On the Thirty Nine Articles: A Conversation with Tudor Christianity

by Oliver O'Donovan

The Thirty-Nine Articles, together with the Book of Common Prayer, form the foundation of Anglican theology. Yet there are very few extended treatments of them. Oliver O'Donovan relates the Articles to the exhilarating and troubled century in which they took shape. He also shows how the distinctive insights and values of a past age relate to the demands of today's world. 'What I propose in this case - is not to talk solely about the Articles, but to talk about God, mankind (sic!), and redemption, the central matters of the Christian faith, and to take the Tudor authors with me as companions in discussion. Two voices will be speaking - each raising the questions that Christian faith in his time forces upon him.' Here is a new edition of his book on one of the key texts of Anglican identity by one of the UK's leading theologians. The book has been out of print for some time and there have been repeated calls for a new edition with a new introduction which engages with more recent developments and offers the text to a new generation.

Genres: Theology

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 16, 2011

About the author

Oliver O'Donovan FBA FRSE (born 1945) is a scholar known for his work in the field of Christian ethics. He has also made contributions to political theology, both contemporary and historical.

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book the eminent theologian and ethicist Oliver O'Donovan converses with Anglican theology through an examination of the 39 Articles. O'Donovan explicates the theological underpinnings of the 39 Articles while also comparing and contrasting them to the 42 Articles of 1553 and other Protestant confessions that emerged in the wake of the Reformation (such as the Augsburg and Westminster Confessions). On the one hand, Anglicanism sought to elevate the importance of the proclaimed Word and offered a more inclusive concept of the visible Church (for how can one say that there are no Christians where Christ is rightly worshipped?) while also avoiding some of the extreme views of the Reformers (O'Donovan makes much of Article 17's affirmation of predestination but silence over foreordination to damnation).

It will be beneficial to readers to have some general background information about Anglicanism before picking up this book but pithy, insightful explanations of Anglican doctrine and practice abound and this serves as a concise, erudite distillation of classic Anglican thought. Particular attention is paid to the theology of Thomas Cranmer and the second Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker. Additionally the edition I read (the Latimer monograph) has some glaring errors, the most egregious of which is that, in the appendix where O'Donovan lists both the 42 Articles (1553) and the 39 Articles (1571), Article 37 declares that "The bishop of Rome HATH iurisdiction in this Realme of Englande") (no doubt Bloody Mary is pleased).

[W. Littlejohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the finest expositions of "mere Christianity" I have ever read. Under cover of discussing the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles (of which he does give a fine account, to be sure), O'Donovan grapples with the basic questions and problems of the Christian faith in terms that are readily accessible to most readers but at the same time theologically rich and profound. What I appreciated most of all is how O'Donovan is simultaneously sensitive to the historical provisionality of doctrine, not hesitating to point out the limitations of sixteenth-century formulations, yet keenly attentive to what the tradition has to teach us, warning us against the dangers of too quickly assuming we have improved upon our ancestors. An exemplary model of historical theology made contemporary.

But don't go and buy it just yet. Apparently there's a brand-new edition (the original that I read is 25 years out of date) coming out in just a few months. Can't wait.

[Ben Crosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant example of contemporary engagement with historical theology. This isn't an exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, to be clear. It is, as O'Donovan notes, a conversation with them, using the Articles as a conversation partner in thinking about the central doctrines of the Christian faith. I don't agree with O'Donovan about everything - indeed, our ecclesiologies are very different, and we differ on the sacraments as well - but he is a careful thinker about and with the Articles, correcting them when he sees them lacking (especially on the doctrine of creation and of the invisible Church) and holding up what they do well. His work on the first four articles and articles 11-18 are especially excellent. His treatment of imputation is, in a word, luminous. Truly a great example of the Protestant side of Anglican reformed catholicism.

[Michael Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

O’Donovan does a really nice job here, as he says, trying to bring the 39 into a conversation with late-modern Anglicanism. I think much of what he has to say is insightful (if somewhat meandering at points). My hope would be that this project would springboard another Anglican theological to do something similar for the 39 with the beginnings of the post-modern society. There is, I believe, much to be said there and O’Donovan does a fine job to get the conversation to that point.

This reading is dense — probably too dense for those not acclimated to a scholarly writing style — but is worth the read.

[Timothy Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Oliver O'Donovan, perhaps surprisingly. Read in the middle of a semester studying the 16th-century English Reformation, after a fall semester overview of the history of Anglicanism. O'Donovan reads the Articles insightfully yet critically, praising their virtues and recognizing their limitations, and exposits it all in elegant, readable prose. The result is my favorite kind of theological treatise: a constructive essay that judiciously retrieves the best of the past. It certainly won't be my last O'Donovan.

[Sheri-lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is probably a 5 except I’m not smart enough to say that. It gets a 4 from me because it is not terribly accessible to those without theology degrees. But it was revealing and honest (as a discussion/conversation with the Articles). I do know more about Tudor Christianity and it’s role in shaping core doctrines. I’m glad I read it. I’m glad I read it as part of a class with an instructor who helped with some of the more dense and difficult parts.

[Michael Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

O'Donovan is nearly peerless, at least in terms of contemporary theologians, in his ability to pack so much into so few words. This book is not an introduction; it's a conversation, and that makes all the difference. Readers get to listen to and learn from the scope of Christian history, with each of the 39 Articles as the touchstone and jumping off point for the dialogue. (One surprising detail: O'Donovan does not follow Augustine on election. I wasn't expecting that deviation from him.)

[Daniel Mcgregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book to start with when reading O'Donovan. It is a relatively easy read (compared to other theology books and O'Donovan other writings. It is also very helpful in understanding what 39 articles tried to accomplish and tried to present to the reformed/early modern world. I learned a ton from this book.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

O’Donovan delivers a fascinating interaction with the writers and historical processes that created the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles as we have them today. This is a helpful analysis of the Anglican spirit, but it is also a well-rounded and articulate exposition of the orthodox Christian faith.