Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail (Webber)

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RamistThomist

Puritanboard Clerk
Webber, Robert. Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail.

EDIT: I am no longer enamored of Webber’s project for the following reasons: 1) he never asks, “How did God tell us to worship?”, and 2) The “church” he is looking for in here is non-existent.

Half of the book is Webber’s own pilgrimage to the Anglican church. It’s like an autobiographical account of his ancient-future books. In other words, what distinguishes Christian worship from Mosque worship? It is interesting enough.

The answer is best seen in defining worship as the public enacting of God’s narrative. He does a good job in showing how the sacraments are necessary to church life and how they represent God’s actions: God often works through material means. The sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, should be seen as God’s sign of his love to me rather than my own sign of how much I love God .

Webber rightly condemns the legalistic Judaizing of Ron Sider and Sojourner’s who erect man-made conditions for salvation.

Towards the end of Webber’s own narrative he spins out of control by trying to defend Billy Graham from the mean old fundamentalists who think Graham went soft. Well, I have my problems with Graham, but if you read his sermons over the last fifty years, he has changed. Moreover, in a book about a pilgrimage to a high church tradition, it is not clear why you are bringing Graham up at all.

The second half of the book is a collection of stories of people who grew up in fundie and evangelical homes, yet went Anglican for liturgical reasons. Normally, those arguments are very, very bad. They do capture one thing, however: these people seek some continuity with the older Christian tradition. It is best not to ignore that tradition, but neither should we make it a formal standard. Do not try to tell people that "The entire early church worshiped and believed just like our specific Reformed Baptist or Presbyterian Church." They did not. They demonstrably did not. On the other hand, they were as unified or streamlined as many converts today want them to be. So take that for what it is worth.

The book is worthwhile as a snapshot of someone who moved out of mainstream evangelicalism, yet did not join an emergent body or a Roman or Eastern body.
 
Sadly didn't Canterbury just approve same sex unions? Also isn't the Anglican church in general on a downward spiral? I know there are many faithful Anglicans out there though and I'm sure there are still faithful congregations. My comment was generally toward the top leadership.
 
Sadly didn't Canterbury just approve same sex unions? Also isn't the Anglican church in general on a downward spiral? I know there are many faithful Anglicans out there though and I'm sure there are still faithful congregations. My comment was generally toward the top leadership.

That's true of Anglo-Anglicans (yeah, that sounds odd). Anglicans in Africa, from what I can tell, are pretty hard core.
 
I've heard Australian Anglicans are faithful too.
The Anglican Diocese of Sydney is low church, evangelical, and tend to be more calvinistic. The rest of the Anglican Church of Australia is much worse off. There was a recent split in the denomination (last Fall) over the acceptance of same-sex marriage in the other dioceses.
 
The Anglican Diocese of Sydney is low church, evangelical, and tend to be more calvinistic. The rest of the Anglican Church of Australia is much worse off. There was a recent split in the denomination (last Fall) over the acceptance of same-sex marriage in the other dioceses.
It must have been Sydney I have heard about then.
 
Sadly didn't Canterbury just approve same sex unions? Also isn't the Anglican church in general on a downward spiral? I know there are many faithful Anglicans out there though and I'm sure there are still faithful congregations. My comment was generally toward the top leadership.
There is a great deal of turmoil within the worldwide 'Anglican Communion' centering largely on this issue. This is obviously not something new, but tensions have boiled over in recent months following the move to formally give ministers authority to "bless" same-sex unions, as you say. It certainly appears that the conservative/liberalising distinction within what's called Anglicanism is growing larger.
 
There is a great deal of turmoil within the worldwide 'Anglican Communion' centering largely on this issue. This is obviously not something new, but tensions have boiled over in recent months following the move to formally give ministers authority to "bless" same-sex unions, as you say. It certainly appears that the conservative/liberalising distinction within what's called Anglicanism is growing larger.
Maybe you can clarify Alex - my impression was that the authority to 'bless' same-sex unions has not yet been given, so it remains something that is yet to happen?
 
That's true of Anglo-Anglicans (yeah, that sounds odd). Anglicans in Africa, from what I can tell, are pretty hard core.
For what it's worth, the interviewer is a Catholic, and the "Pasta" who shows up with the vegetables later on is a Baptist or Pentecostal of some sort. Then the "hard core" interviewer insists on referring to the she as a he at one point. (I've never managed to watch it all the way through.)

Otherwise, you're right of course. There wouldn't be an ACNA if that wasn't the case.
 
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Even though the revision of this book was done a decade ago, I can't help but think that it is quite out of date in some ways with the further growth of ACNA and recent developments within evangelicalism.

Another reason for joining is to get away from those nasty Trumpers in Baptist and charismatic churches without having to become a Catholic or totally "deconstruct." While people may not be joining for the kind of economic reasons that someone would have joined the Episcopal Church (USA) 50 or 60 years ago, I don't think it is necessarily "evil surmising" to notice that people of a certain background and educational level (such as Wheaton College) have gravitated toward Anglicanism of late. Some of them seem bent on turning it into the Episcopal Church.
 
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Maybe you can clarify Alex - my impression was that the authority to 'bless' same-sex unions has not yet been given, so it remains something that is yet to happen?
Yes thank you for the correction. It was voted for in favour at Synod in February, but apparently won't come into action until July when specific "blessings/prayers" have been written and formally approved.
 
For what it's worth, the interviewer is a Catholic, and the "Pasta" who shows up with the vegetables later on is a Baptist or Pentecostal of some sort. Then the "hard core" interviewer insists on referring to the she as a he at one point. (I've never managed to watch it all the way through.)

Otherwise, you're right of course. There wouldn't be an ACNA if that wasn't the case.
I mentioned the interview mainly because it is the greatest interview of all time
 
Yes thank you for the correction. It was voted for in favour at Synod in February, but apparently won't come into action until July when specific "blessings/prayers" have been written and formally approved.
Ah thanks! I wasn't sure. Since moving to England I've been paying a bit more attention to the CofE (but clearly still not enough!)
 
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