During the later seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it became common among Anglican divines to refer to works as a “condition” of justification. Alister McGrath traces this development to the fact that “the idea of justification sola fide came under suspicion, perhaps reflecting a growing concern about its possible links with antinomianism.” Hence figures such as…
The most strange emotion I’ve ever felt in a church is something I’ve come to coin as “Spiritual Whiplash”—the feeling of being swept up in the grandeur, emotion, and beauty of a spiritual experience, and then immediately having that drained out of you by a sudden realization that the emotion was completely disconnected from reality….
One of the old saws when I was training for the ministry, was that Cranmer had the shape of the Communion service all wrong. This assertion was, of course, based on a 1945 book called The Shape of the Liturgy by an Anglican Benedictine called Gregory Dix. Leaving aside the fact that Dix rejected Cranmer’s…
Antitheses Credo-baptists argue against infant baptism on multiple fronts: 1) from Scripture, 2) from Christian antiquity, 3) from the discontinuity between baptism and circumcision, 4) from the illustrative deficiencies of infant baptism, and 5) from the risks involved in infant baptism. 1) The antitheses from Holy Scripture usually take one of these three forms. a)…
We have all had that unwelcome guest who didn’t quite fit in. On the surface, he or she comes off as awkward, bombastic, or just a little larger than life. We have also had those cases where, at times, the unwelcome guest positively surprises us. In many ways, the soul is that unwelcome guest. The…
“L’enfer, c’est les autres,” quipped Sartre. Christians disagree. Hell is to be alone, heaven to be with others in love. One might therefore expect Satanists, a contrary bunch, to disagree with the Christians as a matter of principle, and to seclude themselves in haughty isolation from the profanum vulgus. Such was the strategy of old-school…
Andrew and Isaac discuss the Sabbatarian themes in Lambeth 1888 Resolution 6. Got any suggestions or feedback? Let us know in the comments below!
Preface It should be stated that I am writing this treatise primarily for those already holding to the doctrine of infant baptism, that they might have a clearer and more precise understanding of why it is they believe the way they do concerning this article of faith. However, for those open to instruction, I will…
In this two-part article, I am offering a case study in how the Confirmation process can be used to advance the efforts of traditional Anglicans in helping what I am calling “suspicious evangelicals” deeper into the Anglican Way. In the first part, I introduced “Rick” (a composite of many of our parishioners) as the kind…
Article XI tells us “we are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings.” To say we are “accounted” righteous indicates that the Article treats justification as forensic, meaning that in justification we are legally declared righteous as…