Queensland legalises voluntary assisted dying

“Queensland will become the fifth state to legalise voluntary assisted dying (VAD) after state Parliament passed a historic bill today.

After more than two days of emotionally charged debate, the bill passed with 61 MPs supporting the legislation and 30 voting against it. …

Meanwhile, the new legislation has been described as “deeply disappointing” by the Chair of Catholic Health Australia, John Watkins.

He said the organisation had made it clear they did not want to allow voluntary assisted dying in faith-based hospitals or aged care facilities in Queensland.”

– Report from ABC News.

John Shelby Spong dies at 90

“Retired Newark Bishop John Shelby Spong, a bestselling author and cleric known for his progressive theology and his support of LGBTQ+ clergy in The Episcopal Church, has died. He was 90. …

Spong’s more than two decades as bishop coincided with a prolonged period of decline in The Episcopal Church. Conservatives criticized the kind of liberal theology promoted by Spong, who denied Christian doctrines like the virgin birth or the resurrection of Jesus.”

– Report from The Episcopal News Service. (Photo: ENS.)

Call for all Queensland euthanasia amendments to be heard

“The nation’s most extreme euthanasia legislation has been tabled in Queensland Parliament and the government has declared they will end the debate at 5:45pm on Thursday 16 September – whether or not all amendments have been tabled and discussion has been allowed.

This is essentially a gagging rule. 54 amendments have been tabled. Every one of them should be allowed to be presented and considered. …“

– The Australian Christian Lobby, and a number of Queensland politicians are calling for all proposed amendments to the euthanasia legislation to be debated.

Editorial from the GAFCON GB & Europe September 2021 Newsletter

“…and then the end will come”: How looking forward to our ultimate future brings encouragement in confusing times.

As he walked with his disciples in Jerusalem, Jesus used their amazement at the vast scale of Herod’s temple building to teach them about the puniness of human endeavour in comparison with the power of God in control of a world which seems out of control. He gave them a concise summary of what would happen during the next 2000+ years: wars, natural disasters, false religion and persecution of God’s people, but also, salvation, and his return …

– An encouraging editorial from the current GAFCON GB & Europe Newsletter.

(Link via Anglican Mainstream.)

Church in Wales ‘abandons the Christian faith’

“On Monday 6 September, the Church in Wales voted to allow its clergy to bless same-sex ‘marriages’ and civil partnerships.

This was not entirely unexpected given the decline of Christian doctrine and ethics within the Church in Wales in recent years. …”

– Carys Moseley at AnglicanInk looks at what the Church in Wales’ decision amounts to.

See also:

Church approves blessing service for same-sex partnerships – The Church in Wales.

Church in Wales gives ‘gospel-inspired lead’ to C of E, says Bishop of Liverpool – Church Times.

Photo: Bishop Gregory Cameron, courtesy The Church in Wales.

Debating the Church and same-sex marriage

“On Friday 3rd September, at 2.10 pm, I had a phone call from a number I did not recognise. When I answered, it turned out to be from a BBC researcher asking if I would appear on BBC1 on Sunday morning for a debate about the Church of England and same-sex marriage, in the light of the coming vote taking place in the Church in Wales.

I have been preaching in different churches, covering for vacancies, but it just happened that this Sunday I did not have a commitment.

As I have said elsewhere, when someone makes a media request like this, the first thing to say is ‘Yes’…”

– Dr Ian Paul shares his experience (and video) of being interviewed on BBC TV last week. Do pray for those who stand for the authority of God’s Word.

The interview can be seen here – and this exchange calls to mind Luke 11:17.

$4.5 Million Legal Fee Reimbursement from the Episcopal Church (TEC)

“Jeffrey Walton of Juicy Ecumenism reports that the Episcopal Church (TEC) has reimbursed $4.5 million in legal fees to the Anglican Diocese of Fort Worth (Texas, United States).

In 2009 the Diocese was sued by TEC and it was not until this year that a unanimous decision by the Texas Supreme Court ended the litigation in favor of the Diocese. …”

– GAFCON notes the resolution of a long-running legal battle in Texas.

(These posts from our archives show just how long-running it has been.)

Why We Can’t Sign the Ezekiel Declaration — an Evangelical Response

“Over the past week a letter has been promoted and circulated around many churches and religious organisations. The Ezekiel Declaration (“the Declaration”) is addressed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and outlines concerns over a potential “vaccine passport” that would be required for church attendance.

The letter has now received 2000+ signatures of religious leaders from across Australia, and for that reason alone it is gaining much attention receiving quite a splash. For every signatory there are certainly many more Christian leaders who have not signed their names. Still, 2000+ names and the organisations that they represent is a significant number. …”

– David Ould and Murray Campbell have jointly published their thoughts on “the Ezekiel Declaration”.

See what you think of their reasoning, and continue to pray for all those in authority.

Update (02 September 2021) –

A response to The Ezekiel Declaration – Gospel, Society and Culture Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Australia in NSW and the ACT.

Prayer for Goma diocese

Today’s prayer request from GAFCON –

“Six weeks ago, we prayed for the portable Bible schools in Goma diocese, DR Congo. Joseph Rusangiza reports from the Archdeaconry of Binza. They recently had a graduation ceremony, and 42 evangelists were presented with their certificate.

We prayed that each may have a Bible and the Lord provided for this. However, the supply of Bibles is nearly finished. Please continue to pray that each evangelist may have his or her own Bible.”

Anglican bishop: ‘No-religion’ census campaign is quite ‘frankly bizarre’

“Anglican Bishop of South Sydney Dr Michael Stead says he finds it ‘bizarre’ that there needs to be a concerted campaign by the Rationalist Society, atheists and the like to try and dissuade people from saying they are religious in the census. …”

– Story and video from Sky News Australia.

Lift Up Your Hearts Devotional from Jodie McNeil during August

During August 2021, GAFCON’s Lift up Your Hearts devotionals are by Jodie McNeil. He’s sharing from 1 Kings.

“Each day’s devotion is based on one chapter from 1 Kings, where we witness King David’s final days, King Solomon’s wisdom and his temple construction, the tragic fall from grace by so many of the disobedient kings of the divided kingdom, through to the extraordinary ministry of Elijah.

Jodie seeks to help us read 1 Kings as Christian scripture, understanding this remarkable book in its Biblical Theological context. As we experience the highs and lows of the rule of God’s kings, we will learn so much more about the true king of the Kingdom of God, Jesus the Messiah, and what that means to us as we follow him as our king.”

Australian and English evangelicals show different approaches to Anglican institutional revisionism

“On the same day (19th July) that Gafcon Australia publicly unveiled their plans to establish an alternative Anglican jurisdiction in response to the trajectory of revisionism in the Church of Australia, the Church of England Evangelical Council issued a statement about the Bishop of Liverpool’s address to the MOSAIC campaign group, in which he called for same sex marriage in the Church of England. The difference in the two statements is symptomatic of more general differences between the way that orthodox Anglicans are engaging with the national church in both countries.

The CEEC statement begins with an appreciation of Bishop Bayes’ subsequent apology for his attack on those who believe the historic teaching of the church on sex and marriage …”

– At Anglican Mainstream, Andrew Symes makes some very interesting comparisons. He has a strong challenge to his UK readership.

Andrew’s sentiments would probably have been shared by the late John Richardson. Twenty-eight years ago, the ACL’s newsletter published his article “UK Evangelicalism: Optimistic?“. John consistently argued that evangelicals in the Church of England need to fight for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, rather than act like gentlemen playing cricket.

And, for good measure, here’s a brief clip of John speaking about the significance of his 1993 year at Moore College.

Image of Andrew Symes: Christian Concern.

Bishop Julian Dobbs interviews Bishop William Love

“At the 2021 Provincial Council for the Anglican Church in North America, Bishop Julian Dobbs of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word had an opportunity to interview Bishop William Love.

As you will hear, this was a pivotal time for Bishop Love as he was being welcomed into the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word as an Assisting Bishop having resigned from the Diocese of Albany in The Episcopal Church.”

– From GAFCON.

Background:

No Love in the Episcopal Church – October 26, 2020
includes links to earlier posts.

Advance Australia Where?

“The creature we know as the Anglican church has a history replete with knotty problems and gritty solutions. And when it comes to the matter of problems, it is something of an understatement to say that the Anglican Church of Australia has a very serious one on its hands at present: the dioceses of Wangaratta and Newcastle have resolved to pursue the practice of blessing of same-sex marriages. This, of course, has pushed them away from a good swathe of the wider national church and further structural estrangement has the potential to rend the (already weakened) fabric of the national fellowship asunder.

Into the breach the recent Appellate Tribunal has come. Through an unusual definition of ‘doctrine’ and some eccentric exegesis the majority opinions imply that the Australian Anglican family can adopt these changes and keep toiling together in the same constitutional territory. Such opinions have stunned the many onlookers who believe precisely the opposite. Indeed, the vast majority of the submissions to the Appellate Tribunal, the Board of Assessors report, and the guidance of the House of Bishops all said in unison, words to the effect of ‘no!’…”

– At The Australian Church Record, Dr Mark Earngey explains that “the GAFCON movement is precisely what is needed for a time such as this”.

His article, republished from the Autumn 2021 ACR Journal, was written before Archbishop Raffel’s election, and before this week’s announcement from GAFCON Australia.

See also:

Dr Robert Tong on the Appellate Tribunal Opinion – 12 November 2020.

Preliminary thoughts on the Appellate Tribunal ruling – Dr Mark Thompson, 11 November 2020.

Catholic Archbishop of Sydney on ‘Alex Greenwich’s Kill Bill’

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher has released a statement about the assisted suicide legislation being introduced into NSW Parliament by independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich:

“There’s never a good time to introduce laws that sanction the killing of vulnerable human beings such as the terminally ill, elderly, frail and suffering. But to introduce such a bill in the middle of a pandemic and amidst lockdowns adversely affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions seems especially insensitive.

The people of NSW are currently accepting significant restrictions on their personal autonomy in order to protect those most at risk – particularly the elderly. In response to the latest wave of COVID-19, we’ve had a month of lockdown already and more is likely. Many of us have been unable to visit our elderly parents at home, in hospital or in aged care. Our sick and elderly have already suffered 17 months of increasing isolation and right now that is being intensified. Meanwhile, people are losing their jobs, businesses are going under, families are under the pressures of schooling and working from home, people’s movements are severely restricted, and depression rates are up. The last thing we need to hear from our leaders in this situation is a pro-suicide message or any suggestion that the elderly and dying no longer deserve the resources or protections given to the rest of us.

The NSW Government is rightly focused on getting us safely vaccinated and out of lockdown as soon as possible, and leading the process of social and economic recovery.

The NSW Health System is rightly focused on keeping the elderly and sick safe, and ensuring the system can cope with the increasing pressures upon it. Our health professionals do not want a bruising controversy that will further disrupt their already very pressured work environment.

In the face of our present emergency precious parliamentary time and health resources should not be diverted to other causes, and especially not to a bill that would enable a small group of highly autonomous people to make their doctors complicit in their suicide. The state-sanctioned killing of the sick, elderly and frail of New South Wales is the last thing we need right now! I call on the Government to keep us focused on the present challenges and once they have been met, let us focus on medicine at its best and not its most lethal.

Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP
Archbishop of Sydney.”

Source (PDF).

Related:

NSW assisted suicide bid must fail – Australian Christian Lobby, 15 December 2020.

Assisted suicide opposed – SydneyAnglicans.net, 08 September 2017.

Palliative Care It’s More Than You Think – Palliative Care Australia.

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