If psychological and social scientists overestimate the possibilities of improving social relations by the development of intelligence, that may be regarded as an understandable naivete of rationalists, who naturally incline to attribute too much power to reason and to recognise its limits too grudgingly. Men will not cease to be dishonest, merely because they have discovered their own deceptions. Whenever men hold unequal power in society, they will strive to maintain it. They will use whatever means are most convenient to that end and will seek to justify them by the most plausible arguments they are able to devise.

–Reinhold Neibuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics (1932)

Reinhold Niebuhr: "There are historic situations in which refusal to defend the inheritance of a civilization, however imperfect, against tyranny and aggression may result in consequences even worse than war." pic.twitter.com/Sox3ODlSNG

— The Assisi Project (@_AssisiProject) July 16, 2018

The Church of England has created its own identity crises by progressively distancing itself from its Reformation roots. A state of flux has become the norm doctrinally, liturgically, and morally. It is therefore opportune to reconsider the Reformers’ convictions about inspiration of Scripture, instead of allowing the Reformation to be viewed as an unfortunate historical parenthesis.

Dr Hughes presented this article as a paper to the 1960 Conference of Evangelical Churchmen.It is reproduced by permission….

Holy Scripture belongs integrally to God’s purposes of redemption for fallen man, and its primary object is to lead us to Christ. Its function is within the sphere of special grace. The blessings of the Reformation resulted from the return to the Bible as the Word of God in humble and grateful obedience to the Good News it announces. This is still today the road to blessing and renewal.

Read it all.

O Lord Jesus Christ, who when on earth wast ever about thy Father’s business: Grant that we may not grow weary in well-doing. Give us grace to do all in thy name. Be thou the beginning and the end of all: the pattern whom we follow, the redeemer in whom we trust, the master whom we serve, the friend to whom we look for sympathy. May we never shrink from our duty from any fear of man. Make us faithful unto death; and bring us at last into thy eternal presence, where with the Father and the Holy Ghost thou livest and reignest for ever.

On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. And behold, a man from the crowd cried, “Teacher, I beg you to look upon my son, for he is my only child; and behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him till he foams, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” While he was coming, the demon tore him and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astonished at the majesty of God.

But while they were all marveling at everything he did, he said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

And an argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But when Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts, he took a child and put him by his side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me; for he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

John answered, “Master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him; for he that is not against you is for you.”

–Luke 9:37-50