Posts Tagged Church of England
The words of Jesus Christ will never go away
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Christmas, Church of England on December 4, 2025
In todays readings for Advent, Ryle refers to Matthew 24: 29-35 where Jesus says His words will never pass away. How Jesus knew well the unbelief of human nature and as St Peter declared that mockers would come in the last days (2 Peter 3: 3-4).
The Biblical reality is that world has been in the last days for 2000 years. The author of Hebrews makes this very clear in Hebrews 1: 1-2 that God has spoke throughout history by the prophets but in those last days, that is in the 1st century, God has spoken “by His Son, who, He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He made the worlds.” (NKJV)
Jesus’ words are enough for us to feed upon and sufficient and powerful enough for us to live by. His words “will be fulfilled in their season” and will never die or be taken away. We may well live in an unbelieving age, an age where even the church has fallen away into irrelevance and fear, and yet Christ is still with those who belong to Him, who love Him and keep His commandments.
The words of Jesus Christ are like no other. No one has ever spoken like He did and no other words can come to pass like His. No priests, no bishops, no councils or synods, can ever take away the truth of His words. They (bishops and priests) can infect them so that they do not believe His truth anymore, but it has little effect in the lifelong reality of them. Jesus’ words cannot be broken and will never pass away. He is the King of glory and the Lord of all life. No one can take Him away.
Worship the King of kings and the Lord of lords and never lay down His truth for the squeamish words of archbishops and synods who no longer believe them. Heal yourselves and your wounds from the infections that they have spread and let the Lord of all peace and justice reward and fill your hearts with gold and myrrh. For the day is coming when all the injustices of the world and the devil will be drawn away into the dismal clouds of darkness and failure.
Look now unto our gracious Lord and have confidence in the power of His true gospel to save and restore. Amen.
Is AMiE a better option than the CofE
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Christianity, Church of England, Reform on November 13, 2025
It is quite evident to most Christians now that the Church of England has fallen headlong into apostacy. A large percentage of ministers and bishops are in favour of practices and re-interpretations of Scripture which any Bible believer cannot accept.
It has been a long and tiring debate and conservative evangelical ministers are doing the best they can to uphold the church’s teaching on sexual ethics and Scriptural doctrines while at the same time holding the blanket concerning their future careers.
There are serious problems happening with the establishment and you know there is an even deeper issue on the horizon when the King prays with the pope for the first time in 500 years and now they have a very liberal catholic female archbishop about to be seated on the chair of St Augustine. An act for which Archbishop Thomas Cranmer would be turning in his grave.
The question is what to do about it?
Roman Catholic’s are being sneaky right now and are chasing in on this cradle of insecurity by trying to woo Anglicans back into their lair of popery. What’s wrong with that, people might say? Well, there is a great deal wrong with that. For a start off Roman Catholicism is not Christianity it’s Roman Catholicism. It is a religion that prays to the dead, worships a goddess, rejects justification by faith alone, condemns reformed theology and believes that the Eucharist is literally the body and blood of Jesus Christ, which is cannibalism and vampirism. On top of all they they quite literally believe that the pope is Christ’s vicar on earth, which means to be in place of Christ.
Not to mention the fact that they worship apparitions of a demon masquerading as the virgin Mary.
We live in very dangerous religious times and for this reason Paul wrote, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (1 Timothy 4: 16) Just because a religion claims to be Christian, does not make it so. Each one of us needs to examine claims and doctrines and do it closely with the Bible in hand. There is no need for a bishop to guide you in this, you can research and decide for yourself.
As you can tell I am a nonconformist at heart, I don’t believe things just because people preach them. I need proof.
That being said I am not the type of person who tells people what to do. Each of us must make our own choices in this life and everyone must decide for him or herself what each one of us must do. But I am going to recommend to you that if you are going to leave the Church of England, either now or in the future, do not go running off to Roman Catholicism. It is a corrupt religion with a rotten past and a future reliant upon it’s claim that the pope is a direct successor to St Peter. Such a claim in itself is useless since in Revelation 3: 16 Jesus warns a lukewarm church that He will vomit them out of His mouth unless they repent and that church in Laodicea knew John and St Paul, so if you can understand my perspective, it makes no difference if a church in history knew St Peter or John or Paul, Jesus can still remove them from His body if they apostatise like the Roman Catholic Church has done.
I assure you, there are better options for people who may be thinking of leaving the CofE, don’t go crawling off to the Roman Catholic Church, go to an independent church or why not give AMiE a try?
AMiE stands for the Anglican Mission in England and is not a state run church, it has no female bishops, no women vicars, no heresies, just basic Christianity and in the Anglican tradition.
Visiting the grave of J C. Ryle during the biggest split in Anglican history
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Church of England, Reform on October 23, 2025
This month following the announcement of the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, it is said that over 40 million Anglicans have left the Church of England.
Is this the death of the Church of England I ask myself? I’m not sure?
J C. Ryle was Bishop of Liverpool between 1880 – 1900 and was an outstanding minister and his Expository Thoughts on the Gospels are among my favourite commentaries on the market. Ryle was born in Macclesfield in 1816 and died in Liverpool aged 84. He held to a Calvinistic tradition however he firmly believed that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world. A belief that is entirely consistent with the New Testament and Biblical exposition.
Ryle was a great admirer of the 16th century reformers, and he wrote a book on Five English Reformers. These included Hugh Latimer, John Bradford and Nicolas Ridley.
On the anniversary of the burning of Hugh Latimer and Nicolas Ridley (October 16) GAFCON made an announcement that The Future Has Arrived. GAFCON has removed any reference to being in communion with the see of Canterbury and the Church of England.
The CofE has brought this upon itself. Years upon years of liberalism and corruption has brought about the biggest shift since the Reformation.
As I too have left the Church of England, I find myself reflecting upon a once great denomination in Christianity. Is this the end of the Church of England I ask myself? I don’t think it is. I think the tide could turn in time.
In his chapters on John Bradford: Martyr, Ryle closes with the following words,
“Let us thank God that the foundations of the Reformed Church of England were laid by such men as John Bradford. Let us clearly understand what kind of men our martyred Reformers were, what kind of doctrines they held, and what kind of lives they lived. Let us pray that the work they did for the Church of England may never be despised or underrated. Above all, let us pray that there never may be wanting among us a continual succession of English clergy, who shall keep the martyrs’ candle burning brightly, and shall hand down true Reformation principles to our children’s children.“
Ryle’s grave is very touching, it reads,
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course; I have kept the faith.” 2 Tim. 1V. 7.
May that be said of all those who belong to Christ and as Latimer famously said, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”
It is time to leave the Church of England!
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Church of England, Is Female Leadership Biblical? on October 3, 2025
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth,” (2 Timothy 4: 3-4. NKJV)
The above quote is taken from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, a leader of an early New Testament house church. In his first letter the apostle instructed Timothy to “Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6: 12. NKJV) and in his second to “Preach the word!” (2 Timothy 4: 2) He also made it abundantly clear that leadership in the Christian church is reserved for men (1 Timothy 3: 1-13)
Today’s headlines come as no surprise. The Church of England has announced that a woman has been made Archbishop of Canterbury. This is an act of hell and the bishops demonstrate the outright disdain a majority of them have for St Paul’s authority.
I have been saying they will make this decision for some time now and I wrote against the consecration of women bishops back in 2015. You can read that article here.
I have come to believe that Martyn Lloyd-Jones was correct in his disagreement with John Stott. Evangelical Christian’s should withdraw from liberal denominations. For me, the Church of England’s decision to make a woman the Archbishop of Canterbury is like icing on an already rotting cake and it is the straw that broke the camels back.
Sadly, there are many faithful ministers in the CofE and they are a good community of believers who hold together well to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. These are inspired by a statement made in Jude 1: 3 and they should be commended for it.
However, I cannot ignore the overriding influence of female ministers within the church and even many conservative evangelicals. This is big problem for me since they fail to see the importance of maintaining strict adherence to a male leadership that complies with the criteria set forth by St Paul in his epistles to Titus and Timothy. Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 2: 13-15 cannot be ignored.
St. Paul did not permit women to teach “or to have authority over a man” (1 Timothy 2: 12) and the reason why women are not permitted to be ministers is because Eve was deceived by Satan. Adam was born first and then Eve and Adam was not deceived but Eve (1 Timothy 2: 13-14). But people have manipulated this clear teaching and have deceived people into thinking women leadership is Biblical. I have addressed these issues very clearly in my previous articles.
Read here why Phoebe was not a deacon in office.
Read here why Junia was not apostle.
Read here why Priscilla was not a joint leader with Aquila.
Read here why Acts 18: 24-26 does not say Priscilla was a preacher
Read here how I have already warned that the next Archbishop of Canterbury could be a woman, and now she is.
It comes as no surprise to me how the leading bishops wrongly interpret the Bible. They squeeze their interpretation into their trajectory to preserve an establishment that goes from one extreme to the other and faithful ministers are caught like boiling frogs in a hot pan. These bishops who have brought in the same-sex blessings know the church will eventually bring in same-sex marriage, just as the ordination of women priests has now led to the ordination of the first Archbishop of Canterbury. This is the way false teaching works, it creeps in and doesn’t creep back out again. False teachers are like that too, they crawl in unawares and manipulate women and well meaning people and have no respect for authority. False teachers reject the higher authority of Scripture and have no genuine love for God in their hearts.
I understand that the fabric of a state church has to flow with the winds of culture, but the problem then becomes an issue of people pleasing. Christians are not on this earth to be people pleasers, we are here to serve God. So because of this I believe it is time for separation, or even disestablishment.
This is Reformation day 2024
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Church of England, Reform, Reformation 2017, The Bible on October 31, 2024
In a previous article back in 2017 I wrote about what the reformation has given us. I listed the reformation benefits we have received in society and in the church and these include the New Testament in Greek, the English New Testament, the complete English Bible including chapter and verse numbers, the freedom to interpret the Bible for ourselves. Freedom to challenge tyranny. The establishment of hymnbooks, Christian music, religious liberty, freedom of speech, and since many abolitionists were theologically reformed we have received the abolition of the slave trade. The list could go on to reveal 100 facts associated with the reformation. This is because the idea of reform is very Biblical. The Bible gives us accounts of how God has been making His plan for this world throughout history and in the Bible we read of those happenings unfolding. It is simply the greatest Book that has ever been written.
Throughout Scripture we see the Lord speaking through His people to bring about change and reformation among those who professed to be the children of God. We read of how the original plan for man in Eden was to dwell in paradise, but Adam chose his own way and fell, because of sin and the story continues of how God was bringing about a restoration of His original plan but man failed almost every time. Because of this God sent His prophets to bring about a reformation to inspire the people of God to repent and turn back to Him because they have lost the way.
In Jeremiah 7: 2 we read of how the prophet says “Hear the word of the Lord” and in verse 3 “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.” (NKJV) Here the prophet was talking to the people of ancient Israel and his words speak just as powerfully today as they did back then. In verses 4 and 8 he warns the people that they are trusting in lying words that cannot profit them. The prophet said all this because people were living lives that were contrary to the Will of the God they claimed to believe in and follow (verse 9) and then they would go to the temple and say they were delivered to do abominations (verse 10).
As the Biblical stories continue the prophets foretell the coming of Christ who is the way to restoration and eternal life and without Him there is no hope.
Fast forward hundreds of years throughout church history (not the Bible) and we see the same scenario, man falls and continues in his sinful ways. Man fails to live up to the standards of the Almighty, and God (by His Holy Spirit) stirs His obedient people to speak out and stand fast for the faith.
In the 16th century, a German priest by the name of Martin Luther had been stirred up by the corruption he had seen in the church of that time, and he was absolutely appalled when the priests were selling indulgences to the poor to raise money for the building of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Luther saw how crooked this practice was and on October 31, 1517 he is believed to have nailed his 95 thesis on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. In this document Luther addressed his points of concern and wanted to debate them. Luther’s protest was genuine and the document didn’t stay nailed to the door for very long, locals got hold of the document and it was printed and circulated. Word got back to Rome and Luther would be summoned and eventually stand trial and be excommunicated. Although it affected him mentally Luther spent his time in isolation while translating the New Testament into German. It was a powerful act of defiance to the established church that then existed. This translation would impact the German language in the same way Tyndale’s New Testament would impact the English language. But it would not stop there, church after church would eventually spring up and Luther’s daringly powerful act had started a reformation that could not be undone. It inspired generations all over the world.
Luther’s actions would change the face of history forever. This is because the word reformation is by definition the act of bringing about improvement and change for the better in political, religious or social matters. This is what Luther did. Because of Martin Luther millions of people worship in churches inspired by his reformation. Oddly enough, the Church of England is one of them. I say oddly enough because Henry V111 was opposed to Luther and Tyndale yet still the reformed influence spread.
The Church of England was founded in 597 AD however in 1534 there was a big split and the church separated from Rome and the Pope. This move was undoubtedly the right and Biblical thing to do since Rome was denying the text of the Bible in favour of the authority of the Pope. Not much has changed. Today if not for the reformation few would have the nerve to change or challenge anything or progress our nation to becoming a more decent, fair and just society.
Yet today, it doesn’t feel like the world is becoming any better since we are living in perilous times. The world appears to have become a very dark and cynical place. The church appears to be no better. At least when you look to the bishops for guidance. Few know which way to turn and our nation (here in England) has forgotten the reformation. Rather than celebrate the very act of reformation day, many people choose to promote halloween and follow evil and death rather than life, it seems more commercial than right. Likewise, the church has fallen further into apostasy in an attempt to appease and please the world and keep itself relevant.
Yet we should not be surprised at this, the Bible got it right all along, as it is written, “This is the judgement: the light has come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light” (John 3: 19)
But for all the church’s attempts to please men, it is not working. Reform is ongoing and will continue and no matter which way people turn the Bible will never cease to be the final authority for all genuine Christians.
There are no two ways about it, if you follow Christ you will live for eternity and if you sow corruption you will reap it. So too will those who profess Christ in one breath while denying Him in another, those leaders will not escape the judgement. They too will pay a much higher price and receive a greater judgement than those they have lead astray (James 3: 1)
It has been said if you marry the spirit of the age, you will soon find yourself divorced by it. So too will the church that follows the world rather than the text of the Bible. If you fail to stand as Luther did in good conscience and Godly conviction, God will never use you in the future and your memory will be forgotten. Darkness will follow you all the days of your life. You will return to the dust from which you came.
William Salesbury’s Book of Common Prayer and Psalms
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Documentaries, The Welsh Bible, Theology on May 6, 2020
On May 6, over 450 years ago, William Salesbury published The Book of Common Prayer and Psalms, newly translated, into Welsh.
This 16th century prayer book had been previously written for use within the Church of England by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. The Book of Common Prayer would become an important spiritual ingredient in the daily diet of Christians throughout England, and beyond, and continues to be used by Anglicans, even to this day.
The Book of Common Prayer and Psalms has been deeply revered within Christianity, and a majority of English Bibles were printed and bound with it from the 16th century up to the 19th century. It was that important.
Early 19th century editions published by the British and Foreign Bible Society are among some of the earliest Bibles to exclude the BCP. But earlier printed Bibles such as the Geneva Bible and King James Bibles, all contained Cranmer’s Prayer book.
In the year 1567, William Salesbury had translated his version into Welsh under the title; Lliver Gweddi Gyffredin. Back in those days Parliament was Biblically minded and Westminster had given Salesbury the deadline of 1 March 1567 (St David’s Day) to publish his translation. Sadly that deadline was missed. The Book of Common Prayer and Psalms into Welsh did not appear until May 6. But it was not without its opponents.
Anger had outburst by opponents of the Welsh tongue, and people had aggressively demanded that the translation be utterly abandoned. But such opposition was unfruitful. Salesbury did not give in.
Lliver Gweddi Gyffredin was published on 6 May 1567. But Salesbury was the translator, not the author.
Cranmer’s original Book of Common Prayer had been a work of absolute genius and Christian devotion. Rather than divide the Church, Cranmer sought to unify her through Scripture and Prayer.
Cranmer’s prayer book is a very special gift and people would always do well to read it. The Book of Common Prayer and Psalms is a monumental work that has echoed on through the centuries and has fed the Church of God with Scripture, through with Prayer.
It is not a book of ‘prayers’, it is a book of prayer. We need more of that today, perhaps more now than ever.
Steven Weinberg and the scientific agenda to destroy religion
Posted by simon peter sutherland in new atheism, Science and evolution on January 9, 2014
“I think the world needs to wake up from its long nightmare of religious belief; and anything we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization” Steven Weinberg.
(Beyond belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival. 5 November 2006)
Bible trodden under foot
© 2014 Simon Peter Sutherland
The above words, can and do display a form of scientific totalitarianism. I say this because any attempt to destroy some system of belief or choice of persons, is a denial of rights. I do not want religion to be weakened or destroyed. Many of us like religion and the things it represents and I for one am not going to be told whether or not I can live in a world that has no beliefs in providence, design or meaning.
Perhaps it is strange that Weinberg’s words are wrapped up in a claim of ‘Reason’ when it is nothing of the kind! If it were a claim to reason, he would not try to inspire people to go out into the world and weaken religion. Even Jesus in His great commission never inspired other systems of thought to be destroyed but merely left alone, that is if the hearers rejected His Truth.
I think Weinberg’s words clearly present manifestations of an organised agenda to replace ‘religion’ with some form of ‘science’ or so called science, at least the familiar science which people lay hold of ‘evolution Theory’. Using it, to replace God or Church.
I think secularism is just another word for bigotry against Christianity.
It is a historical fact that the Christian church or at least the Roman Catholic church has many enemies from the past. There is a certain branch of ‘science’ that has been at war with the Christian church since the 16th century. In that context, science is at war with religion. And as each century has passed, each generation has manifested this war in different forms.
Today we have this undercurrent movement which is covertly using Darwin’s theory to destroy the Christian church, primarily true Christians who believe the Word of God which these people tread upon. When I say true Christians I mean those who believe everything that Jesus and His Word communicate. It is they whom these so-called scientists hate.
I have no doubt whatsoever that this huge organisation (which may have no name) has an agenda to destroy Christianity. I have no doubt either that they are using every medium possible, every critical line of scholarship, archaeology, entertainment and every celebrity face they can conjure up to do this dirty work.
Evidence in their eyes is just another way of saying ‘we have proven you wrong’. But the problem is that when an agenda is presented before evidence or ‘science’ whatever that term may define, then it puts the finds of this certain ‘science’ in question? For example; when an artifact is discovered, it must be interpreted, but when three or four scholars explore the artifact, one can fine that they rarely agree on its interpretation.
But this is not the case with evolutionary scientists. They agree with each other and stand together like sheep going to be sheered. It reminds me of Nazi Germany or some other totalitarian movement which covertly gains power yet turns when it has it . It is a suspect movement to say the least, rather like a verbal war. Especially when certain establishments within ‘science’ or a scientific community are so clearly at war with religion?
A point I think that is worthy of consideration is that science is not at war with religion or the Bible, but rather it is the successors of the 19th century evolutionists through to the modern 21st century evolutionary scientists who are both openly and covertly at war with God and His book. They are the ones who are treading upon the Bible with their muddy boots and are using the dirt of the earth in their smear campaign.
However, the facts themselves prove that ‘science’ should not be at war with religion or Christianity in any way and that outside of Dawkins’ theories of the retina and so forth, life itself spells out intelligent design. Thus, the facts are on our side, but not when the facts are in the hands of modern orthodox evolutionary scientists and their hypothetical theories.
It is suspect and cultish to say the least when any organisation agrees consistently with itself and its teachers and when any person from within begins to disagree with them or progresses into theism or Creationism by seeing the evidence of God scientifically, they are excommunicated from the so-called academic or scientific community and denied the role of being a scientist, thus, the followers of these communities are preprogrammed or brainwashed against them.
But so many arguments presented, including Richard Dawkins’ retina argument, are designed, presented and researched with the aim of refuting ‘Creationism’. Which when it is all said and done, any of us could assemble the matter of fact and twist the facts according to that agenda. People begin to twist facts to suite theories and not theories to suite facts.
Thus, when an agenda is manifested and people are in the lab, what could happen when DNA is at the hands of evolutionary scientists who have set themselves up to “weaken religion”. No one can contradict them, even within the scientific community, since, I reiterate if anyone moves away from evolutionary science and sees evidence of creation, that person is told to reject that notion and if they do not, their funding is shut off and they are cast out of that establishment.
Thus, beyond the surface and public face of evolutionary science, the witnesses and facts only point to one thing; evolutionary science is not open even remotely to the concept of creation and neither does it remotely consider the possibility that Moses got it right. It is clear that they have brainwashed a generation of young and middle age people into thinking as they want them to think. They have made their creed and allegiance and if anyone rejects it, they are no longer part of that community.
The question is; do these people really believe that their fantasies of destroying Christianity will make the world a better place? That if they succeed in reducing the prominence of the Christian church, that a fundamentalist intolerant religion will not step in its place and reap the rewards?
Do they really believe that men in their depraved hearts will walk hand in hand in peace? If so, then they are the ones guilty of believing in fairy tales.
What makes the Apostles Creed so special?
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Christianity, Theology on February 17, 2012
I hold to the Apostles Creed. Not to the point where I would re-interpret scripture to fit with the creed, but that I think the creed agrees with scripture.
It is said that the Apostles Creed was written by each member of the 12 Apostles, excluding Judas but including Matthias? The creed would read as follows:
1. Peter. “I believe in God the Father Almighty”
2. John. “Maker of heave and earth”
3. James. “And in Jesus Christ His only son”
4. Andrew. “Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary”
5. Philip. “Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried”
6. Thomas. “He descended into hell, the third day He rose again from the dead”
7. Bartholomew. “He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty”
8. Matthew. “From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead”
9. James, the son of Alpheus. “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Church”
10. Simon the Zealot. “The Communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins”
11. Jude, the brother of James. “The resurrection of the body”
12. Matthias. “Life everlasting. Amen”
What I admire about the Apostles creed is firstly that it is very old, not that that is anything to go by for many heresies are very old, but that the Apostles Creed is distinctly an early church document. It is not modernized or over indulgent in varying doctrines addressing issues of their day, on the contrary, the Creed addresses issues which are yet to come, so in fact the creed is very modern. It has an almost timeless feel to the creed and even sounds up-to-date when read today. But more than all of that, the creed is all about Jesus and what He has done. Something that so many creeds and statements of faith are not centralized upon.
I understand the issues with the Apostles Creed and the arguments which are propagated against its authenticity, but aside from that, it is the content which is more important than the author or authors. As with Theologica Germanica, which was written by an anonymous author and admired by Luther but rejected by Calvin. My point being that a work must be judged by the truth and not merely by the author.
Thus, the creed begins with God and moves to creation and concludes with re-creation in the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of all people from the dead. This resurrection will occur when Jesus returns and the end of time begins.
Let us look for a brief moment at 12 sections of this creed.
1) “I believe in God the Father Almighty”
2) “Maker of heaven and earth”
3) “And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord”
4) “Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary”
5) “Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried”
6) “He descended into hell, the third day He rose again from the dead”
7) “He ascended into heaven, sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty”
8) “From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”
9) “I believe in the Holy Ghost”
10) “The holy ‘Universal’ Church, the Communion of Saints”
11) “The Forgiveness of sins”
12) “The Resurrection of the body, and the Life everlasting.”
“Amen.”
Note that the creed begins with “I believe”. This points to the creed being a very personal creed when spoken by the individual. The creed does not say “We believe” which can often cause believers to hide amongst fellow believers. Also, what I think makes the apostles creed so special and different to many creeds of Christendom is that this creed unites Christians and does not divide them. So many other creeds of Christendom promote divisive doctrines which are not essential to the Christian faith, but are subject to interpretation. But what I love about the Apostles Creed is that if a room were to be graced with the presence of 12 true Christians they would all no doubt agree with all but point 6. However, I would agree with the creed on point 6 and have given my reasons why in an article published on my enjoyingtheology website.
Cut and paste this link to read the article: http://www.enjoyingtheology.com/Descentofchrist.html
But I suppose the thing which makes the Apostles creed so distinct and excellent, is that it binds together and does not destroy. And most of all, it is about Jesus and what He has done for us.
David Cameron: “Revival of Christian Values”
Posted by simon peter sutherland in England issues, Issues with Christianity in England today, Reform on December 19, 2011
David Cameron while giving a speech at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford has attacked the moral decline of Britain and has openly called for a revival of Christian values in England and stated that people should openly proclaim explicit values of Christianity.
He also presented critique of the ideas that claim that by standing up for Christian values, we do somehow put down other “faiths”.
He also hailed the King James Bible.
Despite the distinctive observation that the word “faiths” is a historical fallacy concocted by political minds, the word ‘Religions’ is a better description, Cameron rightly spoke against Islamic extremism and claimed that an “almost fearful, passive tolerance of religious extremism” has resulted in Islamic Extremism to remain unchallenged.
One of the things which stands out regarding Cameron’s speech is that he spoke of a “revival” of Christian values and England certainly needs reform and a Christian awakening.
England is forgetting her own history.
Reform is certainly in the air and would involve a new Reformation and a restoration of Truth. But before a reformation of this nature could begin, the Church must get her own house in order first. And since Cameron said this to the Church of England, that is the context and this would call for reform within the Church of England, who has neglected the Bible in favour of passing trends, cultural pursuasions and theological windrushes.
It would be hypocrisy and a burying of ones head in the sand to imagine that the Church of England is in a good way, but there is always hope of reform.
Likewise there is always hope of a Christian awakening within the hearts of the people, but the Church and Parliament must get their own house in order first and remove the plank of wood that is in their own eye, before they can attempt to even suggest that their are splinters within anothers eye. In other words, you cannot expect the people to respect or embrace Christianity and Parliament, if much of Christianity and Parliament has become a harlot. People will not listen to anyone if they do not practice what they preach and the Church and the houses of Parliament of today have not presented themselves without fault.
However there is hope that things can change and it is out of hope that charity is born for without love and charity, ministers and politicians can give speeches all day long, but if they have not charity, they “become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13: 1
And as Paul says, “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth” 1 Corinthians 13: 1-8
Will Parliament be willing to seek a restoration of Christian values within England while at the same time feeding the poor of England? Or will it offer a restoration of certain morals only? Is Cameron being genuine at all, or is he just playing a voting game, using Christianity to gain popularity?
If he is being genuine in then I humbly suggest that we must go all the way with this or not at all.
However, regarding Camerons speech, it is interesting to note that in this very same Cathedral that he gave this speech, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was publicly “degraded” in 1556 and in the 1720’s John and Charles Wesley were ordained as Priests in the Church of England.
Thus, just as great awakenings and reform did come in times past through the church, they can also do so once again in the future.
Thus, these three remain, “Faith, hope and charity” 1 Corinthians 13: 13.
Simon Peter Sutherland
17th December 2011
Genesis 1: 27 and the new wave of gender-inclusive Bible translations
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Christianity, England issues, Theology on November 13, 2011
Bible trodden under foot © 2014 Simon Peter Sutherland
On November 10th 2011 I attended a lecture at Manchester Cathedral During this lecture John Parry made mention of gender-inclusive translations of the Bible and how he supports this idea.
This is not a new idea or a ‘new thing’ or exclusive to Mr Parry and his teachings, for many Christians today support new translations of the Bible which are re-worded to fit with gender-inclusive language.
However, for those who do not know what gender-inclusive language is within a Biblical translation context, it reveals itself as a modern scholarship idea created through the root of feminism and employed by some theologians and so-called Christians who seek to appeal to the modern world by arguing that God is neither male nor female?
I marvel that anyone can make this claim and believe in the God of the Bible. Yet, today there are a number of translations which have employed this use of language and no doubt many more will come. Concerning this issue, I see no need to move into a review or exploration of the many arguments which are used to support gender-inclusive language for Bible translations, for, it is an accepted Christian truth that the Bible is the Word of God, therefore, let us go to the Bible first and see if gender-inclusive language would translate the Bible correctly? Firstly, there is not a single passage in the Bible which claims that God is neither male nor female. If God were neither male nor female, He would therefore be sexless and the entire Bible and its revelation of God would be fundamentally different. He absolutely reveals Himself in scripture in a masculine context.
Genesis 1 contains the Biblical account of Gods creation of the universe and of the life of man and beast. Verse 27 of that chapter says this, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” (KJV)
The New King James version translates this text a little clearer and reads as follows: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them”. This text presents a clear case and absolute confirmation that the creation of Adam and the creation of Eve were not one and the same event. There were two events and not one single event and the text shows this.
The Biblical account claims that in the image of God, God created Adam and He created him male, thus God is male. The text makes this point very clear. That “in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them”. The text distinguishes the two points of the creation of Humans, that in the image of God, God created Adam first, that He created Him male, the text then adds that in the image of man God created woman. The text distinguishes this by saying that God created Adam first, the then moves to say, “male and female He created them”. The text is very clear on this. When the Bible says, “God created man in His own image” the Hebrew word employed in this passage is literally “Adam”. That is an important fundamental point to distinguish.
I would further argue that Genesis 2 acts as a kind of commentary or expounding of Genesis 1. I say this for a reason. Genesis 2: 7 reads as follows; “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Thus, the creation of Eve does not fit the context of this verse and was thus was not created out of the dust of the ground, but from Adams rib. Adam was created out of the dust of the earth, not Eve. Thus, she was not created first and therefore, not created in the image of God, but of Adam.
Paul affirms this in 1 Timothy 2: 12-13 in his argument against female teachers within the Body of Christ and what could be seen as Paul writing against feminism? Paul says thus; “I do not permit a woman to teach, or to have authority over the man, but to be in silence.” Paul continues with this theme and gives his reason from out of the scriptures; “For Adam was first formed, then Eve.”
He then goes on to argue that “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (1 Timothy 2: 14) Paul is clearly writing within an ancient context and also warning future generations that the modern feminist movement is directly in line with what happened back in Eden, that because of woman, men are denying Gods word in favour of the deception of satan.
Further evidence that God created woman after Adam can be found in Genesis 2:18. The text reads as follows; “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make ‘him’ an help meet for ‘him”. This text confirms that the Genesis account is claiming that Adam was formed first.
Genesis 2:21-22 likewise reads; “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”
The Bible is very clear that God created Adam first and Eve was created from Adam, no one can rightly argue against the fact that the Bible makes this claim and if any so-called Christian chooses to ignore this or hate that fact that both I and the Bible do say this, then I fail to see why you would call yourself a Christian, since you clearly do not believe what the Bible says?
Now a person could argue that God does not have gender, yet this claim also would be very weak and not in line with the entire Biblical text. God has always revealed Himself male, this can be consistently seen in throughout the Old and New Testaments. God appeared to Abraham as a male (Genesis 18) He appeared to Moses in a masculine way (Exodus 3) He is consistently named in scripture as “He”. Search the scriptures for yourself and see if it is not so?
Likewise, I would also point out a very Christian fundamental truth. That truth would be found in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Himself, who was born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit and live as a man and died as a man. If God is neither male nor female, then how do we account for Mary’s conception?
How do we account for Christ being a man? Is He is not the very image of God? Was He not conceived in a masculine way? How then can anyone argue that God is not male?
The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind, and I would plead with the church as did Paul when he warned us not to not be blown this way or that because of changing winds of doctrine, (Ephesians 4: 14).
I leave you once again with the text of Genesis 1: 27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” KJV
I ask every individual believer and Christian alike who reads this article, to look to Christ my brethren, bind yourself to Him and He will show you more clearly than I can, that He is who He is (Exodus 3: 14).
I would further add and plead with the Body of Christ that you must not deny the Word of God and forsake His testimony in favour of men and modern winds and an ever changing world. Be faithful to Him and His word and know His love and blessing which are given to those who love Him and keep His word (Exodus 20: 5-6) lest you make God angry and find yourself cast out of His garden and left to wonder through the world.
Simon Peter Sutherland
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Simon Peter Sutherland 