A Roman Catholic monarch?

In the Autumn 2009 issue of Churchman, Gerald Bray has written a fascinating editorial on whether the English monarch should, or could, be Roman Catholic. It’s more complicated than you might have imagined.

Church Society have made the editorial available here (PDF).

In such a tongue as the people understandeth

“One of the great principles of Reformation was the use of vernacular languages. Though faith, as the Reformers described it, was not merely giving assent to propositions, but trust, it was trust in the Word of God. And for that the Word of God was something that needed to be heard and understood by the people.

It is no surprise that so much energy was given to Bible translation – the great William Tyndale’s vision was that the ploughboy could read it and understand it for himself. This was a cause for which he was to give his life. …”

– Michael Jensen has continued his series on The Thirty Nine Articles at Thirty Nine – and is now up to Article XXIV: “Of speaking in the Congregation in such a tongue as the people understandeth”.

Christ the centre

Michael Horton, Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, and host of The White Horse Inn broadcast was interviewed by Christianity Today on the temptation to have something other than Christ as the centre of Christianity.

“There is nothing wrong with law, but law isn’t gospel. The gospel isn’t ‘Follow Jesus’ example’ or ‘Transform your life’ or ‘How to raise good children.’ The gospel is: Jesus Christ came to save sinners—even bad parents, even lousy followers of Jesus, which we all are on our best days. All of the emphasis falls on ‘What would Jesus do?’ rather than ‘What has Jesus done?’

(h/t Between Two Worlds.)

The Gospel Old and New

“Have you heard the New Gospel? It’s not been codified. It’s not owned by any one person or movement. But it is increasingly common.

The New Gospel generally has four parts to it.

It usually starts with an apology: ‘I’m sorry for my fellow Christians. I understand why you hate Christianity. It’s like that thing Ghandi said, ‘why can’t the Christians be more like their Christ?’ Christians are hypocritical, judgmental, and self-righteous. I know we screwed up with the Crusades, slavery, and the Witch Trials. All I can say is: I apologize. We’ve not give you a reason to believe…’

Then there is an appeal to God as love …

The third part of the New Gospel is an invitation to join God on his mission in the world…

And finally, there is a studied ambivalence about eternity…”

– Kevin DeYoung at the Gospel Coalition on why the ‘new gospel’ is so wrong.

Who Made God?

Tim Challies has conducted an interesting interview with Edgar Andrews, author of the new book “Who Made God?” – at Challies.com.

He reviews the book here. (The book doesn’t appear to be available in Australia just yet.)

We will not bend the knee to Caesar (Why I signed The Manhattan Declaration)

“I signed The Manhattan Declaration because it is a limited statement of Christian conviction on these three crucial issues, and not a wide-ranging theological document that subverts confessional integrity.

I cannot and do not sign documents such as Evangelicals and Catholics Together that attempt to establish common ground on vast theological terrain. I could not sign a statement that purports, for example, to bridge the divide between Roman Catholics and evangelicals on the doctrine of justification.

The Manhattan Declaration is not a manifesto for united action. It is a statement of urgent concern and common conscience on these three issues — the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage, and the defense of religious liberty.”

– Albert Mohler on why he was one of the first to sign The Manhattan Declaration.

Rowan’s Roman Bluff

“For a man hardly renowned for his robustness, the recent speech given in Rome by the Archbishop of Canterbury was remarkably robust. Of course, it was given partly in response to the announcement from Rome on October 20th of effectively a ‘safe haven’ for Anglicans disenchanted by the policies of the Church over which Rowan Williams presides…”

– John Richardson also writes about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s address in Rome — at The Ugley Vicar.

Rowan in Rome: Retreat from Reason

Charles Raven writes about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit to the Vatican:

“the implausibility of Williams position starts to become evident when, presumably without blushing, he commends the Anglican Covenant process…”

Apparently unabashed by the chaotic state of the Communion he represents, Rowan William’s provocative address to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome last Thursday was noted by the media for its strong challenge to the Roman Catholic Church’s position on the ordination of women, but its real significance is that it reveals an Archbishop who, far from being discouraged, does really seem to believe his own propaganda, even to the extent that, the recent humiliation of his non-consultation over the Ordinariate notwithstanding, he offers recent Anglican practice as a model for the Vatican to follow in ecumenical relationships. Read more

The Articles once more

“The Thirty-nine Articles provide the only secure anchor for an authentic Anglican identity. This is after all the foundational doctrinal statement of the reformed church of England, drafted by the reforming bishops, endorsed by the lay members of the church in parliament, and situated as the touchstone of Anglican theology and practice ever since. Whatever other categories, principles or documents may be presented as integral to the heart of Anglicanism, the simple fact is that the Articles tell Anglicans who they are.”

– Read all of ACL President Mark Thompson’s post at Theological Theology.

AAC President’s update 20 November

Weekly Message from Bishop David Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council, November 20 2009

“In a newly authorized advertising campaign, TEC begins by saying, “As Episcopalians, we are followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” and this sounds spot-on Christologically.”

Beloved in Christ,

Some banks, large and small, have gotten into a great deal of trouble during the last year and a half with uncollectible loans and assets that have steeply declined in value. In short, their books don’t balance, and people’s money is at risk. Fortunately for most bank customers, their accounts are FDIC insured, and when a bank fails, another absorbs it, and the customer’s accounts remain relatively safe.

When it comes to churches, another institution that people trust, the same safety isn’t always present. Banks hold our money, and if they lose it we can work to gain more, whereas churches deal with our soul, and if we lose that, we can’t pick up another at the shopping mall.

As an example, the Episcopal Church (TEC) has vastly overstated their membership strength, withheld the really bad financial news, degraded their theology, lost membership, and their members’ souls are in peril. Read more

G K Chesterton on Daring Orthodoxy

“People have fallen into a foolish habit of speaking of orthodoxy as something heavy, humdrum, and safe. There never was anything so perilous or so exciting as orthodoxy…”

— Mark Thompson has a terrific quote from G K Chesterton — read it all here.

Gerald Bray on interpreting Scripture

“The first question we must ask of every biblical text is simply this — what does it tell us about God? What does it say about who he is and about what he does?

The second question is: what does this text say about us human beings? What are we meant to be and what has gone wrong?

The third and final question is: what has God done about this and what does he expect of us in the light of what he has done?…”

– Read the rest of the short interview at Between Two Worlds.

Rising from the dust

“When a believer has fallen into a low, sad state of feeling, he often tries to lift himself out of it by chastening himself with dark and doleful fears. Such is not the way to rise from the dust, but to continue in it. As well chain the eagle’s wing to make it mount, as doubt in order to increase our grace.

It is not the law, but the gospel which saves the seeking soul at first; and it is not a legal bondage, but gospel liberty which can restore the fainting believer afterwards. Slavish fear brings not back the backslider to God, but the sweet wooings of love allure him to Jesus’ bosom.”

– Charles Spurgeon — with thanks to Of First importance.

November 2009 issue of Themelios

The Gospel Coalition has released the latest issue of Themelios. It is available as a PDF document or in HTML format.

It includes a word of exhortation from Carl Trueman intended especially for theological students (but also applicable to other ‘professional’ Christians).

“The temptation for a theological student at this point, of course, is to make the obvious answer to this: well, I study the things of God all day long; I am hardly likely to forget about God, who he is and what he has done, am I? Well, there is forgetting and there is forgetting. Remembering that there is a train that leaves the local station every evening at five o’clock is one thing; remembering that I need to be on it to return home to be there for my wife’s surprise birthday party is quite another. It is all too easy for the theological student to end up remembering God as an object of knowledge; it is quite another thing to remember him as the all-surpassing subject of existence.”

(h/t Between Two Worlds.)