Bray,
Gerald. The Faith We Confess: An
Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles. London: Latimer Press, 2009.
This handy little
229-page volume is serviceable to get oriented, briefly, to the Thirty-nine
Articles. The volume is available at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Faith-Confess-Exposition-Thirty-Nine/dp/0946307849/ref=pd_sim_b_2
Outline
The Historic
Formularies of the Church of England
Articles as
Statements of Doctrine
The Revision of the
Articles
The Structure of the
Articles
- The Catholic Doctrines
- The Protestant Doctrines
- The Anglican Doctrines
Bibliography
The Articles
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1. Of
Faith in the Holy Trinity.
2. Of
Christ the Son of God.
3. Of
his going down into Hell.
4. Of
his Resurrection.
5. Of
the Holy Ghost.
6. Of
the Sufficiency of the Scripture.
7. Of
the Old Testament.
8. Of
the Three Creeds.
9. Of
Original or Birth-sin.
10.
Of Free-Will.
11.
Of Justification.
12.
Of Good Works.
13.
Of Works before
Justification.
14.
Of Works of
Supererogation.
15.
Of Christ alone
without Sin.
16.
Of Sin after
Baptism.
17.
Of Predestination
and Election.
18.
Of obtaining
Salvation by Christ.
19.
Of the Church.
20.
Of the Authority of
the Church.
21.
Of the Authority of
General Councils.
22.
Of Purgatory.
23.
Of Ministering in
the Congregation.
24.
Of speaking in the
Congregation.
25.
Of the Sacraments.
26.
Of the Unworthiness
of Ministers.
27.
Of Baptism.
28.
Of the Lord's
Supper.
29.
Of the Wicked which
eat not the Body of Christ.
30.
Of both kinds.
31.
Of Christ's one
Oblation.
32.
Of the Marriage of
Priests.
33.
Of Excommunicate
Persons.
34.
Of the Traditions
of the Church.
35.
Of the Homilies.
36.
Of Consecrating of
Ministers.
37.
Of Civil
Magistrates.
38.
Of Christian men's
Goods.
39.
Of a Christian
man's Oath.
|
Prof. Bray briefly
discusses the historic formularies (BCPs, Articles, Ordinal), the Articles as
statements of doctrine, the origin of the Articles, the revision of the
Articles, the structure of the Articles—Catholic, Protestant, Anglican, and a
brief bibliography. Then, he proceeds to
go through each Article in the briefest of ways. Thus, this volume is not—not really—a systematic
theology per se. It’s an
introduction. He gives a few brief
questions and a few reading suggestions per chapter. But lest Prof. Bray’s
brevity be mistaken for shallowness, think of the tip of an iceberg; serious
historical scholarship underlies the little volume; on the other hand, it is
not a serious volume for systematic theology or for the graduate student. In fact, it is more on a Sunday School or
high school level. It may barely pass as
a first-year collegiate level course—for supplemental reading. For serious inquiries, one will need other
volumes for that. But, for new joins
getting “their sea legs,” this is serviceable.
There have been three
formularies that have shaped the doctrine, devotion and discipline of the (Reformational
but Continuing) Catholic Church of England—the Thirty-nine Articles, the Book
of Common Prayer (BCP), and the Ordinal. The framework and design is Thomas
Cranmer’s (1489-1556). An effort was
made in England to revise the BCP, but it was repelled by Parliament; however,
in the USA, the Anglo-Catholic wing was more successful in influencing Prayer
Book revision, although their effort to toss the Articles was
unsuccessful. Nonetheless, there was
early 20th century efforts to toss the Protestant and Reformed
nature of the Episcopal Church.
At the present, in
England, few young people have any experience with the 1662 BCP. The Alternative
Service Book (1980) and Common Worship (2000) have effaced a
once-recognizable service, recognizable worldwide. The same diluted effect is observable in the
US Church with the 1979 BCP; only the old folks would still remember the 1928
BCP.
As for the 1571
Articles of Religion, they have never been officially rescinded in the Church
of England. Rather, a “more drastic fate”
has occurred—“they have been sidelined and ignored instead” (2). Few read
them. Few confess them. Few understand the context. Yet, Prof. Bray asserts [rather like
Utopianism?] that they “indeed are the church’s confession of faith” (3).
The
Articles as Statements of Faith
The larger history
goes back to ancient Roman law codes. Roman decisions were long and
complex. Ergo, summaries or epitomes of decisions
were put together; a summary of the ruling, or resultant “canons,” were
developed for legal study. Collections developed, but there was discord and
disagreements. During the 12th
century when Popes were seeking to consolidate their geographical, legal,
political and theological control, efforts at consolidated rules were
developed. Gratian, a lawyer-monk (c.
1140) and Peter Lombard (1090-1160) developed and consolidated the discordant
canons. The Decretum in 4 volumes is famous.
Papal decretals were collected and organized. Illustrious names of “Great
Necromaners” emerge: Gregory X (1234), Boniface VIII (1298), Clement V (1313),
and John XXII (1325). The Corpus iuris canonici resulted.
Scholasticism, as a
theological method, the proposal of propositions, sometimes provocatively put,
with proposed answers, was the academic model to which Luther, Calvin and
Cranmer were exposed. Brief statements were crafted as epitomes for
memory-work. The “epitomes” or “articles”
were the tips of an iceberg.
Prof. Bray indicates
this is how the Articles should be viewed—tips of an iceberg. Further, he advises against avoidance against
presumptiveness, to wit, like the Captain of the Titanic. The Articles have depths underlying
them.
He then offers a
quick history:
- 95 theses by Luther for debate and discussion
- 1530 Augsburg Confession of “confessors” or “Protestants”
- The Ten Articles of 1536, unlike the Augsburg Confession
- Henry VIII’s commentary on the 10 Articles, entitled “The Bishops’ Book,” probably crafted by Cranmer
- The Six Articles, dubbed as “ultra-conservative” by Prof. Bray, but dubbed “Anglo-Italian” articles by others
- Henry VIII dies in 1547, Edward VI becomes the King and Cranmer is “in charge of church affairs”
- Cranmer first act is the publication of Homilies (some authored by Anglo-Italians like Ed Bonner and John Harpsfield, men who would resurface in Mary’s time as persecutors of Christ and the Continuing and Reformed Church of England)
- The second act was the 1549 BCP
- Then, with the counsel of Reformed Churchmen, the 1552 BCP was revised and passed Parliament for use on 1 Nov 1552. It would be rescinded by the Anglo-Spanish Queen Mary.
- The 42 Articles were allegedly passed in the Ecclesiastical Convocation. Matthew Parker insists that the Articles were passed, but the modern TFOs deny Parker’s eye-witness report.
- The Articles “were hostile to Rome” and Cranmer, like other Englishmen, Frenchmen, Spaniards, and Germans, were hostile to Papal pretensions; the Articles were theologically hostile to Tridentine developments. Prof. Bray insists that the Articles cannot be understood apart from the developments of the Council of Trent—a major impetus to Confessionally Reformed developments in Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, Holland and France, each having distinctive, but Reformed responses.
- “Via media” refers to varied Reformed parties and emphases. The TFOs have often made it Rome v. Protestantism. It was nothing of the kind, notwithstanding the claims of the TFOs in captivity to their agendas and with their efforts to efface history.
Revision
of the Articles
- Edward VI died on 6 Jul 1553 and the Anglo-Spanish Queen Mary takes the throne. Prof. Bray calls it a “disaster for the Protestant cause,” a term “Protestant” being rather anti-TFO in tone.
- By 20 Dec 1553, the 1552 BCP is “officially” out of use. The 42 Articles died a stillborn’s death.
- After Mary’s departure to the next world, where she awaits the Final Judgment (it’s as if it happened yesterday in God’s mind), and after Elizabeth’s accession, Matthew Parker and John Jewel revised the Articles. They passed in Convocation on 29 Jan 1563. They were signed 5 Feb 1563.
- Elizabeth strikes Article 29, perhaps as a concession to Lutherans and perhaps because she was not very sophisticated on the question
- The Pope excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570; she allows the Articles to be further reviewed; Article 29 is put back into the Articles. The 39 Articles pass in Canterbury’s Convocation on 4 May 1571
- Subscription was formalized in canon 36 in 1604; this was enforced until the late 19th century; it has been gradually weakened since then until an ordinand merely needs a “general assent to the historical traditions of Anglicanism” (11). Call it what it is: muddling, mishmash, and a sophisticated form of denial, if not ecclesiastical deceit. At least be honest about it.
- No one thought the Articles were immutable; Canterbury Whitgift garnered episcopal signatures on 20 Nov 1595 for the Lambeth Articles; Elizabeth strangled those Lambeth Articles in the crib.
- The next instance of revision was the 1615 Irish Articles, a serious improvement over the 39 Articles. There were 104 Articles. These had authority in the Protestant and Reformed Church of Ireland well into and past the beginnings of the English Civil War.
- The next instance of revision was the Westminster Confession of Faith. The 39 Articles was “a starting point” and were commended by the Westminster divines; Parliament called the Assembly in 1643 and finished its work in 1646.
- The Church of England stepped into la-la-land in 1660 by rescinding the Westminster Confession of Faith.
- Wesley reduced the 39 Articles
- The 1789 BCP revised the political parts of the BCP, dispatched the Athanasian Creed, and relegated the Articles to its Constitution. The Articles experienced gentle reforms by 1801.
Yet, in Prof. Bray’s
world, the 1571 Articles “remain the standard.” To whom? For whom? Where? TEC? The Continuers? They may have some force in the Southern
hemisphere, but not in the West.
Prof. Bray gives this
breakdown:
- Catholic Doctrines—Trinity (1-5), Scripture (6-7, giving Jerome’s view of the canon, not Trent’s), and Creeds (8)
- Protestant Doctrines—need of salvation (9-10), justification of men without free will by faith alone by Christ’s merits alone with good works (11-14), Christian living (15-18), the Church (19-22), ministry (23-24), the sacraments (25-31, and church discipline (32-34)
- Anglican doctrines—Homilies, 3-fold view of offices and ministry (35-37) and church-state relations (38-39)
Prof. Bray offers a
nice and serviceable bibliography for beginning students.
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