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“Anglican History” a New Article for Logos.com
I was recently honored with the opportunity to write an introductory article on Anglicanism for the Logos.com “Word by Word” blog. Here’s the introduction: Anglicanism is a religious identity claimed…Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles – Introduction
The Reformation was not the work, either of a year, or of a generation. Its foundation was laid both in the good and in the evil qualities of our nature.…Tract I: What Is Anglicanism?
Tracts for the Times 2.0 I’m often asked the question, “What is Anglicanism?” To which I respond: “Do you want the two-word answer, the long one-sentence answer, or my book…Anointing of the Sick, Then and Now [Commentary on Browne: Article XXV (3)]
While Browne acknowledges four of the minor sacraments as legitimate rites of the church, he does not extend this recognition to the anointing of the sick: “Extreme Unction is an ordinance concerning which we differ from the Church of Rome more than on the other four. We admit the proper use of confirmation, confession, orders,…
Ever Vigilant Church Militant
Body broken,God hath spoken—By the Word,Spirit led. Ever vigilantChurch militant—Triumphant chorus—Praise surrounds our King. Fear no battle:Christ has conquered,Joined us to His body,By the Spirit’s love. The Nile He parted,Drowned Pharoah’s army;Walls of JerichoHave tumbled to ruin. Above the treetopsGoes the Lord’s army:We enter intoHis victory won. Saints of old testify,The angelic host,Led by the…
Vengeance is Mine: Wrestling with the Violence of God in the Old Testament (Part I)
It was to some poor shepherds one night in a field outside of Bethlehem that a heavenly army of angels appeared delivering a message of “peace on earth, goodwill towards men.” The Prince of Peace had been born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. Contrary to the Marcionite dichotomy…
Ministers of Reconciliation
For anyone united to Christ, there is a new creation: the old [world] has gone; a new [world] has already begun.[1] And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world…
The Protest of Anglicanism
It is common to hear Anglicanism described as “Reformed Catholic,” and I appreciate this term. I think it helps outsiders and insiders to understand the two major emphases of the denomination. That being said, I still want Anglicans to hold on to the name “Protestant.” I largely have John Jewell to thank for this, an…
Book Review: “Images of Pilgrimage”
Images of Pilgrimage: Paradise and Wilderness in Christian Spirituality. By R. D. Crouse. London, UK: Darton, Longman, and Todd Ltd. 96 pp. $24.99 CAD (paper). Christian thinkers past and present have often considered our relationship with place—the lands and cities that we dwell or sojourn in. Often, these considerations reflect larger theological questions: Are our…
Egalitarian Christianity is Incoherent
Conclusion of The Debate This is the final (planned) essay in my series on William G. Witt’s book promoting the ordination of women, Icons of Christ. In the first essay, I showed how those wishing to maintain a “male only” priesthood could read the book of Genesis, not necessarily as a book requiring the exclusion…
We Cannot Live Without Sunday: When Can the Church Tell the State, No?
What follows are some thoughts about the extent and limits of the church’s obligation to obey the civil authorities. This is particularly relevant to the recent closing of hundreds of churches in Rwanda by the Kagame regime.[1] Nevertheless, I would not begin to presume to offer any admonition or advice to Rwandan believers in general…
This Thy Table: The Anglican Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper
One of the hottest debated questions among Anglicans is the doctrine of the Eucharist, or, as the Articles of Religion refer to it, the Lord’s Supper. When I began investigating the Anglican tradition, what I discovered sent me down a path of reformation and renewal. Rather than looking to the Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox, or Roman…
The Oxford Martyrs: A Call to Faithfulness
Four hundred sixty-nine years ago, Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were bound to a wooden pyre. Their bodies were restrained and immovable. The pyre was lit and the men burned up and burned away into martyrdom and into history with Bishop Latimer immortally encouraging his companion, “Be of good cheer, Master Ridley, and play the man, for…