‘Folau Sacking is Religious Discrimination’

Here is a media release from the Australian Christian Lobby* –

“The Australian Christian Lobby has expressed deep disappointment with Rugby Australia over plans to sack Israel Folau just for stating his beliefs.

We continue to stand with Israel Folau and support his right to express his beliefs,” said ACL’s managing director, Martyn Iles.

‘Far from being homophobic, Israel Folau’s social media post was very inclusive – drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, and idolaters – is a list which includes everyone, affirming the Christian teaching that all are equal in our need of salvation.’ …”

– Read it all at The Australian Christian Lobby.

Related: Rugby Australia and NSW Rugby Union statement regarding Israel Folau.

* The Australian Christian Lobby and the Anglican Church League have the same initials, but are separate organisations.

(Photo: PlayersVoice.)

The outrage mob is out to get Folau

“The outrage mob is out in force following rugby star Israel Folau’s latest social media comments.

The mob wants to more than disagree with Folau’s opinion, as is our right in a free society. It wants to ban him from expressing it, which is totalitarian. …”

– Morgan Begg,a research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs, writes in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Related:

Israel Folau to be sacked by Rugby Australia over homophobic comments – ABC News.

What the hell, Australia? – David Ould.

See also earlier posts – mainly from April 2018, including a media statement, at the time, from Archbishop Glenn Davies:

“The way Israel Folau is treated will be a test of Australian Rugby’s ‘inclusion’ policy.

Israel Folau should be free to hold and express traditional, Biblical views on marriage and sexuality without being penalized – just as other players have spoken out with their differing views. …”

The 2019 Federal Election and Religious Freedom issues

Freedom for Faith Executive Director Michael Kellahan writes,

“The long awaited election has been called for 18 May. …

All the parties voice a commitment to religious freedom. What we need to know though is how this stated commitment will find expression at law. We have written to the parties asking a series of specific questions which will help you understand their positions heading into the election. We will publish a table of their responses.”

This article from Freedom for Faith board member Professor Patrick Parkinson discusses the key religious freedom issues. “Religious Freedom after Ruddock”:

“With the federal election campaign just around the corner, it would be understandable if people of faith were confused about the stance the major political parties take on religious issues, particularly given the differing responses of these parties to the Ruddock Report on religious freedom, which was completed in May 2018.”

High Court upholds abortion buffer zone laws

“In an important decision on free speech issues, the High Court of Australia, in its decision in Clubb v Edwards; Preston v Avery [2019] HCA 11 (10 April 2019), has upheld the validity of laws in Victoria and Tasmania prohibiting communication about abortion within 150m of an abortion clinic.

The decision may have serious implications for free speech about other issues on which religious believers have deep-seated convictions contrary to the general orthodoxy of modern Australian society. …”

– Associate Professor Neil Foster writes at Law and Religion Australia.

See also:

Kathy Clubb’s story – Australian Christian Lobby.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words – David Ould.

Standing with the Suffering

“At the end of February, Gafcon held a conference hosted by Bishop Michael Nazir Ali and Bishop Azad Marshall of Pakistan which, though much smaller than last year’s Jerusalem Conference, will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on all those who attended and the wider Anglican Communion.

From 25th February to 1st March, 138 delegates, including four Primates and 31 bishops and archbishops, gathered in Dubai for ‘G19’. The conference was designed for those who had been unable to attend Gafcon 2018 in Jerusalem for political reasons and many came from contexts where there are severe restrictions on Christian witness.

In his opening address, Gafcon Chairman Archbishop Okoh of Nigeria set the tone of the conference…”

– GAFCON’s Membership Development Secretary, Canon Charles Raven, wrote this article for Evangelicals Now.

Good Friday – not just good, but glorious

“Childhood impressions linger, don’t they? I’m so grateful for (most of) them. My earliest memory of 1950s church life is full of happy thoughts, good people and full Sundays. Sunday mornings, afternoons and evenings – there was always something engaging and purposeful to do (yes, Sunday afternoons: Christian Endeavour).

As helpful as all that was, there are someone boyhood memories that need tweaking or straightening out later.

Each year, our evangelical Baptist church gave huge attention to Palm Sunday, followed five days later by a much more sombre Friday morning service. Even without specific instruction, this pattern taught me to celebrate the joy of Palm Sunday but to tone it down on Good Friday. This was the order of things, from glory to gloom: after the glory of the triumphal march into Jerusalem we must move to the gloom of the Cross. Which prompted, of course, that perennial childhood question: “Dad, why is Good Friday good? Isn’t it bad, what they did to Jesus?”

Reflecting on this glory to gloom transition, I now wonder if it needs correction. …”

– Presbyterian Moderator-General, John P Wilson, reflects on why Good Friday is glorious.

Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans New Zealand calls for Nominations for their first Bishop

“The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand is a new Diocese in New Zealand.

Because of the rejection of the authority of Scripture by the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia at the 2018 General Synod, a number of parishes and individuals have chosen to disaffiliate from ACANZP and gather together in 12 parishes to form a new expression of Anglicanism.

As a Christ-centred church in the historic Anglican faith and order, we are calling for nominations for our first Bishop. We are seeking a person who has a desire to serve as our Bishop…”

– News from The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Toronto bishops issue statement in support of Kevin Robertson and same-sex spouse

“The same-sex spouse of Kevin Robertson, area bishop of York-Scarborough in the diocese of Toronto, will go to England at the time of the Lambeth Conference in 2020, though it’s as yet unclear to what extent any of the spouses of Toronto bishops will participate, the diocese’s College of Bishops said in a joint statement released March 25. …”

– Report from Anglican Journal, Canada.

Related: Lambeth 2020 Descends into Confusion.

University hosting church summit where same-sex partners are banned to raise ‘ethical concerns’ with archbishop

“A university which has come under fire for hosting an Anglican summit that will exclude same-sex partners is due to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury to raise ‘significant ethical concerns’.

The University of Kent, which is hosting next year’s Lambeth Conference, faced criticism when it emerged partners of gay bishops had not been invited.

The institution has now said it will ensure accommodation is available on campus for spouses affected who wish to be in Canterbury with their partners. …”

– Report from The Independent.

Related: Lambeth 2020 Descends into Confusion.

Gafcon Networks mobilise after Cyclone hits Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe

“Following the massive destruction brought to Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe by Cyclone Idai, Rev Dennis Tongoi who leads the Gafcon Sustainable Development Network put Gafcon leaders in touch with one another and contact was made with Mozambican Bishop Vicente Msosa, who was present at Gafcon 2018 in Jerusalem.

Mozambique is one of the areas hardest hit and Bishop Vicente shared with us the traumatic impact of this disaster on his Diocese of Niassa. …”

– GAFCON’s Membership Development Secretary, Canon Charles Raven, shares about the disaster unfolding in Africa.

See also:

Anglican Aid in Sydney has set up an emergency appeal. (Donation link at the bottom of that page. Photo via Anglican Aid.)

“Anglican Aid is providing much-needed assistance to Zimbabwe through FOCUS Zimbabwe and Honeyworld and to affected parts of Mozambique through local bishops known to us through GAFCON.”

Islands and inland seas as Southern Africa hit by flooding – SydneyAnglicans.net

“An entire community was submerged when people woke up on Saturday morning. Many have been left homeless and numerous others have either been confirmed dead or are still missing” said the urgent call to Anglican Aid from Tawanda Masango, newly returned to Zimbabwe from Sydney.

TEC Bishop Michael Curry questions ‘gay bishop spouse ban’ at Lambeth Conference

“Anglican bishops in the United States say they are ‘aggrieved and distressed’ by a ban on the spouses of gay bishops from attending a major Church summit next year.

The Episcopal Church (TEC) said it was ‘concerned by the use of exclusion as a means of building communion’ ahead of the 2020 Lambeth Conference, which is being hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. …”

– As expected. Report from Premier.

Related post: Lambeth 2020 Descends into Confusion.

Tactics, not truth, over same-sex marriages

“It would seem that the response by the bishops of the Church of England to the latest attempt in the House of Lords to force clergy to conduct same-sex weddings was driven by tactical considerations rather than by transcendent truth.

Although the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft [pictured], resisted the amendment by Lords Faulkner and Collins to remove the CofE’s exemption from solemnising same-sex marriages, his remarks were notable for their political tone…”

– The Rev. Julian Mann discerns an attempt by the Bishop of Oxford to placate the 100+ evangelical clergy in his diocese who signed a letter ‘of grave concern’ in January.

Dr. Stuart Piggin to speak on Australia’s Christian heritage

In an event in Parramatta on Monday 1st April, Professor Stuart Piggin will speak on the key influence of an evangelical Christian worldview in the shaping of Australia.

See Family Voice Australia for details and registration.

(See also, The Fountain of Public Prosperity – Evangelical Christians in Australian History 1740–1914, by Stuart Piggin and Robert D. Linder, from Monash University Publishing.)

GAFCON Chairman’s March 2019 Letter

In his March 2019 Pastoral Letter, GAFCON Chairman Archbishop Nicholas D. Okoh highlights the confusion surrounding the 2020 Lambeth Conference:

“A recent blog by Dr Josiah Idowu-Fearon, the Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council, had confirmed that the Archbishop of Canterbury would be inviting bishops in same sex unions to Lambeth 2020, but not their partners. The exclusion of the spouses was a break with the convention, and with Archbishop Welby’s own previous statement that all bishops’ spouses would be included.

The reason given was that their presence would not be appropriate because Lambeth Resolution I.10 of 1998, which affirmed the biblical and historic understanding of marriage, remains the position of the Anglican Communion.

But how can the same sex spouses be excluded if their partners are still invited as bishops in good standing? Both are equally committed to a sexual relationship described by Lambeth Resolution I.10 as ‘incompatible with Scripture’.

The inconsistency is obvious to all. …”

– Read it all at the GAFCON website.

Ben Kwashi: Pray for the work of Gafcon each day during Lent

Archbishop Ben Kwashi writes:

“Will you pray with me for the work of Gafcon each day during Lent?  

While I was in Dubai for the G19 conference last week, I was moved by the resilience of brothers and sisters who face severe suffering for the sake of Christ. These are praying people and their example reminds us that we are called to be a spiritual movement, determined not only to put the Bible but also unceasing prayer at the forefront of all we do.

During our conference, I was so pleased to witness the tremendous progress the Gafcon Prayer Network has made since it launched in Jerusalem last June.

One of the network’s projects has been to develop a Lent prayer diary which can be accessed via the website, received through daily social media posts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) or through the recently launched page on the PrayerMate App.

It will provide subscribers with a topic each day… through to Easter Day and beyond to fuel our prayers as we stand together in gospel partnership.”

– Even if Lent is not necessarily ‘your thing’, it is good to heed this call for unceasing prayer. (Screenshot: the GAFCON feed on PrayerMate.)

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