"[By] Hugh Montefiore, Bishop of Kingston-upon-Thames".
"First published November 1976". -- verso of t.-p.
"But why call this an age of apocalypse, as though the world is ending ? ... No the world is not about to end. Nor are the terrifying visions of the Apocalypse of St. John about to be literally fulfilled. ... No, what I mean by apocalypse in the title of these lectures is neither the end of the world nor a mere crisis, but a kairos, a decisive period of history, when the world -- and in our case our nation -- is faced with a moment of destiny; when it is about to enter a wholly new era, when it must face unprecedented issues of good and evil -- both for the planet as a whole. and for this nation in particular." -- p. 3-4.
"Of course Christians are to be involved in the world. This is what the doctrine of Incarnation is about -- God involving himself in the secular world which he has made; and Christians are in duty bound to get stuck in, to involve themselves in everyday life; in the family, in the local school or parents association, in local affairs, in their businesses, in the union or wherever it may be. We have a positive duty in all circumstances to get involved. But the word which is spoken to us is not an either or. It is not 'either' get involved 'or' be detached. It is 'both and'. We must 'both' be involved 'and' be detached. Now is the time, especially at a time of testing, to show that truly Christian combination of detachment from the world and and involvement in the world: now is the time to experience the sense of freedom and compulsion which comes from this combination." -- p. 28.
"A two-month Mission entitled 'A World in Apocalypse' has been launched in Southwark Cathedral, with a major exhibition and two separate series of lectures. The Mission opened on October 19th [1976] with three lectures by the Bishop of Kingston. What Hugh Montefiore said seemed to me so important, urgent and relevant that I determined that it must be available to a wider audience." -- Intro.
Contents: Introduction dated October 1976 / Harold Frankham, Provost's Office ... London -- What does God say to the Nation ? -- What does God say to the planet ? -- What does God say to me ?
"Edited by Dr. Percy Dearmer, Canon of Westminster".
"The issue, indeed, is simple. The motives and methods of human life are not sufficiently moralised: it was to moralise the machinery of production, to limit the power of selfishness, that Wilberforce and Shaftesbury were working a century ago; and the whole world now enjoys what Christians then won: but in many ways industry and business, and family life, and civic and political activity, need further moralisation. Money -- the necessary use of tokens of exchange -- has been overlooked in its moral aspect (in spite of what Christ said about it) .... And, alas, there was one aspect of human life which was not understood a hundred years ago; and to this our present miseries are mainly due. The very word 'international' had then only just been coined by Jeremy Bentham. The whole conception of moralising international relations was in its infancy. So the world went on to its doom. So, because the nations and their representatives have not yet learnt the elements of international behaviour, we stand at this moment of writing on the brink of irretrievable disaster. It is in a very real sense true that only Christ can save the world from ruin to-day. Are we prepared to let his spirit save the nations from themselves ?" -- Preface, p. 10-11.
Contents: Preface By the Editor / Percy Dearmer -- Introductory: "Christ or Chaos ?" -- 1. Vindication / E.A. Burroughs -- 2. The Demands of the Ordinary Man / Albert Mansbridge -- Part I: The Present Chaos -- 1. The Intellectual and Moral Confusion / W.R. Matthews -- 2. The Confusion in Literature / Richard Ellis Roberts -- 3. The Social and Economic Confusion / P.T.R. Kirk -- 4. The Confusion in International Relations / J. Howard B. Masterman -- Part II: What Christianity Is -- 1. The Secret of Christ / Charles E. Raven -- 2. Christ's Conception of the Kingdom of God / Arthur Herbert Gray -- 3. The Original Fellowship Idea of the Christian Church / Joseph Wellington Hunkin -- 4. The Christian View of Man as Social / S.J. Bezzant -- 5. Christianity and History: -- a) General Development / Malcolm Spencer -- b) Social Progress and the Continental Churches / A.E. Garvie -- c) The Stockholm Conference / G.K.A. Bell -- 6. Uniting the Christian Forces / Edward S. Woods -- 7. What the Church is Doing: Social Activities / S.E. Keeble -- Part III: The Christian Solution -- 1. Personal and Family Life / A.A. David -- 2. Education / Charles Grant Robertson -- 3. The Social and Economic Order -- a) The Basis of Exchange / Hewlett Johnson -- b) Civic and Industrial Reform / J. Morgan Rees -- c) Individual Function and the Community / E. C. Urwin -- d) Labour and Leisure / A. Maude Royden -- e) The Rebirth of the Village / W. Beach Thomas -- 4. The State and Constructive Citizenship / W.G.S. Adams -- 5. The World of International Affairs -- a) Christianity and the League of Nations / Lord Dickinson -- b) The Crisis and the East / J.B. Raju -- c) Disarmament / Cosmo Gordon Lang -- d) A Christian Peace Policy / E.N. Porter Goff -- 6. Is There an Alternative ? -- a) Scientific Humanism and Religions of Life / H.G. Wood -- b) Industrial Secularism / Maurice B. Reckitt -- c) Communist Secularism / Nicolai A. Berdiaeff -- 7. The Church in the World: Failures and Opportunities / F.R. Barry -- 8. The Conclusion of the Matter / William Temple -- Index.
Colophon: Printed in Great Britain by The Camelot Press Ltd., London and Southampton". -- verso of t.-p.
"Report of the Mission Theological Advisory Board of the Board of Mission of the General Synod of the Church of England".
Includes bibliographical endnotes and bibliography (p. 132).
Report "examines aspects of modern culture (secularization, youth culture, other faiths, Urban Priority Areas, etc.). The place and style of evangelism is considered and practical examples are given (in the areas of baptismal policy, church structures, leadership patterns, etc.) of ways in which Gospel, culture and church life interact."
Contents: Introduction dated April 1991 / Philip King, Acting Chairman -- Part A: The Gospel in the Midst of Culture -- How do we discover the content of the Gospel Message ? -- The Church and contemporary society -- Our secular culture and some of its sub-cultures -- Building bridges for two-way traffic -- Identifying the Gospel in action -- Part B: The Impact of the Gospel on Society -- How the Gospel has affected British society -- Gospel and culture: affirmation or confrontation ? -- Witnessing to the Gospel in our society -- Conversion and continuity -- Part C: Gospel, Culture and Church Life -- Baptismal Policies -- Worship in differing contexts -- Church structures as vehicles of the Gospel -- Leadership and cultural change -- Authentic discipleship -- Appendices -- Glossary -- List of Members of the Mission Theological Advisory Group -- Notes -- Bibliography.
"Do Anglican Catholics have anything to day about evangelism, or is that the sole prerogative of Evangelicals ? What is the faith that Catholics have to share, and how do they set about communicating it ? These were the topics that concerned the Third National Affirming Catholicism Conference, whose questions and conclusions are set out in this book." -- back cover.
Contents: Notes on Contributors -- Introduction / Richard Holloway -- "The Double Grip of Glory" / Michael Marshall -- Evanglism and Worship / David Stancliffe -- The Church in Society / John Habgood -- What Sort of Unity for What Sort of Mission ? / Mary Tanner -- The Flickering Image : Evangelism in an Age of Mass Media / Angela Tilby -- A National Church ? / John Moses -- Postscript: Talk of the Devil / Rowan Williams.
Colophon: Printed and bound in Great Britain by Page Bros, Norwich.
"This book is about what the church is to be and the jobs it has to do in a changing world and in cultures they delight in being 'postmodern' and 'post-Christian'. ... The church is concerned with specific (and sometimes quite small) local communities, but also, on a larger scale, with government plans for urban or rural regeneration and the implications for pastoral care and mission of these plans. Both ends of our concern receive attention here. .... Finally, I have tried to write about controversial matters that have divided Christians in the past, in such a way as to transcend past divisions and to approach the issues with fresh eyes and an open mind, relying on recent scholarship to do this." -- Pp. 11, 12.
Contents: David Hope, Archbishop of York -- An Introductory Word -- Is There a Gospel for the Twenty-First Century ? -- Is There a Future for the Church ? -- Fundamentals of Being Church -- Models of the Church -- Ways of Being Church -- What Kind of Ministry Does the Church Require ? -- One So That the World May Believe -- Rendering to Caesar -- And Finally -- A Study Guide for Groups -- Notes -- Index of Names, Places and Subjects -- Index of Biblical References..
Author is the Anglican Bishop of Rochester in England.
"Seven of these addresses were given at different centres to the clergy and churchwardens of the diocese of York on the occasion of my primary visitation; the eighth was given in almost identical terms at four large meetings of the laity as 'a call to loyalty to Christ and His Church'. .... Through all these charges there run four convictions -- firstly, we are living in one of the great crises of human history; our days are revolutionary, the old order is passing away, and a new age has not yet come to the birth. Secondly, that Christianity is now a minority religion; it no longer dominates the Western World; the power it once had of imposing its teaching on states and communities has long vanished; so it must persuade and influence through its message and its life. Thirdly, though the Church is in a minority, it possesses a supernatural Gospel and life; the world will only listen to it if it can give this message and offer power not from man but from God. Fourthly, that it only this supernatural Gospel which will enable us to overcome the forces of evil which now threaten mankind with destruction, and give us the true solution to the problems which are now proving so baffling and perplexing". -- Intro.
Contents: Introduction / Cyril Ebor i.e. Garbett, Archbishop of York -- Darkness and Light -- Marriage and Divorce -- Home -- Freedom and the Modern State -- The Church and the Economic Crisis -- The Church and the World Order -- The Church and the Atomic Bomb -- Loyalty to Christ and His Church.
Colophon: Made and printed in Great Britain for Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., London, by The Aberdeen University Press, Aberdeen.