From the Files: The Anglican Debacle
So, who are the schismatics? Over coming weeks, many will seek to portray biblically faithful Anglicans in such a way. It’s not true, of course.
Dr. Mark Thompson’s paper, The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns, delivered at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in March, catalogues the events leading up the GAFCON and Lambeth 2008.
Word of Faith preachers
Like it or not, some members of your church probably watch US TV preachers. The so-called ‘Word of Faith’ preachers increasingly dominate the US Christian cable channels, and are also being seen in Australia. Who are these preachers – and what is their message?
One who has studied their teaching is Justin Peters. He visited faith healers as a teenager, hoping to be healed of Cerebral Palsy. At Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, his Master’s thesis was an examination of the life and ministry of Benny Hinn.
Justin went back to Southwestern to give a 30 minute overview of the seminars he runs in churches. A video file of that overview is available on his website (a 101MB download in Windows Media format via this page). Justin has also been interviewed on Christian radio in Toronto (5.2MB mp3). DVDs of his seminars are available from his website.
(For some light relief, here’s a page from Sacred Sandwich.)
Other ways of talking about the divine?
“I am a deacon in the Sydney Anglican Diocese. In the Anglican Church I have found my life enriched and my faith strengthened. Yet that has not always been because of the teaching of its leaders in Sydney. …”
– Plenty for discussion in this Opinion piece by Susan Emeleus in The Sydney Morning Herald and Brisbane Times.
From the Files: A Crisis in Koinonia
Newspaper articles, prophecies of doom, and synod resolutions aside, Jesus is still building his church.
For Anglicans, in a denomination that now sanctions same sex unions, this now means changes in the shape of our relationships so they might help rather than hinder the mission of Christ. The new oppressive liberal orthodoxy in North America must choose between using the current denominational structures as instruments of coercion, or through an act of love, allow a realignment of relationships within different structural patterns. If those in power choose the first course of action, biblically orthodox Anglicans will be forced to choose between the gospel and Anglican structures. Either way the Anglican communion as we know it will cease to exist. …
– We published this very helpful paper by David Short, Rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy in Vancouver, back in 2004. With GAFCON just around the corner, and Lambeth close behind, it’s worth re-reading “A Crisis in Koinonia: Biblical Perspectives for Anglicans”.
The Death and Doctrine of Nicholas Ridley
Bishop Nicholas Ridley is one of the martyrs of the English Reformation – dying with Bishop Hugh Latimer in Oxford on October 16th 1555. But what was it all about?
In this helpful talk, Dr. Garry Williams of Oak Hill Theological College, London, puts the death and doctrine of Nicholas Ridley into their historical and theological context.
Dr. Williams’ 54 minute talk is available as an mp3 file at The Theologian.
Pilgrim’s Progress audio book: free download
ChristianAudio.com is offering a free unabridged audio book of John Bunyan’s classic gospel work The Pilgrim’s Progress during the month of June. This reading by Nadia May was produced in 2006.
Though the shopping cart will show a price of $25.98, simply use the code JUN2008 at the last step of the check out for the free download.
There are nine mp3 files totalling 278MB. The whole lot runs for more than 10 hours. At $0, it’s a real bargain! Download it while you can. (Thanks to Between Two Worlds.)
Battle Fatigue: A review of Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian is the perfect summer movie for audiences that know nothing about Narnia, or, even, perhaps would prefer to know nothing about Narnia. For in its 2 hours and 40 minutes, you will spend ample time in Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth, William Wallace’s Scotland, Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, and maybe even fleeting moments in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, but you will not spend more than 15 minutes in the world that Aslan made and that C. S. Lewis invented.
Is that a bad thing? Not if your goal is to erase the basic tenets of the Narniad, and re-envision the realm as primarily grim internecine warfare, a land, 1300 years since we last visited, surprisingly full of crossbows and catapults and other Vader-like war machines. There is evil in this world, but its roots are fundamentally different from Lewis’s version, for in his book, the problem with Narnia is suppressed knowledge, a spiritual amnesia, a people separated from its own nature, a true prince denied his throne. …
– Dr. Bruce L. Edwards, Professor of English at Bowling Green State University in Ohio thinks the new movie lacks something. Read his review.
Also see his next post, Forward to the Past: The Real Prince Caspian.
The Gospel According to N T Wright
In this week’s episode of The White Horse Inn broadcast, Michael Horton and friends turn to the theology of the Bishop of Durham N T Wright – and the teaching of the New Perspective.
See also this earlier post on Mike Ovey’s review of John Piper’s book “The Future of Justification: A Response to NT Wright”.
Authority in the Church – Resource paper
We posted a link to this very helpful paper back in February. In the run-up to Lambeth (next month) and GAFCON (this month) it’s well worth reading –
“At this present moment of crisis, there is hardly a more important issue for us to address than that of authority in the church. It is certainly true that God’s people need to keep returning to the question of authority. The legacy of the rebellion in the Garden of Eden ensures that even those who have tasted God’s extraordinary generosity and mercy too readily assert their own opinions and preferences as the measure of all things. …”
– An important resource paper written by Dr Mark Thompson, Academic Dean of Moore Theological College and President of the Anglican Church League.
It was presented to the GAFCON Theology Resource Group and can be read in full on the GAFCON website.
The revival of a rebel Jew
In the context of a piece on a new biography on Francis Schaeffer, Tim Challies shares the testimony of Richard Ganz, pastor of Ottawa Reformed Presbyterian Church –
“In my youth I spent every afternoon studying the Hebrew Scriptures, five days a week, and on Friday night and Saturday I worshipped. As I grew older I worshipped for a time each day in the synagogue morning and evening. I would rise before dawn and before going to the morning service, in obedience to rabbinic tradition, I would put on tefillin—the boxes containing God’s law—on my forehead and arm.
Then one cold, clear midwinter night my life was shattered. …”
– from Challies.com.
Impact of the Manchester report
For those, such as WATCH, advocating the Manchester Report’s ‘Single Clause, Code of Practice’ option as the way ahead on the consecration of women bishops, there is just one question that should be asked: “Do you accept that men opposed to women’s ordination will continue to be consecrated as bishops in the Church of England?”
The answer must surely be “No.” Indeed, given the tiny handful of such consecrations which have taken place in the last few years, despite the 1993 Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod, any other answer would have to be seen as reflecting either self-delusion or the intention to delude others.
That Act established that “no person or body shall discriminate against candidates … for appointment to senior office in the Church of England on the grounds of their views or positions about the ordination of women to the priesthood.” Yet there is no doubt that it has been consciously and deliberately ignored. The ‘stained glass ceiling’ for ordained women has been as nothing compared with the cast iron version for traditionalists in the last decade.…
– Read John Richardson’s full article at The Ugley Vicar.
‘Pray – Connect – Expect’ video available
As part of this Sunday’s prayer focus (link to 3.8MB pdf) in Sydney Diocese, Archbishop Peter Jensen has released a 4 minute 12 second video to encourage us all. The video has also been posted on DVD to parishes for this weekend for possible use in services.
Download it from the Connect09 website –
Quicktime movie: 640 x 360 pixels. 25 MB.
As always, to save a link, right-click and save (Windows) or control-click and save (Mac).
Mark Dever interviewed on ministry
At the risk of posting too many links to video files…
Last week, Mark Dever spoke at Whiteboard, a rather diverse gathering of US church planters.
After the sessions, he was interviewed on topics such as – working with those with whom you disagree theologically, styles of worship, preaching, and priority on evangelism. It’s presented in two parts on YouTube – part 1, part 2 (10 minutes each).
– For ministers in particular, this is well worth watching. (Thanks to Between Two Worlds.) The start of Mark’s talk has also been posted on YouTube.
David Wells on The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World
Dr. David Wells, Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, spoke at the 2006 Desiring God Conference.
The theme of the conference was a response to his book, “Above All Earthly Powers”.
Audio and video of all the talks (by David Wells, Don Carson, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Voddie Baucham, and John Piper) is available at Desiring God.
The video of Dr Wells’ very helpful address is available via this link and could be used for Bible Study groups or downloaded to a video iPod to watch anywhere. (Note: it’s a 148MB mp4 file.)
On a related note, Dr Wells was interviewed for The A-Team Blog last month – part 1, part 2.
(Photo: Desiring God.)
Who needs a Creed?
‘Who needs a creed?’
The answer to that question from many in the broad sweep of Christendom, would probably be, ‘Not us!’ Such ancient documents are seen at best as outdated and at worst an irrelevance in an age that is more interested in the present than the past …
– Mark Johnson calls for a return to confessional Christianity – at Reformation21.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…