Introduction to Anglican Faith and Practice

The majority of our congregation previously attended the Episcopal Church. Their reasons for attending the Anglican Church in America are as varied as the people themselves. To clarify these reasons, we conducted a class last year detailing how the 1928 Book of Common Prayer delineates the Formularies of the Reformed Catholic Church and the Anglican Way. Hopefully this gave those attending an improved ability to define why they are attending a Traditional Anglican Church.

We now understand that the Book of Common Prayer contains the Formularies that define our doctrine and discipline. They are not stated as theology or dogma. They are simply practiced in the ancient way with the ancient intent of worshipping God and seeking to learn and desire His Will. One of the things we discovered in our discussions last year was the divergence of understanding existing within this group of like-minded Anglicans. That indicates a need for more details and specifics about our Faith and Practice.

As a text, we will be using “Faith and Practice” by The Right Reverend Frank E. Wilson. Bishop Frank Wilson was the Ordinary of the Diocese of Eau Claire in the Episcopal Church. This book was written in 1939 and contains none of the social conscientiousness that developed from the 1960’s through today.

The purpose of this class is to understand more fully those Formularies espoused by the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Teaching on many of these concepts has been almost non-existent over the last forty years so many of us can expect to gather a new understanding of issues we previously thought were irrelevant to our current culture. The presentation of this information will be paced to allow plenty of discussion and as a result a more thorough understanding.

The average man on the street is likely to agree that increase of knowledge is to be commended. But why is it a desirable achievement? Does knowledge make for greater happiness? Or is ignorance really bliss? Is intellectual life higher than the physical life? The brain handles two functions, one intellectual and the other emotional. If the intellectual is developed without the emotional, you get a lot of high-class criminals. If you develop the emotions without intelligence, the result is anarchy and social chaos.

Archeology has proven that knowledge is not exclusively a modern product. We still don’t know how water was transferred from the cold chamber to the hot chamber in the Roman baths. We can only speculate about how they built the pyramids. This begs the question, “What happened to that ancient knowledge?” It was broken, overwhelmed, destroyed and buried under the savage attacks of ignorant barbaric tribes. Simply stated, it succumbed to brute force. Why did that happen and could that happen again?

Knowledge, in and of itself can be enlightening or it can be disheartening. The difference lies in the focus and point of view. If you study human nature in pursuit of only earthly interests, you will likely be disheartened. On the other hand, if you study human nature in pursuit of spiritual interests, you will likely be enlightened. Knowledge begins to acquire true value only in the light of eternal life. Apart from eternity, knowledge becomes mere curiosity to be used without guidance or a purpose.

If you are preparing for a spiritual life and an eternal destiny, you will make the best use of your intelligence. You will use your knowledge of this world to perfect the Christian character that will carry beyond this world into the realm of eternity. In the seventeenth chapter of St. John, Jesus says, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.

This statement gives a sound reason for the accumulation of human knowledge. God gives it validity by making it a contributing factor in the preparation for eternal life. Knowledge divorced from God is a practical absurdity and a spiritual impertinence. In our country, we have a comprehensive system of compulsory education supported by the citizenry. If it is merely for the pursuit of this world’s knowledge, then we are chasing expensive rainbows. One thing we know about this world’s knowledge is that one day it will vanish.

In spite of the headlines, there is no conflict between science and religion because they are both meant to collaborate in a common purpose. Christian religion sets the course toward our after life and science provides some of the instruments with which we prepare ourselves for that life. The more we can learn of natural laws, the better equipped we shall be to pass out of the natural world into that which is super-natural. You can consider this life a training school for the life to come. Religion has nothing to fear from science and science has no reason to shun religion. Historically, both sides have sometimes declared the other irrational and unnecessary. Hopefully, we are overcoming that stage of ignorance in our culture.

Some may say that we know so little about the next life; we should simply concentrate on this life and avoid confusion about what we cannot know. That can only lead to the extinction of both moral values and the end of the search for truth. Mercy, sympathy, self-control and good-will become sentimental oddities. Even the most hardened men cannot escape the innate conviction that there is a real difference between right and wrong.

Can we take a materialistic approach and say we must retain moral values for the good of future generations? We recognize we are the beneficiaries of our parents and we feel an obligation to improve what we have received for the sake of those who come after us. We must consider our descendants for whom we are literally responsible. Can this be the only reason to develop a long-range perspective? Remember, there will be a time when there will be no future generations. Then what becomes of our carefully-guarded ideals and principles? What is the good of our labors and sacrifices if finally they all end in nothing?

Christ’s way applies credibility to our intelligence and a better focus for our efforts. We, in this world, will end our material existence but we shall not perish. God has given us eternal life. The best efforts we can put forth here will never be lost because there is a hereafter. Human life is not a temporary illusion. It has a meaning which outstrips time.

Frank Wilson ends this chapter with:

The faith and practice of a Churchman is of paramount importance because our lives have a meaning that outstrips time. The Christian Gospel offers a way of life in this world which finds its bloom in the world-to-come. How we live now determines how we shall be prepared to live then. If this be not true, there is no sense in submitting to the injustices, trials, and indignities which our daily experience visits upon us. We might better call the whole thing off, turn out the light, and be decently obliterated. But “now is Christ risen from the dead,” and “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This paragraph and much of our discussion might seem to indicate that the dichotomy of heaven and hell is not as clear as we thought. Does it mean that some might be better prepared and live better in heaven than others? Does it mean that further development will still be necessary after this earthly life? If we jump ahead to the chapter on Paradise or Purgatory, we may get a better view of why our preparation here is important. If it is indeed a place to be cleansed and made ready for heaven, we will be working with that knowledge and experiences we acquired in this life. How well are we preparing for our own sanctification?

Again we must recognize our lack of specific knowledge about the afterlife. We must take clues from Holy Scriptures and Christian Traditions. Then we must use our god-given ability to ascertain our best guess. The purpose of this class is to organize those clues and delineate the logic involved in reaching our best conclusions. When we understand the clues and logic, we must then help others acquire the same knowledge and pursue the same insatiable search for truth. It is then we will be true disciples of Christ.