I believe...

This is more or less a copy of a comment I have made on my google+ profile after being accused of “following rome” by one commenter and being so close to Rome “spotting the difference is not easy”. I find it disappointing that I even have to comment on such things. I am an Anglican after all, and I have time and again shown on this blog where I have disagreements with Roman doctrine and belief, but alas it seems that some have missed my articles. Anyway here is the comment edited for inclusion on this blog:

“ I'm not following the Roman Catholic Church, nor am I particularly "High". In my Eucharistic theology yes I will admit I do have a High view, though not Anglo Catholic. I reject the Roman Catholic understanding of transubstantiation, and I affirm a view which is can be argued was held by the English Reformers, including Cranmer. It is a view that affirms the real presence, as attested by Christianity for over 2000 years and proved by a plain reading of Scripture, while affirming that one self sufficient sacrifice of Christ at Calvary.

 Yet in my morning/evening and general worship I have a very low view. I hold that only the Book of Common Prayer should be used in Anglican Worship, and I do not support the use of Roman Missals in Anglican worship. I support new expressions of worship, where they add to the service and worship of the people, and coming from a Presbyterian background I hold Scripture in high esteem and believe that it should be expounded and studied not only in Church on the Lord’s day but every single day of the week. 

Here in Northern Ireland, we have one "high" church and it most certainly isn't mine. While I could be accuse of High leanings I certainly am not a Ritualist. In my Church we have no candles... none. We have no vestments, except a preaching scarf and gown. We have no servers. We do not mix the water and the wine. Our communion table is wooden and movable, it has no covering except a linen table cloth. We have no incense. We have no confessional. We are as plain as a Presbyterian meeting house and rightfully so.

My patrimony is a via media between the two traditions within Protestantism. I admire many of the puritans, and the covenanters of Scotland will always hold a special place within my heart, but in recent times I have come to admire those on the High Church wing. From Laud and the Caroline Divines to Baxter and Cranmer I have a respect for them all and I seek to learn what I can from each. Of course they contradict each other, as humans have a tendency to do, so I study the Scriptures and I find whom I agree with based on their level of agreement with the Scriptures.

Now ladies and gents, I feel I must make something clear... just because I don't consign 1500 years of Christianity to the bin doesn't mean I'm a Roman Catholic. It is madness to presume that only we can know the mind of God, and that all those who came before where bumbling fools stumbling in the darkness of ignorance. Just as it is madness to assume that someone finding knowledge, comfort or encouragement in, the stories and writings of Christian men and women of God from days gone by, is automatically, ipso facto, a Roman Catholic.

Scripture comes first. It contains everything necessary for salvation and it is the sole basis of our faith and understanding, nothing compares to it. Tradition is a bit like the commentary on a DVD, it’s not the movie, and it certainly doesn’t compare, yet it gives you a good guide and lets you know what the story is about and helps explain something you might have missed.  

My faith is strong enough that I can actually base it on Christ. I don’t have to build it on the foundation of ignorance or sectarianism; that is to say that my faith is not simply based on an opposition of Roman Catholicism. While others might say “Rome believes A, therefore I believe B” I choose to say “I believe C and here’s why”. Now that means that there will be times when I disagree with Rome.

Indeed I disagree with Rome on transubstantiation, Papal authority, Papal Infallibility, their understanding of salvation, of sin and of Purgatory. The list of disagreements does truly go on and on.

 Yet because my faith is founded on honest appraisal, carried out daily in light of God’s Word, and with the lenses of tradition and reason, I can say that my faith is strong enough to admit that I agree with Rome on many, many points. I share with the Roman Church the Lord’s prayer, the Creeds, some of the ecumenical councils, some of the Saints and countless other points.

I can speak in awe of Rome, and I can speak in condemnation of it.

I can speak in awe of Canterbury, and I can speak in condemnation of it.

I can speak in awe of Billy Graham, or Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland, and I can speak in condemnation of them.

I can do so because I am not blinded by sectarianism. I can accept that many different denominations and ecclesial communities share many aspects of the Christian faith as I know it.

Yet I also believe that they are all in need of reform, and that includes not only Rome and Canterbury but also the Baptists and Methodists and even your little church groups and Bible study clubs.

 I am not naive enough to believe that Anglicanism is the be all and end all of Christianity. Nor can I accept that Christ’s church only includes Rome and its domain. However I don’t believe that Christ’s church only exists in a self appointed pastor’s back garage or in an American mega-church.

Now, I’m not trying to rubbish anyone’s faith, or Church. This blog was never meant to be a lofty tome of dogmatics. It was meant to be almost like a sacrament for me, the Sacrament of Blogging if you will, which would serve as an outward expression of my inner knowledge and experiences.

I guess I wanted this blog to be a way to teach and be taught about Christianity, especially from an Anglican perspective and I do have a sincere and real love for God, and I want to serve Him and please Him in all I do. I want to learn about Him, His Word and His Church and I enjoy reading about how His Holy Spirit has been at work in the lives of Christian men and women throughout the centuries.

My faith is founded on Christ, supported with Scripture, and backed up by tradition and with reason and I am not afraid to say so, and I do not believe that by constantly reforming my faith in light of God’s Word and the Church’s teaching I am somehow guilty of Romanism. On the contrary, I believe that I am living out the true meaning of the Reformers cry “Semper Reformanda”, and following in the footsteps of the greatest protestant reformers, and men of God.

I unashamedly “believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholick Church; the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins;The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting.

I am proud to believe in all those things, and I mean “believe” not merely recite, and I will stand in Christian Love and Unity, beside all those people out there, regardless of their personal failings or the failings of their Churches, who can stand and boldly say the same.

So if I’m too Roman Catholic for the Protestants, and too Protestant for the Roman Catholics then fine... I’d rather be faithful to Christ than to any man, and I’ll continue to follow and serve Him, in the ways I believe he is leading me.

So may God guide me in His ways, and may I be brave enough to follow Him regardless of others criticisms!

- A Wandering Pilgrim.