Theology
Mature Complementarianism
The evangelical debate between complementarianism and egalitarianism has mostly cooled off in recent years, but the end of this debate more closely resembles a stalemate than a proper peace agreement. The discourse on this issue has devolved into the occasional firing of proof texts from either side when the subject becomes relevant for a brief…
Principles and Distinctives of Anglican Ceremonial
efore one may talk about the controversies over ceremonies and rites, one must first discuss the point of ritual. That is, what is its end. All who have even the slightest liturgical education are well aware of the primitive doctrine of lex orandi, lex credendi. For those who are new to the discussion, this little…
Three Adams
Dali paintings, skulls and monsters, particolored wings, Cards and dice and portraits line the walls of Suicide Kings. Breathing shallow, still as rock, I’m trying not to blink. Virgin plains of ruddy skin imbibing jet black ink. Adam leans against my back and scribes a fearful face: An image of an image of the saviour…
Cranmer and Ussher – ‘Bookends’ of the English Reformation
Today marks two anniversaries – the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury in 1556, and the death of Archbishop James Ussher of Armagh in 1656. In some respects, these two are the intellectual ‘bookends’ of the English Reformation, with Cranmer being in some respects the pioneer of the English Reformation, and Ussher perhaps the…
Evensong at Home
They say the family that prays together stays together. Of course, it’s not the words spoken in prayer that keeps a family together, but the heart of devotion to Christ and to one another that fuels the prayer. C. S. Lewis argues that prayer without words can actually be more beneficial than spoken prayer, but…
A Review of the First Annual Anglican Theology Conference at Beeson Divinity School
Last Tuesday and Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending the first ever Annual Anglican Theology Conference at Beeson Divinity School at Samford University. It included an impressive roster of speakers: Archbishop Eliud Wabukala (Kenya), Archbishop Mouneer Anis (Egypt), Archbishop Foley Beach (ACNA), Ephraim Radner, Gerald Bray, Barabara Gauthier, John Yates III, Andrew Pearson, Gerald…
A Liturgical Bait-and-Switch?
I have long considered myself something of a liturgy nerd. I remember as a young child comparing various sections of the Episcopal 1979 Prayer Book and wondering why we always prayed the Nicene Creed on Sunday and never the Apostles’ Creed. When I was returning to the Anglican tradition as an adult, a significant part…
Dueling Pauls?
One of the tendencies in any theological tradition is to develop a canon in canonem (“canon within a canon”). The Anabaptists have the Sermon on the Mount, or so they claim. The Reformed supposedly have Romans. Catholics will always (falsely) accuse Protestants of reading Paul at the expense of James and Protestants will always (falsely)…
The 1537 Matthew Bible: More Anglican than Not
In part 1 of this article, we saw a brief history of the Matthew Bible, first published in 1537. It was the work of three Englishmen living in Antwerp: William Tyndale, who translated the New Testament and the first half of the Old from the Hebrew and Greek; Myles Coverdale, who translated the other Scriptures…
The 1537 Matthew Bible: More Anglican than Not
When the sixteenth century dawned in England, there were laws prohibiting the translation of the Bible into English. It was illegal to even own or to read English Scriptures.((In 1401, under King Henry IV, parliament passed a statute called De haeretico comburendo, or On the burning of heretics, targeting Wycliffe’s followers, the Lollards. Then in 1408…