South Carolina Resolutions to respond to Schori
Posted on March 11, 2010
Filed under News Comments Off on South Carolina Resolutions to respond to Schori
The Diocese of South Carolina’s annual convention will consider five resolutions on March 26, three of which stress diocesan authority amid conflicts with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.
In proposing one resolution, the diocese’s standing committee calls it a “Response to Ecclesiastical Intrusions by the Presiding Bishop.” That resolution refers to the diocese’s “legal and ecclesiastical authority as a sovereign diocese within the Episcopal Church,” adds that “the Presiding Bishop has no authority to retain attorneys in this Diocese that present themselves as the legal counsel for the Episcopal Church in South Carolina,” and demands that she “drop the retainer of all such legal counsel in South Carolina as has been obtained contrary to the express will of this Diocese.” …
– Full report from The Living Church.
(Photo of Bishop Mark Lawrence: Diocese of South Carolina.)
What would you want on your tombstone?
Posted on March 11, 2010
Filed under Opinion Comments Off on What would you want on your tombstone?
What is the resurrection to you? What part does it hold in your thinking?
NSW Moderator of The Presbyterian Church, Chris Balzer, wrote this for the Presbyterian magazine, Pulse:
–––––
“A few months ago a friend and I ‘discovered’ the graveyard at Sofala NSW.
From my perspective, the most interesting inscription on a tombstone was this:
The dust of Vestry Walker, who slept in Jesus 28th August 1875, waits here (until) the morning of the first resurrection.
If you call yourself a Christian, would you be pleased at the thought that your relatives might use similar words on your tombstone? I would.
What theological insight those relatives of Vestry Walker had! Can you see the theology? Read more
God’s power in our weakness
Posted on March 11, 2010
Filed under Opinion Comments Off on God’s power in our weakness
“I wonder whether the provision of MP3s of sermons of great preachers now available everywhere is in danger of creating another Corinthian problem for our churches…”
– Over at SydneyAnglicans.net, Bishop Robert Forsyth has a good point – see what he has to say here. (Download the mp3 file.)
Photo: Russell Powell.
Of Earthquakes and End Times
Posted on March 10, 2010
Filed under Opinion Comments Off on Of Earthquakes and End Times
“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.” (Mark 13:7-8 TNIV)
Not long after the 2004 tsunami that devastated Indonesia and neighboring countries, a document was circulating on the internet, purportedly showing a dramatic rise in earthquakes in recent years and using that to fuel fervor that Christ’s return was imminent. …
– New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg puts earthquakes in their Biblical context. (Photo: Denver Seminary.)
Archbishop Kwashi on the attacks in Jos
Posted on March 10, 2010
Filed under News Comments Off on Archbishop Kwashi on the attacks in Jos
Channel 4 in the UK conducted a telephone interview with Archbishop Ben Kwashi in Jos in central Nigeria, on the violence that has seen hundreds of people killed in the last few days. (h/t Anglican Mainstream.)
Prayer is urged.
Brothers, We are not Figure-Skaters
Posted on March 9, 2010
Filed under Opinion Comments Off on Brothers, We are not Figure-Skaters
Tempted to go soft on proclaiming the Bible? Encouraging words in this 2’25” video clip from Phil Johnson at Grace Community Church in California.
The Phantom Menace: Territorial Spirits and SLSW
Posted on March 9, 2010
Filed under Theology Comments Off on The Phantom Menace: Territorial Spirits and SLSW
Church Society has just republished a very helpful ten-year-old article by Melvin Tinker on popular notions of ‘spiritual warfare’.
“The aim of our spiritual warfare is not to disarm principalities and powers, which Christ has already done (Colossians 2:15). That is why he is seated above every rule and authority and why in principle Christians are seated with him in complete security (Eph 2:6). The objective of spiritual warfare is to ‘stand’.”
It’s available as a PDF file from their website.
On related topics, see also Peter Bolt’s Living with the Underworld (Get copies from Reformers, Moore Books) and Christ’s Victory over Evil (Moore Books, Reformers).
Anglican Mainstream on Bishop James Jones’ statements
Posted on March 9, 2010
Filed under News Comments Off on Anglican Mainstream on Bishop James Jones’ statements
Anglican Mainstream’s response to the Bishop of Liverpool’s address to his synod last week –
“Anglican Mainstream, whilst acknowledging that Bishop Jones reflects a way of thinking which is gaining ground amongst some English evangelicals, considers it deeply flawed in terms of both teaching and practice.…”
There’s also a selection of comments on Bishop Jones’ Presidential Address. (Related.)
CASE Conference: Christian Perspectives at the End of Life
Posted on March 9, 2010
Filed under News Comments Off on CASE Conference: Christian Perspectives at the End of Life
From the Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education:
“As treatment of disease improves and life expectancy is extended, many of us will face difficult decisions about life and death. Moral dilemmas abound and ethical choices need to be made. Many of these issues are often news items in the media. This second annual conference is based on our conviction that providing a Christian perspective on medical ethics is essential for the public debate and discourse.”
– Read more on the CASE Conference on Medical Ethics – Saturday 27 March 2010. (Registrations close on March 17.)
Time to get Faith Book (re-post)
Posted on March 8, 2010
Filed under News Comments Off on Time to get Faith Book (re-post)
The Diocese of North West Australia has launched Faith Book, a 36 page book of “Stories of Faith written for the Centenary of the Anglican Church of North West Australia, 1910–2010”.
Very encouraging and a good aid in praying for the people of the North West. Copies are only $5 each, posted, and are available from the Diocesan office.
Graham Miller: A Day’s March Nearer Home
Posted on March 8, 2010
Filed under News Comments Off on Graham Miller: A Day’s March Nearer Home
Many in the Presbyterian Church and beyond will know the name of the Rev. Dr. J. Graham Miller — missionary, preacher and pastor. He was minister of St Giles Hurstville from 1974–1980.
The Rev. Iain Murray has recently completed the editing of Dr. Miller’s autobiography, ‘A Day’s March Nearer Home’, to be published by Banner of Truth.
The book will be launched on Tuesday 16th March at 7:30pm at the Hurstville Presbyterian Church — corner Park Road and MacMahon Street, Hurstville. This will include a talk from Rev. Iain Murray – ‘J. Graham Miller: Life and Lessons’. Supper will be provided.
For enquiries please call 9580 1425. Read more
Liverpool’s Muddy Waters flow towards Africa
Posted on March 7, 2010
Filed under Opinion Comments Off on Liverpool’s Muddy Waters flow towards Africa
“The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd James Jones, has today shown just what a liability the Church of England is becoming to the rest of the Anglican Communion. Liverpool stands to the north of the estuary of the great Mersey River, now cleansed and restored to life after the pollution of the industrial age, but its spiritual waters are being sadly muddied.
In his Presidential Address to the Liverpool Diocesan Synod, Bishop Jones argues that the Church of England and the Anglican Communion should embrace diversity and accept that those who believe homosexual relationships are morally wrong and those who believe that, within a ‘stable and faithful relationship’, they are right can enjoy a peaceful co-existence.
He is of course by no means the first bishop of the Church of England to put this argument forward, but this is a significant moment because he is a prominent evangelical. …
But what is particularly arresting about the Bishop of Liverpool’s address is its scope. It presents a vision which does not stop at the boundaries of his own diocese. His plea is ‘that the Church of England and the Anglican Communion must allow a variety of ethical views on the subject as in this Diocese we do’ and he adds ‘This is I believe the next chapter to be written in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. It is the chapter that is already being written in our Partnership in Mission with the Diocese of Virginia and with the Diocese of Akure in Nigeria.’”
– from Charles Raven’s latest commentary (6th March 2010) at SPREAD.
Read the bishop’s Presidential Address.
See also:
Commentary from John Richardson – “Bishop James Jones and the challenge to unity”
“The number of traditionalist clergy in the Diocese of Liverpool may be large or small, but they must surely be waking up this morning with troubled consciences. The Bishop has declared not only his own position but, ostensibly, that of his diocese as being one which accepts diversity on sexuality.”
Peter Ould also weighs in – “Why James Jones is Wrong”
(Photo: Diocese of Liverpool.)
Louisville Episcopal church first to bless same-sex relationship
Posted on March 7, 2010
Filed under News Comments Off on Louisville Episcopal church first to bless same-sex relationship
“A Louisville congregation has quietly become the first in the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky to begin blessing same-sex relationships …”
– Report from The Louisville Courier-Journal in Kentucky.
(Photo: Rev. Lucinda Laird and Bishop of Kentucky Ted Gulick at St. Matthew’s Louisville.)
William Taylor on good preaching, bad theology, training pastors and more
Posted on March 6, 2010
Filed under Resources Comments Off on William Taylor on good preaching, bad theology, training pastors and more
In the latest 9Marks leadership interview series, Mark Dever speaks with William Taylor, Rector of St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London.
It’s a fascinating interview covering, among other things, being an evangelical in the Church of England, the New Testament’s emphasis on the substitutionary atonement, and NT Wright. Worth listening.
Church Society on Religious Ceremonies for Civil Partnerships
Posted on March 6, 2010
Filed under News Comments Off on Church Society on Religious Ceremonies for Civil Partnerships
Press Release from the Church Society – 5 March 2010
Religious Ceremonies for Civil Partnerships.
Earlier this week parliament voted to lift a ban on religious ceremonies being conducted for civil partnerships.
Because of other legislation in recent years, purporting to be about equality, this latest change will create an even more difficult environment for Christians. Clergy of the established Church will be under particular pressure to conduct services which they in conscience believe to be wrong. They may face the threat of legal action if they insist on following their conscience. Parliament has increasingly sought to interfere in religious affairs.
We remain convinced that the recognition of Civil Partnerships by the state was a grave mistake and one which our nation will come to regret. It is one of a number of policies that have undermined families. Families are the fundamental building block of society. The collapse of families and family life is having terrible consequences for individuals, particularly children, and will erode society further. In this, as in other areas, we are witnessing political leaders who are abandoning the wisdom of God in preference for the folly of man.
For many Christians, the anti-Christian nature of recent legislation, supported by all the main political parties, creates a particular problem. The mainstream parties have all abandoned the Christian moral tradition and the Biblical foundations of our legal and education systems. Christians will not want to vote for political parties who are antagonistic to their beliefs and who are acting to prevent Christians living in accordance with their faith.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…