Why I am Anglican
I am “Anglican” because Anglicanism at its core is thoroughly biblical, theologically generous, and liturgically beautiful.
No other church in the world hears more Bible than do Anglicans. Our liturgy is largely verbatim portions of Scripture, and our lectionary guides the church to hear all of the Bible in a three year cycle. What distinguishes Anglicans from churches that undervalue the divine aspects of the Bible, and from churches that undervalue the human aspects, is our belief in its dual authorship. We believe that real human beings wrote the 66 books of Holy Scripture with evidence of their humanity found in every book. We also believe that God inspired them and blessed them in their writing to accurately communicate what God wants us to know about his character and plans for our lives. God’s Word to God’s people. It more than just “contains” or “speaks of” the Word of God; it is the Word of God written. Scripture is our primary authority by which all other authorities (tradition, reason and experience) are judged.
It is the generosity in Anglicanism that sets this church most apart from other Reformation churches. Early on, the Church of England determined that it will be settled and confident on the gospel essentials, and charitable about the non-essentials. This is Anglicanism’s via media. Anglicans distinguish between doctrine (that never changes) and discipline (that constantly adapts to a changing world). The Bible is God’s unique revelation, but it doesn’t speak about every earthly thing. Anglicans state that we are “predestined to life,” for example, without having to go beyond this scriptural affirmation to say that God elects some to damnation. Anglicans believe that Jesus is really and truly present in Holy Communion, but we believe he is spiritually present there in the hearts of those who receive the grace of the sacrament by faith. Anglicans believe that every aspect of our nature is affected by sin without saying that we are worthless to God who made us in his own image. It is a compassionate and gracious view of doctrine that marks this church. But generosity doesn’t mean anything goes (couched in terms like “comprehensiveness” or “roominess”). The church that stands for nothing will fall for anything.
Anglican theology is limited and guided by biblical essentials and Anglican teaching summed up in the creeds and formularies of our heritage. The English reformers didn’t see themselves as starting something new. They wanted to return the church to the authority of Scripture and to ancient consensual Christianity from which the Medieval Catholic Church had departed. The theology of the English reformers, captured in the first Prayer Books, the Ordinal, the Homilies and the Articles of Religion, defines our theological core. These formularies have consistently been upheld as authoritative throughout Anglican history. The 39 Articles is our Anglican confession, but unfortunately, it is much neglected by some to accommodate novel ideas. The formularies describe the parameters over which someone steps to depart from the Anglican heritage.
Lastly, it is the beauty of God’s character that focuses Anglican worship. The service of Holy Communion does not begin, “Bless me” or “Entertain me, Lord,” but rather, “Blessed be God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Of course we want to be spiritually fed, but our real objective in worship is to honor God for his glorious majesty. He is all-mighty, completely beautiful, absolute love, and present with us! In corporate worship Anglicans use words that have been found powerful over the centuries to express God’s love: written prayers that, when prayed from the heart, unleash God’s power in our lives. It is not uncommon to hear that someone exposed to Anglican worship for a few weeks or a few months will suddenly realize, “Hey, this God is real and wonderful; I’d like to dive deeper into this Christianity thing!”
Scottish Archbishop Richard Holloway’s characterization of the Anglican Church that it is “a tolerant, fairly detached and amused mother of lazily permissive standards…” misses the mark altogether. He has joined the ranks of those who either don’t know history or abandon it at the drop of a hat to protect their personal agendas. The Anglican Church is not the only church that is thoroughly biblical, theologically generous, and liturgically beautiful, but this is our rich heritage.
In Him,
Chuck Collins