On the Articles: Article VI

The Fifth Sunday in Lent commonly called Passion Sunday

WE beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lent

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation.
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the holy Scripture we do understand those Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.
Of the Names and Number of the Canonical Books
Genesis,          The First Book of Samuel,           The Book of Esther,
Exodus,           The Second Book of Samuel,      The Book of Job,
Leviticus,        The First Book of Kings,             The Psalms,
Numbers,        The Second Book of Kings,         The Proverbs,
Deuteronomy, The First Book of Chronicles,      Ecclesiastes or Preacher,
Joshua,            The Second Book of Chronicles, Cantica, or Songs of Solomon,
Judges,            The First Book of Esdras,            Four Prophets the greater,
Ruth,         The Second Book of Esdras        Twelve Prophets the less.

And the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following:
The Third Book of Esdras,
The Fourth Book of Esdras,
The Book of Tobias,
The Book of Judith,
The rest of the Book of Esther,
The Book of Wisdom,
Jesus the Son of Sirach, Baruch the Prophet,
The Song of the Three Children,
The Story of Susanna,
Of Bel and the Dragon,
The Prayer of Manasses,
The First Book of Maccabees,
The Second Book of Maccabees.
All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them Canonical.

Article VI is interesting in that it highlights both how the English Church sought to distinguish itself from Roman Catholics, by teaching contrary to Rome that all Scripture itself was sufficient in teaching all that was necessary for salvation, while also highlighting through the Canon that it was accepting the Roman influenced Canon of Scripture which had been set by St Jerome in the 5th century, influenced as it was by St Jerome’s emphasis on the Hebrew-language masoretic texts over the Septuagint Greek-language Old Testament manuscripts which had been normative for Christians until that time.

What is interesting is that Article VI also distinguishes itself from Sola Scriptura the continental Protestant doctrine of “Scripture Alone” by recognizing that there were teachings that were valid beyond simply what was contained explicitly in Scripture, but they were not to be taught as being required to be believed for the purposes of salvation in the way that Rome had taught certain doctrines as “must believes” (for instance, the authority of the Bishop of Rome and the doctrine of transubstantiation as a philosophical explanation of how Christ is present in the Eucharist).

This aspect of Article VI is universally accepted, however there is some greater controversy over the listing of the Canonical books of the Scriptures, particularly the Old Testament. The controversy over the Canon involves the historical development of the Jewish Scriptures.

Over the centuries, Jews before and leading up to the time of Christ no longer lived exclusively in modern-day Israel. Following the various conquests of Israel, many Jews had spread out throughout the Persian Empire and then the Roman Empire. Culture at this time was Hellenistic, which is to say Greek, and the Jews of Diaspora had become thoroughly Hellenised to the point that many did not even speak Hebrew. This led at first to texts of the Hebrew Scriptures being prepared that used Greek phonetics to present the Hebrew words because no one in the Synagogue could read or speak the Hebrew. Eventually this led to wholly Greek translations of the Scriptures, known as the Septuagint. Over time, particularly due to the growth of Gentile Christians who did speak Greek but not Hebrew, the Septuagint version became associated with Christians. Jews, on the other hand, particularly after drawing a greater distinction between Jews and Christians following the destruction of the Temple around 70 AD, began to reassert Hebrew as the language of the Jews, discouraging the use of Greek and the Septuagint. The Masoretic texts were created in the 4th century AD in an effort to create a new Hebrew language version of the Jewish Scriptures. Because of the animosity between Jews and Christians, some translation decisions and decisions over which books to include in their Canon reflected efforts to disprove Christian claims of Christ as the promised Messiah. St Jerome was influenced by the newer Hebrew language scriptures over the older Greek Septuagint, and brought into question the Canon of the Old Testament, something which continues to be debated today.

Even within the Article there is ambiguity over whether or not the “Apocryphal” books are counted as part of the Canon. Note that these books are not to be confused with post-Christian Apocrypha such as the Gospel of Judas or Gospel of James, which are universally accepted as being false books not written by the claimed authors. The Apocrypha here are books which were Canonically accepted as Scripture by the Jews and Christians until hundreds of years after the time of Christ.

The way the Article is written lends itself to multiple possible interpretations:

Of the names of the Canonical Books: [the list of the Old testament books], and [the Apocryphal books, and the New Testament.

Of the names of the Canonical Books are [the list of Old Testament books], and the Apocrypha is read only for example of life and manners, and the New Testament which is also Canon.

While the term Apocrypha is more commonly used for them, this term is both confusing (again due to false New Testament books called Apocrypha) and imprecise as it implies the books are somehow hidden. Another term, also used by the Roman Catholic Church, is Deuterocanon or Deuterocanonical Books, which means the Secondary Canon. This again highlights the status of the Books by which they, either as the lowest part of the Canon or highest form of sub-Canonical books form their own “secondary Canon” which is used for particular purposes but not entirely in the same way as the remaining books of the Old and New Testaments.

Article VI historically also represents only the second official and clearly delineated list of the Canon following the Roman Catholic Canon articulated at the Council of Trent. The Early Church had many canons, but they often differed and the early councils of the Church often affirmed them all or affirmed the books being used in lectionaries, creating ambiguity among modern scholars.

On the Three-Legged Stool

The Feast of St Bartholomew the Apostle

O ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who didst give to thine Apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach thy Word: Grant, we beseech thee, unto thy Church, to love that Word which he believed, and both to preach and receive the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity

LET thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the 16th century, Richard Hooker was a priest of the Church of England and an influential theologian whose works continue to influence Anglicans today. His famous Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie was a response to emerging Puritanism and a defence of the organization and governance of the Church of England. His work had long-lasting influence on the development of coherent Anglican theology over the next centuries.

Of particular note was Hooker’s emphasis on the importance of Scripture, reason and Tradition. While he never expressed it as such, this has been commonly termed the “three-legged stool” which underpins Anglican theology and doctrine. As he did describe it,

Be it in matter of the one kind or of the other, what Scripture doth plainly deliver, to that the first place both of credit and obedience is due; the next whereunto is whatsoever any man can necessarily conclude by force of reason; after this the Church succeedeth that which the Church by her ecclesiastical authority shall probably think and define to be true or good, must in congruity of reason overrule all other inferior judgments whatsoever. (Book V, 8:2)

Richard Hooker’s writing established a classical understanding of the hierarchy of Scripture, reason and Tradition with Scripture as the ultimate authority on God’s revelation and reason and Tradition as tools we use to help understand Scripture.

This understanding of authority on doctrine provides for a balanced approach that rejects the Protestant sola scriptura practice of Holy Scripture as the sole authority as much as it rejects the notion of Papal Infallibility in teaching. Scripture, reason and Tradition are held together and against one another as a method of balanced discernment of the will of God towards true understanding and doctrine.

It is not, however, an approach which is always understood in its classical sense, particularly by those who know it on the basis of the “three-legged stool” which itself implies an equality between the three ‘legs’ which does not exist.

In Hooker’s words, “to [Holy Scripture] the first place both of credit and obedience is due.” The doctrine of the Anglican Church rejects sola scriptura of the Protestant Reformation in favour of prima scriptura. The primacy of Holy Scripture is the fundamental principle of Anglican doctrine. While not the only source of doctrine, it is the standard by which other doctrines are measured. Interestingly, prima scriptura is also the doctrine of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and although the Roman Catholic Church officially holds Tradition in equality with Holy Scripture, in practice Tradition is still measured against Holy Scripture as the ultimate revealed Truth.

After the primacy of Scripture, Hooker follows with, “whatsoever any man can necessarily conclude by force of reason.” Reason is a God-gifted faculty granted to man, and is useful for the understanding of Holy Scripture and the application of it in a modern context. The Bible was written to be understood by the people in the time it was written; the further we are from that time the more difficult it is for us to fully understand a simple reading of it. William of St-Thierry argued this in his The Golden Epistle, saying, “The Scriptures need to be read and understood in the same spirit in which they were created. You will never enter into Paul’s meaning until, by good intention in reading and diligent zeal in meditating, you drink of his spirit.” This is even made even clearer in Scripture itself:

So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8. 30-31)

In this passage, the Ethiopian is able to read the Book of Isaiah, but is not able to interpret it because his cultural and historical context is too far removed from the time and culture of Isaiah. While we have long traditions of Biblical exegesis dating back to the Church Fathers to help us understand much of the meaning of Scripture, reason is what allows us to further interpret and apply the revealed Truth of Scripture in our modern lives.

Reason, along with Tradition, helps to interpret Holy Scripture, however there are limits to the ability of reason to produce theologically sound interpretation. Reason can, for instance, be used to explain the nature of God on the basis of revealed Truth in Holy Scripture. Where reason causes theological error is when it is used to extrapolate, rather than simply interpret, the nature of God on the basis of Holy Scripture. While reason comes from God, it is shaped by our human natures, human logic and human understanding. If there is one thing shown repeatedly in the Bible, it is that God’s nature constantly confounds human expectations (viz. Mt 20. 1-16, Lk 15. 11-32) and therefore to apply human logic and understanding to extrapolate on the nature of God would doubtless lead to theological error and would be unprovable, lacking the standard of Holy Scripture to be properly measured against.

In Hooker’s age, the word Tradition had so many negative connotations but in its current use we deem to mean what Hooker was referring to when he said, “that which the Church by her ecclesiastical authority shall probably think and define to be true or good.” While Holy Scripture was the full standard by which all doctrine must be measured, unlike sola scriptura, prima scriptura leaves room for the Church to discern doctrine in areas where Scripture provides no clear doctrine, by applying the lessons of Scripture to new situations, after discernment and prayer, and with the aid of the Holy Spirit. According to the Articles of Religion, the Church has no authority to promulgate doctrine in conflict with Holy Scripture, supporting Hooker’s hierarchy.

The problem with the notion of a three-legged stool is that it implies equality between its legs while, in reality, Holy Scripture is the standard by which reason and Tradition are judged. To place them on an equal footing denies the supremacy of Scripture, which is laid out in Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles, and muddles the importance of God’s revealed Truth to us. While the concept of a three-legged stool sounds Anglican on its face--striking a middle way through the supreme authority of Scripture and Tradition in the Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions, classical Anglicanism demands a hierarchical approach to the understanding of Scripture, reason and Tradition.