PCNSW Assembly 2008

In the previous post I explained that several of us were at PCNSW Assembly for the week. I had thought I might post a few times during the week, however things got too busy and the only time I had a chance to write anything I would have had to sit in the outside in the cold at night to get a decent connection. So here are a few comments and reflections which are, of course, my own and not the official view of the PTC nor of the PCNSW!

This was the second residential assembly, the first was in 2004. Again we were at 'the tops' sight at Stanwell Tops. It is set in wonderful scenery, though you have to walk about 10 minutes to get a view like the picture. I don't think many of us had much time to enjoy the scenery as the business of the assembly took up more time than was originally planned. The residential Assembly is a good time to get to know people better. There is certainly a discipline in living together for a week, but I think it is a discipline which is good for us and I was glad that we finished by deciding to hold another residential Assembly in 2011.

Bruce Meller did a fine job as moderator. His opening address can be heard here. Given that Bruce only discovered a few minutes before the opening that there was no sermon and he adapted his brief address to a sermon, it is a good effort.

Much of the 'routine' business had been dealt with earlier in the year, and this meant that the Assembly was quite intense, since most of the debates had some significance.

The major issue was to be a consideration of a overture which was approved at the last General Assembly of Australia which would mean that only men could be ordained as elders. In order for this to become the case the overture must now be approved by a three fifths majority of Presbyteries and a majority of State Assemblies. Feelings are very high in the NSW church over this issue and the house was packed on Tuesday morning in anticipation of the debate. However the decision was made that the debate would be delayed for a year. The main reason given was that the Assembly should receive some legal advice on the implications of the possible decision. However I suspect that many voted to delay because it would have made the rest of the week living together far less happy. One commissioner commented to me that he thought the Assembly would be happy to postpone the debate indefinitely. I think he may be right, but we won't be able to do the same thing next year.

There is still some angst in the Assembly about the health of our churches, the need for a clear strategy, the need for recruiting more ministers and the level of financial support for the various programs of the Assembly and how that money is shared. This year that concern came out in some strong questions asked about the Ministry and Mission Committee and its recruiting role, and attempts to remove the Church and Nation Committee (unsuccessfully) and the Historical Records Committee (which is now a subcommittee of the Business Committee). There was a major debate about the possibility of introducing a compulsory assessment to fund the programs of PCNSW. The suggestion was defeated.

The Theological Education Committee report is of great interest to us at PTC (since TEC is our governing body). There was no TEC business to deal with (since that had been done in April) so we gave a presentation with a brief interview with a student, and an interview with a student who had done the WCF intensive and with me about the intensives. Ian introduced the Philosophy of Education we have been working on and talked about our hope of getting some residences near PTC. Robert Benn (the convenor of TEC) spoke briefly about other building matters and I introduced the Ministry Training for Women (more on the blog in the future). The chat around the Assembly was that the presentation had gone well and people were excited about what we were doing.

So there are a few highlights. Others who were at Assembly may want to comment on other debates.

Why John D has been the only blogger

You may have noticed that only one of us has contributed to the blog in the last few weeks and have wondered why. Even if you have not wondered let me tell you. We've had a busy end to the semester with a fairly frantic dash to get all the marking finished. John D has had that as well, but has persevered with the blog. The last week has been the NSW Presbyterian Church annual assembly, which occupied most of us. John however has started study leave and Ian is acting principal, so John got on with his projects and the rest of us spent a week at Assembly.

As John explained some us of are heading to Auckland next week for SBL, and I'll try to write some posts from there.

The Great Australian Invasion of New Zealand

It’s time once more for the international conference of the Society of Biblical Literature and this year it’s just across the ditch, so Aussies will be represented in force. Five of the PTC staff will be attending (three giving papers), as well as PTC graduates.

As usual, I’m wanting to attend three or four sessions at the same time, pulled between contributing to the discussion in areas I’m most at home in, and eavesdropping on discussions of topics I want to stretch myself in. One I’m looking forward to is David Clines on Psalm 23 – a psalm most loved and (IMHO) not too well understood.

Latest Tyndale Bulletin

The latest TB arrived yesterday and I’ve started dipping into it (doesn’t that glossy paper smell wonderful?).
John Goldingay does what he does best – getting us to think carefully about the big picture questions of the OT and its relation to the NT. He argues that it is the canonical shape of the OT as a whole, including the non-narrative bits, that ought to inform our OT theology. So it is not history (à la biblical theology movement) which determines theology. While he does argue that there is a canon within the canon, by which he means that some texts (e.g. those dealing with the regulation of divorce) are secondary (e.g. to those dealing with the marriage ideal), Goldingay wants us to hear the voice of the OT in its own terms, not ignoring any portion of the OT because it doesn’t seem to square with the NT, or with our modern sensitivities. We do read the OT in the light of the gospel, but not in such a way as to subsume the OT under the New. There is no wrath–love or works–faith contrast operating between the Testaments. While provocative at one level, I loved this comment on the extent of the OT canon: “We do have to choose between the Hebrew-Aramaic list of books and the Greek one [i.e. including the Apocrypha], and I choose the Hebrew-Aramaic one, though I do not think it makes a whole lot of difference except ... for increasing the amount of the Old Testament we ignore.”

Christopher Seitz offers a response, though concentrates on things which I felt were on the margins of Goldingay’s concerns (e.g. the question of a canonical order of the books).

Other articles in this issue, waiting to be read, are:
‘I hate them with perfect hatred (Psalm 132:21-22) – Eric Peels
Aberrant Textuality? The case of Ezekiel the (Porno) Prophet – Andrew Sloane
Conceptualising Fulfilment in Matthew – Daniel Kirk
Expulsion from the Synagogue? Rethinking a Johannine Anachronism – Edward Klink
The Deliverer from Zion: The Sources and Function of Paul’s Citation in Romans 11:26-27
- Christopher Bruno
John or Paul? Who Was Polycarp’s Mentor? – Kenneth Berding
The Measure of Stewardship: Pistis in Romans 12:3 – John Poirier

Creation care - a time for action

Lots of us know that we should do more to care for God's world, but are not quite sure what to do. Lots of the groups which want to act have a pagan worldview, or a version of eco-theology which is syncretistic. So what do we do?

A Rocha is Christian ministry with good theological foundations and a commitment to creation care. This video below explains more.

A Rocha is trying to get started in Australia and is holding a meeting at PTC on Saturday 19th July, 9:30-3:30 pm. The meeting will hear from Ian Packer the Director of Public Theology for Australian Evangelical Alliance on "Loving God Caring for His creation" and will talk about establishing A Rocha in Australia.

This is an exciting development and I'd urge Sydney folk to get along. You can get the details from the PTC website and download a poster which you can put up at church. If, like me, you can't make it then get in touch with  Stuart Blanch (details on poster) to register your interest in the project.

Mugabe the theologian

It turns out that Robert Mugabe is an amateur theologian - and at first glance not a bad one.
If we are to believe the press (which admittedly is often dangerous,) the latest exchange in the Mugabe election drama is Mugabe's claim at the end of the week that "Only God who appointed me will remove me..." I believe that he is right.
Scripture tells us “The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength... The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. " (1 Samuel 2)
Given Scripture's exalted vision of a God who appoints the leaders of the nations, and dismisses them, it is perfectly true to say that he "alone" appointed Mugabe to his place of honour, and will dismiss him.
In order to be a more satisfactory theologian however, Mugabe should also note, that rather than offering him a divinely protected status (Mugabe: “Only God, who appointed me, will remove me — not the MDC, not the British. Only God will remove me!”), the Scriptures offer many examples where God holds leaders to account - and uses a successor as his agent of judgment.
Mugabe should also note Hannah's humble advice (1 Samuel 2:9) "It is not by strength that one prevails."
A good theologian must balance texts alongside each other, much like a good leader with the interests of his people. I wonder if Mugabe has much talent at either.

Jordan Cave May Be Oldest Church

In a recent press release, reported by the BBC, archaeologists claim to have uncovered evidence of the oldest Christian church – a cave (serving as both home and meeting place) at Rihab in Jordan, dating perhaps to before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. While I’m not going to get overly excited (too often have such finds turned out to be less sensational or convincing than first claimed), this one could shed light on the practices of the early church and take back by well over a century our material evidence of Christian places of meeting. If the dating is correct, this may be a refugee congregation from Jerusalem after the persecution recorded in Acts 8:1. Were any of the seventy Christians who met here among the 500 eyewitnesses of the resurrection, we wonder? We await the official archeological publication and scholarly interaction.