Christmas Massacre — and a call for prayer
“It was good to remember our Saviour on the day we call his birthday. But sadly this year it was not a good day for vulnerable Christians in difficult places around the world.
‘We see injustice in the ever more seriously threatened Christian communities of the Middle East,’ Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury… preached in his Christmas sermon. ‘They are attacked and massacred, driven into exile from a region in which their presence has always been essential.’
… On Christmas day, Welby’s prediction of threat came true.”
– from Eternity Newspaper.
Archbishop Akinola kidnapped, later rescued — reports
“A former Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Archbishop Peter Jasper Akinola, was kidnapped yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
… Akinola was waylaid at about 3pm by gunmen … and driven away in his Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) along with his daughter and driver.
However, their ordeal was short-lived as the trio was rescued by officers and men of the Ogun State Police Command at about 8pm. …”
– from This Day Live, Nigeria. More from PM News.
Update: “My ordeal in the hands of kidnappers”
Kirsty Birkett on The Pilling Report
Dr Kirsty Birkett, at Oak Hill College in London, takes a look at The Pilling Report’s approach to Scripture –
“The majority of those writing the Pilling report felt unable to articulate what scripture actually says on the issue of homosexual activity.”
2. What if scripture really is unclear?
“‘But we do not all believe that the evidence of scripture points to only one set of ethical conclusions. In short, Christians who share an equal commitment to scripture do not agree on the implications of scripture for same sex relationships’ (The Pilling Report, 235).
This is one of many statements that the Pilling Report makes to the effect that it was impossible for the group to come to one mind on the meaning of scripture as regards homosexual relationships.”
Mike Ovey on The Pilling Report
Principal of Oak Hill College, Dr Mike Ovey, has now posted eight responses to the Pilling Report (“the Report of the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality’).
1. God’s work versus God’s will?
“ultimately in practice, it prefers our judgment of what we think good to God’s judgment expressed in the scriptures of what is good.”
2. Does sincerity grant a veto?
“This creates the bizarre situation of an explicit submission to the authority of scripture, while not in fact applying what scripture says, either against same-sex marriages, or in favour.”
3. Groundhog Day: ‘scripture’s lack of clarity’
“As we have seen, judgments about the obscurity of scripture have been made before, notably in Roman Catholic responses to the Reformation.”
4. How common is the common ground?
“Like an iceberg, the most significant parts of the Pilling Report lie beneath the surface.”
“They have talked at length, listened at length and have had both clerical and expert help in all their deliberations. They have listened both to each other and to a wide range of witnesses. But this process has not enabled them to reach a collective conclusion as to whether or not same-sex sexual relations in the context of a faithful long-term commitment are right or wrong.”
6. Common grace and stolen fruit
“After noting that the tradition of the church for 2,000 years and indeed worldwide at the moment is against recognition of same-sex marriages and relationships, the report nevertheless goes on to speak in laudatory terms about the same-sex couples who have testified before it.”
“If we want a biblical precedent for a hermeneutics of suspicion where the hermeneutics of suspicion is wrongly placed, then we need look no further than Genesis 3:1ff.”
“Churches can get things wrong. One of the more disturbing moments in the Thirty-Nine Articles comes in Article 19 which deals with the doctrine of the church.”
Christmas messages 2013
As we spot Christmas messages, we’ll post them here. So far…
From around Australia —
John Harrower, Bishop of Tasmania.
Philip Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne.
John Parkes, Bishop of Wangaratta.
Ian Lambert, Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force.
Stuart Robinson, Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn.
Peter Stuart, Bishop Administrator of Newcastle.
Bill Ray, Bishop of North Queensland.
And from further afield –
Global South Statement in response to the Pilling Report
“The Global South considers forward movement on the Pilling Report’s recommendations as equal to what the North American churches did ten years ago which caused much confusion in the Communion.
This reminds us of Eli the High Priest who turned a blind eye to the wrongdoings of his sons which led to a period of spiritual dryness when the Spirit of God departed from the midst of His people (Ichabod).”
– Archbishop Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis, Chairman of the Global South of the Anglican Communion, and Archbishop Ian Ernest, Hon. General Secretary, have issued this Statement – read it via Anglican Mainstream (PDF file).
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.
Mike Ovey responds to the Pilling Report
“We humans have to live with grey. Sometimes we must weigh whether an action or life-choice is right or wrong. But so often, actions and life-choices are shades of grey rather than simply black or white. …”
– Oak Hill’s Principal, Dr Mike Ovey, responds to the Pilling Report –
Part 1 – God’s work versus God’s will?
Part 2 – Does sincerity grant a veto?
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.
Reform’s ReNew Conference 2013 audio files
Reform’s “ReNew conference met Nov 26th to 27th, 2013. The conference was predominantly for church leaders and for women in paid positions of ministry in the Church of England. The purpose of the conference was to establish the basis on which Anglican evangelicals can work together and to begin to chart a way ahead.”
– Audio files of the talks are currently being added to the Reform website. The audio is a little over-compressed, but is quite audible and the talks are well worth hearing.
So far they have the talks by –
- Hugh Palmer – Proclaiming the gospel – the urgency of the hour
– 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, - Alasdair Paine – Defending and contending for the gospel – Romans 16:17-20,
- and Vaughan Roberts – JC Ryle – an Anglican Evangelical role model.
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.)
The Church of England facing ‘officially sanctioned apostasy’?
The Rev. Andrew Symes, Executive Secretary of Anglican Mainstream, works through The Pilling Report (PDF) to see the huge impact if its recommendations were to be adopted in The Church of England.
From his conclusions:
“This is why we are faced with officially sanctioned apostasy in our own church. It has finally happened. What do we do? The first thing to say is that the report has not yet been endorsed by the house of Bishops. We must pray for them and lobby them as politely but intensively as we can before their meeting to discuss the document.”
– Be sure to take the time to read his analysis in full here.
Anglican Mainstream also has a comprehensive list of links to reactions to the Report.
And some essential background:
The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns – Mark Thompson (from The Sydney Lambeth Decision Briefing – 16 March 2008)
The Limits of Fellowship – Phillip Jensen (from The Sydney Lambeth Decision Briefing – 16 March 2008)
Are we stronger than He? (PDF) – David Short (January 2005)
Some questions for the new Archbishop of Canterbury – by Mark Thompson (09 November 2012)
‘Tearing the Fabric’ — 2012 edition – American Anglican Council (PDF)
Bishop Charlie Masters’ Advent letter
“Advent, this year beginning conveniently on December 1st, is the first and best argument for observing the Church Year. Surely there is no other reality or central teaching of the Bible, more forgotten or functionally dismissed, by even serious Christians, than the doctrine of the return of Christ.
Thankfully, Romans 13, the first Epistle for the First Sunday of Advent, almost like an alarm clock interrupts the peaceful repose which is our lives and begins the church year with these words; ‘And do this, understanding the present time: the hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.’ (Romans 13:11). …”
– Charlie Masters, Bishop of the Anglican Network in Canada sends his Advent greetings via the Anglican Essentials Canada blog.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…