Is the Reformation Over?
“There have been several observations rendered on this subject by those I would call ‘erstwhile evangelicals.’ One of them wrote, ‘Luther was right in the sixteenth century, but the question of justification is not an issue now.’ A second self-confessed evangelical made a comment in a press conference I attended that ‘the sixteenth-century Reformation debate over justification by faith alone was a tempest in a teapot.’…”
– Dr R.C. Sproul writes of the danger of forgetting the reason for the Reformation.
See also: Dr Carl Trueman, “Why the Reformation Isn’t Over”.
Getting on the front foot
“Christians need never to be on the back foot in answering the attacks of atheists and secularists.
The bankruptcy of their position is readily revealed when one examines their empty explanations given to life’s four biggest questions.
What I appreciate most about being a Christian is the Faith’s realistic assessment of the human condition, and its sure diagnosis and assured prescription for humankind’s ills.
Here are life’s four biggest questions:
Where did I come from?
Where am I going?
Why am I here?
How do I live?…”
– Another helpful post by David Cook, Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia website. (Photo: St. Helen’s London.)
Is God a She?
“As Christians, we cede power to God. We give up the claim to run our own life, and submit to him as our Lord. That is our basic relationship to him: we are creatures and disciples. …
I found it noteworthy that Mrs Treweek … asserts her right to be addressed as she wants to be addressed, so that Her Majesty the Queen herself has to comply in her writs. … Should we not extend the same courtesy to God as Bishop Rachel insists upon for herself?”
– Church Society’s Dr Lee Gatiss responds to statements by Bishop Rachel Treweek, that Christians should use male and female pronouns when referring to God.
(Photo: Diocese of Gloucester.)
Herman Who?
“Much of the debate in the media about fundamentalism and radicalisation would be solved if all involved developed a commitment to responsible hermeneutics.
Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation.
When a solicitor reads a legal deed, words are to be understood literally. When I read the newspaper, I adopt different hermeneutical principles in reading the news items, the comment, the editorial and the comic strip.
All of the Bible is to be taken seriously and that means that not all will be taken literally…”
– David Cook writes about the importance of hermeneutics.
(Image: St. Helen’s London.)
Playboy opened the floodgates and now the culture is drowning
“Scott Flanders, Playboy CEO, told the media that his product had been overtaken by the larger culture. ‘You’re just one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And it’s just passé at this juncture.’
That is one of the most morally revealing statements of recent times.”
– Albert Mohler comments on the tragic results of the Playboy revolution.
Will revisionism save the C of E? We’re about to find out
Anglican Mainstream’s Andrew Symes writes about elections to the Church of England’s General Synod, and the election of The Rev Andrew Foreshew-Cain as a representative for the Diocese of London –
“In February 2014 the Bishops’ post-Synod statement reiterated that the Church of England cannot bless same sex relationships nor change its doctrine of marriage.
Specifically an appeal was made to clergy in same sex relationships (which were supposed to be “celibate” anyway) not to take advantage of the forthcoming change in law (March 2014) to get married, because this would cause confusion about the Church’s teaching.
Two clergy who defied this ruling became focal points for media interest: Jeremy Pemberton and Andrew Cain. What are we to make of the fact that the latter has become part of the decision making and governing body of the organisation whose teaching and practice on a crucial matter he has rejected?”
– Read it here.
The Land of the long weekend
“I am part of the pastoral team of an 800 member Christian Church, we are all being radicalised, every meeting, every week, to engage our society with the message of God’s love. We eschew bullets and bombs and take up a message of love, delivered as we are able with acts of kindness.
Here is the radical Christian message, God your Creator, who made you, loves you, He gave His Son to die for your sin, He raised that Son from the dead to prove to you He is Lord, lose control of your life to Him and you will find true abundant life!…”
– Another great post from Presbyterian Moderator-General David Cook.
Don’t hang all religions with Islam’s radicalisation problem
“Only two days after the appalling slaughter of Curtis Cheng as he peacefully went about his work, a commentator on ABC News 24 was heard to say:
‘We have to empower people in schools, people in mosques, people in churches to be able to see the beginnings of radicalisation.’
This, perhaps throwaway, comment was evidence of a more widespread response to the threat of religiously-motivated terrorism. In NSW, the government has moved to audit school prayer groups of whatever faith, in order to prevent extremism. Voluntary religious activities must be monitored, and parental permission obtained before high school students participate.
Can you see what has happened here?…”
– Michael Jensen writes at ABC’s The Drum.
Abortion-by-phone is ‘commerce, not care’
“The Anglican Bishop of North Sydney, Chris Edwards, says the proposal that Australian women would be able to access abortions by phone and mail smacks of a program driven by commercial concerns rather than by genuine care for people…”
– see SydneyAnglicans.net for more.
Discrimination and Opposition to Same Sex Marriage in Tasmania
“There are press reports… that the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Hobart is being sued under s 17 of Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 for causing “offence” or “humiliation”.
This was alleged to have been done by the Archbishop causing to be sent to Roman Catholic schools in his diocese, a booklet outlining the church views on marriage, and in particular expressing the well-known opposition of the church to the introduction of same sex marriage…”
– Neil Foster writes at Law and Religion Australia with some context for what’s happening in Tasmania.
Archbishop Welby, What will you do about it?
“I’m not fond of litigation. I take our witness to the world very seriously, and the damage to that witness from Christians suing each other is serious. And even though my former profession as a criminal prosecutor put me in the position of litigating daily in the courts, I would much prefer followers of Jesus Christ being able to follow 1 Corinthians 6 and work out their disagreements within the Church, through church or secular sponsored arbitration services and negotiated settlements.
I cannot, however, let the injustice pass that occurred in the oral arguments before the South Carolina Supreme Court, between the Diocese of South Carolina (Bishop Mark Lawrence) and The Episcopal Church (TEC.)…”
– The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey is disturbed by the latest legal action in South Carolina, and wonders what the Archbishop of Canterbury will say to the TEC Presiding Bishop at the Primates’ gathering in January.
The Pope’s speech to US Congress: ‘Nothing explicitly Christian’
“I just finished listening to the Pope’s speech to Congress from earlier today. There is no question that the occasion was historic – the first time ever that a Pope has delivered such an address. …
Nevertheless, even though the speech was historic, it was also a disappointment – not so much for what he did say but for what he didn’t say…”
– Denny Burk has some reflections.
The wages of spin: death of truth?
“Revisionist leaders talk a lot about their desire for unity in the Church. But more often than not, the only unity they are interested in is with the world, joining with the briefings of the secular culture against orthodox Christianity.
Here is what happened on Thursday, on the BBC Radio 4 ‘Today’ programme, where the Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, and myself were in separate studios to discuss Justin Welby’s recent invitation to the Primates of the Anglican Communion to attend a meeting in January…”
– Anglican Mainstream’s Andrew Symes writes of his experience last week on BBC Radio – and looks at lesson we can learn. (Image: Christian Concern.)
Free to live by one’s beliefs
“Many Australians are uncomfortable talking about religion or God. Sometimes we are surprised when one of our sporting heroes, like Jarryd Hayne, comes straight out and says: ‘All the glory goes to God, because without him none of this is possible.’ Some commentators are quick to criticise.
But there are many Australians who are very serious about religious belief. …”
– Associate Professor Neil Foster (who runs the Law and Religion Australia blog) has this opinion piece in today’s Newcastle Herald, ahead of a conference at the University of Newcastle on Friday September 25th. (Conference programme.)
‘The Anglican Communion is already divorced’
“Is the Anglican Communion about to split over different views of sexual ethics?
You might think so after reading headlines about the archbishop of Canterbury’s proposal to “loosen” the structures of the Communion — a way of retaining his relationship to the liberal wing of the Western churches as well as the traditional Anglicans of the Global South.
But to interpret the archbishop’s recent announcement as a split over sexuality is to miss the bigger picture. First, the impending dissolution of Anglicanism as it currently exists institutionally is over much more than sex. Second, the divorce has already taken place, just not formally…”
– At Religion News Service, Trevin Wax gives the Archbishop of Canterbury’s call for a Primates’ meeting some context.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…