Faith and Honor

Dcn. Barton Gingerich interviews the Fr. Matt Colvin concerning the state of affairs within New Testament studies. Fr. Colvin incorporates insights from two Anglican scholars, Richard Bauckham’s “Jesus and the Eyewitnesses” (2006) and N.T. Wright’s “The Resurrection of the Son of God” (2003), together with his own background in classical studies, to critique popular skeptics like Bart Ehrman who describe the Gospels as nothing more than an ancient version of the “telephone game”.

Richard Bauckham is a senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and his 2006 magnum opus is described by many scholars as a paradigm shift in Gospels study, establishing the authenticity of each of the four gospels on a close analysis of the evidence. N.T. Wright's famous 2003 work established him as another giant in New Testament studies by demonstrating how the Resurrection is the most rational and reliable account of what happened to Christ after his death, based on the evidence.

Fr. Matt Colvin weaves these narratives with his own analysis and describes the Gospels as the summaries of “eyewitness testimony,” and therefore trustworthy. He follows Wright’s hypothesis that the Resurrection is the best possible explanation of the evidence, and ultimately gives a solid case that the “Jesus of History” and the “Christ of Theology” are one and the same.

On this episode we begin a discussion of The Church of England and Christian Antiquity (2009) with Dr. Jean-Louis Quantin, a professor of history at the Sorbonne, Paris, France. A scholar and a historian of the Reformation era, Dr. Quantin in this book performs a close examination of the primary sources to outline the doctrinal commitments that prevailed among the divines of the Church of England. An emphasis is made to eschew any modern interpretations and examine the evidence strictly in its own context. What emerges from a close examination of the primary sources is an understanding of how the divines judged disputes in doctrinal matters, and in particular their unique reliance on Scripture and the Church Fathers as the key for settling doctrinal disputes.

For the 500th centenary of the Reformation in 2017 we look at Martin Luther. After many records of other men who tried to reform the Medieval world and failed, Luther was the only one who proved to be equal to it in power. How did Luther as just one man manage to face the vast Papacy which controlled millions of men and unlimited resources, and succeed in the face of odds where many other men failed?

On this month's episode, our daring hosts continue their journey through the formularies of the Anglican Way with a discussion of the Thirty-Nine Articles. Steven and Richard work through Articles 22-24. What is the historic Anglican view of purgatory, pardons, worshipping and adoration as well of images as of relics, and also invocation of saints? Why is a proper authority necessary for appointing men to preach the Word of God and administer His sacraments? Why must the public worship of the church be in a language understood by the people? All these topics and more will be discussed with levity and charity.

Additional Reading:
https://northamanglican.com/exposition-of-the-thirty-nine-articles-article-xxii-part-1/
https://northamanglican.com/exposition-of-the-thirty-nine-articles-article-xxii-part-2/

On this episode, Dean Steve Rutt joins us to discuss Roland Allen, a noted Anglican missiologist. We explore Allen's historical context and frustrations, his ideas, how those ideas have been applied on the mission field, and the implications of such a missiology.

Participants:

Tallis’ Canon recorded by Steven Dixon. https://open.spotify.com/artist/7F8cmGiEh0LBxINKGLfrvt

On this episode of Faith and Honor, we have an introductory conversation on the Anglican liturgy - the central act of communal prayer practiced by Anglicans every Sunday.

We ask some of the questions which often arise, such as what the liturgy is on a basic level, why Anglicans do it, and what role it has in Anglican history and even more broadly in Christian prayer and devotion as a whole. We also consider some objections made regarding prayer as necessarily spontaneous, and how the formula of the liturgy relates to reverence and piety.

The Anglican historic Book of Common Prayer (1662):

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Sturt/index.html

THROWBACK: this was our first ever podcast episode!

Dr. Bob Pardon joins us to discuss cults and spiritually abusive groups. We define what we mean by these phrases, the profile of a spiritually abusive leader, and the cultural conditions that make for a proliferation of sects, some of which are heretical and some of which are not (at least on paper). We also discuss how people get recruited into and involved with such groups as well as how faithful pastors can effectively minister to those who have escaped such circles.