“Efficacious grace is misunderstood if it is perceived as duress brutally exerted upon the soul. Grace is irresistible in the sense that it operates with the compulsion of overwhelming love. It so inclines the enslaved will that it abandons base affections and desires the good and holy that is supremely manifested in Christ.”
There will always be controversy as to the essential character of Anglicanism – Catholic, comprehensive, Calvinistic. One is aware that many folk of Reformational persuasion demur at the term “Calvinism”, but anyone remotely aware of historical theology will know that Calvin was not the inventor of the doctrines he espoused, and especially predestination. Calvin was the pupil of Luther, Bucer, Zwingli and so many proponents of the doctrine prior to the Reformation. It is also to be noted that damaging calumny is often directed toward Calvin rather than credit inasmuch as the first biographies of some of the Reformers, including Calvin, were written by those who opposed them and slanted their views. As the saying goes, “Error is half way around the world before truth has its shoes on”. The caustic censures cling to this day.
To ease offensiveness some would advocate the appellation “Augustinianism”, but whatever brand is adopted the fact of unconditional election will always elicit opprobrium even if Calvinist monergistic convictions were to be designated “Calathumpian”. It is the doctrine itself that is so strenuously opposed by “free-willers”, and whatever the label it will soon become a slur. It is better to be open than opaque concerning vital Christian truths. Believers ought to be strong enough to admit and affirm their differences candidly, manfully, and live with their heartfelt convictions confidently. It is possible to relate charitably toward opponents without conceding to their principles. It can happen in an air of maturity and a climate of free speech. Differences in doctrine do not have to dictate a situation of “daggers drawn”. However, representatives of Anglicanism are notorious for blurring issues and consequently the movement generally is confused by resorting to an abundance of qualifications in order to minimize the sense of displeasure aroused in those likely to disagree. The thrusts of honest debate do not have to thwart mutual respect and robust expression.
By a stretched-out process Anglicanism has arrived at a position of beautifully balanced Augustinianism (pro-gospel and pre-destinarian) enshrined in the formularies of the 16th century. From a modern perspective this fascinating development defines Anglicanism as essentially Calvinistic, inherently pastoral, and staunchly Protestant. Bible, Confession, and liturgy combine to convey the wisest possible counsel for the believer’s course through this world to the heavenly city. The summons to salvation, the security afforded by divine choices, and the certainty of everlasting life are reiterated over and over again to the mind and heart of the diligent Anglican disciple as he/she pores over Scripture and prays with the assistance of our devotional heritage.
Anglicanism equips the mind and cares for the soul in the harmonizing of truth and spiritual improvement. These trends travel in tandem. Head does not outpace heart and heart does not take leave of head. Edification and emotion are unified so that the life of faith is neither excessively academic nor dangerously idiosyncratic: not simply the accumulation of facts and ideas, or the weirdness produced of flights of fancy from eccentric impulse. Anglicanism teaches from the “mind of the church”, and Anglicans are trained to pray with the church. Excessive individualism and rash opinion are curtailed by the daily cultivation of the communion of saints in conscious observance (common prayer). This is churchmanship in the best and most beneficial way. Such ecclesiology is a gap in much evangelical thought and practice where believers largely think in terms of being lone and independent entities.
The early centuries of the Christian Church in England do not evince a strong or consistent pattern of soteriological conviction concerning the nature and operation of grace. In this sphere perhaps the most notable voice from the Celtic Church was that of the “perverse” Pelagius (c383-409/10). It was not until the Latinization of Christianity in England that his influence was roundly refuted in a consistent, thorough, and successful way. It seems it was the renowned scholar Bede (c673-735) who first raised a banner for the doctrines of grace in Britain through his grasp of Scripture with the aid of Augustine of Hippo. Perhaps the Celtic era of Christian faith and witness in England is best summarized in the verdict of Merle d’Aubigne who stated, “Generally speaking we meet with nothing but the gospel in the earlier days of the British church. . . . They do not appear to have held the strict doctrine of St. Augustine: they believed indeed that man has need of an inward change, and that this the divine power alone can effect; but they seem to have conceded something to our natural strength in the work of conversion” (The Reformation in England, Volume One, page 29). It is probably fair to conclude that Celtic Christian leaders would be happy to concur with a position akin to semi-Pelagianism.
The great mind of Anselm of Canterbury championed the Pauline/Augustinian construction of the plan of salvation. He carefully distinguished between the voluntary faculty in man and the lack of liberty to choose against the ingrained bias of sin, quoting the Saviour himself as to the bondage of the fallen will: I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin (John 8:34). A successor to Anselm as Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bradwardine (c1290-1349), was won to the Augustinian position through his close attention to Romans 9 and particularly the words, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy . . . . It does not therefore depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (verses 15-16). Bradwardine avers, “I came to see that the grace of God far preceded all good works both in time and in nature – by grace I mean the will of God” (De causa dei contra Pelagium).
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