Mere Anglicanism Conference Looks to Heart Renewal

on April 16, 2007

Ralph Webb

Note: This is a longer version of an article printed in the Spring 2007 Anglican Action Briefing.

 

In anticipation of a “reformed, renewed orthodox Anglicanism,” over 200 Anglicans gathered for the 2007 Mere Anglicanism conference in Charleston, SC’s historic St. Philip’s Church. The conference was held on January 25-27, 2007. Each of the three plenary speakers—the Rt. Rev. Dr. Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester (England); Dr. Edith Humphrey, Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; and Dr. Ashley Null, canon theologian for the Diocese of Western Kansas, visiting fellow at Cambridge, and visiting research fellow at Humboldt-Universität in Berlin—spoke on different subjects that, combined, contributed to a sense of a hope for a renewal of the heart among Anglicans that leads them in their service to Christ.

Bishop Nazir-Ali, in his opening session, examined various features of, and tensions within, Anglicanism. Anglicanism, he said, historically has been marked by three features: an appeal to Scripture, a constant appeal to antiquity (particularly the Church Fathers), and a conciliar method of decision-making (i.e., one reliant on church councils). In the past, it spread as English-speaking people moved throughout the world; through evangelical world missions and social witness stands (e.g., the education of the poor, abolishing the slave trade); and through the efforts of the Tractarians (i.e., Anglo-Catholics).

But what about today? Nazir-Ali admitted that it’s difficult to determine the calling of the Anglican Communion at this particular moment in history. Nonetheless, God always is working through his providence. The bishop believes that Anglicans will find that they cannot rely upon church councils to unite the church worldwide. There can be unity among both diversity of churches and diversity of church practices—but the diversity must be legitimate. Nazir-Ali holds that much work will be accomplished by movements within Anglicanism rather than by institutional structures.

In the next plenary session, Dr. Edith Humphrey talked about Anglicanism’s famed “three-legged stool” (Scripture, tradition, and reason), along with a fourth element much discussed today—experience. Humphrey upheld the importance of experience, which John Wesley added to the stool (thus forming what some call the “Wesley quadrilateral”).

Nevertheless, Humphrey argued that the Episcopal Church has abused this element in two ways. First, experience has been overemphasized: “Experience has taken over even while the three-legged stool has been given a niche of honor in the family home.” Second, the Episcopal Church has relied upon its own experience rather than that of the entire one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. “[I]t is the living experience of the whole church, past and present, East and West … that witnesses to the fullness of God,” the Pittsburgh professor said. She warned that the Episcopal Church’s limited view of experience should not be confused with the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit uses experience in the context of the history of the worldwide Christian Church.

The Holy Spirit also uses the written deposit of the Church, Scripture and tradition. Tradition, according to Humphrey, is “the family life of the Church.” The Scriptures are important not simply because they are the Word of God, but because it is through them that we meet God’s incarnate Word, Jesus. And because the Word is a person, the Bible is not just a collection of experiences, as many liberal scholars and many in the Episcopal Church claim. Instead, Humphrey noted, the Scriptures are “pressed into service” by Christ with the goal of renewing hearts.

Renewal of the heart was the underlying subject of the third plenary session. Dr. Ashley Null discussed the theology of Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury so instrumental in shaping Anglicanism. Cranmer had to address the question, “How do you change the human heart?” The answer: through love. The archbishop wanted to “allure men to understand” what Jesus had done for them. His Book of Common Prayer (BCP) was informed by a strong sense of God’s love even “for those who oppose Him.” Null argued that the heart is a central concern of the BCP and invited his audience to count the number of instances of the word “heart” in the BCP.

But the heart apart from God loves itself more than anything. The only thing that will modify our natural predisposition to selfishness is our love for God. And that love for God will transform us in our relationships. Using the example of marriage, Null said, “The beauty of marriage is to know that someone loves you intimately and loves you despite all the things you hide from the outside world. That’s what keeps a marriage going after the passion dies.”

Bishop Nazir-Ali returned to lead the closing plenary session. In it, he looked at the interaction between Christianity and culture. He discussed four values deemed beneficial to society that only have true worth in a Christian context: human dignity, equality, liberty, and safety from harm. These values need to be seen as arising out of the teachings of Christ. As such, they cannot be separated from Jesus’ claims as the Messiah.

As changes occur in societies, Christians will have to be “salt” at certain points in human history and “light” at other times. And as Christians encounter adherents to other religions, they must maintain their belief in Christ’s uniqueness and trust that God is working among people of other faiths to prepare them to turn to Christ. Confidence in those truths should motivate Christians to dialogue with people of other faiths.

Beyond the plenary speeches, the conference included workshops, panel discussions, and small-group discussion time. All of these features were aimed at encouraging and mobilizing laity in their spheres of influence.

So what will a renewed Anglicanism look like? Judging from the 2007 Mere Anglicanism conference, it will be an Anglicanism in which Christians have their hearts rejuvenated by the Holy Spirit. They will join movements that impact both the rest of the Anglican Communion and their ever-changing cultures. They will be grounded in a faith that rests in a right understanding of, and reliance upon, Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. They will hold firmly to the uniqueness of Christ even as they communicate the Gospel in different ways to the world around them. To quote the Eucharistic prayer of thanksgiving, God will “send [them] out into the world to love and serve [him] as faithful witnesses of Christ [their] lord.” Thanks be to God!

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