Why Newman is an Anglican

I rarely write posts on things about which others want me to write, but on this occasion, I would like to share the fruit of my ongoing reflection. I’m sure that Anglicanism has lots more going for it. I’m also sure other people have other good reasons to be Anglican, but these are mine. Given my vacillation on this subject in the past, I feel I need to give both positive and negative reasons. First the positive:

1. Anglicanism is Reformed

That is to say, it is Reformed under the word of God. Anglicanism is therefore Biblical. The supreme authority for Anglicans is Scripture, and so no one can be required to believe anything, for salvation or otherwise, that cannot be read in or deduced from the Bible, which it regards as God’s word written. Article VI, Of the Sufficiency of the holy Scriptures for salvation, begins:

HOLY Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that is should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.

And Article XX, Of the Authority of the Church reads:

It is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word written.

Furthermore, along with the other Reformed churches, Anglicanism stresses the importance of the tasks of edification and evangelism, by means of the ministry of the word, in public preaching as well as in private.

From The Form and Manner of Ordering of Priests:

And now again we exhort you, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you have in remembrance, into how high a Dignity, and to how weighty an Office and Charge ye are called: that is to say, to be Messengers, Watchmen, and Stewards of the Lord; to teach, and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord’s family; to seek for Christ’s sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for his children who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they might be saved through Christ forever…

And seeing that you cannot by any other means compass the doing of so weighty a work, pertaining to the salvationof man, but with doctrine and exhortation taken out of the holy Scriptures, and with a life agreeable to the same? …

Are you determined, out of the said Scriptures to instruct the people committed to your charge? …

Will you then give your faithful diligence always so to minister the Doctrine and Sacraments, and the Discipline of Christ… so that you may teach the people committed to your Cure and Charge with all diligence to keep and observe the same? …

Will you be ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God’s word; and to use both publick and private monitions and exhortations, as well to the sick as to the whole, within your Cures, as need shall require, and occasion shall be given?

What is the content of the Biblical, Reformed faith which Anglicanism has inherited? The gospel of salvation from damnation due to sin, by God’s free grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, by virtue of his perfect life and sacrifical death, for those whom God predestined to life before the foundation of the world, who are thereby brought into God’s family, grow in holiness, and are preserved until they reach glory.

Article X, Of Free-Will:

THE condition of Man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith, and calling upon God: Wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will and working with us, when we have that good will.

Article XI, Of the Justification of Man:

WE are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings.

Article XV, Of Christ alone without Sin:

He came to be the Lamb without spot, who, by sacrifice of himself once made, should take away the sins of the world.

Article XVII, Of Predestination and Election:

PREDESTINATION to Life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God be called according to God’s purpose by his Spirit working in due season: they through Grace obey the calling: they be justified freely: they be made sons of God by adoption: they be made like the image of his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ: they walk religiously in good works, and at length, by God’s mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity.

Article XVIII, Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ:

Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved.

Article XXXI, Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross:

THE Offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sons of the whole world, both original and actual; and that there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone.

Moreover, in accordance with the Scriptures, Anglicanism teaches a Reformed view of the sacraments, avoiding the Scylla of mere externalism or visual aid and the Charybdis of grace being mediated merely through the work being performed (ex opere operato). They are visible words, dramatic forms of the gospel, signs and seals of God’s grace which convey what they signify when by the power of the Spirit the recipients respond in faith.

From the Catechism:

Question. What meanest thou by this word Sacrament?
Answer. I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof.

Article XXV, Of the Sacraments:

SACRAMENTS ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God’s good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him.

Article XXVII, Of Baptism:

BAPTISM is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or new Birth, whereby as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased, by virtue of prayer unto God.

Article XXVIII, Of the Lord’s Supper:

THE Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another; but rather it is a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ’s death: insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ; and likewise the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ… The Body of Christ is given, taken and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith.

Finally, along with the other Reformed churches, Anglicanism affirms with the Bible (not because it was forgotten by the Reformers) that children are rightful recipients of baptism, along covenantal lines. This is not unimportant, dealing as it does with how God administers his grace and grows his church.

Article XXVII, Of Baptism:

The Baptism of young Children is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ.

From the Catechism:

Question. What is required of persons to be baptized?
Answer. Repentance, whereby they forsake sin; and Faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the promises of God made to them in that Sacrament.
Question. Why then are Infants baptized, when by reason of their tender age they cannot perform them?
Answer. Because they promise them both by their Sureties; which promise, when they come to age, themselves are bound to perform.

2. Anglicanism is Catholic

Anglicans don’t think or act as if they’re the first generation of Christians to have ever lived. They value what Christians have taught down the centuries that has proven itself to be in accordance with the Scriptures as each generation tests it afresh by God’s word written. That means, for example, the reception and declaration of the faith revealed in the Creeds. Such teaching does therefore have authority under Scripture.

Article VIII, Of the Three Creeds:

THE Three Creeds, Nicene Creed, Athanasius’s Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles’ Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Scripture.

Moreover, Anglican congregations are connexional. Episcopacy, while not without its faults, has proven itself conducive to the well-being of the church in England, and is consistent with the connexionality seen in the New Testament church. No congregation is an island unto itself. The ministry of presbyters is ratified by the wider church as they are ordained by the laying on of the hands of bishops who have oversight of many congregations, and presbyters therefore minister in the name of the wider church. Anglicanism is also national; the nature of the parish system in this country at least means that the Church of England is geographically representative of the whole of England.

Because it embraces infant baptism, Anglicanism is also catholic in that the official, public members of its congregations span all the ages and stages of human life, displaying God’s purpose in salvation to create a new human race. No one is excluded on the ground of age or attainment.

3. Anglicanism is Liturgical

While the Thirty Nine Articles may be regarded as a Confession of Faith after the manner of the other Reformation churches, the Church of England defines its doctrine not only by these, but also by the Book of Common Prayer, which is a book of liturgy. The forms of service authorised by the church ensure that church meetings are orderly, and in accordance with patterns we see in Scripture ensure a healthy diet of corporate confession, Scripture reading and preaching, praise and prayer. Liturgy teaches God’s people how to pray and what their priorities for their prayer should be. Regular saying or singing of the Psalms inculcates in God’s people Biblical hope and gives shape and direction to our fallen emotions. Liturgy enacts on earth what is going on in heaven, in accordance with the prayer which our Saviour taught us. Liturgy gives God’s people forms of words that they will be able to hold on to when their mental faculties are otherwise waning. Liturgy serves the catholicity of the church by keeping us in tune with the experiences, hopes and longings of the wider church, not just our immediate concerns. And the Anglican liturgy is profoundly Biblical in its content and emphasis, masterfully crafted and rich.

(Notice how I haven’t argued that it’s the best boat to fish from or because they pay for ministry or anything like that. If one is to be an Anglican, one should at least be an Anglican on theological principle, not because it’s the most pragmatic option, humanly speaking.)

Now for two negative reasons, i.e. reasons why I think being an Anglican isn’t a problem, in answer to objections I myself have had in the past, and which others continue to bring up.

4. Sanctification is Progressive

I am not unaware that there are real difficulties in the doctrine and practices of some in Anglican churches today, for example, gender issues in ministry, what constitutes holiness in sexual practice, the doctrine of the atonement, the uniqueness of Christ, the reality of his resurrection, the authority of Scripture, &c. However, to distance oneself from Anglicanism on the basis of the sin and error of some and insist on an instantaneously pure church is to have an overrealised eschatology and is impatient. Sanctification of the church, as for the individual, is an ongoing work of God by his Spirit. The church will not be perfect until Christ returns. There will always be sinful and erroneous individuals within it. Where does one draw the line beyond which one separates from it? One public sinner or heretic? Ten? A hundred? A thousand? Why? The church though it sins does not cease to be the church. And the inheritance which the Church of England at least calls on its ministers to take as their inspiration is that revealed in the Scriptures and to which the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal bear witness. That doesn’t mean we do nothing in the face of sin and error. But in this situation, the right response is not to separate, but to keep on preaching the word of God, prayerfully hoping for ongoing reformation, and disciplining those responsible, as is appropriate for our place in the church. This has ever been the experience of the people of God. The history of Old Testament Israel testifies to this. The epistles of the New Testament, and their admonitions and warnings proclaims this fact. Until the New Creation, this will always be a consequence of the distinction the Bible holds out of the visible and invisible church, the church as it is experienced by the world, believers and their children in the covenant community, among whom there will be weeds as well as wheat, those who sell their inheritance for a mess of pottage, who profess but fall away, or who remain hard-hearted, who will be condemned at the judgment, and the church as it is known by God, those who have laid hold of the covenant promises in saving faith, and so are saved when Christ returns.

5. Association is Loose

Moreover, to be an Anglican when sin and error is present within Anglicanism doesn’t mean that one is guilty by association. The Anglican structure is much looser than that. No one expects a presbyter to be in agreement with his bishop or other presbyters on everything, just as no one expects and employee for Tesco to endorse everything that is sold in all of its branches, or the behaviour of its managing directors. No one forces anyone to believe anything. The congregation can distance itself from its heretical bishop. The evangelical minister can uphold the faith against, for example, the liberals on the one hand and the extreme charismatics on the other, whether they call themselves orthodox or not. He publically and personally distances himself from the false teaching and sin and even with the individuals themselves if they are unrepentant, fulfilling his obligation to have nothing to do with such people and remaining blameless. So too for individual believers.

Regardless of its current problems, God has not abandoned the Church of England, or other Anglican churches. His word is still faithfully preached and his Spirit is still active in drawing men and women to faith in Christ and bearing fruit in holy lives. The remnant within it must not bow the knee before Baal, but prayerfully discharge its prophetic ministry of declaring the true faith in lives of godly obedience, faithfully depending on God for its Reformation.