Seven whole days

This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article X: Of free will
The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God. Wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us that we may have a good will, and working with us when we have that good will.

When I was studying at Yale Divinity School, one of the hymnals we used at daily chapel came from the Methodist Church. There was a section in the hymnal, alongside “Christmas” and “Evening” and so forth, called “Prevenient Grace”. I thought that was very cool — a fancy theological title for a section in a hymnal. I wonder how many people, idly flipping through their hymnals during sermons, look at that title and say, “Huh?”

This is one of those times when you have to get into the linguistic wayback machine to understand what’s being said in lovely Elizabethan prose. “Prevent” in this Article does not mean “keep from happening”. Instead, it means, “go before”. The Article is asserting the classic idea that our desire to turn to God is itself a gift from God. Without God, we would not seek to orient our lives toward the divine.

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This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article IX: Of Original or Birth Sin
Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk), but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the spirit; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God’s wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated, whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek phronema sarkos (which some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some the affection, some the desire of the flesh), is not subject to the law of God. And although there is no condemnation for them that believe and are baptized, yet the Apostle doth confess that concupiscence and lust hath itself the nature of sin.

Talk of sin isn’t very fashionable these days in the Episcopal Church. Quite often when we do hear talk of sin, it is about other people’s sin. But of course, we are all sinners. The newspapers prove this. As one friend told me, one of his mentors used to say that the only Christian doctrine which can be objectively proven is the depravity of humanity.

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Sorry, dear readers, but today’s installment of the Lenten series on the 39 Articles will be delayed until tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s something for you. It’s Lutheran satire, but the humor works for Episcopalians too (call it part of our full communion with ELCA).

Thanks to my friend Padre Rich for sharing this.

This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article VIII: Of the Three Creeds
The three Creeds, Nicene Creed, Athanasius’ Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles’ Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed; for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture.

I’m going to go out on a limb (with much safety, I suspect) and guess that most Anglican churchgoers utter their creeds every Sunday and yet hardly give them any thought. The recitation of the Nicene Creed becomes rote to the point where many worshipers no longer pay attention to the words they’re saying. I was teaching a class a few years ago and asked who could define “incarnate”. Silence.

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This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article VII: Of the Old Testament
The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and man. Wherefore there are not to be heard which feign that the old fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, do not bind Christian men, nor the civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to be received in any commonwealth; yet, notwithstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral.

Not too long ago, I was teaching a class to adults in a parish. When it was time for us to discuss the Old Testament, many parishioners shared the notion that it was outmoded and that it describes an “angry, wrathful God” as opposed to the loving God of the New Testament. Of course, this is flat out wrong. Among other things, I pointed out that the “nice” sayings of the New Testament (“love your neighbor as yourself”) are mostly quotes of the Old Testament. But still, plenty of Christians seem ready to ditch just about everything before Matthew.

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This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article VI. Of the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation
Holy Scriptures containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of Holy Scripture, we do understand those Canonical books of the Old and New testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.
Of the names and number of the Canonical Books. [Here follows a list of the books of the Old Testament.]
And the other books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following: [Here follows a list of the Apocryphal books.]
All the books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them canonical.

There is so much to say, and so little space to say it! I am speaking not of the Bible, but of any attempts to write about it. It’s easy to say the “Holy Scriptures containeth all things necessary to salvation” but what exactly does that mean? How are we to read the Bible?

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This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article V. Of the Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.

If the ecumenical councils of the undivided church are to be believed, Article V is heretical. Of course, I am referring to the (in)famous filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. In the Eastern churches, people profess faith in the Holy Spirit, “who proceeds from the Father.” Period. Over here in the West, we profess faith in the Holy Spirit “who proceeds from the Father and the Son” and have done so for about 1,000 years.

As many 7WD readers will know, the phrase “and the Son” (one word, filioque, in Latin) was added sometime around the sixth century. Rome didn’t hop on that bandwagon until the 11th century. The East never added it, nor was it ever approved by an ecumenical council of the undivided church. Plenty of people, including the bishops of the Anglican Communion and the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, are having second thoughts. There was nary a filioque in all the liturgies of the 2008 Lambeth Conference.

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This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article IV: Of the Resurrection of Christ
Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again His body, with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, wherefore He ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until He return to judge all men at the last day.

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. That threefold declaration is about the most basic statement a Christian can make, beyond the even more basic “Jesus is Lord.” Really, if we can’t make the threefold declaration about Christ’s death, resurrection, and coming again, we’d have to ask our selves basic questions about our ability to call ourselves Christians.

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This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article III: Of the going down of Christ into hell
As Christ died for us, and was buried, so also is it to be believed that He went down into Hell.

This one will be tough for lots of people. Plenty of Christians don’t even believe in hell these days, and they certainly don’t give much thought to Christ’s descent into Satan’s hood. It’s a pretty ancient idea though, with solid scriptural warrant. Check out 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 1 Peter 4:6. The idea is that Christ, while he was dead, proclaimed the Gospel to the dead and rescued them from Satan’s grasp.

People who say the daily office will know this teaching from the Apostles’ Creed. This Article comes almost straight from the Elizabethan version (Rite I in the US prayer book) of the Apostles’ Creed, “He descended into hell”. Modern versions of the creed soften it a bit: “He descended to the dead.” Most worshipers these days, who come only to Sunday celebrations of the Eucharist, will have no clue about this doctrine, since it gets no mention in the Nicene Creed.

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So Lent has nothing to do with LEGO blocks. But here on 7WD we like to post all things LEGO. And it’s a nice change of pace from the 39 Articles. My blog hopper is overflowing with LEGO items, so here’s a roundup of recent LEGOy things.

• Here are the best LEGO sets coming your way in 2011.
• Someone built a magnificent haunted house out of LEGO blocks. Seriously. Go check it out.
• Most amazing things built in 2010.
• A LEGO church. It includes a sanctuary lamp.
• And here is a LEGO Cathedral.
• In case you missed any, here are previous LEGO items on 7WD.

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This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article II: Of the Word, or Son of God, which was made very man
The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very man, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile His Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men.

Before you do anything else, read the Article again. Several times. OK, turn off your internal copy editor which will note that this is one gigantic run-on sentence. Read the Article as poetry. Seriously, come back here in a few minutes after you’ve read this as poetry.

Wasn’t that lovely? Bet you didn’t think you’d be pondering the Incarnation on the first Friday of Lent. That in itself is a good juxtaposition to remember. Though we come ever closer in our liturgical year to the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we are never very far from the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. They are inseparable aspects of our salvation.

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This post is part of a Lenten series on the 39 Articles.

Article I: Of faith in the Holy Trinity
There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

The first article deals, fittingly, with the Holy Trinity. Seems like about the best place to start on a tour of doctrinal assertions. Most of what’s in the first article should not be controversial — the contents come straight from the creeds and the Bible.

There are a couple of things we might well note. First, as a colleague of mine pointed out to me, one could fruitfully meditate on the beauty of the language itself. The phrase “…without body, parts, or passions…” is some pretty good stuff. If you are pondering this Article, I hope you’ll take some time to savor the rhythm of the words.

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