Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles – Article XIV
Article XIV. Of Works of Supererogation. VOLUNTARY works, besides, over and above God’s commandments, which they call Works of Supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety: for by them men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for…
Pursuing an Anglican Identity
I’m new to Anglicanism. I journeyed on the Canterbury trail along with many recent pilgrims from my Baptist homeland. Sometimes, this fact makes me self-conscious. Was I young, restless, and Reformed because it was cool then? And now that liturgy is cool, I’m Anglican? The question does not bother me enough to keep me up…
Book Review: “Anglicanism”
Anglicanism: The Thought and Practice of the Church of England, Illustrated from the Religious Literature of the Seventeenth Century. Edited by Paul Elmer More and Frank Leslie Cross. Cambridge, UK: James Clarke & Co., 2009. 610 pp. $49.13 (paper). In a video titled “Why I Am Not Anglican,” Lutheran pastor and author Dr. Jordan B….
Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles – Article XIII
Article XIII. Of Works before Justification. WORKS done before the Grace of Christ, and the inspiration of His Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ; neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the school-authors say) deserve grace of congruity; yea, rather, for…
Summer Afternoon
Above our house an ancient maple spreads Its branches wide to shade in shadow all That falls below: Perennials in reds And blues and, wearing muted greens, a small But stubborn bed of hostas which we’ve done Our careless best to kill through sad neglect. A hum of bees floats lazy in the sun. Loud…
Bishop Joseph Hall’s Defense of the Unborn
A debate currently rages about when evangelicals took up their pro-life position on abortion. The ‘when’ matters in part for how it might answer ‘why’ they did so. Thus, a number of pro-choice advocates have accused evangelicals of only opposing abortion in the period after Roe v. Wade and as a backlash to women’s rights….
Book Review: “Being Human in a Technological Age: Rethinking Theological Anthropology”
Being Human in a Technological Age: Rethinking Theological Anthropology. Edited by Steven C. Van Den Heuvel. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2020. 274 pp. $70 (paper). What does it mean to be a technologically advanced human? Building on an ancient question: “what does it mean to be human?” the authors of Being Human in a Technological…
Report from the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word Synod
Last week I served as a voting delegate to the annual synod and missions conference of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word. The diocesan bishop, The Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs, addressed the delegates as he does every year. This year Bishop Dobbs’s pastoral address made somewhat of a stir. Author Rod Dreher was present…
Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles – Article XII
Article XII. Of Good Works. ALBEIT that good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God’s judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith; insomuch that by…
Assurance in the Prayer Book
A few months ago, with a measure of frustration, I observed a social media debate between two Anglicans, one of whom is a staunch Calvinist, and one of whom is a staunch Arminian. As is typical in such debates, the main issue was whether or not one could every truly know if one is saved….