The C of E’s General Synod: Doing the Best Things in the Worst Times

“While some may draw comfort from the apparent ruling out (if he was ever ruled in) of Jeffrey John as Bishop of Southwark, the Church of England’s direction of travel is now abundantly clear. Whether or not we agree with David Virtue’s assessment that the Church of England ‘is now Province XVII of The Episcopal Church’, he is absolutely right that we are seeing the same ruthless marginalisation of the orthodox as has happened in the United States…”

– Charles Raven’s latest commentary at SPREAD.

The Anglican Curmudgeon on developments in York

“…the women priests in Synod combined with a sufficient number of male priests to ensure, by a bare minimum, that the wisdom of the other orders in the Church of England would not be put into practice. And in that description of the result is all the data that anyone needs to conclude that the admission of women to the priesthood in the Church of England was just the first step in a widening gyre.

There will be no turning back: after the approval of the ordination of women to the episcopate, the numbers will so change in the Church of England’s House of Bishops, and in the lay delegates as well, as to make inevitable the ordination of LGBT’s to the episcopate. And at that point, the Church of England — in whatever form it then remains — will be indistinguishable from ECUSA.”

– A S Haley (Anglican Curmudgeon) looks at the trajectory on which the Church of England has launched itself. (Photo: Women in the Church.)

ESV widget for Mac

If you use a Mac, you may find the updated ESV Dashboard widget useful.

After women bishops, what next?

“I’ve not had time to follow the Synod debate on women bishop’s much less to comment. However, I was having a discussion with some of our own folks on Thursday night, where I observed that the introduction of women bishops is by no means the end of the line, for there are explicit indications amongst the chief supporters of the consecration of women that our theology and liturgy are also in line for changes.

Just to give an idea of what this entails, I have simply cut and pasted the following from a paper on the WATCH website:…”

– John Richardson writes about moves for women bishops at the Church of England General Synod (which meets until Tuesday).

Josephus: the man and the myths

The folks at The Centre for Public Christianity have been busy uploading resource videos to their Vimeo account.

Added recently is a two part interview with Professor John Barclay of Durham University – on Josephus. Part 1, part 2.

(Related: a recent broadcast from The White Horse Inn.)

How to Protect our Children Online

Steve Kryger at Communicate Jesus has a very helpful post – with links to resources.

Have a look here.

What is the Gospel? — Available free on Kindle

For a limited time, Crossway publishers have made available Greg Gilbert’s new book What is the Gospel? free on the Kindle – from Amazon. (Download the Kindle app if you don’t own a Kindle.)

Of the book, William Taylor of St Helen’s Church in London says,

“Clarity on the gospel brings both confidence in the gospel and conviction concerning core gospel truths. This excellent book is wonderfully clear and biblically faithful, and will repay reading with renewed gospel focus.”

and Archbishop Peter J. Akinola:

“Greg Gilbert has called the church back to the source of her revelation. In a simple and straightforward manner, he has laid bare what the Bible has shown the gospel to mean.”

For those with access to the iBook Store (not yet in Australia), you can also get it free there.

DVD Sale from Desiring God

Desiring God are selling all of their DVDs for $US9.99 during July 2010.

(Bear in mind that these are all in NTSC format – and are probably also Region 1. Many Australian DVD players – though not all – would be able to play them.)

Recovering the priority of relationships

“Some recent conversations to which I have been a party suggest we talk a good game when it comes to the priority of relationships while our practice is practically indistinguishable from the relational desert inhabited by those around us.

Is there, as some people are beginning to suggest, a sad disconnect between our confession and life at this point?”

– Mark Thompson asks some fair questions at Theological Theology.

Corroborating Evidence

From The White Horse Inn:

“If Jesus was a real historical individual, then do we have any confirming evidence for his life and ministry from sources outside the New Testament? Some point to the writings of Josephus, but isn’t it true that his famous passage about Jesus was proven to be a fabrication? Interacting with the hosts on this topic is historian Paul L. Maier, author of In The Fullness of Time, and editor of Josephus: The Essential Works.”

– broadcast on June 20, 2010, Paul Maier’s interview is well worth hearing.

A Dangerous Structure: Can General Synod Stave Off Collapse?

“London’s Lambeth Council has some helpful advice on its website  about dangerous structures: ‘If you notice a building or structure that appears to be in a dangerous condition, or in serious neglect, an engineer will inspect the problem and take the necessary action. If the structure is unsafe, but there is no immediate danger, then the owner will be contacted to make it safe – if they don’t, they may face enforcement action.’

There is no question of course that the material fabric of Lambeth Palace, the historic London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is in good order. In fact, the Archbishop’s website  reassures us that there are ’plans for future work to upgrade the fabric of the Palace’, but the spiritual fabric of the Church over which he presides is looking increasingly precarious.…”

– Charles Raven observes how quickly the Church of England is losing the plot.

The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer — free audiobook

This month’s free audiobook from ChristianAudio is The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. (July 2010)

Don’t know Tozer? J. I. Packer is quoted as saying: “Through all of Tozer’s books and articles there shines a passion for God that puts our shallowness to shame. Reading him is like drinking at an oasis in the desert.” Details of the audiobook at ChristianAudio.

Reformed Evangelical Anglican Library

Lee Gatiss writes about a new series – The Reformed Evangelical Anglican Library.

“By constitution the Church of England is a Reformed, Protestant, and Evangelical denomination. In its original foundation it was never intended to be merely the religious expression of changing English culture; nor was it designed as a pluralistic melting pot of various contradictory persuasions. As John Stott rightly asserted in 1970, ‘according to its own formularies, this church is reformed and evangelical’ (in Christ the Controversialist).   Read more

Shedding some Light on Twilight

“The highly anticipated third film in the wildly popular Twilight series opens today. … The first two movies — Twilight and New Moon — took in a sensational $1.1 billion at the box office. In 2009 and 2010, the movies topped the teen choice awards, and swept virtually all the categories at the MTV Movie Awards.  Twilight has become the hottest love story of our time. It’s a teen rage, and a significant cultural phenomenon.

The question that I always ask, when I see something so grip the hearts and minds of women, is “Why?”. And it was this question that was foremost in my mind when I finally sat down a couple weeks ago to watch and analyze the first two movies…”

– Helpful analysis from Mary Kassian. (h/t Tim Challies.)

ESV Bible Atlas

The Crossway ESV Bible Atlas has been released in the US. Details – and links to a 45 page preview – at Between Two Worlds.

← Previous Page — Next Page →