Five thoughts on worship

“There is no shortage of good books (and bad!) on the theology of worship. The best is David Peterson’s Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (IVP, 1992). Peterson’s book is not a practical how-to on worship planning, but rather an in-depth, exegetical look at the biblical understanding of worship.

Worship, according to Peterson, is first of all a whole life lived to the glory of God…”

– so writes Kevin DeYoung at the Gospel Coalition blog.

Engaging with God is available from Moore Books (who currently have a stock reduction sale).

Shadow Gospel: an uncertain faith

We’ve noted Charles Raven’s book – published in September 2010 – before, but it’s worth drawing attention to it again.

This week’s GAFCON Primates’ Statement from Nairobi includes these words:

“We continue to be troubled by the promotion of a shadow gospel that appears to replace a traditional reading of Holy Scriptures and a robust theology of the church with an uncertain faith and a never ending listening process. This faith masquerades as a religion of tolerance and generosity and yet it is decidedly intolerant to those who hold to the ‘faith once and for all delivered to the saints’.”

Charles Raven’s book, Shadow Gospel: Rowan Williams and the Anglican Communion Crisis, is important reading for all who want to understand the theology of the Archbishop of Canterbury and how it is informing his leading of the Anglican Communion. He writes in his introduction:

“Although I seek to show that Rowan Williams’ theological vision is so problematic that a biblically faithful future for the Anglican Communion will have to come from elsewhere, I have not set out to portray him as an Antichrist or even to suggest that the current crisis is simply ‘his fault.’ He is interesting as much for what he illustrates about the Anglican Communion and its governance structures as for what he generates, being deeply shaped by the same theological and social trends which were straining the Communion well before he came to Canterbury.”

The book is published by The Latimer Trust in the UK, and can be ordered from them, however Australian readers might find this link useful.

Church Membership: Holding the Body Together. 9Marks eJournal May 2011

The latest 9Marks eJournal is on church membership. Get it here.

Of First Importance — The Cross and Resurrection at the Centre

“The Christian faith is not a mere collection of doctrines — a bag of truths. Christianity is a comprehensive truth claim that encompasses every aspect of revealed doctrine, but is centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, as the apostolic preaching makes clear, the gospel is the priority.

The Apostle Paul affirms this priority when he writes to the Christians in Corinth. In the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul sets out his case…” – Albert Mohler writes with a reminder of what is of first importance.

Why God Created the Universe — for Good Friday

John Piper was asked why his preaching has become more Christocentric over the years.

Here’s his answer.

No time for games

Justin Taylor links to a powerful and very sobering challenge from David Platt about ‘functional universalism’.

Watch the video here. (Download it here.)

The local church and evangelism

“Back in 1974 Donald Robinson (second from the left in this photograph of the four most recent Archbishops of Sydney) addressed a conference on evangelism with a paper entitled ‘The Doctrine of the Church and its Implications for Evangelism’ (Selected Works, II, 103–113).

I was too young at the time to know whether or not it caused a stir among evangelicals in Sydney and elsewhere (though I later learnt there was a subsequent correspondence between Francis Foulkes and Donald Robinson on the subject in the AFES journal Interchange). However I do suspect that its argument, if taken seriously, would certainly cause a stir today. Patterns of thinking and church practice have developed which move in an entirely different direction and I am not at all sure that these have been as well thought-out theologically as Robinson’s article back in the 1970s…”

– Read all of Mark Thompson’s article at Theological Theology.

Charles Raven on the Theology of Rowan Williams

Charles Raven, from SPREAD, and author of Shadow Gospel, spoke at the Mere Anglicanism Conference in January, on the Theology of Rowan Williams.

Anglican TV has now posted his address and also an interview with Kevin Kallsen. Worth watching.

Free PDF: The Lord’s Supper in Human Hands – Epilogue

The Australian Church Record and the Anglican Church League published ‘The Lord’s Supper in Human Hands – Epilogue’ just before last year’s meeting of Sydney Synod.

“Sydney’s discussion of lay and diaconal administration of the Lord’s Supper has occurred for some forty years. After a related legal question was referred to it, the Appellate Tribunal handed down its opinion in August 2010. This legal opinion needs to be set within its proper context, and the biblical-theological discussion about the issue needs to continue.

This booklet is an epilogue to The Lord’s Supper in Human Hands (2008), updating the discussion on the eve of Sydney Synod, October 2010.”

Chapters are:

The Minority Report – Peter Bolt

Diaconal Administration of the Lord’s Supper and The 2010 Opinion of the Appellate Tribunal – Glenn N. Davies

The Constitution, the Appellate Tribunal and other things – Robert Tong

The theological necessity of lay administration – Mark Thompson.

The ACR is making the Epilogue available as a free download. It’s a 2.4MB PDF file.

(Printed copies of the Epilogue and the original ‘Lord’s Supper in Human Hands’ from 2008 are still available from the ACR.)

‘Love Wins’ – A review of Rob Bell’s new book

Tim Challies:

“Questions matter. They can help you to grow deeper in your knowledge of the truth and your love for God—especially when you’re dealing with the harder doctrines of the Christian faith. But questions can also be used to obscure the truth. They can be used to lead away just as easily as they can be used to lead toward. Ask Eve.

Enter Rob Bell, a man who has spent much of the last seven years asking questions in his sometimes thought-provoking and often frustrating fashion. And when he’s done asking, no matter what answers he puts forward, it seems we’re only left with more questions. This trend continues in his new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, where Bell poses what might be his most controversial question yet:

Does a loving God really send people to hell for all eternity?

The questions you probably want answers to as you read this review are these: Is it true that Rob Bell teaches that hell doesn’t exist? Is it true that Rob Bell believes no one goes to hell? You’ll just need to keep reading because, frankly, the answers aren’t that easy to come by…”

– Respected Canadian blogger Tim Challies has read Bell’s book. This review is essential reading.

Related: Denny Burk’s post, “Rob Bell Outs Himself” gives clear, biblical answers to the questions Rob Bell asks in his promotional video.

More on Science and Genesis

Barry Newman, well known to many in Sydney Diocese, and one of the ACL’s vice-presidents, has resumed his blogging on ‘Science and Genesis’.

See the latest posts here.

Responding to disaster — Broughton Knox

For many years, the then Principal of Moore College, Dr Broughton Knox, gave weekly talks (“The Christian Faith broadcasts”) on Sydney radio station 2CH. They were succinct messages packed full of Christian theology.

In the light of recent disasters, The Sola Panel has republished a talk he gave in 1975 – just after Darwin was devastated by Cyclone Tracy. (It’s also in The Selected Works of Broughton Knox, Vol III.)

Griffith Thomas’ Principles of Theology – Introduction

Church Society is continuing to post online sections from Griffith Thomas’ classic work, Principles of Theology. They’ve just added his Introduction. At Church Society.

‘An act of love, an act of justice, an act of triumphant redemptive power’

“Last year the Sydney Doctrine Commission produced its report on penal substitutionary atonement in response to a request of the Sydney Synod in October 2007.

I think the report is worth wide reading (and not just because I am the chairman of the Doctrine Commission). As the report itself remarks, ‘Because the death of Jesus has a central place in Christian thought and Christian living, it is our ongoing responsibility to carefully consider its significance’ (§2).

Here is part of the conclusion:

Penal substitution is an indispensable element in the Christian proclamation of the cross. It does not say everything about the atonement but it says a crucial thing, one which also helps to illumine every other facet of the Bible’s teaching on the subject. It has been treasured all through Christian history because it enables us to see how the atonement which reconciles us to God can be at one time an act of love, an act of justice and an act of triumphant redemptive power. What has been done for us was truly, morally done. What was done for us was complete and entire, addressing every dimension of the predicament we have created for ourselves. What was done for us secures our freedom and gives us a solid ground for assurance and hope. Precisely because in this penal substitution the consequences of human sin have been dealt with for those who belong to Christ, the words of Jesus from the cross are cherished above all others: ‘it is finished’ (John 19:30) (§45).

The full report can be found here.” From Mark Thompson at Theological Theology.

(There’s a version of the PDF file with smaller margins here.)

Griffith Thomas on The Lord’s Supper in the Prayer Book

Church Society is continuing to republish online excellent resources from days gone by.

They have just made available this chapter on “The Lord’s Supper in the Prayer Book”.

It’s from “A Sacrament of our Redemption — An Enquiry into the Meaning of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament and the Church of England” by W. H. Griffith Thomas, 1861-1924.

Some other chapters from the book are already on Church Society’s website, and you can download the entire book (in PDF, Kindle and other formats) from Archive.org.

← Previous Page — Next Page →