Marcus Loane: with Christ

Posted on April 14, 2009
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Marcus Loane in 1955 It has been announced that Sir Marcus Loane, Archbishop of Sydney from 1966 to 1982, died this afternoon in Sydney after a brief illness.

Sir Marcus had an enormous influence on the Church in Sydney is beloved of generations of Christians for his godly leadership, his edifying books and his keen understanding of history. He was 97.

Archbishop Peter Jensen, who is in London, has released this statement:

“We mourn the passing of Sir Marcus but give thanks for the life of a remarkable leader who served both church and nation.

As the first Australian Archbishop of Sydney and as Primate he was a formative leader in our church.

In national life, he offered leadership which transcended politics. In particular he spoke up for the poor and helped spark the Henderson enquiry of the early 1970s.

He offered distinguished service with our troops in New Guinea during World War II.

He was a prolific author with an international influence and ministry.

But he will be remembered most as one of the key architects of post-war Anglicanism in Sydney.”

Quoting from 2 Samuel 3, “a prince and a great man has fallen this day”, one senior ACL member sent this message, “We thank God for every remembrance of Marcus Loane in all the dimensions of his life and ministry”.

Details of a memorial service will be released later this week. Anglican Media Sydney has more. (Photo: Marcus Loane in 1955, as Principal of Moore College, from his ‘A Centenary History’ of the college.)

Most American Christians don’t believe Satan or the Holy Spirit exist

Posted on April 14, 2009
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“A new nationwide survey of adults’ spiritual beliefs, conducted by The Barna Group, suggests that Americans who consider themselves to be Christian have a diverse set of beliefs – but many of those beliefs are contradictory or, at least, inconsistent. …

More than one-fifth (22%) strongly agreed that Jesus Christ sinned when He lived on earth, with an additional 17% agreeing somewhat.”

– Press release from the Barna Research Group.

Some Good Friday experiences with Tasmanian media

Posted on April 14, 2009
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“After the Good Friday worship service at the Cathedral I spoke to a TV crew on the meaning of Good Friday. They also interviewed worshippers for their comments.

On watching the TV news that evening the overall reporting on the Christian celebration was positive and I was delighted with the comments of the two worshippers. I was appalled, however, when the TV News cut my own comment to, ‘(Easter) is about relationships’. In the actual interview I had completed the idea, ‘(Easter) is about relationships, our relationship with God and our relationship with our neighbour.’…”

– Bishop of Tasmania, John Harrower, reflects on how local media reported Easter.

Resurrection and Reality

Posted on April 13, 2009
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“The secular world has done its best to make a mess of Christmas, but it has largely ignored our celebration of the Resurrection. Where commercialism intrudes, it comes in the forms of eggs and chicks and rabbits — none of which claim any connection with the Resurrection. The fact is, the secular world will attempt to domesticate, commercialize, and tame the babe in the manger — but it will run at breakneck speed from the cross and the empty tomb…”

– Al Mohler on the centrality of the Resurrection. (Photo: Together for the Gospel.)

Leon Morris on worship

Posted on April 12, 2009
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“In some quarters today there is a suspicion of doctrine. Men think that religious experience is all-important and put their stress on “the life of the Spirit”. Theologians are held to be dry-as-dust fellows who do their best to fossilize living religion…”

– Forty seven years ago, Churchman published this article on “Christian Worship”, by Leon Morris.

It’s now republished on the web in PDF format (direct link).

A Conversation with Death on Good Friday

Posted on April 11, 2009
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Hello, Death, my old enemy. My old slave-master. Have you come to talk to me again? To frighten me?

I am not the person you think I am. I am not the one you used to talk to. Something has happened. …

– from John Piper.

Abp Akinola’s Easter message to Nigeria

Posted on April 10, 2009
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“The Resurrection of Jesus the Christ from the dead is a fact of history. The empty tomb, the post resurrection appearances to his disciples, the Ascension, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the total transformation of the apostles, the emergence of the church and its unquenchable faith bear indisputable testimony to this fact. The Resurrection is the manifestation of the power of God for the deliverance and salvation of human kind. It is really worth celebrating. And, on this note, I bid everyone a happy Easter celebration.…”

– Read the full text of Archbishop Peter Akinola’s Easter message at the Church of Nigeria website.

The ministry of reconciliation

Posted on April 10, 2009
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“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

– 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (ESV)

Shadow Gospel: Revelation in the Theology of Rowan Williams

Posted on April 10, 2009
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“it is … vital for the GAFCON movement to have a clear understanding of the Archbishop’s theological commitments. His refusal to exercise effective discipline in the aftermath of Gene Robinson’s consecration as the first actively and openly homosexual bishop in the Anglican Communion led directly to the formation of GAFCON.

Was this simply weakness, or did it stem from theological convictions? Could it possibly still be right for the GAFCON Primates to seek to work with Rowan Williams and the Windsor Covenant process, encouraging him to use his powers through the instruments of unity for the reform of the Communion? Or is that hope now futile…”

– Charles Raven at SPREAD asks why it is so difficult to pin down what the Archbishop of Canterbury really believes. Worth reading.

(Photo of Archbishop Rowan Williams in Alexandria: ACNS.)

The Empty Tomb and the Emptied Urn

Posted on April 9, 2009
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“While speaking of the Christian belief in the resurrection of the flesh, I called my hearers to reconsider what their funeral plans testified about their hope for the future. I reiterated a position — long-held in the history of the church — that burial, not cremation, best pictures the imagery of death as a sleep from which one is awakened at the last trumpet.…”

– Russell Moore, Dean of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, writes at Christianity Today.

Proposed Covenant to be overseen by Primates’ Joint Standing Committee

Posted on April 9, 2009
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“Provinces, not individual dioceses which violate the terms of a proposed Anglican Covenant, will be subject to a disciplinary process overseen by the Joint Standing Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council, according to the third draft of the document released on April 8…”

– Report from The Living Church.

(Context: Who’s on the ‘Joint Standing Committee of the Primates’? Photo from the last JSC meeting in November 2008, courtesy ACNS/Rosenthal.)

Peter Jensen’s Easter message 2009

Posted on April 9, 2009
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Archbishop Peter Jensen’s 2009 Easter Message

We are a bit short of hope today.
People are asking, what is there to look forward to?
The good times are over and we fear the future.
Poor President Obama was described in one headline as ‘the hope of the world’.
But we only ever had one Messiah that good.
And it’s a bit hard to live up to Jesus.

Australia used to be such a hopeful nation.
What’s come over us?
Well it’s hard to go past the fears we all feel about the Global recession.
In the midst of the pain many of us are feeling, we need help and we need hope.
Hope keeps you going.
Try to live without hope and you may as well be in your grave already.

Now the funny thing about real hope is this — it was born in a grave.
They consigned Jesus Christ to his grave after they did away with him.
They sealed the grave.
They set soldiers to watch the grave.
But it was no use.
He broke the power of death and came out of the grave to show us that it can be done.

After all, what is the end?
What’s the worst thing?

To die.
To die without having made peace with God.
To die and to pass into eternity with no one to be a friend.
That’s hell.
But no-one has to do that.
There is someone who died for you and who passed through death for you.
When it comes to your present and your future, when it comes even to death and
judgement, Jesus will stand by you, stand for you, stand with you.

Do you want to connect with Him?

You only have to ask.

Dr Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney

Greek & Hebrew Reader’s Bible

Posted on April 8, 2009
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Greek Greek a little rusty? See the helpful new online Greek & Hebrew Reader’s Bible by John Dyer.

And read his background to the project.

‘Alice in Wonderland’ if Jesus didn’t really rise

Posted on April 7, 2009
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The World Today “If he just rose metaphorically, well, it’s Alice in Wonderland sort of stuff, and is not worth worrying about. I wouldn’t be a Christian if I thought that. Just wouldn’t be worth the trouble.”