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The Principles of Theology: An Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles
The Principles of Theology
602 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 27, 2020
Griffith Thomas' Principles of Theology, while being a commentary and explanation of the thirty nine articles of the Anglican Church, is by no means limited in value to an Anglican audience (or even a curious student of the Anglican faith). Rather, Thomas' Principles provide piercing insight and elucidation into a variety of Christian doctrines ranging from the Trinity and salvation to mode of baptism and the relationship between the Church and the State.
While the above is definitely true and this book possesses immense value and edification for all believers, you also get a sprinkling of development of Anglican doctrine, the history of the Church and Crown in the 16th century, and the greater conversations taking place between the Anglicans, Lutherans, Zwinglians, Calvinists, Romanists, and Anabaptists, along with the relatively more modern controversy between the English Church and the Puritans.
A number of striking statements and gems are to be mined from Thomas' final work, as he works out many of the arguments for readers to undergird and support the Articles' propositions. The development of the Canon, the proper place of the Sacraments contra-Rome, and a balanced view of the doctrines of election and the free will of man are all discussed with utmost clarity. I think any Christian wanting to gain a general understanding of the major doctrines in the Christian faith would find Thomas' work to be an excellent help.
**Spoilers**
I did find it disappointing when Thomas began discussing the structure of the Church and the offices therein. I felt that he was forced to compromise on a variety of matters due to his affiliation with the Anglican system. He willingly admits to the lack of Scripturality regarding the distinctions between bishops and elders, the (un)worthiness of ministers with regard to the sacraments, and even baptism of infants. In these matters he simply points to the inadequacy of Scriptures in gaining a full understanding, and instead refers to historical and philosophical arguments to ground many unscriptural practices. While the arguments were definitely sound and beneficial for anyone to know, they definitely don't carry the weight that his commentary on the first eighteen articles had (prior to ecclesiastical matters).
Here's just a few of the quotes I enjoyed:
"Etymologically, therefore, Grace is a term that refers to the beautiful, which gives delight. Theologically, it means God‘s favour as seen in his gift. Practically, it implies God‘s presence and redemptive power in human life."
"Individualistic Christianity is a contradiction in terms."
"The Church is, therefore, first an organism and only secondly and organisation."
"...St. Paul teaches that the Church is inseparable in idea from Christ the Head (I Cor. xii. 12), and yet their oneness is not nominal adhesion, but vital cohesion."
"So that the last resort must always be to the enlightened private judgement of the individual. And this is equally true of the man who surrenders his judgement to an infallible Church as well as of the man who maintains his position as individually responsible to God for his faith. The former asserts his judgment on choosing the authority, even though it be only to yield it afterwards to that authority, while the latter retains the exercise of his judgment as the essential and vital principle of true Christian character and conduct."
"Primitive Christianity was undoubtedly congregational, each local Church being autonomous, though with a definite consciousness of real spiritual unity with other Churches under Christ the Head."
"The most serious error of the Roman Catholic view is that it tends to separate grace from God Himself and to make it a sort of deposit in the soul, a quasi-material element contained in a material element. But God's own life is received direct from God in the due fulfillment of His requirements...In the absence of any Divine revelation to this effect we cannot believe that grace, which is God's own life, resides in material elements, still less, that any application to the body can necessarily convey grace to the soul."
"We are taught that it is not sufficient merely to trust Christ, but there must be something in the spirit which corresponds to eating in the body, a reception of Him in our inmost soul until His will and nature become a part of ours, and, like food, strengthen all our faculties. There is nothing in our nature that so closely corresponds to this assimilation of Christ and our union with Him as eating and drinking, and it is, therefore, used here (in John 6)."
While the above is definitely true and this book possesses immense value and edification for all believers, you also get a sprinkling of development of Anglican doctrine, the history of the Church and Crown in the 16th century, and the greater conversations taking place between the Anglicans, Lutherans, Zwinglians, Calvinists, Romanists, and Anabaptists, along with the relatively more modern controversy between the English Church and the Puritans.
A number of striking statements and gems are to be mined from Thomas' final work, as he works out many of the arguments for readers to undergird and support the Articles' propositions. The development of the Canon, the proper place of the Sacraments contra-Rome, and a balanced view of the doctrines of election and the free will of man are all discussed with utmost clarity. I think any Christian wanting to gain a general understanding of the major doctrines in the Christian faith would find Thomas' work to be an excellent help.
**Spoilers**
I did find it disappointing when Thomas began discussing the structure of the Church and the offices therein. I felt that he was forced to compromise on a variety of matters due to his affiliation with the Anglican system. He willingly admits to the lack of Scripturality regarding the distinctions between bishops and elders, the (un)worthiness of ministers with regard to the sacraments, and even baptism of infants. In these matters he simply points to the inadequacy of Scriptures in gaining a full understanding, and instead refers to historical and philosophical arguments to ground many unscriptural practices. While the arguments were definitely sound and beneficial for anyone to know, they definitely don't carry the weight that his commentary on the first eighteen articles had (prior to ecclesiastical matters).
Here's just a few of the quotes I enjoyed:
"Etymologically, therefore, Grace is a term that refers to the beautiful, which gives delight. Theologically, it means God‘s favour as seen in his gift. Practically, it implies God‘s presence and redemptive power in human life."
"Individualistic Christianity is a contradiction in terms."
"The Church is, therefore, first an organism and only secondly and organisation."
"...St. Paul teaches that the Church is inseparable in idea from Christ the Head (I Cor. xii. 12), and yet their oneness is not nominal adhesion, but vital cohesion."
"So that the last resort must always be to the enlightened private judgement of the individual. And this is equally true of the man who surrenders his judgement to an infallible Church as well as of the man who maintains his position as individually responsible to God for his faith. The former asserts his judgment on choosing the authority, even though it be only to yield it afterwards to that authority, while the latter retains the exercise of his judgment as the essential and vital principle of true Christian character and conduct."
"Primitive Christianity was undoubtedly congregational, each local Church being autonomous, though with a definite consciousness of real spiritual unity with other Churches under Christ the Head."
"The most serious error of the Roman Catholic view is that it tends to separate grace from God Himself and to make it a sort of deposit in the soul, a quasi-material element contained in a material element. But God's own life is received direct from God in the due fulfillment of His requirements...In the absence of any Divine revelation to this effect we cannot believe that grace, which is God's own life, resides in material elements, still less, that any application to the body can necessarily convey grace to the soul."
"We are taught that it is not sufficient merely to trust Christ, but there must be something in the spirit which corresponds to eating in the body, a reception of Him in our inmost soul until His will and nature become a part of ours, and, like food, strengthen all our faculties. There is nothing in our nature that so closely corresponds to this assimilation of Christ and our union with Him as eating and drinking, and it is, therefore, used here (in John 6)."
April 4, 2017
A fantastically detailed (especially concerning historical facts) and careful summary of the 39 Articles from a Reformed perspective (and, as the author would claim, a biblical one). It is to the Anglican what Berkhof's Systematic Theology is to the Presbyterian - a dense summary of doctrine from an historical (both touching on the early church and the Reformation period primarily), at times philosophical, and biblical perspective.
It is worth buying a copy with J I Packer's introduction, which is available, at a cheap price, from the Church Society website.
It is worth buying a copy with J I Packer's introduction, which is available, at a cheap price, from the Church Society website.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews