The Thirty-Nine Articles: A Faith for Today: Articles for Today (Part 1)

As we have seen, the Thirty-nine Articles cover a great deal of ground. Many aspects of the faith,both theoretical and practical, are dealt with in brief but biblical terms. But they need to be supplemented - not because God’s truth changes but because of what it is that the Articles seek to do. They are not meant to be timeless truth (although they contain it). In the sixteenth century they dealt with the controversies, heresies and misunderstandings besetting the church. Most of those are still with us; but we also have other deviations from Scripture today, and it is necessary to facethem.

I had intended to write a few ‘Articles for Today’ as a contribution to that necessary exercise.However I have recently re-read another author’s excellent ‘first modest attempt in this direction’, I cannot better what he has written, so I am reprinting it. The author is the Revd. Dr. Roger Beckwith, and his ‘Supplementary Confession of Faith’ comes from the final chapter of The Thirty-Nine Articles - Their Place and Use Today by J I Packer and R T Beckwith (Latimer House, Oxford, 1984). These supplementary Articles are reprinted with the author’s kind permission. I am grateful to have these supplementary Articles to close our series. I have identified them by letters of the alphabet for ease of reference, to distinguish them from the numbered Thirty-nine. In places the language is technical (a dictionary might be helpful!), but for the sake of precision and clarity this is necessary. These Articles for Today deserve and will repay careful study. To make the most sense of them they should be read alongside the Articles which they supplement.... To read more, click here.