The ‘Good Fellows’ Myth

Posted on October 22, 2017 
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“The ancient Egyptian, so I have read somewhere, did not think of sin as rebellion against God, but simply as an understandable aberration. The ancient Greeks had no idea of the wrath of God, but conceived of their various deities as passionless beings, above being concerned with what man does. The modern Australian accepts both heresies. …”

– Leon Morris addresses our inbuilt tendency to assume that we’re all OK. From the vaults of The Australian Church Record, 19 January 1956.

British PM: Gay marriage is not enough

Posted on October 20, 2017 
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“School children should learn about LGBT issues in sex education classes, Theresa May has said, as she declared there is ‘much more to do’ after introducing same-sex marriage.

The Prime Minister also reiterated plans to make it easier for people to ‘change sex’ at an LGBT awards dinner last night.

And she challenged countries that did not share the same views on LGBT issues. …”

– Story from The Christian Institute. Image: tmay.co.uk.

Freedom to provide religious instruction in Australian schools

Posted on October 20, 2017 
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Associate Professor Neil Foster writes,

“I am presenting a paper on this topic at the University of Notre Dame (Sydney) Law School’s Second Annual Religious Freedom Conference, “Freedom of Belief, Freedom of Action”.

The paper is linked here: Freedom to Provide Religious Instruction paper, for those who would like to read it. It surveys recent challenges to the provision of special religious education in public schools, from a religious freedom perspective.”

– from Law and Religion Australia.

Euthanasia: Bill passes Victoria’s Lower House after 24-hour debate

Posted on October 20, 2017 
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“Victoria’s controversial voluntary euthanasia legislation has been passed in the Lower House of Parliament after a marathon debate that lasted more than 24 hours. …

The bill will now go to the 40-member Upper House, where the numbers are also tight, for debate in a fortnight.

If it gets through the Upper House, terminally ill people over the age of 18, in severe pain and with only a year to live will be able to access lethal drugs.”

– Story from ABC News.

Please reject euthanasia: Church to Victorian Parliament

Posted on October 20, 2017 
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Here’s a media release from the Diocese of Melbourne:

October 20 2017

Please reject euthanasia: Church to Victorian Parliament

Melbourne Anglicans have pleaded with the Victorian Government not legalise medically assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia.

The church’s synod discussed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill last night at their annual synod at St Paul’s Cathedral as a few blocks away Victorian MPs debated the bill in State Parliament.

Medical ethicist Denise Cooper-Clarke told the synod the bill’s proposed safeguards were inadequate, that it was inherently discriminatory, and that improved palliative care was a much safer and more compassionate way to address “bad deaths”.

She said the bill would fundamentally change attitudes to suicide at a time when the Government was trying to reduce youth suicide

Social Responsibilities Commission chairman Gordon Preece noted that media coverage advocating euthanasia was usually accompanied by links to BeyondBlue and Lifeline – an odd contradiction.

The synod voted to urge the Government to better resource palliative care, especially in regional and remote communities, Aboriginal communities and nursing homes, and to provide more palliative care training for health professionals. It resolved to oppose introducing a legal framework for “assisted dying”.

Dr Cooper-Clarke said the legislation would not cover only the small number of extreme cases but a much broader range of circumstances, where the suffering of the patients may not involve severe pain or physical symptoms at all. Overseas studies had shown pain was not the primary reason for requests for assisted dying but psychological factors: depression, hopelessness, being tired of life, loss of control and loss of dignity

“Elderly, frail and sick patients are especially vulnerable to implied or explicit messages from relatives that they are a burden and that they would be ‘better off dead’. It is naïve to assume that people always have the best interests of their relatives at heart. Elder abuse is prevalent in our society,” she said.

“Many people support assisted dying because they believe it is a compassionate response to suffering. But how is it compassionate to agree with someone who is so distressed that they wish to end their life that yes, their life is not worth living, and yes they would be better off dead?”

Don’t do it: Paul Keating in 11th hour bid to stop euthanasia laws

Posted on October 19, 2017 
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“Paul Keating has made a dramatic last-minute bid to stop Victoria’s Parliament from approving voluntary euthanasia laws as state MPs prepare for their third late-night debate before a vote he characterised as ‘a threshold moment’ for the entire country.

The 73-year-old, who was Australia’s 24th prime minister and has virtually unrivalled status within the Labor Party, slammed the ‘bald utopianism’ underlying the case for change, which assumed rules would never be bent by doctors and families when it becomes more convenient for carers or financial beneficiaries to see a gravely ill person die sooner. …”

– Story from Mark Kenny in The Sydney Morning Herald.

See also: Paul Keating: Voluntary euthanasia is a threshold moment for Australia, and one we should not cross. – SMH.

“No matter what justifications are offered for the bill, it constitutes an unacceptable departure in our approach to human existence and the irrevocable sanctity that should govern our understanding of what it means to be human. …

Once this bill is passed the expectations of patients and families will change. The culture of dying, despite certain and intense resistance, will gradually permeate into our medical, health, social and institutional arrangements. It stands for everything a truly civil society should stand against.”

Now teaching Christian doctrine at a church school is ‘extremist’. Move over Monty Python.

Posted on October 19, 2017 
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“Are you sitting comfortably in your ‘safe space’? Do you have your ‘trigger’ alarm ready? Then we shall begin. There is a shocking story coming out of darkest Kent. The Christian equivalent of an Islamist madrasa is being set up in a normal decent English school, teaching children hateful and extremist ideology.

These extremists have been spouting hate, abuse and according to one small group of parents, causing their children to be ‘exposed to potentially damaging ideology’.

One concerned parent shared their trauma with the press:

‘No one minds Nativity plays and Bible stories but considering most of the parents at the school aren’t practising Christians I think the feeling is that it’s all too much.’ …”

– David Robertson, minister of St Peter’s Free Church in Dundee, writes at The Wee Flea on the latest ‘anti-extremist’ development in the UK.

See also these comments from ‘Archbishop Cranmer’.

GAFCON Chairman’s October 2017 letter

Posted on October 18, 2017 
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“Let me humbly advise Canterbury here to take urgent steps to recognise ACNA as an authentic Province of the Anglican Communion before new realignments make that need unnecessary.

It appears that the Episcopal Church of the United States (TEC) and other revisionists have now got what they failed to get at the 1998 Lambeth Conference. It seems it is now ‘officially’ possible to teach the opposite of what the Bible teaches and still be fully part of the Communion, with the only penalty being a few procedural handicaps which in practice amount to very little.

Is this now how the Primates of the Anglican Communion understand ‘Walking Together’? It has become clear that the Communiqué does not represent the reality of the meeting. …”

– Read all of GAFCON Chairman Archbishop Nicholas D. Okoh’s October 2017 pastoral letter at this link.

Related:

Ferrying the Primates across the rubicon: Lambeth Resolution I.10 and the 2017 Primates Meeting – Dr Stephen Noll.

Can Two Walk Together Unless They Are Agreed? – GAFCON’s Initial Response to the Primates’ Meeting 2017 Communique.

Communique? from the Primates’ Meeting Canterbury Cathedral, England, 2-6 October 2017 (PDF).

‘Faith protections doomed under Yes vote’ — John Howard

Posted on October 18, 2017 
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“John Howard is warning that broad protections for religious freedoms are unlikely to pass the Senate if the Yes vote wins, following Labor’s decision to back a same-sex marriage bill proposed by West Australian Liberal senator Dean Smith.

The former prime minister — a key campaigner against gay marriage — argued the decision by Labor to lock in behind Senator Smith’s bill was an ‘added reason’ for Australians to vote No in the $122 million postal survey … saying a Yes outcome could force faith-based schools, charities and social-service providers to close or change the way they operate. …”

– Story from The Australian. (Subscription.) Photo: ABC.

Sydney Synod support for Archbishop Davies in the Consecration of Bishop Andy Lines

Posted on October 18, 2017 
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Last night, the closing night of Sydney Synod for 2017, strong support was shown for Archbishop of Sydney Dr Glenn Davies, Bishop of Tasmania Richard Condie and Bishop of North West Australia Gary Nelson, who travelled to Wheaton in June to participate in the consecration of Bishop Andy Lines.

This motion was passed, and was followed by a standing ovation for Archbishop Davies, who had left the Synod chamber while the motion was debated and put.

“Synod gives thanks to God for the leadership of our Archbishop in representing our Diocese and participating in the consecration of Bishop Andy Lines as the Anglican Church in North America (“ACNC”) Missionary Bishop to Europe in Chicago on 30 June 2017.

The announcement of Bishop Lines’ consecration, within hours of the Scottish Episcopal Church announcing its amendment of canon law on marriage in order to allow same sex marriages on 8 June, was a message of hope to Scottish Episcopalians and others who have been left without faithful episcopal oversight for these stranded Christians and we rejoice that three Australian bishops (Archbishop Davies, Bishop Richard Condie and Bishop Gary Nelson) were among the consecrators.

We note with gratitude that the Archbishop took this step with the unanimous support of the Standing Committee.

We commit to continuing in prayer for Bishop Lines and all faithful Anglicans who stand for biblical truth and faithful Christian discipleship.”

Sydney Synod on the Scottish Episcopal Church decision

Posted on October 18, 2017 
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At the last night of Sydney Synod this motion, proposed by the Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, was passed with strong support. It is the same motion he brought to the General Synod. It was passed there with some amendments.

Here is the text passed by Sydney Synod on 17 October 2017:

Synod –

a. notes with regret that the Scottish Episcopal Church has amended their Canon on Marriage to change the definition that marriage is between a man and a woman by adding a new section that allows clergy to solemnise marriage between same-sex couples as well as couples of the opposite sex,

b. declares that this step is contrary to the doctrine of Christ and the doctrine of our Church, and therefore inconsistent with the Fundamental Declarations of our Churches,

c. notes with sadness that the Scottish Episcopal Church has thereby put itself out of fellowship with the wider Anglican Communion,

d. expresses our support for those Anglicans who have left or will need to leave the Scottish Episcopal Church because of its redefinition of marriage, or who struggle to remain in good conscience, and

e. prays that the Scottish Episcopal Church will return to the doctrine of Christ in this matter and be restored to communion with faithful Anglicans around the world.

Lyle Shelton National Press Club Address

Posted on October 17, 2017 
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The Australian Christian Lobby has published an abridged version of Lyle Shelton’s address to the National Press Club in September 2017.

You can also watch the full address at the link. (Image: ABC TV.)

Ferrying the Primates across the rubicon: Lambeth Resolution I.10 and the 2017 Primates Meeting

Posted on October 17, 2017 
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“Nearly one year ago I wrote an essay titled ‘Crossing the Rubicon: Lambeth Resolution I.10, the Church of England, and the Anglican Communion,’ which began this way:

Earlier this year I was speaking with an English friend concerned about the direction of the Church of England. ‘Where do we draw the line?’ he asked. ‘That’s easy,’ I replied: ‘It’s called Lambeth Resolution I.10.’

I then analyzed (‘fisked‘) a letter by Mr. William Nye, the Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council, who had clearly been authorized to speak for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. In this letter Mr. Nye attempts to relativize the 1998 Lambeth Resolution I.10 on Human Sexuality as speaking for that Conference only, hence having no ongoing normative authority.

In the light of the Communiqué from the October 2017 Primates’ Meeting, I would go a step further and say that in the view of the Lambeth Establishment, Resolution I.10 was a huge mistake and aberration, the effects of which will be undone at Lambeth 2020. …”

– On the GAFCON website, Dr Stephen Noll takes a look at what really happened at the 2017 Primates’ Meeting.

Life as God’s gift

Posted on October 16, 2017 
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“An ongoing push in Australian parliaments for euthanasia or ‘assisted dying’ has been unanimously rejected by Sydney’s Synod on its first sitting day.

As the NSW Parliament prepares to consider a new Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill, Synod also called on state MPs to reject the legislation and prioritise the improvement of palliative care, encouraging Anglicans across the Diocese to contact their local member as well as engaging in any public debate on the issue. …”

– Judy Adamson reports at SydneyAnglicans.net. (Photo: Anglican Media Sydney.)

Related: Earlier posts on euthanasia.

How do I serve Jesus when my family doesn’t want me to?

Posted on October 16, 2017 
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“Here’s how it is: You’re the only Christian in your family. You’re an active member of your church. But there’s a clash! Your parents have booked a restaurant for Wednesday night …”

– At The Australian Church Record, James Sneddon shares some practical advice.

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