New Bishop of Waikato
The Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley has been elected as the 7th Bishop of Waikato in New Zealand. She will become the third woman bishop in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.
Photo: Stephen Barker / Anglican Taonga.
Getting to know Archbishop Glenn Davies — Anglican TV interview
Kevin Kallsen at Anglican TV introduces the new Archbishop of Sydney to the wider Anglican world in this 14 minute interview.
Archbishop Glenn Davies: Statement on PM’s Q and A comment
Anglican Diocese of Sydney – Media Release 3/9/13
“To sanction same-sex ‘marriage’ is not the teaching of the Anglican Church of Australia nor is it the teaching of the Bible.”
Full statement below:
Statement by the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, about comments by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on ABCTV Q and A, Monday Sept 2nd.
“Kevin Rudd was profoundly wrong in his understanding of the Bible. He misquoted the Bible and attributed to the Bible something that Aristotle said (that slavery is a natural condition). The Bible never says that. The Bible sees slavery as the result of fallen and broken relationships in society and it is crystal clear in its condemnation of the slave trade.
I was disappointed by Mr Rudd’s comments last night in the same way that I was disappointed by the position he announced in May despite, as he said, after much reflection. Unfortunately in my view he has not been reflecting on the teaching of Scripture. To sanction same-sex ‘marriage’ is not the teaching of the Anglican Church of Australia nor is it the teaching of the Bible. The Bible views marriage as an institution that God has created. Jesus brings clarity to the nature of marriage by saying that it is an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman, for life. Although there are many kinds of relationships in our society, to describe the relationship between two persons of the same sex as marriage is contrary to the Bible’s teaching.
As a bishop in the Church, I do not tell our people how to vote. They have a responsibility to vote wisely and as Christians they should vote in accordance with their conscience and their understanding of Scripture. Christians realise that no political party will reflect their views in every policy. So they have to make a judgment as to which party best represents their views. I encourage all Christians to think prayerfully and wisely about how to vote on polling day.”
– ends –
(Source – SydneyAnglicans.net. The Prime Minister’s comments may be seen here.)
Related: Shellfish, slavery and same-sex marriage — How not to read the Bible.
‘PM misrepresents the Bible’
“Last night, on a serious Australian current affairs program, Q&A, our current serving Prime Minister, a self-professed Christian, grossly caricatured the Bible. ….”
– Sandy Grant responds to the Prime Minister’s statements on Q&A last night.
And Eternity Newspaper’s John Sandeman spoke today with the Prime Minister’s questioner, Pastor Matt Prater –
“I did get attacked a lot on social media last night. And got called a lot of nasty names. I just want to make it clear to anyone reading this that I am not a homophobe. I don’t hate homosexuals. I love everyone with the love of Jesus.”
(Images: ABC TV.)
Update:
The Prime Minister further explained his response (YouTube) in Launceston on Tuesday 3rd September.
Question lands pastor ‘in lion’s den’ – The Australian.
“The first time Pastor Matt Prater interviewed Kevin Rudd, the year was 2006 and the then opposition foreign affairs spokesman was deeply obliging. …”
And Sandy Grant reflects on the whole thing at The Briefing.
Kevin Rudd defends his view on ‘gay marriage’
On ABC Television’s Q&A last night, in answering a question from a Christian pastor, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd defended his new view on ‘gay marriage’ and explained his view of the Bible.
“Well, mate, if I was going to have that view, the Bible also says slavery is a natural condition – Saint Paul said in the New Testament, ‘slaves be obedient to your masters’.”
– Watch on Youtube. ABC News report. (Image: ABC TV.)
Related:
‘PM says he may have disappointed churches’ – NineMSN (03 September 2013)
Backlash in Western Sydney (14 August 2013)
Equality not the issue says Archbishop (22 May 2013)
C of E Christmas Campaign back to basics
“A marketing initiative established to remind Brits about the true meaning of Christmas is trying something different this year … they have swapped their shock tactics for a simple, direct campaign message: Christmas starts with Christ. …
‘Just 12 per cent of adults know the nativity story, and more than one-third of children don’t know whose birthday it is.’” (emphasis added)
– from the Anglican Communion News Service. Photo: ChurchAds.net
What is the Problem?
“Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, has issued his most serious and straightforward diagnosis of the crisis within the Anglican Communion.”
– The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey thinks the Archbishop of Canterbury has made a serious misdiagnosis. Related: Tearing the Fabric. (PDF.)
Barnabas Fund urges prayer for Syria and Egypt this weekend
“This Sunday (1 September), we are urging churches and individuals to hold a time of prayer for Syria and Egypt’s Christians.”
– Details from Barnabas Fund.
And you can find a prayer for ‘the Forgotten Church in Syria’ here. (h/t Carl Trueman.)
Assessing Christian election guides
Sandy Grant takes a look at four different Christian election guides –
“Thoughtful Christians could benefit from interacting with each one of these election guides, even the ones where they find a considerable amount to disagree with.” – Read it at The Briefing.
“Archbishops past and present urge caution on Syria intervention”
“Both Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and his predecessor George Carey have warned of the consequences of military action in Syria. …”
– Report and photo from The Anglican Communion News Service.
“Archbishop urges Christians to ‘repent’ over ‘wicked’ attitude to homosexuality”
“The Most Rev Justin Welby told an audience of traditional born-again Christians that they must ‘repent’ over the way gay and lesbian people have been treated in the past …”
– Report from The Telegraph.
Reaching the lost in England
“While in parts of Latin America or Nigeria a street preacher can regularly lead 20 people to make a decision for Christ in half an hour, in France or Britain even Christians will hurry past a street preacher, embarrassed, and the brave speaker may be more likely to get arrested than make a convert.”
– Andrew Symes, the new Executive Secretary of Anglican Mainstream, writes on the challenge facing the Church in England.
‘Discernment Synod’ held in Grafton
A ‘Discernment Synod’ was held in the Diocese of Grafton over the weekend as part of the process to elect a new Bishop. (Bishop of Grafton, Keith Slater, resigned in May.)
The August/September 2013 issue of The North Coast Anglican carries a report, written before the Synod, on page 4.
Archbishop Wabukala — with 2 months to GAFCON 2013
“As I write, we are now only two months away from GAFCON 2013. There is much still to do, but over the past month great strides have been made and I am confident that this will be another wonderful and historic occasion.”
– Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council, gives an update on preparations for GAFCON 2013.
Cardboard Cathedral opens in Christchurch
“Christchurch has officially opened a transitional cathedral made from cardboard in Latimer Square, replacing the neo-Gothic structure destroyed in a 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people in New Zealand’s second largest city.”
– report from ABC News.
Image from cardboardcathedral.org.nz
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…