The Execution of Lady Jane Grey: 460 years ago
“Lady Jane Grey… is a daughter of the Reformation whose story of faithfulness and grace deserves to be better known.”
– Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds remembers Lady Jane Grey, who was executed on this day in 1554.
Amazing Grace’s lasting impact — the John Newton story
Marylynn Rouse from The John Newton Project was interviewed about the impact of the hymn “Amazing Grace”. Along the way, she spoke about the background to the hymn, and about John Newton’s conversion.
Most encouraging – see it on Vimeo.
‘Downton Abbey’ and the Modern Age — What are we really watching?
“Americans by the millions tuned in to watch the premier of Downton Abbey’s fourth season, eager to enjoy the continuation of the saga of the Earl and Countess of Grantham and their household. …
And yet, most viewers are likely unaware of what they are actually seeing. They are not merely watching an historical drama, they are witnessing the passing of a world. And that larger story, inadequately portrayed within Downton Abbey, is a story that should not be missed. That story is part of our own story as well.”
– Albert Mohler writes.
Slavery’s Abolition and History’s Truth
“Memories shape us powerfully. For all of us there are defining events, the memories of which stay with us and determine how we view the world. Not only individuals, but communities and nations have landmark memories. The Gettysburg Address of Abraham Lincoln is one such. …
Nowadays it is taken for granted that equality is a value which everyone respects, but we should never forget that it was not always so.”
– Dr Mark Durie, Vicar of St Mary’s Caulfield in Melbourne, writes in Quadrant about the cultural amnesia afflicting so many today.
(Longer, original version, at his blog.)
The English Reformers’ teaching on Salvation
Church Society has posted a talk given by Donald Allister, now Bishop of Peterborough, at the 1991 Church Society Conference. (At the time, Bishop Allister was Rector of St. Mary’s Cheadle, near Manchester.)
How can you be right with God? Hear the “joyful and liberating truth” Bilney, Tyndale, Cranmer, Latimer and other English Reformers discovered.
60 minute talk – it’s a 30MB mp3 file. Take the time to listen – a very good way to start the new year.
Jesus’ Improbable Plan
“Jesus and the apostles expected the nations of the world to be won for him. This is a historical statement that is historically true that will stand in the face of even the most stringent, critical analysis.
Consider how improbable such a vision must have been.
‘Make disciples of all nations’ he said but those to whom he said it were but eleven in number, simple uneducated men, without friends in high places. Their own track record had not been good; one was a betrayer, another a denier and all were deserters.
He, their leader, had been handed over by the temple hierarchs and crucified by the Romans.
Yet he expected world conquest, but not achieved by naked power but by mere words backed up by an ethical life. …”
– Bishop Paul Barnett looks at Jesus’ ‘improbable plan’.
GAFCON Chairman’s Advent Letter
Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya and Chairman of the GAFCON Primates’ Council has released this Advent Letter.
He begins by giving thanks for the meeting in Nairobi, before turning to what’s next –
“We have to come down from the mountain to face the challenges ahead.
And so we have. The Church of England has just released what is known as the Pilling Report, the conclusions of a Working Group commissioned by the House of Bishops to report and make recommendations on issues of human sexuality.
I am sorry to say that it is very flawed. If this report is accepted I have no doubt that the Church of England, the Mother Church of the Communion, will have made a fateful decision. It will have chosen the same path as The Episcopal Church of the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada with all the heartbreak and division that will bring. ”
The Spiritual Reformation
Just in time for Reformation Day (31st October), you can hear last Sunday’s sermon from St. Andrew’s Cathedral by Phillip Jensen – on ‘The Spiritual Reformation’.
Good to hear and to pass the link on to others.
Reformation Day
Back in 2011, Justin Taylor posted some resources for Reformation Day (observed on 31st October in many places, to remember Martin Luther’s nailing of the 95 Theses to the Wittenburg door on 31st October 1517).
Though the video links no longer work, there are plenty of other useful links to help in understanding what it was all about.
See also: Why the Reformation Is Not Over.
Integrity ejournal – A journal of Australian church history from Moore College
“Students in their fourth year of the Bachelor of Divinity degree at Moore Theological College have the opportunity to research and write a 6,000 word essay in Church History on some aspect of evangelicalism in Australia or Britain (post-1600).
The excellent quality of some of these essays has encouraged the Church History Department to seek a way to share the fruits of the research and writing of these students with a broader audience. This is the reason for the launch of this new journal Integrity.”
– Download the first issue here.
An appreciation of the turnaround of Southern Seminary
Todd Pruitt writes about Southern Baptist Theological Seminary:
“Southern is the oldest and largest of the SBC seminaries. It was also the great bastion of theological liberalism within the denomination.”
“I was raised in a large Southern Baptist church in Houston, Texas. I was educated in Southern Baptist institutions. I was ordained in a Southern Baptist church. Coming of age in the 1980’s I remember well overhearing the discussions at home and church about the conservative resurgence within the SBC. It may surprise some of you to know how liberal the Southern Baptist seminaries had become and, as a consequence, its clergy and churches. But, by God’s grace, the Southern Baptists did not go the way of the PCUSA, Disciples of Christ, or United Methodists.
One of the key moments in this mega-shift away from liberalism was the reformation of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Southern is the oldest and largest of the SBC seminaries. It was also the great bastion of theological liberalism within the denomination. But in 1993, after a change in the balance of power among the trustees, Southern Seminary hired a young theologian and journalist named Albert Mohler [pictured] as the new President of the seminary. At that point that point the battle was joined. Ultimately, Southern Seminary returned wholeheartedly to its founding confession and vision. But the fight was brutal and is, in my mind, one the great stories of the church in the 20th century.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Dr. Mohler’s presidency of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. So I offer enthusiastic gratitude to the Lord for Albert Mohler and his unswerving loyalty to God’s Word, his tenacity in leadership, his willingness to be ridiculed for what is right, and his enthusiasm for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I encourage you to read this account of the turnaround of Southern Seminary. It is truly a harrowing story.”
And Southern Seminary has released a 25 minute documentary on the history of SBTS with a focus on the turnaround of the last 20 years.
Well worth watching.
The Importance of the Printing Press for the Protestant Reformation, Pt 1
“This article is the first of two that will consider the importance of Johann Gutenberg’s movable type printing technology for the Protestant Reformation and how the new technology was employed effectively by Martin Luther in Germany. Part one will deal with the technology, and part two will consider how it was used by Luther in Germany.”
– with Reformation Sunday coming up, this article is a fascinating insight into an often-overlooked aspect of the Reformation.
The Puritans: John Bunyan
“John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress and undoubtedly the most famous of all Puritans, was born on November 28, 1628 in Bedfordshire, England. His father was a brazier (a brass worker) and it was intention that his son would take over the family business. …”
– In his latest post on The Puritans, Tim Challies introduces the author of Pilgrim’s Progress.
Related: Kel Richards introduces Pilgrims Progress in the introduction to his Aussie adaptation of the story (sadly now out of print).
Richard Baxter
Tim Challies has continued his thumbnail sketch of key Puritans with this on Richard Baxter, author of The Reformed Pastor.
The Puritans
Over the the last few weeks, Tim Challies has published biographical sketches to introduce several of the key English Puritans. Each includes a list of their most important works.
They include Matthew Henry (author of the much-loved Bible commentary), and Richard Sibbes (from whom Mark Dever has been reading in public at Capitol Hill Baptist Church).
So far in this series:
John Owen (1616–1683)
Jeremiah Burroughs (1600–1646)
Richard Sibbes (1577–1635)
Thomas Brooks (1608–1680)
Matthew Henry (1662–1714)
William Perkins (1558–1602).
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…