Article XX. Of the Authority of the Church. THE Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies, and authority in controversies of faith; and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain anything that is contrary to God’s word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant…
A few days ago I had the privilege of introducing the Anglican tradition to teachers at The Ecclesial School at St. Alban’s. The faculty are a mixed bunch — Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Baptists. Afterwards I had a wonderful conversation with a sincere and devout Baptist who wanted to understand more…
One of the doctrines that were always considered representative of the Old High Church school within Anglicanism, is that of Baptismal Regeneration. Whilst not usually controversial, there have been occasional flare-ups over it, of which the best known is the Gorham Case of 1848-50. The roots of this doctrine lie in Holy Scripture, for example,…
J.C. Ryle and Rowan Williams are not, we might reasonably think, natural bedfellows. What, other than beards, could the low church Victorian evangelical and the postmodern Anglo-Catholic possibly have in common? For both Ryle and Williams, Saint Bartholomew’s Day 1662 is a cause for lament. Ryle thundered his condemnation of the events of that Saint…
Contents: Prolegomena First Principles and Individual Judgement The Perspicuity of Scripture The Exclusive Infallibility of Scripture The Visible and Invisible Church The Fallibility of Ecumenical Councils The Protestant Reformation Conclusion 1. Prolegomena I have come to understand that my last article was deeply challenging to some people and forced them to grapple with questions they…
Perhaps the most noble vocation is that of Christian parenthood. Parents are called to die to themselves for their spouse and while raising children in an increasingly hostile world. The Lord’s admonishment rings more urgently than ever to “See that you do not despise one of these little ones.” (Matthew 18:10, ESV). Unfortunately, parents today…
The Second Adam and the New Birth. By M. F. Sadler. Monroe, LA: Athanasius Press, 2004. 288 pp. $21.95 (paper). Some years ago when a friend and I were both becoming interested in Anglicanism, I accompanied this friend on a visit with his Baptist family. My friend’s mother heard that I, like her son, was…
“No one can have God as his father, who does not have the Church for his mother.” – St. Cyprian “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.” – Proverbs 1:8 Introduction River Devereux has recently published a provocative essay dealing with several topics that should interest…
Anyone familiar with the classic 1959 science-fiction novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz, will remember a central theme was Christianity’s ability to survive and rebuild even when Mankind uses the creative gifts handed down to us from the Almighty to maim and murder ourselves. In the book, atomic bombs turn on their hubristic creators in a…
“As runs the glass Man’s life doth pass.” New England Primer, 1690 The little couplet neatly tucked in the first few pages of Marly Youmans’ novel Charis in the World of Wonders haunted me as I read her tale, spun from the threads of history and fiction, Puritan mettle and poetry. I know Youmans firstly…