Posted on 09/20/2006 11:49:27 PM PDT by monkapotamus
Been reading Dawson?
As Newman pointed out somewhere, Darwin was fatal to evangelicalism in its fight against the rationalists. As for the rationalists, they separated truth from faith, and hoped that Christian morality could stand on its own. We can see that it cannot. Anglo-Catholicism was caught up in liturgicalism.
Yes, but, lurkers who may be seeking need to constantly have access to info about the alternatives....
The Episcopal Church has long been divided into basically three wings. The Evangelical Wing (Low Church), the Anglo-Catholic Wing (High Church) and the so-called "Broad Church". The Broad Church tried to accomodate everyone and eventually came to dominate the whole Church. Liberalism infiltrated this bunch and has led to where the Church is now.
BTW, Cranmer and the other founding Bishops of the Anglican Church were ardently Protestant in their theology.
(See "The Theology of the English Reformers" by Hughes.)
They retained a Liturgical style of Worshop but their Doctrine was Protestant to the Core.(See the 39 Articles of the Church of England and also the 39 Articles of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.)
FWIW, Queen Elizabeth was not particular about the individual Theology of Church Members, but she did insist on a uniform form of Worshop.
They should check out the site in my tagline.
Thank you my friend for a marvelous response. I think we are on the same page. We must all beware of our tendencies to upset the balance that Bp. Grafton wisely calls for. "Democracy in church matters shorn of any other restraining force" does provide an environment in which error can flourish.
Yet the democratic process, participated in with humility against a backdrop of trust in God-inspired Scripture, God-given reason, and God-respecting tradition can become a method through which the Holy Spirit, if he so wills, can guide.
Unfortunately, in a fallen world, unrestrained democracy can become a (sometimes) polite form of mob rule, no less prone to error than the devastation that can come when a monarch becomes a mob of one--but with the power to enforce his or her will. There is no perfect government this side of Christ's return. All human technique that seeks to deliver Utopia are going to fall short.
As you put it, "the truth is maintained by the best that is held by every party." I must constantly pray that I do not become so certain of my own positions that I miss the best of those with whom I am engaged. "But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us." Again, thank you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.