The Manifesto of the Reformation
The Manifesto of the Reformation
Luther vs. Erasmus on Free Will
The clash between Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus over the issue of free will is “one of the most famous exchanges in western intellectual history”…
Read the article by Lee Gatiss (editor of The Theologian) via the PDF file here (direct link).
Reformation Day
It’s Reformation Day, and over at the Sola Panel, Sandy Grant has posted links to some useful resources.
See also our post from earlier this week.
Traditions Old and New
In the Reformation the leaders of the day had to work out what to change and what to retain. With some things it was easy, because the need to change screamed out. But falling for the temptation to change everything led to some terrible follies and abuses.
It was the wisdom of Thomas Cranmer, which guided the Church of England through the Reformation changes. He did not accomplish all that he wanted to do. However, in 1549 he laid down some principles upon which he was working…
– Phillip Jensen wrote in last weekend’s Cathedral newsletter.
True Woman conference audio online
Audio and text files of the talks given at the 2008 True Woman Conference, held in the Chicago area earlier this month, are now online.
Speakers include Mary Kassian, Joni Eareckson Tada and John Piper.
The talks are available at True Woman.
How others see us: What’s up Down Under?
“The recent decision of the Diocesan Synod of Sydney, in the Anglican Church of Australia, to allow the administration of Holy Communion—i.e., the celebration of the Eucharist—by deacons and eventually laity seems outlandish to many overseas Anglicans. It makes considerably more sense within the context of Australian Anglicanism, which has a very different history than The Episcopal Church (TEC) and its various offshoots (I will get to that later). Australian Anglicanism is exceptionally diverse as a result of that history, and its diversity has led the Anglican Church of Australia to adopt a unique pattern of organization.
Just as some Episcopalians are frustrated when other Anglicans cannot understand TEC’s particular form of synodical governance, so I expect Australians feel when outsiders try to apply their own context to matters Down Under. I write the following as an American outsider, but one who has long been fascinated enough by the local variations on the common Anglican theme to make a study of them. (I hope that any Australians who read this will take the trouble to correct my inevitable mistakes by commenting below.)…”
– A thoughtful piece by Dale Rye in Covenant. (Photo: Covenant.)
Hat tip: Anglican Mainstream.
‘Christless Christianity’ reviewed
“I am not arguing in this book that we have arrived at Christless Christianity,” says Horton, “but that we are well on our way. … My concern is that we are getting dangerously close to the place in everyday American church life where the Bible is mined for ‘relevant’ quotes but is largely irrelevant on its own terms; God is used as a personal resource rather than known, worshipped and trusted…”
– Tim Challies reviews the new book by Michael Horton.
The Badder the Bad…
Over the weekend I read Michael Horton’s new book Christless Christianity. I greatly enjoyed reading it (despite chapters that were slightly longer than my attention span) and found that it gave me a lot to think about. A few days earlier I had read a new book by Rick Warren, The Purpose of Christmas. What a contrast there was between the two of them…
– Tim Challies writes at Challies.com.
What’s really at stake in the gay marriage debate?
“The activists promoting the normalization of homosexuality have been tremendously successful in their efforts. The mainstream media, the educational elites, and various culture shapers have pushed this cause.
Today, on the average college or university campus, homosexuality is not considered to be a major moral issue…”
– In part 4 of his series ‘What’s really at stake in the Gay marriage debate?’, Al Mohler writes about the ideological struggle for recognition of ‘gay marriage’.
See also part 1, part 2 and part 3. (Photo: Together for the Gospel.)
Martin Luther at study
On October 31, 1517, German monk and theologian Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
In this free audio download from Christian Audio, John Piper speaks on the discovery that Martin Luther made 491 years ago – that God speaks to us in his Word.
How should pastors today go about their ministry? Piper draws us back to God’s word – the Bible.
The 36MB mp3 file runs for 1 hour 19 minutes – to get it, start at this page.
(You will need to create an account if you don’t have one and go through the check-out process, but the file is free of charge.)
Voting for generations of children and their right to live
“What would you think if a politician said ‘I’m not pro-rape, I’m simply prochoice about rape. And though I would not choose to rape a woman, I believe that every man should be free to rape a woman if that is his personal choice.’ And what would you do if that politician promised the rape lobby that if he is elected president, the ‘first thing I would do’ is to sign legislation that would invalidate all the state laws that restrict rape in any way?…”
– Randy Alcorn writes persuasively about choices facing voters in the US election.
Terrific Gospelling idea
Here’s a reminder about an event coming up this week –
St. Philip’s Church in the Sydney CBD is modelling a great idea for outreach. Later this month they are hosting a public reading of Mark’s Gospel over two lunch hours.
The purpose is to provide Christians who work and shop in the City with an opportunity to bring their non-Christian friends and work colleagues to hear about Jesus from the Scriptures. Read more
Top Ten ways to write bad worship songs
In my eleven years as director of worship development for Sovereign Grace Ministries, I’ve reviewed hundreds of worship songs and written a few of my own. Not all of them have been stellar. Actually, very few of them have been.
I’ve noticed recurring tendencies that keep weak songs from becoming good or great songs. I’m intimately acquainted with those tendencies in my own songs and I’ve listed my top ten below. While these thoughts are meant for songwriters, most of them apply to leading worship as well.…
– Bob Kauflin writes at Worship Matters. (Number 10 is especially true.)
Preach what’s True and Precious
“A word to preachers. Truth and falsehood is a good pair of categories to use when deciding what to preach. Speak truth not falsehood.
But there is another crucial pair of categories. God tells Jeremiah that he must use this pair if he would be faithful…”
– Brief advice to preachers from John Piper.
The Oxford Movement
“It is likely that we will see a growing interest in the Oxford Movement in the wake of proposals by Roman Catholics to declare one of its founders a saint…”
– David Phillips, General Secretary of Church Society, points out that “many of the practices that were opposed by our evangelical forebears are common within the Church of England” today.
Read his article from Crossway as a PDF file at Church Society.
The Jerusalem Declaration: Available for download
Last night, Sydney Synod enthusiastically endorsed GAFCON’s Jerusalem Declaration.
During the debate, it was suggested that the Declaration could be made available for churches – either to give copies to members or to display one in your church.
For your convenience, you can now download the Declaration as a PDF file – it’s formatted to fit two A4 pages – an 80kb download.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…