Month: March 2010

L’Abri ideas library

Here’s a great resource of audio lectures from L’Abri.  This is the L’Abri ideas Library. The lectures are free to download and include many from Francis Schaeffer and others.

‘The ideas library has grown over the last 50 years as an attempt to provide honest answers to honest questions about the reality and relevance of the Christian faith.’

They cover a host of issues that we face as Christians in the contemporary world. This might be a good place for those thinking about the Christian faith and wanting to engage with ideas or simply want a few answers to their questions.

I can’t think of many places where you could find a lecture (from a Christian perspective) on the subject of: Quentin Tarantino – Madman or Genius?

New Material Added to ROCHE

I’ve recently added more audio lectures to the website. These are lectures from the Westminster Conference and may be found on the site here. There are also some additional links and these may be found here.

I trust people will find the website spiritually profitable.

New Building for Evangelical Library

I’m not sure how it got by me , but, The Evangelical Library now has a new building and location.

The official opening is planned to take place at 3 pm, Saturday April 17.

‘We are pleased to announce that we are planning to hold an official opening of the Library. This will take place at the Library, God willing, at 3 pm on Saturday April 17, 2010. The new principal of the nearby London Theological Seminary, Robert Strivens, has kindly agreed to speak on that occasion, for which we are very thankful. It is hoped that we will meet to worship God and to hear an address from Mr Strivens. Tea and coffee will be served following the meeting. A warm welcome to all.’

The library was founded by ‘Geoffrey Williams, who, in the 1930s, gave much prayerful thought to the legacy of Reformed and Puritan evangelical classics he had accumulated in his private collection’. For the last few years the library had been housed in Chiltern Street, an old rabbit warren of a building and I’m sure the new building will be much improved and better able to serve this and future generations. The Library will continue to perform an essential and quite unique function for the Church.

For £25 a year a unique collection of books is available through a mailing service or by personal visit. For more details visit the website.

Restore, O Lord.

Psalm 80

V3  Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

V7  Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

V19  Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

Clergy Fear Prosecution

It’s interesting isn’t it. I was looking through the Stonewall website and clicked on the link to the Police – eventually arriving at the Diversity statement (see previous post). And then, checking through the email inbox find an article from The Telegraph ‘Clergy could be sued if they refuse to carry out ‘gay marriages’, traditionalists fear’.

It’s a funny thing – The House of Lords vote to allow Civil Partnerships to take place in Church, The Police have detailed Diversity statements and then Clergy fear prosecution for following a religious belief. It’s clear then, some one or some group of some-ones is going to suffer discrimination. Let’s think about who that will be. If two people want a Civil Partnership then I have absolutely no doubt they would be able to find a member of the Clergy to accommodate them. The question is, will this happen? Or will people seek offence and therefore the ‘right’ to claim discrimination or the ‘right’ to suffer a hate related crime. That is the fear. But in this case surely the Clergy could equally play the ‘Discrimination Card’ as they were targeted for holding a ‘Traditional’ religious belief. Under Warwickshire Police Diversity members of the Clergy have an equal right to a ‘religion or belief’. This particular belief has been taught for centuries and, is protected under current diversity policy.

It’s clear the whole concept of toleration is a nonsense because in practice someone will be forced to play the part of the ‘Intolerant’. I wonder who that will be?

All Equal Under The Law

The following is the Warwickshire Police Statement on Diversity:

As a Force we have clearly articulated our commitment to diversity and our aim to ensure: “no person will be treated less favourably on grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, disability, gender, marital or parental status, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, proposed or actual gender re-assignment, economic group, employment status, politics, staff association or trade union membership, or any other condition which cannot be shown to be wholly justified in relation to employment with Warwickshire Police or in delivering services to the community” in all that we do.

We are committed to ensuring that diversity is a key strand in the delivery of our citizen focused approach to effective and efficient policing services for the different people in Warwickshire.

Or, they could have said: We treat everyone the same, regardless. Doesn’t have the same ring to it though.

Issues, Etc.

There is so much good ministry available now via the internet that it’s impossible to listen to it all.

One of the Podcasts I have set up on iTunes is the Talk Radio program Issues, Etc. The program covers a wide range of ‘issues’ mainly from an American perspective yet the ones I do manage to hear are of great value to any Christian – or non-Christian – wherever they might be.  ‘It’s a radio talk show hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken and produced by Lutheran Public Radio’. Don’t be put off by the word Lutheran because there is excellent content across a broad range and the guests are not necessarily Lutheran anyway.

To give a flavour, well known guests across Reformed believers have included Ken Samples, Martin Downes, Kim Riddlebarger, Michael Horton & David Wells.

Topics cover the whole range of human experience so there is most likely a topic of interest for you.  Have a listen for yourself.

House of Lords – Civil Partnerships in Church

Here’s some Breaking News – Without comment, here it is:

House of Lords vote to allow Civil Partnerships to take place in Church

Last night (2nd March 2010) the House of Lords voted to change the law on Civil Partnerships, allowing them to be performed in Churches and/or with religious language.

The amendment, which was introduced by Lord Alli, an openly homosexual Peer, and backed by a number of liberal Bishops, effectively removes one of the final distinctions between Marriage and Civil Partnerships—introduced just five years ago as being purely secular in nature.

The amendment was voted through at 11pm, by 95 votes to 21—an extraordinarily low number for such an important matter—and was hailed as a breakthrough by homosexual activists.

In January 2010, the Government had resisted Lord Alli’s amendment, reassuring the public that it was ‘not a workable solution to this issue’.  However, in an unexpected move, the government suddenly allowed its Peers a free vote on the issue.  The Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats also gave its Peers a free vote.

Ironically, the amendment was advanced as an issue of religious freedom, with some religious organisations voicing their desire to hold Civil Partnership ceremonies.

However, homosexual activists have previously made it clear that any change in the law would only be a step towards forcing churches to perform civil partnerships. For example, Ben Summerskill, Head of Stonewall, recently said: “Right now, faiths shouldn’t be forced to hold civil partnerships, although in ten or 20 years, that may change.”

Andrea Williams, Director of CCFON, said:

“What took place last night is nothing short of outrageous and all who care about democracy should be alarmed at the proceedings.  At the end of January, Baroness Royall for the Government stated that: ‘Any change can therefore be brought only after proper and careful consideration of these issues.’

“Was this statement deliberately deceitful, or do the Government believe that last night’s debate constituted the ‘proper and careful consideration’ of the issues? The amendment was debated for less than an hour and was voted through literally at the eleventh hour, taking everybody by surprise.  To have such a significant change in the law—a change to another piece of legislation no less—take place at the end of the Equality Bill’s passing, without any real debate or consultation, and at such an hour that most Peers were not even in the House, is a disgrace and a clear manipulation of the system.

“We will be calling on the Government to resist these changes, for the good of our democracy as well as for the protection of marriage.”

It is not the first time that constitutional irregularities have been used to force through law that significantly favours homosexual activists. In 2006 Lord Alli introduced amendments to the Equality Bill 2005/6 at the very last moment, which led to the creation of the Sexual Orientation Regulations 2007.  These highly controversial regulations were passed through on a take it or leave it basis, with no debate at all in the House of Commons and amongst other things have led to the closing of Catholic adoption agencies.

Andrea Minichiello Williams

Christian Concern for our Nation

http://www.ccfon.org

Insights from a Celtic Fan

At work the caretaker is a real character, a real Irish character, full on colourful language. He’s a great guy, I like him. We were chatting the other day about football (BTW, I’m not at all a football fan) and the Rangers Celtic rivalry and the animosity towards England. Celtic and Rangers football fans are, dare I say it – fanatical. He told me about how his father would sit him on his knee and speak to him about Celtic, about the history of the club and presumably about the great victories.

I was greatly challenged by this because it made me think on the Lord Christ. Did I sit my children on my knee and tell them about Christ, about the history of His Church, about the great victory He won on the cross. Have I told them about the great movements of the Spirit of God in revival, of the early Church, of the Martyrs and of the great men God has raised up over the centuries.

It’s a challenge is it not – and one that I can perhaps still rise to by God’s grace. With the help of our God, let’s spur one another on and encourage one another all the more as we see the day approaching.