Introduction There is some confusion today about the place of what can be called the ceremonial commandments of the Law of Moses, regarding circumcision, meats, sacrifices, ritual cleansing, and observance of the Sabbath. Today, millions of people who consider themselves Christians believe that some or all of the ceremonial laws must still be observed in…
Matthew Levering. Why I Am Roman Catholic. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2024. 176 pp. $18 (paper). Reviewing a book by a friend and mentor, especially one whose work aligns with many of your own theological sympathies, is a complex task. It requires threading the needle between admiration and constructive critique, especially when the book…
Sing Unto the Lord: A Liturgical Hymnal. Anglican Music Publishing, 2023. 942 pp. $29.95 (hardcover). In my earlier article, I discussed the various criteria for picking an Anglican hymnal.[1] I did so as a starting point for writing a review of Sing Unto the Lord (SUL). As noted in the earlier article, this 2023 hymnal…
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed, great David’s greater Son! Hail, in the time appointed, his reign on earth begun! He comes to break oppression, to set the captive free; to take away transgression, and rule in equity. Oppressed by sin, captive to the devil, and confounded by the world’s deceits is how we are born…
On January 21, 2025, the Episcopal Church’s Bishop of Washington delivered a homily at the Inaugural Prayer Service. The president, vice president, and many members of the United States government were in attendance. There is a long history of Anglican bishops and priests preaching sermons to kings who held their very lives in their hands,…
A Companion to the Book of Common Prayer. By Gerald Bray. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2023. 522 pp. $117 (hardcover), $46.88 (paper). Prayer Book commentaries—close studies of the Book of Common Prayer that analyze it with regard to its language, liturgy, theology, history, etc.—were once fairly common as a genre.[1] Nowadays such works are…
Songs of thankfulness and praise, Jesus, Lord, to Thee we raise, Manifested by the star To the sages from afar; Branch of royal David’s stem In Thy birth at Bethlehem; Anthems be to Thee addressed, God in Man made manifest. In today’s Gospel reading, the Living God visits a wedding (John 2:1-11). The traditional Western…
The question of whether infant baptism is a legitimate practice cannot be adequately engaged here without far exceeding the proper limits of a project such as this. Readers may therefore consult Browne’s treatment and rest assured that, as the Article says, infant baptism is “most agreeable with the institution of Christ.”[1] With the propriety of…
This week the long-awaited To Be a Christian app is live on the Apple App Store and Google Play after months of waiting since the 2024 ACNA Assembly. The developers have created a webpage for the app, which redirects to the developers’ webpage with future updates. Attendees who downloaded the app have access for free,…
As recent egalitarian commitments find traction within traditionally orthodox Anglican circles, a vital question looms over us: what roles do gender and sexuality play in maintaining our theological integrity and liturgical coherence? This question is not a mere matter of policy (although it ought to inform it, as our recent political discussions reflect) or preference;…