Lotteries, Divorce and Australian Church History

“At Moore College, each year the Bachelor of Divinity fourth year students have the opportunity to research and write a 6,000 word essay in Church History on some aspect of evangelicalism in Australia or Britain (post-1600).

The Church History Department first launched the online journal Integrity last year in order to share some of the quality essays written by our students with a broader audience.”

The 140 page second volume is well worth downloading from the Moore College website. Here are the papers in Volume 2 –

The Unexpected Chaplain: Henry Fulton and Early Colonial Evangelicalism. – Tom Melbourne.
The Response of the Anglican Dioceses of Perth and Sydney to the Introduction of State Lotteries from 1920 to 1945. – Cameron Howard.
A survey of the Federal Methodist Inland Mission and an account of the ministry of the Rev Keith Lachlan Doust. – Katherine Cole.
An Analysis of the Reasons for the Opposition in Tasmania in the 1850s of the Rev Dr Henry Fry and other Evangelical Anglican Clergy to their Bishop, Dr Francis Nixon. – Sam Gough.
An Assessment of the Contribution of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney to the Debate on the Introduction of ‘No-Fault Divorce’ in the Family Law Act (1975). – Mark Wormell.

Do you proclaim the gospel on Sundays?

“How do our church meetings proclaim the gospel story? Of course we want all our words to point to Christ. But what about the shape of the gathering, the liturgy?

If the famous dictum, ‘the medium is the message,’ carries any truth then we would do well to reflect not only on the words spoken, but also the structures and shapes to our times together. How do our church meetings proclaim the gospel story?…”

– On the Church Society blog, John Percival quotes from an article by Graham O’Brien in Churchman.

Related: Paul Helm reflects on a church service he attended recently at an Abbey.

“I was at a service at an Abbey last Sunday, an unfamiliar venue for me. When I am at a service in an strange place, such as the service in this gaunt but undoubtedly beautiful building, being a visitor I tend to try to adopt the outlook of a visitor. What impression does what goes on in the great venues of English religion give to someone, who, like me on this occasion, joins the service as a one-off?”

Saying yes and no: a Briefing farewell

“I’m an avid reader, and social media brings an endless flood of articles my way—often very interesting, sometimes useful, occasionally mind-changing! So with that flood it’s hard to be sure, but I think the article that’s had the single biggest impact on my life and ministry was not published in The Briefing magazine. But that article by Ben Patterson explains why The Briefing has had more influence in shaping my Christian mind (and hopefully practice) than any book has ever done — apart from the Bible!…”

– Sandy Grant looks back with gratitude to some of the things he has learned through The Briefing.

Mark Dever interviewed

Marvin Olansky at World Magazine recently interviewed Mark Dever – about all sorts of things.

Watch it here (YouTube, 64 minutes including question time) – and read the accompanying article here.

Is God a Religious Pluralist?

In a recent issue of The White Horse Inn broadcast, apologetics specialist Greg Koukl spoke on ‘How are we to deal with the exclusive claims of Jesus in our pluralistic age?’.

Well worth hearing.

Album: Masterplan – Ben Pakula

Earlier in the year, Lionel Windsor reviewed Ben Pakula’s album –

“Ben Pakula’s new album – Masterplan – is available on iTunes and at the CEP Store. I love Ben’s work, and so do our kids. It’s a powerful rock style combined with words that teach profound truths about God, Jesus, humanity and the world. Often, when our kids ask us questions about Jesus or something in the Bible, we find ourselves answering simply with a quote from one of Ben’s songs. As soon as we quote Ben, the kids go, “ah, right, I get it”!

Ben’s latest album, Masterplan, is a “biblical-theology concept album” – i.e. “a musical presentation of the whole story of the Bible, focusing on the centrality of Jesus.” It’s especially good for early high schoolers, but it works for everyone. Here are some highlights for me…”

– Read the full review (with links to song previews) at Forget the Channel.

It’s not ‘Lost’, it’s not a ‘Gospel’

“Today the British Library plays host to the launch of a book by Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson provocatively entitled ‘The Lost Gospel – Decoding the Sacred Text that reveals Jesus’ Marriage to Mary Magdalene.’

According to reports in the Sunday Times last weekend the book – which is described as historical – claims that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and fathered two children with her. It also claims that there was a previously unknown plot on Jesus’s life when he was 20 and an assassination attempt on Mary and her children.

Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the history of the church at Oxford University summed up his view of the book succinctly to the Sunday Times saying: ‘It sounds like the deepest bilge.’…”

– The Church of England responds to what seems to be the marketing campaign for a book and TV special.

To End All Wars

Here’s Glen Scrivener’s throught-provoking contribution to Remembrance Day.

Four ways to God

Tony Payne writes, “I suppose it’s like looking at old baby photos, but over the past month or so I’ve been browsing through some of the classic early articles in The Briefing.

… I couldn’t help returning to an article that I also highlighted in the special edition that marked our 21st birthday back in 2009 — ‘Four ways to live’, which appeared in Briefing #3, in May 1988. This foundational article discussed four competing sources of religious authority (the ‘authority quadrilateral’), and how the Christian is to view each one.”

– It was a good article in the days when they produced The Briefing using a Mac Plus and a LaserWriter, and it still is. Read the extract here.

Chappo’s contribution to the Anglican Diocese of Armidale

“This weekend (8/11/2014) the good people of the Anglican Diocese of Armidale are celebrating their centenary.

Before 1914, the Armidale Diocese existed as the Diocese of Grafton and Armidale, which covered a huge amount of New South Wales from 1867 till 1914. Over the past 100 years the Diocese has undergone massive change, and as part of my 4th year program at Moore Theological College I had the opportunity to do a large research project on the diocese.

Specifically, I wanted to look into Chappo’s time in the diocese as I had hardly heard anything about his work there. What I found was deeply encouraging for my life and ministry. As the Armidale Diocese celebrates this weekend, feel free to get acquainted with our brothers and sisters of the north…”

– Tim Stevens writes on someone close to the heart of many in Australia and around the world.

Don Carson on Jeremiah

In July, Dr. Don Carson (Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) spoke at the STAND for the Gospel conference at Howick Baptist Church in Auckland.

His theme was theme: “The Weeping Prophet: Jeremiah Confronts the 21st Century”.

The talks are available – audio – video. (h/t Faith by Hearing.)

The Zimzum of Love — a review

Rob Bell’s new book on marriage, The Zimzum of Love: A New Way of Understanding Marriage, may get some local coverage. Dave Harvey has a review:

“In Love Wins Bell introduced us to his “new” way of understanding heaven and hell. At least he used the Bible. In The Zimzum of Love, the Bells reference the Bible a total of three times, one of them being a reference to John 3:16 signs at football games.” (h/t Tim Challies.)

Homosexuals in the Church: Keep Reading in Ephesians

“The progressive wing of evangelicalism seems to be ramping up its demand that Bible-believing churches accept homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. An example is a recent video…”

– Rick Phillips, Senior Minister at Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina, writes to help Christians respond in a loving and Biblical way.