Essentials
Editorial Winter 2021
- Details
- Written by: Stephen Hale
John R.W. Stott
John Stott was born in London on 27th April 1921. In honour of the centenary of his birth date we have produced this special edition to reflect on the remarkable ministry of the Rev Dr John Stott. It is hard to think of any other figure who has had a more profound impact on evangelical Anglicanism as well as global evangelicalism than John Stott. Indeed as Michael Cromartie quipped, ‘if evangelicals could elect a pope, Stott is the person theywould likely choose.’
Although many of us never met the man, he still profoundly impacted us. My first contact was via his classic little book Your Confirmation when, at 14, I was doing confirmation classes. It would be lying to say it had a great impact on me at the time! In 1975 I was there when he delivered the Bible Studies on Ephesians at the AFES National Conference in Bathurst. Each session was captivating and gave me a whole new perspective on understanding Scripture. I can still visualise the Conference and was thrilled when the print version emerged as God’s New Society. During my time at Moore College, I had a case of second year blues and had a mid-year holiday in Tasmania. I read I Believe in Preaching year holiday in Tasmania. I read I Believe in Preaching by Stott and came back fired and up and back on track. One could go on and on from CMS Summer Schools to Lausanne Congresses, to papers and many books. One way or another John Stott has impacted many of us in profound and deeply personal ways.As the founder of EFAC, it is fitting for EFAC Australia to honour him with this special issue of Essentials. I want to acknowledge the help of Peter Adam and Mark Juers in dreaming up the list of articles and to each of the contributors for writing such an inspiring set of articles.
Bishop Stephen Hale Chair, EFAC AUSTRALIA and EFAC GLOBAL
Essentials 2024
- Details
- Written by: Chris Appleby
To look through the collection, see the article list on the left.
Publishing of Essentials is made possible by a paid membership so if you're not currently a paid-up member/subscriber we encourage you to become one so we can continue to fund this very worthwhile journal. Our Membership form is here.
Essentials 2023
- Details
- Written by: Chris Appleby
To look through the collection, see the article list on the left.
Publishing of Essentials is made possible by a paid membership so if you're not currently a paid-up member/subscriber we encourage you to become one so we can continue to fund this very worthwhile journal. Our Membership form is here.
Essentials 2022
- Details
- Written by: Chris Appleby
To look through the collection, see the article list on the left.
Publishing of Essentials is made possible by a paid membership so if you're not currently a paid-up member/subscriber we encourage you to become one so we can continue to fund this very worthwhile journal. Our Membership form is here.
Essentials 2021
- Details
- Written by: Chris Appleby
To look through the collection, see the article list on the left.
Publishing of Essentials is made possible by a paid membership so if you're not currently a paid-up member/subscriber we encourage you to become one so we can continue to fund this very worthwhile journal. Our Membership form is here.
Book Review: The Son of Man in Mark’s Gospel
- Details
- Written by: Allan Chapple
The Son of Man in Mark’s Gospel: Exploring its Possible Connections with the Book of Ezekiel,
DAVID FORREST MITCHELL
ACT MONOGRAPH SERIES,
WIPF AND STOCK, 2019
This book achieves what many would have assumed to be unattainable. Despite the immense amounts of scholarly effort invested in the study of Jesus’ use of “Son of Man”, David has contributed something that is not only new but also worth saying—and he has done it in less than one hundred pages! (This is the published version of the dissertation for which he was awarded the Master of Theology by the Australian College of Theology.)
The only surprise about what he says is that it needed to be said. There has been a long-standing consensus that Jesus derived this unusual self-designation primarily from the vision reported in Daniel 7. This leaves many thoughtful Bible-readers wondering why the scholarly eggs have been confined to this one small basket, when there is another that is much bigger and surely no less worthy of attention: the fact that the Lord never addresses Ezekiel by name but always (ninety-three times!) calls him “son of man.”
Book Review: Dominion
- Details
- Written by: Tim Chappell
Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind
TOM HOLLAND
LITTLE, BROWN, 2019
So how did we get the culture, structure and morality of the Western world? Where did it come from? For many of us there is a vague feeling that many of the good things we appreciate in the West started in Ancient Greece but came to fulfilment in the Enlightenment. At that point in history humankind awakened to its own sweet reason and became aware of self-evident truths such as, for example, “all men are created equal”.
Not so, says eminent historian Tom Holland in his tremendously written book, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind. These so-called ‘self-evident truths’ are not self-evident at all. Having written extensively on Ancient Rome and then having turned to Islamic history, Tom Holland has swum in different historical cultures, cultures that show no indication of seeing the self-evidence of such truths as Thomas Jefferson wrote about. Christianity is the towering force that has shaped the Western mind and continues to have impact even in institutions and societies that have long rejected, or even spurned faith. It is from Christianity that springs all the many concepts we have long taken for granted, such as women’s rights, freedom, science and secularism just to name a few. Many a Christian has suggested as such but Holland, who interestingly, is a bit slippery about his own conviction of faith, writes with passion and persuasion.