Article 2 of the Thirty-Nine Articles contains the primary christological teaching in the Articles. In relatively straightforward terms, it puts forward the basic christology that the reformed Church of England was to confess, and thus the position of the later Anglican tradition. Its position within the section of Articles that seeks to demonstrate the reformed…
Going a little further in Ryle’s Knots Untied, this is what the good Bishop had to say about the next mark of regeneration, “love of the brethren”: Fourthly, John says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren”-I John 3:14. A man born again, or regenerate, then, has a…
Dear Reader, Beloved in Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it seems fitting to begin my poor discourse (in which nothing new can or will be said) by quoting the Anglican Doctor, the Reverend Richard Hooker: Think not that ye read the words of one who bendeth himself as an adversary against the truth which…
How do we know what Anglicans believe? One crucial way is to look at the teaching contained in our foundational documents. These include the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal. But less well-known than these are the two books of Homilies – published sermons for clergy to preach to their congregations in the early…
In twenty years’ time, Anglican enthusiasts will mark the bicentennials of three nineteenth-century libraries: the Wycliffe Society Library, the Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology, and the Parker Society Library.[1] The first is now predominantly associated with dissent, and therefore may not generate much interest among Anglicans, at least in North America.[2] But the latter two collections,…
A key vector in online apologetics is the role of Scripture in Protestant theology. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox partisans will gleefully point out that while Scripture may be infallible, its canon is not. In other words, an infallible Scripture has a fallible canon. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that this is…
Continuing further in Ryle’s Knots Untied, this is what the good Bishop had to say about the next mark of regeneration, which I am calling “living righteously”: Thirdly, John says, “Every one that does righteousness is born of Him”-I John 2:29. The man born again, or regenerate, then is, a holy man. He endeavors to live…
On Christian Priesthood. By Robin Ward. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2011. 168 pp. $20.65 (paper). The nature of Christian priesthood, according to Robin Ward, has been obscured in recent decades: “Some theological themes which…are central to a proper understanding of ministerial priesthood in the Christian religion…have come to be seen as either unfashionable…
Someone recently commented to me that in order to bridge the Anglo-Catholic/Confessional Anglican divide, a prayer book should be created that simply includes the Holy Communion rite from the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, as well as the one from the 1662 BCP (built on Cranmer’s 1552 BCP). On the surface, this might seem fair—after…
Going a little further in Ryle’s Knots Untied, this is what the good Bishop had to say about belief as a mark of regeneration: (2) Secondly, St. John says, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God.” (1 John v. 1.) A regenerate man believes that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour…