see if it would be beneficial to you?
For the past few years I have been running an ongoing program called ‘Reading Classics Together.’ This is the way I force myself to read those classic Christian books that I somehow otherwise neglect. I do it by inviting others to join me so we can read those books together.
Next week I will begin reading J.I. Packer’s modern-day classic Knowing God…
All you need to do is obtain a copy of the book and read chapters 1 and 2 prior to August 20.”
– An excellent idea from Tim Challies in Toronto.
Katy Faust: daughter of lesbian parents cautions against gay marriage
“American Katy Faust was raised by her lesbian mother and her partner and she now runs a blog called asktheBigot, which is fiercely opposed to gay marriage.”
– She was interviewed on ABC TV’s Lateline.
A Biblical Doctrine of Humanity
Tim Keller spoke at this year’s Evangelical Ministry Assembly in London – on a doctrine of humanity.
You can watch it here, thanks to the Proclamation Trust. Very relevant to many contemporary situations.
(The theme of this year’s EMA: “Identity Crisis: Preaching to a Confused World”. The audio files are already available.)
Reading the Newspaper
“At Theological College it was suggested that we students read the newspaper, standing up, giving it a cursory reading. I have never followed that advice, I enjoy the daily paper in a comfortable chair, newsprint and all, no online version for me!
Last week, I was asked to speak to a group of men about ‘how Christians read the newspaper’.
The news is usually confronting: ISIS, travel entitlements, single gender marriage, human trafficking as well as the natural disasters of fire and drought.
The starting point for the believer is the sovereign rule of God over all things…”
– a very helpful comment from Presbyterian Moderator-General David Cook.
(Image: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)
Don’t let it fall off the table!
“A couple of years ago, I attended some seminars run by an American church growth expert named Dr Paul Borden.
From all the wisdom that he passed on, one thing I remember was that, unless we are very deliberate and diligent, evangelism will almost always ‘fall of the table’ when push comes to shove in church (or Christian group) practice. He is not an expert for no reason!…”
– at GoThereFor.com, Stephen Liggins writes to encourage churches to keep focussed.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…