A Season of Intolerance
Posted on April 12, 2014
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“As the leaders and foot soldiers of the gay agenda push forward, they intend eventually to deprive those who won’t sign on to their cause of their jobs and ability to earn a living as well as their freedom of speech and freedom of religion. It is figuratively a picture from the Bible’s book of Revelation when you will need to have the number ‘666’ stamped on your body to buy or sell or conduct everyday life. Will it really get that bad?…”
– Bishop David Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council, writes in his weekly newsletter.
Bullies and Censorship
Posted on April 11, 2014
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“The fear of words is rational because words are powerful. But censorship is generally the response of irrational fear by powerful people.
The powerful person who is fearful is the person most to be feared. Out of fear they attack any perceived threat, as they use their power to protect themselves. They fear others and do not understand how powerful they are, or how other people perceive their power or how they are misusing their power in self-interest. Sadly, even Christians have misused power for self-protection.
Censorship is one of the tools of powerful people or groups. History is replete with tyranny-censoring criticism, for censorship is the tool of fear: fear of ideas; fear of truth; fear of words…”
– Phillip Jensen writes in his weekly newsletter for the Cathedral.
‘Australia’s Anglican Archbishops express ‘profound disquiet’ about children held in detention this Easter’
Posted on April 11, 2014
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Here’s a media release issued this afternoon –
The Anglican Archbishops in Australia will commence Holy Week with a call for more humane treatment of refugees, particularly children in detention.
The Archbishops have released the following statement deploring the fact that recent figures suggest that around a thousand children will spend Easter in Australian sponsored detention.
“As leaders of the Anglican Church of Australia we wish to put on record our profound disquiet that at the end of February this year there were more than 950 children in detention facilities and alternative places of detention in Australia, and a further 177 children in offshore detention in Nauru. The average time people spend in detention is more than eight months. …”
The Day Death Died — Cathedral Easter Convention 2014
Posted on April 11, 2014
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This year’s Easter Convention at the Cathedral is a very worthwhile way to spend Good Friday afternoon.
Phillip Jensen and Mark Thompson are the speakers. Good Friday, 2:00 – 5:00pm. Early Bird Rate $15. ($20 after 13th April.)
See the promo video and book in here.
Christian events & conferences in Australia this year
Posted on April 10, 2014
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Steve Kryger at Communicate Jesus has helpfully compiled a list of Christian events and conferences (most of them evangelical in their theology) in Australia during the remainder of 2014.
Leon Morris and the Cross of Christ — Ridley lecture
Posted on April 10, 2014
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The Rev. Neil Bach, who is writing a biography of Leon Morris, delivered this lecture at Ridley College Melbourne to mark the Centenary of Morris’ birth.
See also Peter Adam’s words of thanksgiving.
‘Singing in the Rain’
Posted on April 10, 2014
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“The dying and rising of Jesus provides us with an overarching vision for working for justice in our country…”
– The struggle for justice is the theme of Bishop Greg Thompson’s first Easter message as Bishop of Newcastle.
News this week from the UK
Posted on April 9, 2014
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“The state of things in the UK is primarily then, a theological problem and only the theological antibiotic of the gospel can provide the solution…”
– David Cook, former SMBC Principal and now Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, sends a report from the UK. (Posted 8 April 2014.)
Church Society gives thanks for John Richardson
Posted on April 8, 2014
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Church Society’s Director Lee Gatiss has penned this note of thanksgiving for John Richardson.
He includes this detail: “At the National Evangelical Anglican Congress in Blackpool (2003) he famously donned a purple (ish) clerical shirt, and delighted in telling us how he was ushered into all kinds of places as a result!” – Read it here.
And here is a 70 second audio clip (280kb) where John speaks about going to Moore College (from a ‘weekend away’ talk on Marriage and Singleness for St. Peter’s Harold Wood).
Canberra & Goulburn celebrates Sesquicentenary
Posted on April 8, 2014
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“The crowd of nearly 300 marchers were ebullient as they walked to St Saviour’s Cathedral, retracing the footsteps of its first bishop, Mesac Thomas… With parish banners fluttering and some members in period costume, it was a fitting climax to the diocese’s 150th anniversary celebrations. …”
Niagara Bishop to get public apology from blogger
Posted on April 8, 2014
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“The legal squabble between Niagara Bishop Michael Bird and an Oakville blogger who criticized him is over. The Diocese of Niagara says the pair has reached a settlement. …”
– Story from The Hamilton Spectator.
Apology and Timeline from David Jenkins (Anglican Samizdat).
(Photo of Bishop Michael Bird from the Diocese of Niagara.)
Also from Anglican Samizdat, The Diocese of New Westminster sells a church to make way for a mosque.
“Church of the Triune God” — a review
Posted on April 7, 2014
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“…I’m thankful for the recent Church of the Triune God: a book in celebration of the teaching and passion of Robert Doyle, a lecturer from Moore Theological College. Edited by Michael Jensen, it’s a collection of excellent essays on the themes he was so captivated by throughout his teaching career: the Trinity and the church.”
– At The Briefing, Sam Freney reviews Church of the Triune God, published by Aquila Press.
(Authors include Mark Baddeley, Mark D Thompson, John McClean, Ashley Null, Peter G Bolt, Benjamin Dean, Rory Shiner, Andrew JB Cameron, Kanishka Raffel, Chew-Chern Morgan and Greg Anderson.)
Around the web — 6th April 2014
Posted on April 6, 2014
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Here are a few items you may have missed this week –
- Inclusive, Safe, and Welcoming to All? – Stand to Reason on the termination of Mozilla’s CEO for supporting traditional marriage.
- Couple sentenced to death for ‘blasphemous’ text message in Pakistan – ABC News.
- Sympathy for the Devil – ‘Noah’ is no adaptation of Genesis.
- David Powlison, Director of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, visited Oak Hill College where he was interviewed about biblical counselling.
- Abp Welby: Anglican Communion sexuality decisions can mean African Christians suffer – ACNS.
New Bishop for Riverina
Posted on April 4, 2014
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The Rev. 
Rob Gillion from London has been elected the Bishop of Riverina.
Story from SydneyAnglicans.net.
Formulary Friday: Collecting our prayers
Posted on April 4, 2014
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“The Prayer Book Collects are like precious, highly-polished jewels adorning a crown. They are the short prayers which ‘collect’ together particular concerns and themes expressed in the liturgy – and invariably combine clear and easily-memorable phrasing with a highly concentrated shot of sound doctrine.
…the Prayer Book Collects give us a very helpful model for composing our own prayers – whether in our personal prayer times, or in public worship.”
– for Formulary Friday at Church Society’s blog, Mark Smith looks at The Collects.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…