The mass hysteria and psychosis of modern society

“In many ways George Orwell’s 1984 could be regarded as a prophetic novel. Although written in 1949 there are parts of it that are even more apposite for 2023.

In the novel Orwell describes the Two Minutes Hate – a daily public period in which the citizens of Oceania watch a film showing Emmanuel Goldstein, the main enemy of the State, and his Brotherhood. They are encouraged to show their hate for him and their love for Big Brother. Orwell’s picture is a masterful description of group psychology – what he calls groupthink. It shows how people can transfer their own anxieties and anger on to an external enemy (who doesn’t really exist), and thus diverts them from questioning The Party – the governing authorities. In this way The Party can deal with thoughtcrime and thoughtcriminals. …”

– In his latest column for subscribers to Evangelicals Now, and reposted at his blog The Wee Flea, David Robertson calls on Christians to think for themselves.

A new deanery chapter for the City of London

As foreshadowed by William Taylor and others, the abandonment of the authority of Scripture by the Church of England’s House of Bishops is having repercussions for relationships between Bible-believing churches and their heterodox bishops.

The latest from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate:

“After the House of Bishops’ recent departure from the Bible’s teaching on marriage and sexuality, new leadership structures are needed.

A new Church of England City deanery chapter has been formed and is taking 5 steps to promote ongoing healthy Church of England ministry.

Here’s an update from St Nick’s and St Botolph’s.”

Watch the four minute video here.

According to Christian Today, “The deanery chapter held its first meeting in the City of London on Monday, attended by 10 clergy.”

Members of the new deanery have decided to take five steps – here’s a rough transcript from the video:

First, to meet together regularly and to invite all clergy in the city of London who are all clergy … who are compelled to resist all episcopal leadership from the House of Bishops on the grounds that their proposed Prayers of Love and Faith undermine the Church of England’s doctrine of marriage such that we can no longer walk in Partnership together.

Second, the meeting elected an acting Area Dean.

Third, some training curates in our deanery have felt forced to pause their post-ordination training. We therefore decided as a chapter that we will aim to provide necessary and equivalent ongoing training for these individuals.

Fourth, we acknowledge that there is an urgent matter relating to the selection of candidates who want to pursue Church of England ministry but are unable to apply because of the House of Bishops’ recent departure from faithful Biblical teaching. Therefore senior leadership from the churches within this deanery chapter will nominate a group of people who can select new prospective ordinands.

Fifth, there is also an urgent matter relating to the deployment of current Church of England ordinands who are hoping to get ordained this summer. We know that many because of conscience are unable to be ordained by the diocesan bishop or any bishop acting on her behalf. Therefore senior leadership from the churches within this deanery chapter will commission these individuals so that they are enabled to work within Church of England churches until such a time that their ordinations can take place.

Do pray for all who seek to be faithful to God’s word in the Church of England.

Anglican Diocese of the Arctic Defies National Church over Same-Sex Marriage

Here’s a story from Canada we missed from a couple of weeks back –

“The largest of the 30 dioceses in the province of 1.5 million square miles, the Diocese of the Arctic claims evangelical solidarity with bishops and clergy not recognized by the Lambeth Conference but with GAFCON and the Anglican Network in Canada.

Two bishops, David Parsons and Joey Royal (Suffragan) from the far north will attend GAFCON IV next month in Rwanda, standing with the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). …”

– Full story here.

Photo: The Diocese of the Arctic.

Prayer as Thought Crime

“Stop and pray on the street in front of an abortion facility in England or Wales and you could find yourself under arrest. Never mind if your thoughts were lifted to God silently.

Clause 11 of the Public Order Bill, recently adopted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, bans “influencing” of any sort, including prayer, in a 150-meter zone around abortion facilities nationwide. An amendment to exempt silent prayer and consensual conversation from the ban failed, ushering in a new era of modern-day thought crimes in the U.K.

The parliamentary debate played out like a dystopian film script. …”

– International human rights lawyer Elyssa Koren writes at First Things.

(Link via Anglican Mainstream.)

“Not Just Us – Not Just Now” – Lessons from New Zealand

“As faithful Anglicans in the Church of England consider how best to respond to the proposed Prayers of Love and Faith, there is much to learn from brothers and sisters in New Zealand. Not least because it was the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (ACANZP) that was, according to the answer to Q177 at the February 2023 General Synod, “The example that [CofE] bishops considered in some more depth during their residential meetings.”

In a letter to his diocese, Bishop Jay Behan, of the Church of Confessing Anglicans, Aotearoa, New Zealand (CCAANZ), wrote recently …”

– Read the excerpts from Jay Behan’s letter, and his calls to prayer, at Anglican Futures.

Photo: Bishop Behan addresses the congregation at his service of consecration in Christchurch in October 2019.

“Evangelical” “Bible” college fires lecturer over tweets on sexuality

“A Christian theology lecturer with five young children has been sacked and threatened with a counter-terrorism referral by a Methodist Bible college for a tweet on human sexuality that went viral.

Dr Aaron Edwards, 37, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, was last week sacked for misconduct by Cliff College in Derbyshire for allegedly ‘bringing the college into disrepute’ on social media. …”

– Story from Christian Concern.

And what will happen to evangelicals in the Church of England if it continues on its current trajectory?

Image from an interview with CBN News.

Related:

Pivoting to Surrender: A Warning for All Christians – Albert Mohler, 04 March 2021.

University of Helsinki Faculty of Theology to confer Honorary Doctorate

The University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Theology to confer Honorary Doctorate on twenty-year-old activist Greta Thunberg.

What does the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Theology do? From the University:

“The Faculty of Theology prepares students for duties requiring expertise in religions, worldviews and values. …”

Motion putting pressure on Church of England passed by MPs

“Yesterday, Ben Bradshaw MP’s ‘ten minute rule motion’ aimed at forcing the Church of England to conduct same-sex marriages was passed by the House of Commons without a vote.

The motion does not change the law. But it sends a message that some politicians are becoming increasingly willing to compel acceptance of same-sex marriage on those who disagree. …”

– Report from Coalition for Marriage in the UK.

Why we are compelled to resist — CEEC

The Church of England Evangelical Council has released a declaration and invites members of the Church of England to signify their assent:

“The Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process and resources have enabled us, as the Church of England, to explore our different understandings of sex, marriage and relationships and, assisted by the Pastoral Principles, become better at the “good disagreement” that many have called for.  …

While we recognise and respect the desire of the bishops to find a way forward, which will hold the Church together, we believe that their proposed draft Prayers of Love and Faith cannot do this. This is because they – and further changes some are calling for in the bishops’ revised pastoral guidance to replace Issues in Human Sexuality – do not keep faith with our biblical inheritance and the doctrine of the Church of England on marriage shared with the wider Anglican Communion as expressed in Lambeth 1.10. …”

– Read it all here.

Bill to allow same-sex marriage in Church of England to be tabled

“An MP will seek to introduce a bill next week to permit same-sex marriages to be performed by willing Church of England clergy.

UK law currently prevents its clergy from carrying out same-sex marriages even if they wish to. …”

– More pressure on the Church of England. Story from The National Secular Society.

Key English churches take action as C of E ‘walks away’

“Some of the largest churches in London and Oxford have announced estrangement from the Church of England, including a pause on paying financial contributions.

St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, a large evangelical church with an outreach in London’s financial quarter, was the first to react to the decision by the General Synod to approve a report by the House of Bishops that introduces prayers of blessing for same-sex couples. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell summarises the response of key evangelical churches in the Church of England – including the news that St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford is also pausing financial contributions to their diocese.

See also:

A response from Vaughan Roberts – Anglican Ink.

Has the listening process of LLF now broken down?

In a letter to Church Times, The Rev James Paice (pictured) asks, “One wonders: has the listening process of LLF now broken down?”

He writes in response to a Church Times report (‘London conservatives look for support from breakaway Anglicans’), published on 1st March 2023, regarding the Bishop of London’s response to a large gathering with clergy –

“The Church Times understands that the London bishops held a two-hour meeting on Thursday evening of last week in St James Garlickhythe, which was attended by between 150 and 200 members of the clergy, many of whom were concerned about the Bishops’ proposals on same-sex blessings. …”

The report references a statement from the Diocese of London, effectively claiming that nothing has really changed.

Anglican Mainstream has published the letter by James Paice – read it here.

Earlier:

How euthanasia has revived the death penalty

“Belgium is not the only nation to euthanise prisoners. In Canada, where assisted suicide is also offered as a medical treatment, three prisoners have been euthanised to date. The story of one of them, known only as ‘patient one’, illustrates the key problem with this practice. …”

– Spiked Online. (Link via Anglican Mainstream)

Image from a St. Helen’s Bishopsgate video.

Would John Stott have continued on as an Anglican?

“One of the largest evangelical Anglican churches in the UK, St Helen’s Bishopsgate, recently announced that it will no longer accept episcopal oversight from the Church of England’s House of Bishops.

This comes as a result of the General Synod’s decision to bless couples who are in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership. …

The current context raises the question of whether the late John Stott, the famous Anglican evangelical stalwart, would have himself continued to remained.

In 1966 Stott and Martyn Lloyd-Jones had a confrontation which many regarded as a dispute over whether it was time for evangelicals to withdraw from the Anglican communion. For Lloyd-Jones the time was now, but for the Stott the response was not yet. …”

– Presbyterian Mark Powell asks the question. We suspect the answer to the hypothetical question in the title would be, “Yes. And aligned with GAFCON.”

Rev. Calvin Robinson: a crisis of faith for the Anglican Church?

“What follows is one of the most articulate and powerful speeches you are likely to view this year. It is by Rev. Calvin Robinson, who recently argued at the Oxford Union as to why Christianity should not allow gay marriage, or even the blessing of same-sex unions.

Robinson’s twelve-minute talk is a model of graciousness, fidelity to historic Christian doctrine, and personal courage. …”

– You may already have seen the speech by Calvin Robinson. If not, take a look – and also see Mark Powell’s summary in Spectator Australia.

Image: Oxford Union.

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