Despite the sceptics, there is real truth in the story of Christmas
“There are enough question marks over the Christmas story for dogmatic sceptics to have a field day at this time of year, but the core historical realities are not easily swept away…”
– John Dickson writes in The Sydney Morning Herald.
Very different paths to God
“Everything I know about God comes from God himself.”
– Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen and ‘militant agnostic’ Brian Schmidt are both featured in today’s Sydney Daily Telegraph on ‘seeking the truth of our existence’.
The saint(s) go marching in
Over at SydneyAnglicans.net, Glenn Davies, Bishop of North Sydney, provides some much-needed Biblical perspective for the current excitement about Mary MacKillop.
The death of Oral Roberts
“Roberts was a pioneer in the use of modern electronic media. Early on, Roberts recognized the power of television. He understood that radio could reach untold thousands, but he saw television as the way of reaching hypermodern America.”
– Albert Mohler writes about Oral Roberts’ methods, his message, and his legacy.
Learning from a Liberal mistake
Charles Raven has written a characteristically insightful article on the latest happenings in the Anglican Communion:
“the orthodox should not be in a hurry to draw the simplistic conclusion that my enemy’s enemy must be my friend…”
Learning from a Liberal mistake
As GAFCON was launched in Jerusalem last year, Archbishop Peter Jensen spoke of the ‘extraordinary strategic blunder’ by the Episcopal Church of the United States in consecrating a practising homosexual, Gene Robinson, as a bishop in 2003 which awoke the “sleeping giant that is evangelical Anglicanism”.
Now liberals have committed a second strategic blunder. Not so much the emergence of partnered lesbian Mary Glasspool as suffragan bishop elect by the Diocese of Los Angeles – such a move was entirely predictable after this year’s General Convention rejected Rowan Williams call for ‘gracious restraint – but their very public hostility towards Dr Williams following his rather cool and disapproving response. Read more
Living the legacy (of John Calvin)
“As 2009 draws to an end, we look back over a year that has been punctured by an extraordinary number of significant anniversaries…”
– In the latest issue of Churchman, Gerald Bray writes about why we need to ‘live the legacy’ of John Calvin. It’s available as a PDF file from Church Society.
A Roman Catholic monarch?
In the Autumn 2009 issue of Churchman, Gerald Bray has written a fascinating editorial on whether the English monarch should, or could, be Roman Catholic. It’s more complicated than you might have imagined.
Church Society have made the editorial available here (PDF).
We will not bend the knee to Caesar (Why I signed The Manhattan Declaration)
“I signed The Manhattan Declaration because it is a limited statement of Christian conviction on these three crucial issues, and not a wide-ranging theological document that subverts confessional integrity.
I cannot and do not sign documents such as Evangelicals and Catholics Together that attempt to establish common ground on vast theological terrain. I could not sign a statement that purports, for example, to bridge the divide between Roman Catholics and evangelicals on the doctrine of justification.
The Manhattan Declaration is not a manifesto for united action. It is a statement of urgent concern and common conscience on these three issues — the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage, and the defense of religious liberty.”
– Albert Mohler on why he was one of the first to sign The Manhattan Declaration.
Rowan’s Roman Bluff
“For a man hardly renowned for his robustness, the recent speech given in Rome by the Archbishop of Canterbury was remarkably robust. Of course, it was given partly in response to the announcement from Rome on October 20th of effectively a ‘safe haven’ for Anglicans disenchanted by the policies of the Church over which Rowan Williams presides…”
– John Richardson also writes about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s address in Rome — at The Ugley Vicar.
Rowan in Rome: Retreat from Reason
Charles Raven writes about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit to the Vatican:
“the implausibility of Williams position starts to become evident when, presumably without blushing, he commends the Anglican Covenant process…”
Apparently unabashed by the chaotic state of the Communion he represents, Rowan William’s provocative address to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome last Thursday was noted by the media for its strong challenge to the Roman Catholic Church’s position on the ordination of women, but its real significance is that it reveals an Archbishop who, far from being discouraged, does really seem to believe his own propaganda, even to the extent that, the recent humiliation of his non-consultation over the Ordinariate notwithstanding, he offers recent Anglican practice as a model for the Vatican to follow in ecumenical relationships. Read more
AAC President’s update 20 November
Weekly Message from Bishop David Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council, November 20 2009
“In a newly authorized advertising campaign, TEC begins by saying, “As Episcopalians, we are followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” and this sounds spot-on Christologically.”
Beloved in Christ,
Some banks, large and small, have gotten into a great deal of trouble during the last year and a half with uncollectible loans and assets that have steeply declined in value. In short, their books don’t balance, and people’s money is at risk. Fortunately for most bank customers, their accounts are FDIC insured, and when a bank fails, another absorbs it, and the customer’s accounts remain relatively safe.
When it comes to churches, another institution that people trust, the same safety isn’t always present. Banks hold our money, and if they lose it we can work to gain more, whereas churches deal with our soul, and if we lose that, we can’t pick up another at the shopping mall.
As an example, the Episcopal Church (TEC) has vastly overstated their membership strength, withheld the really bad financial news, degraded their theology, lost membership, and their members’ souls are in peril. Read more
The Influence of Liberalism upon Evangelicalism — ‘the Curate’s Egg’
“When a term is used frequently enough it can become over used and so end up being abused. We may think, for example, of the word, ‘awesome’. A mobile phone can now be described as ‘awesome’ and pretty soon everything is awesome which means nothing is so. We have a similar problem with the term ‘evangelical’. It can now mean little more than indicating that one prefers guitars to organs in public worship…”
– Church Society has just reprinted this 2007 Churchman article (PDF file) by Melvin Tinker.
As Night follows Day?
“The premise is wrong, the logic is wrong and the conclusion is wrong, but who cares so long as we can make the Bible say what we want it to say?”
– Church Society’s David Philips on the slippery-slope of making the Bible teach whatever you want. (90kb PDF file.) From the Autumn 2009 edition of Cross†Way.
Where now, after October 20th?
“As long ago as 1971, Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote a book titled, What is an Evangelical? John Stott addressed the same issue in 1977, as did Mark Thompson as recently as 1995 in a book titled Saving the Heart? subtitled, What is an evangelical?
However, in recent years the evangelical identity has become even more diffuse, even within Anglicanism…”
– John Richardson gave this address at Forward in Faith’s Manchester branch last weekend. (It was on October 20th that the Vatican made its offer to Anglo-Catholics.)
‘ABC outdoes BBC’
– says Russell Powell in his weekly roundup of media stories at SydneyAnglicans.net.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…