J.C. Ryle on the 39 Articles of Religion (Part 7)

From Knots Untied, here is a brief appeal by Ryle to teach the Thirty-Nine Articles in Anglican churches:

(2) In the second place, I ask all who read this paper to teach the Thirty-nine Articles to all young people who are yet of an age to be taught. It is a burning shame that the Articles are not made an essential part of the system of every school connected with the Church of England, whether for high or low, for rich or poor.

I do not say this without reason. It is a simple fact, that the beginning of any clear doctrinal views I have ever attained myself, was reading up the Articles at Eton, for the Newcastle Scholarship, and attending a lecture at Christ Church, Oxford, on the Articles, by a college tutor. I shall always thank God for what I learned then. Before that time I really knew nothing systematically of Christianity. I knew not what came first or what last. I had a religion without order in my head. What I found good myself I commend to others.

If you love young people’s souls and would ground them, and stablish them, and arm them against error betimes, take care that you teach them not only the Catechism, but also the Articles.

This seems to be sound advice to me – to give all our parishioners some foundation in doctrine.

This post originally appeared at the Prydain website. It is republished here with Will Prydain’s permission.