Refusing the ‘me first’ marriage: Ten things I’ve learned in ten years of marriage
Posted on November 21, 2020
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“In 2007, Dana Adam Shapiro interviewed divorced couples to discover why couples break up.
He concluded that self-centeredness was the heart of what led to marital disintegration. Each spouse’s self-centeredness asserted itself and in response the other spouse got more impatient, resentful, harsh and cold. …”
– Mike Taylor shares some really helpful gospel insights into marriage.
At GoThereFor.com. This is part 2. Part 1 was published in October.
General Synod to consider legal opinions on same-sex blessings
Posted on November 20, 2020
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Archbishop Glenn Davies:
“In my opinion the effect of the majority opinion’s legal interpretation undermines the clear teaching of Scripture and thereby dishonours God.”
From SydneyAnglicans.net:
“Next year’s General Synod will consider a ruling from an Anglican tribunal saying services of blessing for same-sex marriage are constitutional, under a narrow opinion of what constitutes ‘doctrine’ of the Anglican Church.
The Appellate Tribunal expressed their opinion, by a 5 to 1 majority that the blessing of same-sex marriages was not inconsistent with the doctrine of the church, as expressed in the Fundamental Declarations of the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Australia.
Archbishop Glenn Davies has written to clergy, saying he finds the opinion ‘hard to fathom, as it is contrary to the teaching of the Bible’.
Dr Davies says, the effect of the Appellate Tribunal’s opinion is that “it has declared that a service purporting to bless a same-sex marriage, as the Diocese of Wangaratta had developed, is consistent with the doctrine of our Church, because they narrowly define doctrine as that teaching which is necessary for salvation. Since marriage is not necessary to salvation, the majority of the Tribunal opined, then blessing a lawful marriage under the Marriage Act 1961, would not be a breach of doctrine – that is, with respect to what is necessary for salvation. …’”
– Read the full article at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Documents mentioned:
Archbishop Glenn Davies’ letter to incumbents, 20 November 2020.
Bishop Michael Stead’s explanation of the legal opinion.
(Both are PDF files. Depending on your equipment, they may download to your device instead of opening in a browser.)
Archbishop Davies’ full letter of 20 November 2020 is available at the link above. Below is the relevant section of his letter:
The Appellate Tribunal’s Opinion
While the above matters are good news, I am afraid I have more sober news regarding the Opinion of the Appellate Tribunal with respect to same-sex blessings that was published last week. There were two Opinions which may be found here. They are lengthy reading, but Bishop Michael Stead has provided a helpful summary of the Tribunal’s findings which I have attached.
The Appellate Tribunal expressed their Opinion, by a 5 to 1 majority that the blessing of same- sex marriages was not inconsistent with the doctrine of our Church, as expressed in the Fundamental Declarations of the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Australia.
Under the Constitution, the members of the Appellate Tribunal are in certain circumstances required to consult the House of Bishops and the Board of Assessors (seven clergy elected by the General Synod for this purpose). In answer to questions addressed to these bodies by the Tribunal, unanimous reports from both the Diocesan Bishops and the Board of Assessors made it abundantly clear that the teaching of the Bible, and therefore of the Anglican Church, was that the sexual union of two persons of the same sex was sin. That is why clergy are forbidden to solemnise same-sex marriages, for to bless such a union would amount to the blessing of sin.
The Appellate Tribunal chose not to heed this clear advice.
Personally, I find this hard to fathom, as it is contrary to the teaching of the Bible, which clearly identifies marriage between a man and a woman as the only place where a sexual union is sanctioned by God (Hebrews 13:4). Sexual intercourse outside of marriage, whether it be adultery or fornication is widely condemned as immorality and attracts the harshest of condemnations in Scripture (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Jude 7; Revelation 22:15). While the world may deride our commitment to the standard of morality that God has established for his people, we have been called to holy and righteous living. In the 6th century BC Daniel warned his readers:
Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. (Daniel 12:10; cf Revelation 22:11)
In my opinion the effect of the majority opinion’s legal interpretation undermines the clear teaching of Scripture and thereby dishonours God.
The Anglican Church in the Diocese of Sydney welcomes all people, regardless of their ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, or even their past behaviour and beliefs, since the message of the gospel is that those who belong to Christ are equal members of the Body of Christ. However, Christ has set us free to serve him in holiness and righteousness of life, which entails changed behaviour. Consider Paul’s exhortation concerning unchristian behaviour and every kind of impurity.
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:20-24
For those who struggle with sexual temptations, our Church must be a safe haven, offering both the strength to resist temptation and the joy of Christian fellowship, because the grace of God covers a multitude of sins, just as the Spirit of God empowers us to repent of our sins and walk in newness of life.
The Canon Concerning Services
The Canon Concerning Services 1992 has served our Diocese well for nearly thirty years. It provides flexibility for clergy, who have made solemn promises to conduct only authorised services of the Church in this Diocese (namely, BCP and AAPB), by allowing the minister to ‘make or use variations which are not of substantial importance in any form of [authorised] service.’ The Canon also allows the minister to conduct a service, for which no provision is made in the Diocese, considered suitable by the minister for those occasions.’
This Canon was adopted in our Diocese because it clearly stated that variations to authorised services must be ‘reverent and edifying and must not be contrary to or a departure from the doctrine of this Church.’ However, the effect of the Appellate Tribunal’s Opinion is that it has declared that a service purporting to bless a same-sex marriage, as the Diocese of Wangaratta had developed, is consistent with the doctrine of our Church, because they narrowly define doctrine as that teaching which is necessary for salvation. Since marriage is not necessary to salvation, the majority of the Tribunal opined, then blessing a lawful marriage under the Marriage Act 1961, would not be a breach of doctrine – that is, with respect to what is necessary for salvation.
This interpretation is contrary to the reports of the House of Bishops and the Board of Assessors who considered there is no such constraint upon the use of the word ’doctrine’ either in the Thirty– nine Articles or the Bible. Moreover, both reports were explicit and emphatic as to whether sexual immorality precluded a person from salvation in Christ Jesus, supporting this contention with references to Scripture (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 5:3-5; 1 Timothy 1:8-11; Revelation 21:27; 22:11) .
Under the Canon Concerning Services 1992, it is the Diocesan Bishop who determines whether or not a proposed service fits the conditions of the Canon, so that already one Bishop has confidently declared that same-sex blessings are now legal in his diocese. Yet that is not the case in the Diocese of Sydney, as I do not consider such services to be either edifying or reverent, let alone in accordance with the doctrine of our Church.
I was pleased to see the Provincial Standing Committee of the Synod of NSW passed the following resolution this week and it asked each Diocesan Bishop to inform his clergy accordingly.
The Standing Committee of the Synod of the Province of NSW noted the two Opinions of the Appellate Tribunal concerning the matters of:
a. the Wangaratta Blessing Service; and
b. the Clergy Discipline Ordinance 2019 Amending Ordinance 2019 (Diocese of Newcastle).
In order to prioritise good fellowship, this Standing Committee requested the ministers of the Province to wait and not to act upon these matters until they are debated at the next General Synod.
These are difficult days for our Church. Next year the General Synod will have opportunity to reflect upon both the Majority and the Minority Reports of the Tribunal’s Opinion as to whether which one truly reflects the Constitution’s declaration that ‘the canonical scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as being the ultimate rule and standard of faith given by inspiration of God and containing all things necessary to salvation.’
This is a crisis for our National Church and should lead us to prayer as we reflect upon both the teaching of Scripture and the demands of discipleship. I recognise that some will find this confronting and for differing reasons. When your congregations hear of this, they may be disturbed as to how a judicial panel could arrive at such conclusions, yet the teaching of Scripture has not changed. So, we should continue to pray, to trust God and to love our neighbour as ourselves as we navigate this territory over the next eight months until the meeting of General Synod.
As Advent approaches, the Collect from the Second Sunday in Advent is a wise guide for our prayers.
Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
With every good wish
Grace and peace
Glenn N Davies
Archbishop
Review of Graham Cole’s Faithful Theology
Posted on November 20, 2020
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“In the spirit of teaching someone how to fish, rather than simply handing over his own catch, Graham Cole, dean of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, has blessed us with an excellent short book on theological method. …”
– Andrew Bellis at Church Society briefly reviews Graham Cole’s Faithful Theology: An Introduction.
(Photo: Graham Cole.)
A Direct Threat to Christian Education in the US
Posted on November 19, 2020
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“The accreditation of Christian colleges and schools has just been directly targeted by the nation’s most influential LGBTQ organisation.
The Human Rights Campaign has recently issued a document directed at the incoming administration entitled Blueprint for Positive Change 2020. The Blueprint demands that President-elect Biden adopt a legislative agenda and enact specific executive orders that are in line with the LGBTQ movement—a movement that Biden pledged to champion.
Contained within its pages are perhaps some of the most alarming demands that threaten religious liberty, and the mainstream media has given little to no attention to this dimension of the report. …”
– Albert Mohler writes about a ramping up of the culture wars in the USA.
Review: ‘The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self’ by Carl Trueman
Posted on November 18, 2020
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“With each passing year, it can seem that cultural developments are only getting worse.
The unending creativity and output of Western debauchery is one of its hallmark industries. ‘Live Your Truth’ and ‘You Do You’ asininities ensure that critical investigation about the goals of human nature are subjugated beneath the hierarchies of nerve endings and atomized ‘rights.’ A rejection of God’s authority over creation explains one reason for our cultural plight. But cultural realities are forged by a complex milieu of ideas, personalities, and artifacts that build on one another in genealogical sequence to get us to where we are today.
Enter iconoclast Carl Trueman, who has written one of the most anticipated books of 2020. ;”
– At The Gospel Coalition, Andrew T. Walker highly recommends ‘The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self’ by Carl Trueman.
Update:
Tim Challies has also published a review:
“As I see it, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self is not only the most important book I’ve read in 2020, but also the best. I can’t recommend it too highly.”
and Justin Taylor has this – with several videos from Carl Trueman.
(Availability.)
New contemporary service planned for Bathurst Cathedal
Posted on November 18, 2020
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Phil Howes, minister at Narromine Anglican Church, has been asked to move to Bathurst to help start a contemporary service to complement the work already being done there.
In his online service for Sunday 15th November, Bishop Mark Calder asked Phil about the planned move, and how people could pray for him, and for the team at the Cathedral.
The interview begins 12 minutes 30 seconds into the video.
Fuel for your prayers.
The best Advent devotional I have read
Posted on November 17, 2020
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“Last year I used the best advent devotional book I have ever read. To be fair, my reading in this category to date hasn’t been extensive. Nevertheless, I thoroughly recommend to you Christopher Ash’s Repeat the Sounding Joy.
This book is a daily advent devotional on Luke 1-2. …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Kirsten McKinlay shares something good she has found.
Appellate Tribunal Matters November 2020 — Statement from the Board of Gafcon Australia
Posted on November 17, 2020
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“Gafcon Australia exists to promote the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through the Anglican Church of Australia. We are convinced that the fullness of life that only Jesus gives is experienced through hearing, trusting and obeying his word of grace and life, in the power of his Spirit and the fellowship of his people.
For this reason, the Board of Gafcon Australia expresses its deep regret that the recent majority opinion of the Appellate Tribunal of the Anglican Church of Australia relies upon a disputed definition of the meaning of ‘doctrine’ rather than on a whole-hearted and glad embrace of the life-giving Word of God. In doing so, they have seriously undermined the basis of national unity in our church.
We regard their conclusions as erroneous and unconvincing. …”
– Read the full statement released today by the Board of GAFCON Australia.
Sydney Diocese: Please pray for ordinands
Posted on November 16, 2020
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“Please pray for these candidates as they prepare for ordination on November 28, 2020 and taking up positions at the following parishes. …”
– Media release from the Diocese of Sydney, and fuel for prayer.
Landmark Family Violence study underway
Posted on November 16, 2020
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“A national study is underway into family violence, with Anglicans across the country being asked to participate. This is the first national research into family violence within faith communities.
Announced last year, the research has just begun utilising NCLS Research, which has established a confidential survey site for those who have current or previous connections with Anglican churches. …”
– Story from SydneyAnglicans.net.
Archbishop Foley Beach — GAFCON Chairman’s Pastoral Letter, November 2020
Posted on November 15, 2020
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Bishop Foley Beach has released his November 2020 GAFCON Chairman’s letter.
“As the pandemic continues amidst economic hardship, violence, wars, and injustice in so many of our provinces, let us revive our work to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and provide for the orphans and widows in our local communities. Our message of salvation in Jesus Christ not only has eternal consequences, but earthly ones as well. And while we work in our local communities, let us remember to work and pray for the Gospel to reach the billions of people on planet earth who have no way of hearing about Jesus. …”
Wangaratta and Newcastle Bishops issue first responses to Appellate Tribunal
Posted on November 15, 2020
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“The two bishops of the Dioceses at the centre of this week’s Appellate Tribunal opinions have issued their first responses. Bishop Peter Stuart of Newcastle sent his clergy a letter on Friday …
Bishop Clarence Bester of Wangaratta issued a statement on Thursday. …
– David Ould has a report, and the text of the statements.
Redeeming Time — an App you probably need
Posted on November 14, 2020
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Andy Geers and his team at Discipleship Tech (think PrayerMate) have just released a new, free, app.
“According to some estimates, internet users spent an average of 2 hours and 22 minutes per day on social networking in 2019; and in the midst of a global pandemic that figure is only likely to have increased in 2020. But in that same time, you could read the entire Gospel of Matthew or the Acts of the Apostles. Even with just two minutes you could read the whole of 2 or 3 John.
Many of us are increasingly disillusioned with how social media is draining our time and attention. This week, Discipleship Tech launched a brand new app, Redeeming Time, seeking to change that and help us reset our relationship with our phones and reconnect with God through His word.
Just tell the app how long you’ve got, and it will recommend books of the Bible that you can read in that time. You can also scroll up for longer books and it will track your partial progress through them, letting you carry on where you got to last time. At six minutes per day you could read the whole New Testament in six months.”
A church for every kombini — Japan needs Jesus
Posted on November 13, 2020
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“On our days off we’ll occasionally take a drive, usually to the seaside. It’s refreshing to go through the country, but also discouraging. As we drive through village after village, there is always a shrine or temple, but rarely a church. We see beauty, vigour and tradition, but we don’t see much hope of people coming to know Jesus in these towns.
My family and I are part of a project to plant a church in Chiba City, the capital of Chiba prefecture, neighbouring Tokyo. We are patiently, diligently turning soil, preparing, hoping and praying for gospel growth. We dream of a vibrant, growing church in our city. We want to see new believers keen to share their faith, uninhibited and enabled for the task. …
We’re begging you to join us.”
– Helane and Adam Ramsay send encouragement – and a plea – from Japan. On the CMS Australia website.
Photo: CMS.
I Saw a Lamb – The Cross in Revelation
Posted on November 13, 2020
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Youthworks Media has just released this series of studies by Michael Raiter – for Lent, or for any time.
For yourself or as a Christmas gift?
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…