‘Commentary’ Summer 2011 from Oak Hill

The latest (UK Summer 2011) issue of Oak Hill College’s Commentary magazine is now available on their website.

It’s a 6.3MB PDF file.

Making Sense of the Senseless

“Last weekend’s bombing and shooting in Norway is awful. The pain and suffering of the innocent citizens and their families is incalculable. The actions were more than painful, they were wicked and evil. There is no excuse.

While there is no excuse, we still search for reasons. From the outset of media commentary, people have been struggling to understand the reason.…”

– Read the full article by Phillip Jensen, Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney.

Evangelical Drift

“This is my 51st and final issue as editor of Cross†Way. The magazine, and those that preceded it in the Church Society family line, have been concerned to uphold Biblical teaching within the Church of England. We might prefer to only concentrate on good things, but we learn from Scripture, more or less from beginning to end, that teaching the truth means opposing what is false. From the beginning of Church Association this organisation has identified itself as evangelical.

It is striking therefore to discover that many now consider that evangelicals are the dominant group in the Church of England and see this being demonstrated in senior appointments. If this is so then what passes as evangelical today is not what our forebears considered such…”

– David Phillips looks at the changes in ‘evangelicalism’ in the last decade or so, in the Summer 2011 issue of Cross†Way. (PDF file.)

St. John’s Vancouver transition FAQ

For your prayers for the members of St. John’s Vancouver as they plan to move to another location — there’s now a Transition FAQ here.

The Doctrine of Baptism – DWB Robinson

Church Society has republished a 1962 paper by Donald Robinson (then Vice-Principal of Moore Theological College, and later Archbishop of Sydney) on the doctrine of Baptism.

“For our Church’s doctrine of baptism we must go first of all to the Thirty-Nine Articles. The Prayer Book services must always be interpreted in accordance with the Articles, and not the other way about.”

– This enlightening paper is available as a PDF file from Church Society.

(This has also been republished as chapter 26 in Volume 2 of Donald Robinson, Selected Works, Australian Church Record / Moore College, 2008.)

One way of looking at it

“On July 10, 2011 clergy of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) who since May 2008 had been occupying the Anglican Church of Canada building on Guilford Drive in Abbotsford left that building to conduct worship in Grace Church a few blocks away. Worshippers who support those ANiC clergy also left the Anglican Church of Canada building to worship with those clergy…”

– The Bishop’s Warden of the Anglican Church of Canada parish at Abbotsford in Vancouver in a letter to BC Local News. (Photo: Diocese of New Westminster.) h/t Anglican Essentials Canada blog.

No Fault Today, No Marriage Tomorrow

“I do not generally seek advice about marriage from celebrity models, but I could not help noticing that Christie Brinkley said she’ll ‘never get married again’. …”

– Phillip Jensen writes on the end point of the ‘no fault divorce’.

Anglican Evangelism and Evangelical Anglicanism, 1945-2011 — the challenge we face

This week John Richardson spoke at the Evangelical Anglican Junior Clergy Conference in the UK, and he’s posted the text of his first address online. It’s a very interesting overview of Post-war UK evangelical Anglicanism. He includes mention of some help, in the Lord’s providence, from the colonies –

“Many in the Evangelical Anglican constituency were therefore increasingly uncomfortable with the direction being taken by the movement, and in the mid-1980s, under the leadership of Dick Lucas, the Evangelical Ministry Assembly and the Proclamation Trust struck out in a different direction.

The Proclamation Trust aimed unashamedly, and in its own mind principally, at a recovery of preaching. Nevertheless, this inevitably entailed a recovery of theology, and so the speakers invited to address the EMA were often men of theological acumen as well as skilled communicators.

Notably, however, most of them came from abroad — it seemed that in the UK they were in short supply. Many were from America but some, and in the end the most influential, were from the Diocese of Sydney in Australia.

Two key English Evangelicals made some revealing comments about the impact of just one of these visitors, John Chapman, who then headed the Department of Evangelism in the Diocese of Sydney. …”

– Read it all at The Ugley Vicar. (Photo of John Chapman, courtesy of AFES.)

Biblical Authority in an Age of Uncertainty

In this video from The Gospel Coalition, Don Carson, John Piper and Tim Keller speak together about the importance of knowing what the Bible says.

Related: David Ould looks at the debate in the UK on Women Bishops – “It’s Just the Vibe of the Thing” – at Stand Firm.

William Taylor on ‘Why Expository Preaching?’

William Taylor spoke at a Simeon Trust workshop on Biblical Exposition, in 2008. The audio of the workshop is available on their website. Most encouraging – especially for preachers of God’s word.

Science and Genesis 3:1-24

Barry Newman is continuing to write stimulating notes as he reads through the early chapters of Genesis. He’s posted his latest complete series of explorations, “Science and Genesis 3:1-24” – as a PDF file – at his blog.

The Great Creeds

“The earliest function of the creeds was baptismal, that is for instruction beforehand and interrogation of the candidate at the baptism itself. Between their embryonic beginnings and ultimate finalization of the creed in the forms we have them further elements were added.

This was because the era between the New Testament and the finalization of the Creeds in the fourth century was chaotic, with the intrusion of serious doctrinal errors threatening the survival of apostolic truth and the unity of the church. …”

– Bishop Paul Barnett is continuing to post some of his writings online.

Related: J.I. Packer: More Catechesis, Please.

A Fresh Look at Mission conference audio

The “Sydney and Anglican: A Fresh Look at Mission” conference was held in Sydney two weeks ago. (SydneyAnglicans.net reported on the day here.)

A quote from Michael Jensen:

“My conviction is that not only is being evangelical the most authentic way of being Anglican – we’ve been saying that for years – but also that being Anglican is the best way to be evangelical in Australia in the 21st century. Our Anglican identity is, by grace, a precious gift which teaches us to stay true to the central convictions of the Christian faith without losing our missionary zeal.”

The audio files and handouts are now available on their new website.

Ten Elements of Historic Anglicanism

“It is important to begin with two comments:

1) This paper was inspired by something J.I. Packer wrote in 1995, ‘Speculating in Anglican Futures’. I have added to it, but Dr Packer must not be blamed for my additions, or the final form this brief paper has taken.

2) I need to define ‘Anglicanism’. You will notice that I qualify it as ‘historic’ Anglicanism. What do I mean? I mean the Anglican way – the way of the Church of England as defined by the three historic documents: the Book of Common Prayer (1662); the Ordinal (for Bishops, Priests and Deacons); the 39 Articles of Religion. We find the doctrines, beliefs and ethos of historic Anglicanism in these documents.

Let me now turn to these ten elements.

First and foremost this Anglicanism locates its final authority in matters pertaining to salvation in the Holy Scriptures.

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article  of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation  (Article 6).

This places final authority for faith and salvation in “Holy Scripture”. By contrast the church is the “witness and keeper of holy writ”, but not the source of “Holy Writ”. The articles recognise that various “rites” need to be authorised and adjudication given in matters of “controversy” and the church has “power…and authority” in such things  (Article 20). Nonetheless, churches may err and have erred within history; they are not infallible.

So, to begin, Holy Scripture is the basis and touchstone of faith.

Thus the church must defer to the Bible in all matters relating to salvation and, indeed, in the ultimate in all matters relating to rites, ceremonies and controversies. Thus the Anglican Church is biblical as to the basis of its authority.

At ordination the minister is given a Bible as the instrument of ministry. The Bishop’s charge in the Ordinal, along with the questions and answers, make it abundantly clear that Christian ministry has the Bible as the basis and means of ministry.…”

– Read the full paper at Bishop Paul Barnett’s blog.

Simplicity and Integrity: the KJV in the church and the world

A Conference to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible.

Thursday July 7th 2011, 9.30am – 4:00pm at Moore College in Newtown.

Details here.

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