All we need to know

Bishop of Armidale Peter Brain writes:

“How good it is to know that we need never face a day alone or a circumstance with fear.”

“We were walking down the road to the railway bridge, my son and son-in-law with their two little boys and daughter, hand in hand. Then when we heard the sound of a dog barking, I could feel their grip tighten. Neither I nor their fathers pushed them away. Indeed the two youngest moved closer and found reassurance in their father’s presence.   Read more

New Atheism — Sound and fury, signifying nothing

“Over the next several posts I’m going to outline some of my thoughts about the relative strengths and weaknesses of New Atheism, and things I think people should keep in mind as they think about addressing its claims and its criticisms of God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ. This series is aimed primarily at Christians who have some sort of public evangelistic or teaching role…”

– Over at The Briefing’s website, Mark Baddeley has begun what looks to be a very helpful series.

The ‘must read’ Christian book of the year?

Mark Thompson gives notice of what he thinks will be the ‘must read’ Christian book of the year:

“Graeme’s convictions about the authority of Scripture, its dual authorship, its profound and textured unity, its Christological centre, and its vital relevance for all who want to know God and to live as his forgiven people are not only expressed but explained with all the care and skill of this master teacher.”

“All over the world Moore College is known for its approach to biblical theology. Biblical theology in this sense is attention to the unfolding unity of Scripture with its focus on the fulfilment of God’s promises in Jesus Christ. It has proven to be not only a productive way to see how the parts are related in an overarching whole, but also an aid to responsible application of individual narratives. Before jumping straight from the story of, say, David and Goliath, to our situation today, that story is located in the unfolding purposes of God. We see God’s anointed deliverer winning the battle against the enemies of his people while the beneficiaries enjoy the victory without achieving it themselves. Seen in this light, the story of David and Goliath anticipates the victory of Christ on the cross, a victory won for us rather than by us.  Read more

Carl Trueman reviews The Iron Lady

“Yet the greatness of the film lies not in its depiction of Mrs Thatcher’s life; indeed, it is not really a conventional biopic at all. It lies rather in its portrait of the merciless cruelty of old age and the omnipresent tragedy of mortality that lies at the heart of the human condition…”

– At Reformation21. Worth pondering.

‘Betraying problem gamblers’

“It is a serious moral problem to make a promise and then wilfully break it, as Prime Minister Julia Gillard has done,” says Melbourne Bishop Philip Huggins.

– Media release at Anglican Media Melbourne.

‘A Christmas message based on the prophetic lyrics of Mr Roy Wood’

“This Christmas-creep cultural shift seems to indicate three things about society: we have more money (or at least more access to credit) than was the case thirty years ago; we are increasingly obsessed with ‘treating ourselves’; and the boundary between adulthood and childhood has become blurred to the point of near erasure …”

– Carl Trueman has a thoughtful Christmas reflection at Reformation 21.

A Threat to World Anglicanism?

“… she predicts the imminent demise of Sydney Anglicanism in its present form, claiming that it will be brought down by a combination of financial mismanagement, the failure of the current leadership to ensure an equally committed succession and the general fatigue of Sydney lay people, who apparently want their diocese to look more like Perth or Melbourne. …”

– from Gerald Bray’s editorial in the Winter 2011 issue of Churchman. (PDF file.)

His demands are not burdensome

A Christmas reflection from Peter Brain, Bishop of Armidale:

‘He was born outside a small hotel in an obscure Jewish village in the great days of the Roman Empire. The story is usually prettified when we tell it Christmas by Christmas, but it is really rather beastly and cruel. The reason why Jesus was born outside the hotel is that it was full and nobody would offer a bed to a woman in labour, so that she had to have her baby in the stables, and cradle him in a cattle-trough. The story is told dispassionately and without comment, but no thoughtful reader can help shuddering at the picture of callousness and degradation that it draws.’ So wrote J I Packer in his classic Knowing God (1973).

Christmas reminds us of our sin, of that there is no doubt. We needed saving and continue to do so. The fact that we seek to beautify these ugly facts of the Christmas event, and continue to trivialise their importance with a range of activities that leave us too exhausted to reflect and rendered unable to grasp its seriousness by our round of trivial festivities, demonstrates our propensity to crowd God out.  Read more

Christopher Hitchens obituary by Douglas Wilson

“Christopher knew that faithful Christians believe that it is appointed to man once to die, and after that the Judgment. He knew that we believe what Jesus taught about the reality of damnation. He also knew that we believe—for I told him—that in this life, the door of repentance is always open.…”

– Douglas Wilson has written this obituary for Christianity Today. (Photo: Wikipedia.)

What’s next for New York Churches

“Don’t Leave Our Church Homeless” read the signs distributed during Thursday’s press conference outside New York City Hall. More than 60 churches in New York meet in public schools for their Sunday services. When the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal this week, the churches learned they will need to find a new location before February 12. …

“It’s ironic,” one Brooklyn city official commented at Thursday’s press conference, “that the Klu Klux Klan can meet freely in public schools, but churches, who were the backbone of the civil rights movement, are not allowed.”

– John Starke, the new pastor of All Souls Christian Church in the Upper West Side of New York, asks for prayer for his church and more than five dozen others. (h/t Carl Trueman.)

Love, marriage and the homosexual agenda

“As I write this, the Australian Labor Party has decided to amend its political platform to include a commitment to change the legal definition of marriage.

Under intense pressure from the Greens, with whom they formed a coalition after the last election delivered a hung parliament, from its own left faction, and from a bold and confident gay lobby which has mounted a very sophisticated publicity campaign, the Labor Party has endorsed a right of same sex unions to style themselves ‘marriages’. In a largely successful attempt to claim the moral high ground (an astonishing thought in itself)  this world-wide campaign has adopted the slogan ‘marriage equality’.

It should be abundantly clear that this is not about providing financial and legal security for homosexual relationships…”

– ACL President Mark Thompson writes at Theological Theology to explain why opposing changes to marriage is an act of love.

‘No more bets at the Glasgow bookies’

More from Carl Trueman – this time on the ongoing train-wreck of the Church of Scotland –

“The official line in the C of S is that the matter of homosexuality has not yet been decided but it is very clear from the above quotation, especially given the context, which way the matter has already practically concluded. It may take a year or two before the procedural shouting dies down but I would assume that the Glasgow bookies are no longer offering odds on the outcome.

That is why men such as Peter Dickson, James Torrens and others are now putting everything they have on the line and leaving…”

– Read it all – including some very sobering matters for prayer – at Reformation21.

A Tale of two colleges

“Shorter University and Mercer University are institutions of higher education in Georgia, and both have been historically related to the Georgia Baptist Convention — the state’s largest Baptist group. Both schools have been in the news in recent days over the issue of homosexuality. Seen together, the actions taken by the schools point backwards to critical decisions made in the past, forward to issues that will be faced by every college, and directly to the present, where the future is taking shape before our eyes.…”

– A cautionary tale from Georgia – by Albert Mohler.

Endemic Anhedonia — Bishop Peter Brain

Wise words from Bishop Peter Brain – published on the Diocese of Armidale website:

In recent trips around the Diocese we have been taken by the blossoms of trees flowering randomly along the main roads and standing alone in the paddocks. The colours have been stunning – pinks, purples, whites abound, and in some trees colours are combined and blended. It has been a fascinating exercise to ponder how they got there. Are they the result of discarded seeds thrown from cars? or dropped by opportunistic birds? or planted near houses that no longer exist? Whatever their origin, one thing is for sure: seeds continue to grow, shoots continue to bloom and God displays His unmistakeably splendid handiwork yet again. Read more

An ecclesiastical coup d’état?

Bishop David Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council, writes further in his weekly newsletter about TEC’s expected moves against South Carolina –

“Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

I want to continue my comments on the dire state of affairs in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and draw upon some expert legal and procedural analysis by the “Anglican Curmudgeon,” which we have included in this Update.

I would like for you to stop here at this point, and read the Curmudgeon article titled “Bishop Henderson: It’s ‘business as usual’ in the church.” When you are finished, come back to this analysis of what happens next. Read more

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