Calling for a Return to the Doctrinal Ideals and Kingdom Ethics of the First Reformation
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/11/the-new-divide-in-global-anglicanism
This article interested me because it's connected to some of the recent issues I've touched on respecting Anglicanism and how the High Church tradition approaches doctrine and the question of authority.
Where to go to church? What is one to do in these troubling times? There are many articles written about this topic. Some are helpful, others less so. We could talk about the Reformers criteria regarding the preaching of the Word, administration of sacraments, and (to varying degrees) Church discipline. But these discussions aren't always helpful because on a practical level there are numerous entangling ecclesiastical questions especially regarding worship and polity.
I recently had a nice long chat with an Anglo-Catholic priest and we discussed the issue of authority and how their understanding differs from Rome and its Magisterium, from the models that seek to place Scripture, Reason, and Tradition on par, and Protestant understandings of Sola Scriptura.
Driving home from a rather High-Church Anglican service, I reflected on the many different understandings of worship and the relationship (if any) between our service and the celestial or heavenly realm.
https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2023/the-background-to-the-great-ejection/
For years I simply accepted the narrative surrounding the 1662 Great Ejection. For those unfamiliar with this event, this was after the English Civil War and the reign of the Puritan Parliament. Its failures resulted in the Cromwell dictatorship which effectively ended with his death in 1658.
It goes without saying that the death of Elizabeth II is a cultural milestone. It's unsettling for many as one of the foundational pillars of British society has been removed. The monarchy continues but because of the length of her reign and the stability it brought during the tumultuous cultural upheaval of the post-war period – the stability is associated less with the monarchy as a whole but is instead associated specifically with her person. And now she's gone.
The New Testament tells us to honor the king and given the Neronic context of these writings and apostolic exhortations, that imperative remains true even if the regime can be categorised as bestial. As such, rebellion or collaboration with anti-monarchical forces is forbidden to Christians in all cases.
But they're not the only group that has a problem with the diaconate. In Baptist circles there's also a great deal of confusion on this point. For them, the office of 'pastor' is akin to Paul's bishop in 1 Timothy 3.
I recently had an exchange with a priest from the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). As our church situation has collapsed due to the degeneration of worship into therapy, politics, and entertainment and the fact that Trumpites are running rampant in many local congregations including our own, we've been looking for an alternative.
What should we think about William Wilberforce?
I think Wilberforce was sincere in his intentions and who
can doubt that his campaign resulted in some good? And yet it's not that
simple, certainly not as simple as his advocates would present it. His larger
campaign was with an eye to reform manners in society, and while the
entirety of the Victorian social project along with its gross hypocrisies and
failures cannot be laid at his feet, in many respects he helped to instigate
it.
Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XV)
The time is now. Dominionism and the reactionary re-casting
of Sacralism in the wake of 19th and 20th century
secularism is on the verge of swallowing up the remaining (if paltry) testimony
of the First Reformation, its lifeline to the Early Church and New Testament
Christianity.