Image:  Fr. Mark Polley, rector and dean at St. Vincent's Cathedral of Bedford, Texas, took to his Facebook account to give his condolences, calling the late bishop "an incredible example of a Godly man faithfully living the gospel of Jesus Christ." "God only knows how many people he positively influenced with his faith, courage, steadfastness, but perhaps above all, his love for the people under his care and his humor in the goodness of this life," Polley wrote. "To say that he is loved and will be missed would be a huge understatement. Rest well, Bishop. I can't thank you enough for ..read more

Image:  "Perhaps the transformation of the disciples of Jesus is the greatest evidence of all for the resurrection." ― John R.W. Stott Sicknesses, losses, crosses, anxieties and disappointments seem absolutely needful to keep us humble, watchful and spiritual-minded. They are as needful as the pruning knife to the vine and the refiner's furnace to the gold. --- J. C. Ryle Dear Brothers and Sisters, www.virtueonline.org October 4, 2024 A NEW STUDY OUT on church attendance reveals that the unchurched don't attend mainly because of indifference and not because of busyness or antagonism ..read more

Image:  In exchange for ending his lawsuit against the West Point, Virginia school board, Vlaming will receive $575,000 in damages and legal fees and a change of school district policies according to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) the Christian legal organization representing Vlaming after he was wrongly fired for declining to use inaccurate pronouns. His termination will be removed from his record. "No government should force its employees (or anyone else) to voice their allegiance to an ideology that violates their deepest beliefs," ADF stated in a tweet following the negotiated s ..read more

Image:  Elected or appointed governors and leaders will be required to sign a statement of personal faith. It includes adherence to the faith as set out in the Apostles' and Nicene creeds, and belief in the Scriptures as the "supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct." Officers are expected to resign if they no can longer agree with the statement. But a clause on marriage and sexual behaviour was deleted in a vote by the lay people of the diocese, 114 for to 272 against. Because the vote was lost in the House of Laity, House of Clergy votes were not counted. The clause rea ..read more

Image:  But some of those survivors say the report by barrister Fiona Scolding KC, commissioned by trustees of Soul Survivor, leaves unanswered questions, particularly on the full nature and extent of the failings of the Church of England. Mr Pilavachi was widely regarded as one of the country's most influential charismatic preachers. As recently as 2020, the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury recognised him with an award for his work. Among other aspects of its ministry, the Soul Survivor movement held large national Christian festivals and is credited with bringing thousands of ..read more

Image:  Dioceses such as the Diocese of Port Elizabeth, a firmly evangelical diocese have been firm in their rejection of any moves to sanction prayers of blessings or any change of doctrine which would allow gay marriage (legal in South Africa since 2006). Bishop Eddie Daniels initiated a process this year to get the mind of the diocese on the matter and the verdict was unanimous in support of classical biblical teaching on the matter. In contrast, some Bishops in the Cape Town region have actively campaigned to have gay blessings approved. Lesbian and gay couples have toured parishe ..read more

Image:  Jesus understood the political and religious spirit of his age. He knew the ethnic and religious history from which it came. He had the wisdom to recognize that hate too frequently leads to violence. Jesus knew he was surrounded by rival kingdoms, while, as N.T. Wright explains, "explicitly opposing armed resistance." In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that the nature of God's kingdom, coming to pass in him, meant that God's people are to not resist evil or wickedness with violence (Matthew 5:39). Do you long for Jesus-centered justice to heal our world? Consider becomin ..read more

Image:  There were also art dealers in his family, his uncles and his beloved brother, Theo, who worked for Goupil and Co in Paris. During his school years he became well versed in literature, including George Elliot and Dickens. Later he became influenced by John Bunyan and the works of Thomas A Kempis, especially his book, 'The Imitation of Christ'. He was well versed in several languages. Vincent maintained a close relationship with Theo throughout his life, writing many letters about life, faith and art. Vincent sold one painting only and Theo supported him, financially providing ..read more

Image:  Hubristic? Perhaps. But writing the book also involved repentance for my intellectual sins. More than twenty years before, I had my own Copernican revolution when I realized I had previously missed the profound Jewishness of Jesus and the gospel. Then I discovered, to my delight, that Edwards also came to see that Israel is at the center of world history. That made me all the more determined to pick up where Edwards left off. Using recent scholarship, I decided to connect the dots, linking Israel, redemption by the Jewish Messiah, secular and sacred history, the world religion ..read more

Image:  The Charity Commission has now confirmed that it has opened a statutory inquiry into the charity, which is the highest level of probe under the regulator's remit. The charity is the main organisation in a network of charities and legal entities around the world which have estimated assets of up to £100 million, with most of the funds coming from the UK. It is feared that there could be a £15 million hole in the group's finances, internal documents show. The allegations have emerged amid a major split at the organisation which has seen three of the founding members suspended an ..read more