Christians under siege, religious freedom inquiry hears

“A Melbourne IT specialist engaged to work on the Safe Schools program was sacked after privately expressing concerns about the contentious initiative during a staff meeting, with his employer later accusing him of ‘creating an unsafe work environment’. …

His predicament is just one of several cases of discrimination ­alleged by Christians or opponents of same-sex marriage that have come to light as part of the inquiry, which, in the wake of the Coopers Brewery fiasco, has heightened concerns about free speech and a growing intolerance towards traditional views.”

– Report from today’s The Australian.

‘Not an attempt to storm Lambeth Palace’ — Peter Jensen

“GAFCON, a worldwide group of conservative Anglicans, has told Premier it’s not looking to break up the Church of England but is instead working to keep Anglican Communion united. …

Addressing the issue on Premier’s News Hour, Most Rev Peter Jensen, GAFCON’s General Secretary and a former Archbishop of Sydney, said: “There are many issues that divide us, where we have diverse opinions, and that’s OK — but some of them are so important that a stand has to be taken. A painful and costly stand.’…”

– Listen to the interview here. (h/t Anglican Mainstream.)

Mainstream … or on the margins?

“If ever we could have considered the church to be a core part of Australian culture (and that’s not at all certain), the Christian church is now being slowly edged to one side. It is increasingly less mainstream.

Have you noticed though that there are key moments in the year’s calendar and certain elements of our culture where we’re let back in? It’s strange, but true. Consider… ”

– John Wilson, Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, offers encouragement to take the opportunities we do have to share the Christian hope.

GAFCON UK response to the Primates’ Communique

“We appreciate the way GAFCON has recognised that this intervention is giving global support to one of a number of initiatives being taken by biblically orthodox Anglicans in Britain; others include the work being done to strengthen the Free Church of England. …”

– Read the full statement from GAFCON UK.

GAFCON Primates Communiqué — ‘Missionary Bishop’ for Europe


After their meeting in Lagos, last week, the GAFCON Primates issued this Communiqué –

“Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As your Primates, we met in Lagos, Nigeria from 24th -28th April 2017 to pray and work for the continued renewal of the Anglican Communion. We give thanks for the extraordinary hospitality of the Diocesan Bishop of Lagos, the Archbishop of Lagos, and the Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).

We began our time together each day with prayer and the study of God’s Word. Aware that we are approaching the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we gave thanks for the faithful witness of those leaders who challenged the Church to recover the authority of the Scriptures. They were men and women who were willing to take costly action, and sealed that testimony with their own blood. …”

– Read it all here.

Note one key section of the communiqué:

“During our meeting, we considered how best to respond to the voice of faithful Anglicans in some parts of the Global North who are in need of biblically faithful episcopal leadership.

Of immediate concern is the reality that on 8th June 2017 the Scottish Episcopal Church is likely to formalize their rejection of Jesus’ teaching on marriage. If this were to happen, faithful Anglicans in Scotland will need appropriate pastoral care. In addition, within England there are churches that have, for reasons of conscience, been planted outside of the Church of England by the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE).

These churches are growing, and are in need of episcopal leadership. Therefore, we have decided to consecrate a missionary bishop who will be tasked with providing episcopal leadership for those who are outside the structures of any Anglican province, especially in Europe.” [Emphasis added.]

Elevation of the Blessed Asparagus: a Church of England pantomime

“Did the Dean of Worcester Cathedral not pause to think for just one second how utterly, utterly absurd this would look? Really, words fail (though some must necessarily follow).

A sacred procession down the Cathedral nave becomes an infantile pantomime as a block of asparagus is elevated and adored like the Blessed Host, and two men dressed up like Monty Python pay some sort of vacuous obsequious homage. …”

– Big news from England this week. Adrian Hilton (“Archbishop Cranmer”) comments.

Image via Archbishop Cranmer.

Bishop of Oxford and the relational dilemma for Reformed Anglicans

“On Palm Sunday in St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, their new diocesan Bishop, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, made a statement that epitomises the relational dilemma facing Reformed Anglicans in the Church of England.

Introducing his excellent sermon on our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem as recorded in Matthew 21, Dr Croft said:

‘It’s my hope to come as a servant to this very large Diocese, to respect and honour all traditions within it and cherish the life of the Church in its many different forms and do my best to lead us in God’s mission.’ …

His sermon was most edifying, biblically faithful and Christ-honouring. Lord willing, he will do a lot of good in Oxford Diocese.

But the difficulty for a Reformed Anglican church such as St Ebbe’s surely comes in their Bishop’s apparently intentional commitment to theological diversity within the Church of England. …”

– The Rev Julian Mann wonders what reformed Anglicans should do when their bishop endorses ‘theological diversity’.

Photo of Bishop Croft: Diocese of Oxford.

‘Congo sacks British canon over gay marriage’

“An African diocese has stripped a high profile English priest of his title of canon, declaring the Rev. Jeremy Pemberton’s same-sex marriage and his agitation for change in the Church of England’s teachings on human sexuality renders him unqualified to hold the honorary title in the Congolese church.

In a letter dated 25 March 2017 to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s advisor for Anglican affairs, the Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo, the Bishop of Boga in the Anglican Province of the Congo stated the Rev. Jeremy Pemberton is “no longer recognized” as a canon of Boga Diocese. …”

– Report from George Conger at Anglican Ink.

(Map: Province of the Anglican Church of Congo.)

Earth Day message from Canadian Anglican and Lutheran leaders

“Through our Lenten Journey to Easter we have been reminded once again that Jesus offered his whole life and death for the love of the world …

As followers of Christ, we are also challenged to offer our lives for the love of the world. …  What happens when we touch the earth with faith?

Our churches are committed to responsible stewardship of the earth. As we celebrate Earth Day, we re-commit to our care for creation and commend the efforts of our congregations across the country to live out this call. We recommend that you or your congregation get involved with the Faith Commuter Challenge, a creative way to reduce your carbon footprint …”

– Anglican Church of Canada Archbishop, Fred Hiltz, and his Lutheran counterpart, have issued a message and prayer for Earth Day.

As Anglican Samizdat notes, loving the planet is not what John 3:16 is about.

Photo by Harrison H. Schmitt.

Can kids tell other kids about Jesus at school?

“Astonishingly, the answer to the question posed here, recently provided by the Queensland Department of Education and Training is: No!

In their latest reviews of material used in Special Religious Instruction (SRI) offered in public schools in that State, they assert as follows:

While not explicitly prohibited by the [relevant legislation], nor referenced in the [Departmental published] RI policy statement, the Department expects schools to take appropriate action if aware that students participating in RI are evangelising to students who do not participate in their RI class, given this could adversely affect the school’s ability to provide a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for all students.

(This statement is found both in the Report on the Review of the GodSpace Religious Instruction Materials, March 2017, at para 3.1.1 on p 5, and in the Report on the Review of the ACCESS ministries’ Religious Instruction Materials, Feb 2017, at para 3.1.1 on p 6.)

In this post I want to explain why this over-reaching bureaucratic imposition is not justified by the law governing the Department’s activities, and indeed is probably illegal. …”

– Posted a few days ago, Neil Foster, Associate Professor in Law at Newcastle, gives his opinion on directives from the Queensland Department of Education and Training.

Easter meaning. C of E training. The faithful are deciding.

“… after the joy of the Easter service and the thrilling reminders of the Gospel truth, Chris found himself feeling very despondent three weeks later, sitting in his study with his two trainee lay readers. They were all having a debrief of the Lent and Easter season, and Karen and Michael were reflecting on their latest seminar with the Diocesan lay ministry training programme.

‘We heard, er, shall we say a very different take on the Road to Emmaus story, from the Dean, Reverend Doctor whatever his name is’, said Karen. ‘Yes – a good job you warned us beforehand’, continued Michael. …”

– At Anglican Mainstream, Andrew Symes illustrates the all-too-familiar story of liberalism in the Church of England. Tragically, similar stories could be told across Australia, as many of our readers could attest.

Easter message from Archbishop Foley Beach

Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, Foley Beach, encourages Christians to cut to the chase, this Easter.

The offence of the cross: Why extremists attack churches at Easter

“On Palm Sunday jihadists attacked Churches in the Egyptian cities of Alexandria and Tanta killing at least 49 and injuring many others. In India Christians were targeted by Hindu extremists in at least five separate locations on the same day. …”

– Barnabas Fund points out that it is the Cross which many find so offensive.

Australian Presbyterians — Taking God Seriously


Presbyterian Moderator-General John Wilson outlines some of the ways Presbyterians in Australia plan to celebrate Reformation 500 – with evangelism!

See the video here. (3’42”)

The Rainbow Ringwraiths

“Totalitarians and fascists have always sought to demonise their opponents, in part by marking them out from the ‘normal’ majority. They are clearly identified one way or another as recalcitrants, and treated accordingly. Simply consider how Jews fared as the Nazi regime occupied various European countries: being forced to wear a yellow badge in the form of a Star of David.

Millions of our young men gave their lives to fight these totalist regimes and to preserve our cherished freedoms. But a new totalitarianism is descending upon the West, and it comes in the form of the militant and totalitarian rainbow activists. …”

– Bill Muehlenberg at CultureWatch has more on the ‘voluntary’ wearing of rings to promote same-sex marriage.

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