The Catholic Religion: A Manual of Instruction for Members of the Anglican Communion

by Vernon Staley

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1894. Not illustrated. ... God. We may understand this image of God to be in the threefold structure of the soul, the memory, the understanding and the will. The image of God, which includes these three great powers of the soul, is the natural preparation for His likeness which is supernatural, or above nature. This image can never be effaced however marred; it remained stimped upon the soul after the fall. We are all born in the image of God. The likeness of God is man's correspondence with His will, and depends upon the right use of the gift of grace. A soul in grace bears the likeness of God; the higher the state of grace, the closer the likeness. The likeness was well nigh, if not altogether, lost at the fall. In creating man, God formed a being capable of knowing, serving, and loving Him. To do these things is the end of man. That this purpose might be intelligently fulfilled, He gave man, like the angels, moral freedom. 5. The Fall of Man. Man was put on his trial in the garden of Eden. To test him, God forbade his eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The devil came and tempted man to disobey. He yielded and so fell away from God.1 The act implies much more than at first sight appears, for it was the deliberate sin of a being created in a state of grace, and possessed with full knowledge and clear light. By his sin, man lost that likeness of God in which he had been created, and his whole moral being fell into disorder. The nature thus disordered he passed on to all his successors. It 1 Gen. ii. and iii. is true of every child born after the fall,-- "Behold, I was shapen in wickedness; and in sin hath my mother conceived me." 1 All people to be born in the future were "in Adam" when he fell, and they too fell in him. Adam lost the guiding light of God's likenes...

Genres: Theology, Christianity, Religion, Church

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1893

About the author

1852-1933

Reviews

[Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for the fundamentals of Anglo-Catholic theology. Someone needs to write this book in modern language for those seeks a via media between Protestant and Roman Catholic.

[Vinnie Santini · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great book for people new to the Anglican Church and want to dig a little deeper. Staley covers a lot of material with a depth that doesn’t overwhelm. This is a manual, not a systematic theology of catholic religion! Sometimes I wanted More detail on the theology section is why I gave it a four star. The second part on the Church in England was worth the price of the book and helped solidify in my mind the historical continuity of the Anglican Church. Highly recommended!

[Sam Jaeger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fr. Vernon Staley delivers a beautiful and simple yet very deep exposition of the Anglican Christian faith, managing to define it not just by its Reformational history, but also by its catholic heritage - characterizing the Anglican Church as a component part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church, not departing from the primitive Catholic Church, following faithfully in the steps of the Fathers, and being loyal to the English traditions, history, and aesthetics. Anglicanism is both reformed and catholic. The occasional commentary from Brian Goodchild helps to bring Staley’s work into the modern day. This book is the perfect primer for Anglicanism for people acquainted with theology, but who feel they still have a surface level understanding of it.

[Dennis Geoffroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best short introduction and defense of the validly of the Church of England (Anglican faith).

Even though the topic is kind of dry and this work was originally published in the 19th century it was immensely readable and only took me a couple days to get though.

[Gabriel Franke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough overview of Anglican theology. Fair takes on highly debated topics; embodies the “Via Media” approach to our history and theology. Thank you Vernon.

[FatherSwithin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good summary of the catholic faith in the Anglican communion. I plan to use this for an 'inquirers class' in the parish. It is not a 5-star book because of the language (first published in 1893), and missing some discussion of more modern concerns. It also lacks some specifically American topics that I will have to supply for the class. I greatly appreciated the short history of the English Church, since I think that is necessary for a true understanding of the topic.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Staley offers a good and comprehensive overview of the faith from a distinctly Anglo-Catholic perspective.

[S. P. Machado · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uma ótima iniciação a teologia anglicana.