Overview of the teaching of Rowan Williams on Scripture and sexuality
David Phillips, General Secretary of Church Society, summarises a SPREAD report on the theology of Rowan Williams. It’s available as a PDF file and is also published in the current issue of CrossWay.
Read it here. See also this earlier Latimer Trust paper by Garry Williams entitled, “The Theology of Rowan Williams”.
A new Marian dogma?
“In February a letter was published from four Roman Catholic Cardinals and apparently over 500 Bishops and 7 million laity requesting a ‘solemn definition’ of the aspects of the Roman teaching on Mary… this is what they are seeking in such a definition: regarding Mary Most Holy as the Spiritual Mother of all humanity, the co-redemptrix with Jesus the Redeemer, Mediatrix of all graces with Jesus the one Mediator, and Advocate with Jesus Christ on behalf of the human race.”
In the light of the coming World Youth Day in Sydney, it’s worth reading this article by David Phillips, General Secretary of Church Society, in the current issue of Crossway. (PDF)
The Limits of Fellowship – Phillip D Jensen
This important address given by Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, at the Sydney Lambeth Decision Briefing on March 14 has attracted widespread interest.
Although it is already available as a 70 minute audio file and a PDF file, we are also making it available as a web page, for greater accessibility.
Click here to read it all – in our Resources section.
The Cross
“I find no balm for a sore conscience, and a troubled heart, like the sight of Jesus dying for me on the accursed tree.
There I see that a full payment has been made for all my enormous debts. The curse of that law which I have broken has come down on One who there suffered in my stead. The demands of that law are all satisfied. Payment has been made for me, even to the uttermost farthing. It will not be required twice over.
Ah! I might sometimes imagine I was too bad to be forgiven. My own heart sometimes whispers that I am too wicked to be saved. But I know in my better moments this is all my foolish unbelief. I read an answer to my doubts in the blood shed on Calvary. I feel sure that there is a way to heaven for the very vilest of men, when I look at the cross.”
– J.C. Ryle, Old Paths . Courtesy First Importance.
Can the Church reach out without selling out?
The Nashville Conference on the Church and Theology was held at the Nashville Community Bible Church February 10-12.
The topic?: Can the Church reach out without selling out? Speakers: Don Carson, Steve Lawson, Tim Challies.
The audio of the talks is now available at ReformationUnderway.
Biblical thinking about the crisis
This week’s vote by the congregation of St. John’s Shaughnessy in Vancouver has come after a long period of reflection on the Scriptures. This 2004 paper by St. John’s Rector, and Moore College graduate, David Short, gives some background –
“For Anglicans, in a denomination that now sanctions same sex unions, this now means changes in the shape of our relationships so they might help rather than hinder the mission of Christ. …”
See also David’s paper, “Are we Stronger than He?”, published in ACL News in 2005. 360kb PDF file.
For another report on yesterday’s vote, see Anglican Journal, published by the Anglican Church of Canada.
Commissary of the Diocese of New Westminster, Dean Peter Elliott, thinks the move is “unnecessary”, however read the articles above.
Advice to Pastors: Preach the Word
John Piper’s sermon from the installation of a colleague is good advice –
My message to you is very simple and very precarious. It is 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the Word.”
I call it precarious, because there is a constant temptation to do other things in the place of this. There ARE other things to do in the ministry, as these letters to Timothy show. And we must do them to be found faithful. But none of them is treated as solemnly and forcefully as this one simple exhortation from the apostle: “Preach the Word.” …
Available as text and audio download from Desiring God.
‘Global South’ Anglican Catechism in Outline
“The Anglican Catechism in Outline project was unanimously endorsed and commissioned by the Global South Primates or their representatives present at its meeting at Kigali, Rwanda, September 2006. It was agreed that an interim report should be sent to the Global South Primates by February 2008 for their comments, and the final report be submitted by June 2008.
It is a historic and important project initiated by the Global South at this very critical juncture of the life and witness of our Anglican Communion.
The Global South Anglican Theological Formation and Education Task Force submitted their Interim Report to the Global South Primates Steering Committee on 6 January 2008.
We commend the Interim Report for careful study and feedback.”
Read the 60 page ACIO Interim Report (PDF) here.
What is Anglicanism? – Archbishop Orombi
This 2007 essay by Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi, Anglican Archbishop of Uganda is well worth reading:
“We would not be facing the crisis in the Anglican Communion if we had upheld the basic Reformation convictions about Holy Scripture: its primacy, clarity, sufficiency, and unity. Part of the genius of the Reformation was its insistence that the Word of God and the liturgy be in the language of the people — that the Bible could be read and understood by the simplest plowboy. The insistence from some Anglican circles (mostly in the Western world) on esoteric interpretations of Scripture borders on incipient Gnosticism that has no place in historic or global Anglicanism. …”
Read the full text at First Things.
Evangelical Religion – J C Ryle
Written 130 years ago, Bishop John Charles Ryle’s tract on “Evangelical Religion” is still essential reading. The first Bishop of Liverpool in the UK, Ryle fought valiantly for the authority of the Scriptures in the Church of England.
“Since many religious disputes have arisen solely because there has been a lack of accurate definition, I am beginning this paper by explaining exactly what I mean by ‘Evangelical Religion’.”
The precise challenges faced by Ryle have changed, yet the need to ground the Christian life in the Bible remains. You can read his tract here.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…