Preparing for General Synod, I had the blessing of reading Vaughan Roberts’ recent article in Churchman (Spring 2014) on “J.C.Ryle: Evangelical Churchman”*.
Roberts explained how Ryle, though a ‘thoroughgoing evangelical churchman’, valued the comprehensive national nature of the Church of England.
Although he would wish that all would fully embrace Evangelical views, he recognised that there were good people in all three schools – High, Low and Broad – who were agreed on ‘certain common fundamental principles’ and united in believing in ‘the Trinity, the Atonement, and the Inspiration of Scripture’. [p29]
Would that we could be agreed on these basics today. In fact, I’d love it if our business papers were filled more with discussion of such central topics.
Of course, I presume that in his day, Ryle did not mean novel reinterpretations of these doctrines either. Because Ryle saw great challenge from the false doctrine which was ‘eating out’ the heart of the Anglican church. Roberts summarises the dangers Ryle perceived this way.... Keep reading
Ritualism is thriving in the Anglican Church in North America. The ACNA with the publication of each new doctrinal statement either embraces the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or permits the teaching of that doctrine. The ACNA shows no commitment to the kind of comprehensiveness that Ryle espoused. As far as the Church of England's "evangelical formularies and articles" are concerned, the ACNA has so tampered with the doctrine of these formularies and articles that the Church of England's 19th-century leading Evangelical would not recognize it as their doctrine.
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