Salvation and the Church of Rome

(Original title: A Learned Discourse on Justification, Works, and how the Foundation of Faith is overthrown)

Hooker (d. 1600) is among the most important of Anglican theologians. His fame rests particularly with his book, Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, which is a massive defense of the Church of England and its Reformed Catholic Faith.

He also wrote other things, and of these none is more important than his Tractate of 1586. It deals with these themes: What is the foundation or basis of Christianity? Does the Church of Rome hold to the true foundation? In what ways does the doctrine of justification believed, taught and confessed by the Church of England differ from the doctrine of the Church of Rome? And what are the basic differences in mindset between the Puritan and the Anglican within the Church of England with its Elizabethan Settlement? This Tractate began its existence as several sermons preached in The Temple Church, London, to barristers.

Hooker's literary style is polished but difficult for many people today to appreciate and master, due to the long sentences and complex syntax. Therefore, in this booklet of 64 pages, the Discourse has been carefully rendered into a simplified English in order to make more accessible Hooker’s profound teaching to those who struggle with his difficult style. There is a historical and theological introduction before the Text of the Tractate as a further help to the reader.

The Anglican Formularies and Holy Scripture

Reformed Catholicism and Biblical Doctrine

The Anglican Way is based squarely first on the Holy Scriptures and then upon the Formularies - the classic Book of Common Prayer, the Articles and the Ordinal.

This essay carefully explains this sure Foundation, how the Formularies are connected to the Scriptures, and how all are very relevant for today in the crisis of Anglicanism in America.

The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion

(Thirteen Expositions)

The Church of England, and most Churches of the Anglican Communion, have three Formularies, the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal. These give FORM and shape to the Christianity based upon the final authority of Scripture, that is the Faith confessed in the Anglican Way.

We may regard the Articles as signposts guiding us through the controversies of the sixteenth century between Protestant and Roman Catholic and Protestant and Anabaptist, and providing us with a statement of Reformed Catholic Faith. They do not constitute a Confession of Faith but a Formulary. Until the twentieth century they were taken most seriously by churchmen of all kinds, High, Low, Evangelical and Anglo-Catholic.

This Collection contains expositions from all schools of churchmanship. It is a treasure of learning and devotion and will both educate and inspire those who use it fruitfully.

Books on this CD-ROM
A Theological Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, by E. J Bicknell. 3rd edition revised. 1955.
An Introduction to the Theology of the Church of England In an Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, by T. P. Boultbee. 1871.
An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, Historical and Doctrinal, by E. H. Browne. Edited by J. Williams. 1887.
An Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, by G. Burnet. Revised by J. R. Page. 1845.
*An Explanation of the Thirty-Nine Articles, by A. P. Forbes. 1881.
The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England, by E. C. S. Gibson. 4th ed. revised. 1904.
The Thirty-Nine Articles and the Age of the Reformation, by E. T. Green. 2nd ed. 1912.
A History of the Articles of Religion, by C. Hardwick. 1852.
Introduction to Dogmatic Theology on the Basis of the Thirty-Nine Articles, by E. A. Litton. 3d ed. 1912.
An Introduction to the Articles of the Church of England, by G. F. Maclear and W. W. Williams. 1895.
The Catholic Doctrine of the Church of England; an Exposition of theThirty-Nine Articles, by Thomas Rogers. Edited by J. J. S.Perowne. 1854.
The Principles of Theology; an Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles, by W. H. G. Thomas. 1978.
Anglican Teaching; an Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, by W. G. Wilson and J. H. Templeton. 1962.

* New to this edition.

Mystical Washing and Spiritual Regeneration

Infant Baptism and the Renewal of the Anglican Way

Baptism is an essential part of the Great Commission of Jesus found in Matthew 28. Infant baptism has been practiced in the Church since the earliest times. In The Book of Common Prayer (1662) there are services for baptizing both infants and adults. In this essay of 64 pages, the doctrine of baptism, especially of infant baptism, is carefully presented and its crucial relation to the renewal of the Anglican Way is explained. Further, the service for infants from the BCP 1662 is printed in a contemporary English form. Finally, the obsession of The Episcopal Church with "The Baptismal Covenant" is critically examined. A "must read" for pastors, parents and Godparents!

64pp.

A Special Anglican Trilogy

A Commentary on the Gospels, An Exposition of the Creed, and An Explanation of the relation of the Bible and Common Prayer

On this CD are three books, with a total number of 2,500 pages, and with a wealth of godly wisdom, insight and knowledge within them, provided by a Bishop, a Cathedral Dean, and a Priest of the Church of England.

The oldest and probably the best known of the books is An Exposition of the Creed (1659) by Bishop John Pearson of Chester and revised by E Burton in 1864. Greatly revered in his day as a godly Bishop and theologian, Pearson has left us the fruit of his insight and learning in this great book. To study it carefully and patiently is to be moved towards not only sound knowledge about God the Holy Trinity but a personal knowing of God the Father through the Son and with the Holy Spirit. Before Confirmation as a young person or Baptism as an adult, we are as Anglicans to learn the Creed. Here is a refresher course on this central topic for all of us!

One of the great claims made by the Churches which have used The Book of Common Prayer (1662) is that this Prayer Book is thoroughly biblical in that it contains biblical doctrine and also that it is saturated with biblical quotes and allusions and references. One senses all this in its Prayers, Collects, Exhortations, and doctrinal Affirmations. In The Liturgy compared with the Bible (1850) Henry Ives Bailey provided a masterful account of all usage of the Bible, directly and indirectly, in The Book of Common Prayer and in the Ordinal of the Church of England. One can safely say that such a book could not be written today on modem liturgies for they do not, as did the old Anglican ones, arise from the deep well of Holy Scripture in such a clear way. This is a great book and a must for all genuine lovers of the BCP!

The Four Gospels are more than precious to Christians for together they present the Good News concerning Jesus Christ, Incarnate Son of the Father, Jewish Messiah and Saviour of the world. While it is good to study the Gospels academically, it is also good- perhaps better -to read them prayerfully and devotionally. In A Plain Commentary on The Four Holy Gospels intended chiefly for Devotional Reading (1855) in 2 volumes, J. W. Burgon, the Dean of Chichester in England, provides the reader with the fruit of long study and meditation upon the Gospels. Here is a book for those who want help in reading the Bible in order to draw near to God and know Jesus Christ in a living way. It will also give many insights to priests who preach weekly on the Gospel for the day!

Truly a great trilogy!

Books on this CD-ROM
The Liturgy Compared with the Bible, by Henry Ives Bailey. 1850.
A Plain Commentary on the Four Holy Gospels, by John William Burgon. 2d American ed. 1860.
An Exposition of the Creed, by John Pearson. 6th ed. 1877.