Reformed Churchmen

We are Confessional Calvinists and a Prayer Book Church-people. In 2012, we remembered the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer; also, we remembered the 450th anniversary of John Jewel's sober, scholarly, and Reformed "An Apology of the Church of England." In 2013, we remembered the publication of the "Heidelberg Catechism" and the influence of Reformed theologians in England, including Heinrich Bullinger's Decades. For 2014: Tyndale's NT translation. For 2015, John Roger, Rowland Taylor and Bishop John Hooper's martyrdom, burned at the stakes. Books of the month. December 2014: Alan Jacob's "Book of Common Prayer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Common-Prayer-Biography-Religious/dp/0691154813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417814005&sr=8-1&keywords=jacobs+book+of+common+prayer. January 2015: A.F. Pollard's "Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation: 1489-1556" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-English-Reformation-1489-1556/dp/1592448658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420055574&sr=8-1&keywords=A.F.+Pollard+Cranmer. February 2015: Jaspar Ridley's "Thomas Cranmer" at: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Cranmer-Jasper-Ridley/dp/0198212879/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422892154&sr=8-1&keywords=jasper+ridley+cranmer&pebp=1422892151110&peasin=198212879

Friday, December 10, 2010

Sanctus: Youssef: Time for an Anglican Elijah

Sanctus: Youssef: Time for an Anglican Elijah

Anglicanism: The Fallacy of Unity
Christians around the world are watching the painful interaction within the Anglican communion between those who are committed to biblical truth (over 90 percent of Anglicans worldwide), and those who prefer to abandon the truth altogether (a tiny minority).

It is this small number of bishops in England, America, Canada, and a handful from elsewhere whom have the secular media megaphone and are considered spokesmen for Anglicanism, ala the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams.

Dr. Williams’ sympathy lies squarely with the liberals, but he knows that if he publicly takes a stand he will go down in history as the Canterbury boss who split the church, to say nothing of being left to preside over a small, dying wing of Anglicanism.

Thus, his overwhelming task is to keep on dragging the faithful 90 percent, along by the back of their necks, using the all familiar but worn-out argument of “the unity” of the church. He constantly issues statements about the importance of unity or staying “in covenant” with one another. All the while he meticulously avoids speaking about the core issues that have split the two factions. The truth must be said: these two groups are like oil and water. They will never mix no matter how much he tries to blend them in one bottle.
The time has come for the faithful who make up 90 percent of global Anglicans to stop being dragged along for the sake of so-called “unity” and to take a stand. It is time for an Elijah to stand on Mt. Carmel and ask the rest of the Anglican communion this all-important question: “how long will you fault between two opinions?”

That Elijah is no other than the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Reverend Peter Jensen. If and when he takes on the mantle of Elijah, he will have the support of tens of millions of faithful Anglicans from around the world. Then he should move forward in truth, leaving “the dead to bury their dead.”

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