High Court strikes down chaplaincy funding

“Funding for school chaplains has been declared constitutionally invalid for the second time by the High Court of Australia…

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has reassured the community of the government’s commitment to the program when he said it ‘very much supports [the program] and wants it to continue’. It follows the announcement in May to continue to fund the program a further $244 million over four years.

In the Senate Question time today, Senator Brandis said “It is important to note that in arriving at that conclusion, the Court did not deal with the merits of the program, merely that the question of whether it fell within a particularly constitutional definition”…”

– Report from The Australian Christian Lobby.

Keeping in touch with the Pressies

The latest issue of New Directions, from the Presbyterian Church of Queensland is now out.

It’s a good way to be encouraged by (and to pray for) what’s happening elsewhere.

(h/t Gary Ware.)

Other labourers in The Lord’s Vineyard

PIM and APWM Sometimes we may forget we have brothers and sisters labouring in other parts of the Lord’s Vineyard. Here’s the latest from The Presbyterian Inland Mission (PDF) and Australian Presbyterian World Mission (PDF).

Remembering Leon Morris on the Centenary of his birth

Australian theologian Leon Morris was born one hundred years ago this weekend – on March 15th 1914.

The current Principal of Ridley College Melbourne, Dr, Brian Rosner, has a tribute. (Photo: Ridley College.)

If you are not familiar with the writings of Leon Morris, you can read three articles on the Church Society website:

The Person of Christ (1960).

The Authority of the Bible Today (1961, PDF file).

Christian Worship (1962, PDF file).

And if you can obtain a copy (and especially if you have some Greek), take the time to read his The Apostolic Preaching of The Cross – The Tyndale Press, London, 1955) – an enormously important book still today.

That book “is an attempt to understand certain key words, words which are crucial to the New Testament picture of the atonement, by seeing them against the background of the Greek Old Testament, the papyri, and the Rabbinic writings. Armed with our discoveries, we then proceed to examine them in their New Testament setting…” – from the Preface to the First Edition.

Update: Sandy Grant has just published this at The Briefing.

Senate rejects push to dump Lord’s Prayer

“The Australian Christian Lobby has welcomed the Senate’s decision to reject the Greens’ push to dump the Lord’s Prayer from parliament.”

– from the Australian Christian Lobby.

Australia Day Honours 2014

In the 2014 Australia Day Honours List, Deaconess Margaret Rodgers has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). Margaret has served in a number of important positions in Sydney Diocese and also in the General Synod Office. Most notably, she was Principal of Deaconess House 1975-85, CEO of the Anglican Media Council 1994-2003 and the Archbishop of Sydney’s Media Officer 2004-2007.

The award is for “significant service to the Anglican Church of Australia through governance and representational roles, and to ecumenical affairs”.

dr-timothy-hawkes-oam Others to receive Australia Day honours include:

Dr Timothy Hawkes (Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM) – Headmaster of The Kings School, “for service to education, and to professional organisations” (pictured),

Mr Peter Achterstraat (AM), member of Warrawee Anglican Church, “For significant service to public administration through financial management and governance roles, and to the community” and Mr Allan Ezzy (AM), member of St. John’s Parramatta, for “significant service to local government in New South Wales, and to the community through law enforcement, church and service organisations”.

Our congratulations and best wishes go to all. SydneyAnglicans.net has more.

(Photos: Mary Andrews College and Ramon Williams, respectively.)

Being on message for Jesus without projecting yourself

Nathan Campbell, who blogs at St. Eutychus, interviews David Ould about his appearances on TEN’s The Project –

“… I applied for the show the first time around with the line that normal Christians don’t get a fair play in mainstream media. I almost dared them to take me on on that basis. I felt no need to play down – in fact – quite the opposite, I felt like that was the gimmick in having me on, not just a Christian, but a minister in fact.”

– Read it here.

‘Lord’s Prayer should remain a part of opening parliament’

Here’s a media release from The Australian Christian Lobby –

“The Australian Christian Lobby believes the support of mainstream politics for the Lords’ Prayer in Parliament means the latest Greens’ push to remove it will fail.

ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton said Labor and the Coalition have consistently told ACL, through its election questionnaires over the past three federal elections, that they support parliament opening with prayer and will not change this…”

– full statement here.

High Court throws out ACT’s same-sex marriage laws

“Same-sex couples who wed in the ACT will have their marriages annulled after the High Court ruled against the laws. … today the High Court in Canberra unanimously ruled that the laws were inconsistent with the Federal Marriage Act, and were therefore unconstitutional.”

– Report from ABC News.

Related: Legality and Validity – Mark Thompson.

Legality and Validity

“Does something become legitimate by virtue of legislative enactment? Does the decision of a parliamentary majority or of a court of law suffice to settle the question of whether a course of action is appropriate, or legitimate or valid? Can Christians recognise the legal or constitutional reality of a situation without for a moment consenting to its reality in a deeper sense — something that legitimately exists in a world constituted by God’s word?

Two recent developments in Australia raise this question in stark terms for us.

The first is the conduct of same sex ‘marriage’ services in the Australian Capital Territory last weekend. …

The second development is the consecration of women as bishops in the Anglican Church of Australia.”

– Moore College Principal Mark Thompson writes an important post at Theological Theology. Challenging times ahead.

Two (more) reasons to give thanks for Moore College

Two (more) reasons to give thanks for – and to pray for – Moore College:

1. Now is the moment of opportunity for Moore graduates.

2. Moore College distance education goes viral.

High Court reserves decision on challenge to ACT same-sex marriage laws

“Australia’s first ever same-sex marriages will take place from Saturday, after the High Court reserved its decision on the Commonwealth’s challenge to ACT’s same-sex marriage laws.

The court says it will hand down its decision next Thursday, and in the meantime will allow same-sex marriages to take place in Canberra.”

– Report from ABC News. Photo courtesy High Court of Australia.

Young Christian surfer killed in shark attack

“Christian surfer Zac Young has died following a shark attack near Coffs Harbour on Saturday. The 19-year-old was just about to start an apprenticeship with Christian Surfers and Youth for Christ, and has been described by his pastor as wanting to “give his life over to telling the whole world about Jesus”. …

Zac’s church held a memorial service for him yesterday, which was attended by more than 500 people.”

– from Eternity Newspaper. (Photo: Dave Malvern, Christian Surfers.)
ABC News report.

(At last night’s gathering at The Point Community Church, Ed Springer spoke about what changed Zac – about 20 minutes from the start of Ed’s sermon on Ecclesiastes 7:1-14.)