Foundations of Faith: Reflections on the 39 Articles

by Lee Gatiss, Kirsty Birkett, Michael Nazir-Ali

A stellar cast of Anglican pastors and theologians from around the world reflect on the foundational teachings of global Anglicanism. Putting the Thirty-nine Articles in their biblical and historical context, they navigate some of the difficult terrain with clear and compelling application for today. This book is an excellent guide for the newcomer, and a refreshing commentary for the seasoned interpreter.

Based on the 2017 Lent series of blog posts on the Church Society website, Foundations of Faith provides a commentary on each of the 39 Articles, together with relevant scriptures, questions for reflection and a prayer. The book is thus a devotional guide as well as a doctrinal one.

Contributors: Mark Smith, Rob Munro, Mark D. Thompson, Kirsty Birkett, Adam Young, Martin Foord, Andrew Atherstone, Simon Vibert, John Percival, Tom Woolford, Ash Carter, Jane Tooher, Henry Jansma, Trevor Johnston, Ben Thompson, Clare Hendry, Paul Darlington, Rohintan Mody, Andrew Cinnamond, Mark Pickles, Mark Earngey, Tim Patrick, Rod Thomas, Andrea Ruddick, Wallace Benn, Mark Burkill, Glenn Davies, Ben Cooper, Charlie Skrine, Kara Hartley, Ed Loane, Keith Sinclair, Michael Nazir-Ali, James Taylor, Gerald Bray, David Peterson, Geoffrey Firth, Ed Shaw, Ros Clarke.

“This book is such a useful contribution to the understanding of Anglican theology. I really appreciate those who thought of the idea and those who have written. The key thing is to share the teaching of the Articles with the whole Church. A long overdue initiative!” Archbishop Peter Jensen, General Secretary of GAFCON

“Thanks to Lee Gatiss and thirty-nine leading scholars and pastors from around the Globe, the Church Society has compiled a wonderful resouce for the study of Anglicanism’s defining DNA, the Thirty-Nine Articles.Each article is treated in turn with an opening key verse of Scripture, a brief but pithy commentary reflecting both its historical context and current relevance, reflective questions and a concluding prayer. Here is the perfect resource for a daily Lenten discipline of studying the essential truths of the Reformation for Anglicanism today.” Ashley Null, German Research Council Fellow, Humboldt University of Berlin

“Foundations of Faith is not only well prepared but highly necessary at a time when the ignorance and confusion concerning Anglicanism is tragically prevalent especially among Anglicans.” Bishop Greg Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone

“What holds the Anglican Communion together is not just the scripture but a specifically Anglican understanding of how those scriptures shape the life, doctrine and worship of the Church. At a time when there is little clarity over the boundaries of our Church, this is a timely reminder of what defines the Anglican centre.” Paul Harcourt, National Leader, New Wine England

“This collection of brief essays by evangelical scholars from around the world explains the meaning and argues for the relevance of the 39 Articles of Religion for today. The contributions are concise, accessible and persuasive. 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and ‘Foundations of Faith’ highlights the need for an ongoing reformation in the Church of England. This is essential reading if the Church of England is not to dismiss or ignore its Anglican inheritance, ‘the faith uniquely revealed in the Holy Scriptures’. Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn

Genres: Christian

276 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2019

About the author

Dr Lee Gatiss is the Director of Church Society and has served in several Anglican churches. He teaches church history at Wales Evangelical School of Theology and in Cambridge where he lives with his wife, Kerry, and their three children. He is the author / editor of about a dozen books, including For Us and For Our Salvation, and The NIV Proclamation Bible.

Reviews

[Chris Wray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for an Anglican who wants to understand our theological heritage more deeply. While this is still a worthy commentary on the 39 Articles, it is also more devotional than many similar books, with scripture reference passages, questions for reflection, and prayers accompanying the comments on each article. This is a helpful and useful corollary to the more narrowly academic works on the Articles, as it rightly emphasises that these (and all theology) are pastoral and doxological as much as intellectual.

In describing the importance of the 39 Articles to faithful Anglicans, Lee Gatiss comments that: "The formularies are not merely descriptive of what former generations thought: they still bind those who make such declarations with integrity; they are Anglican DNA...The Thirty-nine Articles are what Jim Packer once called, 'the Church of England's theological identity-card’." They are every bit as relevant today as when they were written, as Gatiss again comments that it "is the zeitgeist of the age to be anti-authoritarian and anti-institutions. In the twenty-first century, particularly in the West, we like to focus on freedom and 'doing our own thing'. This is part of the shallow immaturity of a decadent and dying culture...Nothing happens without energetic individuals; but nothing lasts without solid institutions."

And institutions need solid foundations, which in the case of the church are provided by scripture, and systematised in our creeds, confessions and formularies. I am increasingly convinced that we need these to truly fulfil the scriptural commands to love and serve our neighbours and to take our stand amid an often hostile culture. As an Anglican, the 39 Articles are a significant part of that reality, and this book has only served to grow my affection for and appreciation of them as a sure and faithful repository of God's eternal truth.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. I never knew about the Articles until very recently. I prefer the earlier Articles, the one about Christ, and less so the later ones about church organization. The language is somewhat archaic, but accessible none the less. The great thing is that each chapter is short and to the point. They include scripture readings and a prayer, also thought-provoking questions, so a devotional if you like. So I gained much even for those Articles that did not really interest me.

I had always thought that the Church of England was like the liberal wing of the Roman Catholic church. Mmmm.... not so, there are very fundamental differences. These were in my view politely and respectfully presented in the book. It does make me want to understand further - well at least those first number of Articles.

Well worth the read.