Forty Days with the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion

Robert G. W. Langmaid

Description

The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion of the Church of England.

Are they a dusty relic of the sixteenth century, with little to say to Anglican Christians in this brave new world of the twenty-first century? Or do they form a statement that is ideally suited to strengthen and unify them in their faith?

Robert Langmaid argues that the latter is the case. He believes that the articles, which were written by English Reformers in 1533 and put in their current revised form in 1662, provide fertile ground for the growth of churches and believers in the Communion. Furthermore, he writes, the articles not only can inform individual and corporate discussions concerning Anglican identity, but can also serve as a basis of spiritual meditation.

How is it that the articles can do all this? Because the Reformers and the English church were careful to ground them securely in the Bible and in the first four general councils of the Christian church and the three ecumenical statements of belief (the Nicene, Apostles', and Athanasian creeds). In fact, Langmaid argues, a new consideration of the articles will call Anglicans to renew their historical allegiance to the Bible and the Lordship of Christ and thereby provide the backdrop for greater and more effective diversity throughout the Anglican Communion.

Besides taking the reader through forty days of meditating on the articles, this valuable contribution to Anglican and ecumenical thought includes two essays on the Articles of Religion and Anglican identity and a version of the articles in modern English by Peter Toon.

Sujets

• 1500s
• 21st century
• Believers
• Christian Church
• 2000s (decade)
• 16th century
• Nicene Creed
• Church of England
• Apostles' Creed
• Athanasian Creed
• Relic
• Faith
• Communion
• Bible

Informations

• Publié par: BPS Books
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781927483640
• Langue: English

Extrait

Forty Days with the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion
Forty Days with the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion
A Devotional Guide
Robert G.W. Langmaid

Toronto and New York
Copyright © 2013 by Robert Gerald William Langmaid
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in 2013 by BPS Books Toronto and New York www.bpsbooks.com A division of Bastian Publishing Services Ltd.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-927483-44-2 ePDF ISBN 978-1-927483-65-7 ePUB ISBN 978-1-927483-64-0
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data avaiable from Library and Archives Canada.
Cover: Gnibel Text design and typesetting: Daniel Crack, Kinetics Design, kdbooks.ca
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ® , NIV ® . Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. ™
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions in this regard and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.
To my wife, Monica, for your help and encouragement as I worked on this book
C ONTENTS
P REFACE
I NTRODUCTION
P ART I
F ORTY D AYS WITH THE T HIRTY-NINE A RTICLES
DAY 1 ARTICLE I O F F AITH IN THE H OLY T RINITY
DAY 2 ARTICLE II O F THE W ORD OR S ON OF G OD , WHICH WAS MADE VERY M AN
DAY 3 ARTICLE III O F THE GOING DOWN OF C HRIST INTO H ELL
DAY 4 ARTICLE IV O F THE R ESURRECTION OF C HRIST
DAY 5 ARTICLE V O F THE H OLY G HOST
DAY 6 ARTICLE VI O F THE S UFFICIENCY OF THE H OLY S CRIPTURES FOR S ALVATION
DAY 7 ARTICLE VII O F THE O LD T ESTAMENT
DAY 8 ARTICLE VIII O F THE T HREE C REEDS
DAY 9 ARTICLE IX O F O RIGINAL OR B IRTH-SIN
DAY 10 ARTICLE X O F F REE -W ILL
DAY 11 ARTICLE XI O F THE J USTIFICATION OF M AN
DAY 12 ARTICLE XII O F G OOD W ORKS
DAY 13 ARTICLE XIII O F W ORKS BEFORE J USTIFICATION
DAY 14 ARTICLE XIV O F W ORKS OF S UPEREROGATION
DAY 15 ARTICLE XV O F C HRIST ALONE WITHOUT S IN
DAY 16 ARTICLE XVI O F S IN AFTER B APTISM
DAY 17 ARTICLE XVII O F P REDESTINATION AND E LECTION
DAY 18 ARTICLE XVIII O F OBTAINING ETERNAL S ALVATION ONLY BY THE N AME OF C HRIST
DAY 19 ARTICLE XIX O F THE C HURCH
DAY 20 ARTICLE XX O F THE A UTHORITY OF THE C HURCH
DAY 21 ARTICLE XXI O F THE A UTHORITY OF G ENERAL C OUNCILS
DAY 22 ARTICLE XXII O F P URGATORY
DAY 23 ARTICLE XXIII O F M INISTERING IN THE C ONGREGATION
DAY 24 ARTICLE XXIV O F SPEAKING IN THE C ONGREGATION IN SUCH A TONGUE AS THE PEOPLE UNDERSTANDETH
DAY 25 ARTICLE XXV O F THE S ACRAMENTS
DAY 26 ARTICLE XXVI O F THE U NWORTHINESS OF THE M INISTERS, WHICH HINDERS NOT THE EFFECT OF THE S ACRAMENT
DAY 27 ARTICLE XXVII O F B APTISM
DAY 28 ARTICLE XXVIII O F THE L ORD ’ S S UPPER
DAY 29 ARTICLE XXIX O F THE W ICKED WHICH EAT NOT THE B ODY OF C HRIST IN THE USE OF THE L ORD ’ S S UPPER
DAY 30 ARTICLE XXX O F BOTH KINDS
DAY 31 ARTICLE XXXI O F THE ONE O BLATION OF C HRIST FINISHED UPON THE C ROSS
DAY 32 ARTICLE XXXII O F THE M ARRIAGE OF P RIESTS
DAY 33 ARTICLE XXXIII O F EXCOMMUNICATE P ERSONS, HOW THEY ARE TO BE AVOIDED
DAY 34 ARTICLE XXXIV O F THE T RADITIONS OF THE C HURCH
DAY 35 ARTICLE XXXV O F THE H OMILIES
DAY 36 ARTICLE XXXVI O F THE C ONSECRATION OF B ISHOPS AND M INISTERS
DAY 37 ARTICLE XXXVII O F THE C IVIL M AGISTRATES
DAY 38 ARTICLE XXXVIII O F C HRISTIAN MEN ’ S G OODS, WHICH ARE NOT COMMON
DAY 39 ARTICLE XXXIX O F A C HRISTIAN MAN ’ S O ATH
DAY 40 T HE W AY F ORWARD
P ART II
T HE T HIRTY-NINE A RTICLES OF R ELIGION AND A NGLICAN I DENTITY
I NTRODUCTION TO P ART II
1 T HE S UPREMACY OF S CRIPTURE AND L ORDSHIP OF C HRIST
2 T HE T HIRTY-NINE A RTICLES IN THE T WENTY-FIRST C ENTURY
A PPENDIX
T HE T HIRTY-NINE A RTICLES OF R ELIGION : C ONVERTED TO M ODERN E NGLISH BY P ETER T OON
B IBLIOGRAPHY
P REFACE
I have written this book as a contribution to the Anglican Communion worldwide, and more specifically to the Anglican Church in Canada, in which I serve as both an evangelist in Threshold Ministries (formerly called Church Army in Canada) and a Deacon in the Parish of Watson Lake, Diocese of Yukon. The book reproduces, and comments on, the famous Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, written by English Reformers in a process that began close to five hundred years ago, in 1533. The articles were agreed on by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in Convocation at London in 1562, finalized in 1571, and revised in 1662. They became the foundational theological statement of the Church of England and thence of churches that have sprung up in that tradition around the world.
I would like to suggest three ways in which this book may be useful.
First and foremost, it is set up as a forty-day devotional or reflection guide for individual Christians in the church. It is hoped that, by spending time with the articles, such readers will become more securely grounded in their faith.
Second, it can be repurposed as a forty-week study for confirmation classes. Each weekly class in roughly a year of classes could end with one of the Articles of Religion, along with my comments as discussion points. This could help the next generation of Anglican Christians to know their spiritual heritage and their identity as people whose faith is rooted in the Lordship of Jesus and the supremacy of scripture.
Third, this book may be used by ministers as sermon material. I discovered this use quite accidentally. One week my train of thought while I was preparing a sermon led me to a devotional that I had written about one of the articles. The result, a sermon derived quite extensively from that devotional, was well received by the congregation. I offer this approach to preachers throughout the Anglican Communion.
I NTRODUCTION
A NGLICAN CHURCHES in North America are experiencing a crisis of identity. Emerging Anglican groups, such as the Anglican Network in Canada and the Anglican Church of North America, as well as the mainline churches themselves – the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church (United States) – are attempting to determine the tenets of their faith and theology. Thus, those who identify themselves as Anglicans (or Episcopalians), and those attending churches that identify themselves as Anglican, are either examining or need to examine the biblical and historical background of Anglican theology.
This identity crisis is at root a theological and spiritual crisis. I myself experienced it as a spiritual crisis. I attended an Anglican church growing up. I was baptized as an infant and confirmed in early adolescence. I was both a server and crucifer in my church, and I attended Anglican summer camps. At the age of sixteen, I attended a youth retreat called Teens Encounter Christ, and I did, indeed, encounter him, in a way that changed the direction of my life. Church, instead of being something I simply attended, became a large part of who I was.
By the time I was nineteen, I was very involved with various Christian groups at university. As I got to know Christians from a variety of denominational backgrounds, I naturally began to question why I worshipped in an Anglican context instead of some other. I started to question why an Anglican expression of Christianity mattered to me. These questions led me to examine the heart of Anglican identity, and I figured the best way to do this was to explore the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion contained in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. These articles were written by Church of England theologians in the sixteenth century and were made part of the BCP, and they speak with great strength all these many centuries later.
I examined each article over a period lasting a little longer than a month. I found where each fit in the context of scripture and examined the relevant supporting biblical passages. I then asked whether my understanding of faith could fit with the article. As a result of this study, I confirmed the Thirty-nine Articles as a strong and sure framework for my faith. I have written this book to encourage you to take the same journey: to consider how your beliefs line up with Anglican Christianity as stated in the Thirty-nine Articles.
No doubt many Anglicans and others may wonder what relevance the articles have for today. You yourself may be asking why anyone should study them at all. Here are just three reasons.
First, doing so can help parishioners understand their Anglican faith at the micro level organizationally – that is, at the level of their local church. Historically, to be ordained, Anglican priests gave assent to the Canons of the Church of England and The Book of Common Prayer. (“Canons” simply means “laws.”) The BCP includes the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion as well as the official order of the various worship services, including services of ordination. 1
This means that every priest ordained in Canada and England