A gift-wrapped community
Here’s a great idea for Christmas –
“The Emmanuel Church in Glenhaven is gift-wrapping 1900 Essential Jesus Gospels in preparation for Christmas this year. Church members will door-knock homes in the local area over 2 Sundays, to give out their special gift…” – Story here.
Remembering B. B. Warfield
“At important moments in the history of the church God, in kind providence, has raised up men to give voice to His Word. And so there is Augustine, the theologian of sin and grace. He did not invent these doctrines, of course. But in his battle with Pelagius he gave them such clear and cogent articulation that forever since he has been recognized as the one who gave these doctrines to us. He was the high water mark. So also there is Anselm, the theologian of the doctrine of the atonement. And there is Luther, the theologian of justification. And Calvin, the theologian of the Holy Spirit.
In this sense exactly Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield of Old Princeton is the theologian of the doctrine of inspiration…”
– At Between Two Worlds, Fred Zaspel writes on the significance of B B Warfield, who was born 158 years ago today.
As Night follows Day?
“The premise is wrong, the logic is wrong and the conclusion is wrong, but who cares so long as we can make the Bible say what we want it to say?”
– Church Society’s David Philips on the slippery-slope of making the Bible teach whatever you want. (90kb PDF file.) From the Autumn 2009 edition of Cross†Way.
Where now, after October 20th?
“As long ago as 1971, Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote a book titled, What is an Evangelical? John Stott addressed the same issue in 1977, as did Mark Thompson as recently as 1995 in a book titled Saving the Heart? subtitled, What is an evangelical?
However, in recent years the evangelical identity has become even more diffuse, even within Anglicanism…”
– John Richardson gave this address at Forward in Faith’s Manchester branch last weekend. (It was on October 20th that the Vatican made its offer to Anglo-Catholics.)
Church discipline: a good idea?
The latest version of the 9Marks eJournal is devoted to the often-difficult question of church discipline. It’s available as a PDF file here.
A tip for the Melbourne Cup
Last year, Kel Richards and Dean Phillip Jensen discussed the topic of gambling at The Chat Room.
Watch it at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Stott on Anglican Evangelical Identity
“First and foremost, by God’s sheer mercy, I am a Christian seeking to follow Jesus Christ.
Next, I am an evangelical Christian because of my conviction that evangelical principles (especially sola scriptura [Scripture alone] and sola gratia [by grace alone]) are integral to authentic Christianity, and that to be an evangelical Christian is to be a New Testament Christian, and vice versa.
Thirdly, I am an Anglican evangelical Christian, since the Church of England is the particular historical tradition or denomination to which I belong.
But I am not an Anglican first, since denominationalism is hard to defend. It seems to me correct to call oneself an Anglican evangelical (in which evangelical is the noun and Anglican the descriptive adjective) rather than an evangelical Anglican (in which Anglican is the noun and evangelical the adjective).”
– Quoted in R. Steers, The Inside Story, p. 191. (h/t Mark Thompson.)
‘ABC outdoes BBC’
– says Russell Powell in his weekly roundup of media stories at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Has ‘the Anglican Experiment’ really failed?
Charles Raven: “The Anglican Communion crisis is not about Anglicanism in itself, but a crisis of faithfulness. Failure to maintain Anglicanism’s doctrinal and moral integrity precipitated GAFCON and is the root cause of the Pope’s offer of the Ordinariate.”
– Charles Raven responds to a statement by Forward in Faith UK’s Chairman (and also Bishop of Fulham), John Broadhurst, that ‘the Anglican experiment is over’. At SPREAD.
(Photo of Bishop Broadhurst: Diocese of Fulham.)
Responsible gambling?
Opinion from Peter Brain, Bishop of Armidale –
“From time to time I enjoyed watching Friday night football on the telly (quite an admission from one brought up on the other rugby!)
What surprised me was the statement by the commentators (at half-time, I think it was) that advised us that we could ‘get $1.18 for St George and $4 for Parramatta by ‘phoning … – but please remember to gamble responsibly.’ Read more
Timothy Partnership to be launched
A new joint project of Anglican Youthworks College and Presbyterian Youth.
“In 2010, we are proud to launch the Diploma of Theology by Distance: practical theological training made accessible to every Christian, everywhere. This unique collaboration brings together the expertise of two experienced and trusted ministry organisations to offer the best possible ministry education and formation experience for students. We also work with local church ministers on the ground to train up a generation of leaders.”
Read about it at timothypartnership.com.au.
Here I Stand — free audio download
To mark Reformation Day (October 31), Martin Luther’s Here I Stand, a 24 minute recording by Max McLean, is available as a free download from The Listener’s Bible.
“In the late afternoon of April 18, 1521, in the city of Worms, Germany, Martin Luther, a 37 year-old Catholic monk was called to defend himself before Charles the Fifth, the Holy Roman Emperor. The speech he delivered that day, Here I Stand, marked the beginning of the Reformation…”
The offer exprires on November 1st. To receive the download, simply create an account and follow the links. (h/t Andy Naselli.)
Columbo-style connecting
On two recent episodes of the White Horse Inn broadcast, Greg Koukl from Stand to Reason ministries shares some tips on connecting helpfully in an apologetic situation. He thinks we can learn from Lt. Columbo.
Hear the discussion (“Tactics” parts 1 & 2, October 4 & 11 2009) in the White Horse Inn archives. (Part 2 repeats about 10 minutes of the first episode.)
Keith Condie on Richard Baxter
Earlier this year, David Höhne and Michael Jensen interviewed Moore College Dean of Students Keith Condie about his research on Richard Baxter.
It’s a light-hearted but very interesting introduction to one of the key English Puritans – at The Common Room.
Connect09 Halloween idea
Next Saturday, October 31st, is Halloween (and, November 1st is Reformation Sunday!).
If you live in an area where young people are likely to knock on your door for Trick or Treat, consider having some copies of the Colin Buchanan DVD on hand to give away with your confectionary. (Ideally, hand the DVD to their parents if they are present.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…