‘The Woke Will Regroup’ — Albert Mohler interviewed on Dual Citizens
In the latest Dual Citizens podcast from David Ould and Stephen McAlpine –
“Steve and Dave speak with Dr. Albert Mohler to explore the implications of Trump’s re-election on American Christianity. He candidly shares his evolving stance on Trump, the persistence of ‘woke’ ideology, and the role of American evangelicals during a time of societal upheaval. He navigates the complexities of faith in a politically charged era, offering a beacon for Evangelicals in a changing landscape.
Dr. Mohler also engages with Christian nationalism, examining how faith and national identity can coexist without overshadowing the Gospel’s universal message. He invites us to ponder our dual citizenship, emphasising the eternal over the temporal.”
Abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide in 2024. And it wasn’t even close
“Throughout 2024, the mainstream press woke up to a brutal reality: Despite decades of sinister fearmongering about ‘overpopulation,’ the world is experiencing a critical shortage of babies that will threaten our way of life in every way imaginable.
… abortion was the leading cause of death globally in 2024, ‘with a record 45 million unborn babies killed in the womb, according to data provided by Worldometer.’ The numbers are excruciating and impossible to fathom: As of 12 p.m. on December 31, 2024, an estimated 45.1 million abortions were perpetrated throughout the year. For context, Canada’s entire population is 40.1 million. …”
– Very sobering article from The Bridgehead, via Anglican Mainstream.
An Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity
From Mark Powell at AP, the Australian Presbyterian national journal:
“Glenn Davies, the current bishop for the Diocese of the Southern Cross and former Archbishop of Sydney, discusses why he helped to produce an Australian creed for sexual integrity.
This document seeks to faithfully uphold the teaching of the Bible and provide a positive vision for human flourishing.”
See The Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity.
Also mentioned:
Diocese of The Southern Cross.
Presbyterians extend hand of fellowship to Bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross – August 2022.
Parents, Talk to your Teens about Pornography
In his The Briefing broadcast for Tuesday 17th December 2024, Dr Albert Mohler looks at why pornography is immoral and what opposition to restrictions on porn reveals.
He underlines the importance of Christian families.
Britain’s new National Death Service?
“If Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally ill Adults (End of Life) bill ends up on the statute book, it could well be that the principal (perhaps only) achievement of Sir Keir Starmer’s government in Britain will have been the introduction of a National Death Service.
It will also signal the assisted suicide of Britain as a moral society. Indeed, Friday’s Commons debate on the issue revealed that Leadbeater herself clearly doesn’t understand what she has done because she doesn’t understand the moral distinction between killing and dying. Nor do some other MPs. …”
– British journalist and author Melanie Phillips takes a closer look at what MPs actually voted for on Friday in the House of Commons.
(Image from an interview at johnanderson.net.au. John Anderson has spoken with Melanie Phillips on a number of occasions.)
Dark day as MPs vote in favour of assisted suicide Bill
“MPs have voted in support of the principle of Kim Leadbeater MP’s assisted suicide Bill.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill intends to allow those in England and Wales deemed to be terminally ill and with less than six months to live to receive help to kill themselves. MPs have now voted by 330 to 275 in favour of legalisation.
The backbench MP’s Private Member’s Bill will now proceed to Committee Stage, where it will be considered further. …”
– Reaction from The Christian Institute to the vote in Westminster this morning Australian time.
I am so grateful my husband ignored those who would have assisted his dying
“In 2011 my husband was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. This is one of those illnesses for which people such as Anne Turner, whose death was portrayed in a BBC documentary, have sought assisted suicide.
It never entered my husband’s head that he would like to die early. To the contrary, he set about doing all the things he could possibly do to live as long as possible and I helped him. We had a young daughter, we loved each other very much and we wanted to be together for as long as possible, come what may. It never entered either of our minds.
But a point came when that changed. …”
– At The Conservative Woman, Gabriella Dunn shares her story – and that of her husband.
It’s written in light of the British Parliament’s upcoming vote this week on the Assisted Dying Bill. Important reading, even here in Australia where similar laws are already in place.
Related:
Britain’s religious leaders unite against assisted dying in major intervention – Telegraph via Anglican Mainstream.
150 at meeting in Oxford Diocese to consider Alliance Agenda
“Contrary to the views of some, there are far more than a minority of clergy and congregations in Oxford Diocese who hold to a clearly biblical view of the Christian doctrine of marriage and the limitations of sexual relations to a man and woman in lifelong marriage. The attendance bore out the editorial in this week’s Church of England Newspaper that ‘the episcopate is liberal, the flock is not’.
Over 150 clergy and senior lay people gathered at St Andrew’s Church Oxford to hear Rev Dr Andrew Goddard give a masterly and detailed narrative of the current state of the debate on sexuality in the Church of England and why we are where we are at the moment. The slides of his talk are attached.
Rev John Dunnett spoke on behalf of ‘the Alliance’ of orthodox Anglicans who are firmly requesting a parallel province, a de facto structure, not a formal one, for those who adhere to the classical Church of England doctrine. When he is asked about a ‘third province’ he responds ‘you mean for those with liberal views’.…”
– Report at Anglican Mainstream.
Idolatry and the Church of England
“The Archbishop of Canterbury recently commented about his changing views, admitting that he no longer believes the doctrine of the Church of England on sexuality.…
These comments have rightly been met with a wide backlash from evangelicals in the Church of England. This is an Archbishop leading his people astray. This is an Archbishop saying ‘Enter through the wide gate to destruction’ (Matthew 7:13-14).
But the reality is that Justin Welby and the Bishops have been saying this for years. …
All false religions ultimately destroy us. We are promised salvation by the things in the world, but they will never satisfy, they will never deliver. They will never save.”
– Strong words from Benjamin John, writing at Christian Concern.
Image: Ben John speaking at the Church of England’s General Synod in February 2023.
Justin Welby and the Continued Erosion of the Faith in the Church of England
“The Australian Church Record (ACR) is deeply grieved by the recent remarks made by the Archbishop of Canterbury in ‘The Rest is Politics’ podcast episode released on 21 October 2024.
In the context of the current turbulence in the Church of England over matters related to human sexuality, Archbishop Justin Welby stated that ‘All sexual activity should be within a committed relationship and whether its straight or gay.’ (51:49).
Despite the subsequent Lambeth Palace statement issued on 22 October 2024 which defended this interview as merely Archbishop Welby’s ‘personal view’, this remark represents a serious and public breach of biblical orthodoxy from the most senior representative of world Anglicanism.…”
— Read the full statement just released by The Australian Church Record.
Vaughan Roberts on Justin Welby’s rejection of Church of England teaching on sex
“In a significant interview on the Rest is Politics Podcast England’s Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has denied the teaching of the Bible, and the teaching of his church.
It is Archbishop Welby’s most public betrayal of his ordination and consecration vow to ‘banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture.’
Archbishop Welby’s comments came on the eve of an important House of Bishops meeting in the UK, which considered a request from a group called The Alliance, consisting of 2360 clergy whose churches represent 42% of the Church of England’s Sunday attendance, and who hold to the Bible’s teaching on sexuality.
They are asking for a separate orthodox province to be created within the Church of England.
Vaughan Roberts is the senior minister of St. Ebbe’s in Oxford, and is one of the signatories of the request from The Alliance.”
Church of England accused of ‘virtue-signalling’ after laying into small parish for not meeting ‘bureaucratic’ Net Zero demands
“The Church of England has been blasted after it reprimanded a small Newcastle parish for buying gas heaters rather than a Net Zero-compliant boiler.
The Consistory Court of the Diocese of Newcastle said the Holy Cross church in Fenham, in the city’s West End, was ‘embarrassing’ over the eco-fracas – with the CofE pushing for net zero carbon emissions by 2030. …”
– Story from GB News, via Anglican Mainstream.
Related:
Going net zero by 2023 – video from the Church of England. (It would be nice to preach the cross of Christ too.)
Justin Welby claims ‘Gay sex is not sinful’
“The Archbishop of Canterbury has shocked evangelicals in the Church of England by publicly abandoning the Church’s historic teaching on sexual ethics.
While the CofE officially maintains that sexual activity should only take place within marriage, and that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, Justin Welby has now said sexual activity is permissible within ‘committed relationships’, and that the ‘majority’ of bishops are in agreement.
The remark has deepened fractures in an already divided CofE, with some suggesting he is no longer fit to lead it if he is not prepared to uphold its doctrine. …
Lambeth Palace said the Archbishop’s views are his own, and are not the official stance of the Church of England.”
– from The Christian Institute in the UK.
See also:
Welby’s comments on gay sex will only deepen divisions in the Church of England and Anglican Communion – Julian Mann at Christian Today.
Lambeth Palace statement – 22 October 2024.
Photo: Justin Welby, via The Archbishop of Canterbury’s website. Credit: Jacqui J. Sze
Welby and Wambunya : a Warning for the Alliance
“This week the Alliance published the eighth letter in their campaign to persuade the bishops and General Synod to create a permanent, structural space in the Church of England for orthodox Anglicans.
As this blog sets out, the events of the past few weeks show that despite their best efforts, the Alliance is being undermined and thwarted at every end and turn and some serious rethinking is required. …”
– Anglican Futures has this commentary on the increasingly bleak future for evangelicals in the Church of England.
It would be good to continue to pray for wisdom for all in the Church of England who are committed to ‘contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 1:3)
Archbishop of Canterbury: an arresting admission
From The Church of England Evangelical Council:
“In a staggering set of statements recorded by The Rest is Politics podcast, the Archbishop of Canterbury has laid his cards on the table with regards to sexual ethics in the Church of England.
In a wide-ranging interview where the Archbishop of Canterbury courageously discusses his own struggles with mental health, his upbringing, and his view on religion and politics, among other things, he also publicly admitted:
“What the Archbishop of York and I, and the bishops, by a majority, by no means unanimous…Where we’ve come to is to say that all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship and whether it’s straight or gay.”
Provoking widespread disbelief, the Archbishop of Canterbury has used this interview to indicate his view that:
- Sexual intimacy is no longer limited to marriage;
- Sexual intimacy in gay relationships is ok;
- The church should bless sexual relations outside of marriage. …”