Faith and Honor

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.

In Episode 5, we had the first part of our discussion with Dr. Quantin, setting the context for the Elizabethan Settlement in the sixteenth century, looking at the constructive work of the Anglican Divines as they framed the identity of the Church of England.
In this episode we continue the conversation by looking at the "Descent Clause" in the Apostles Creed ("... He descended into Hell..."), which formed a surprising flash point between the Anglican Church and the puritan dissenters. Today a largely overlooked clause in a relatively non-controversial Creed, in the sixteenth century the Descent Clause helped cause a rift that tore the fabric of the English ecclesiastical scene: the puritans and dissenters sought to do away with the Descent Clause and much else in the Church of England that did not fit their new theology; opposed to them stood the indomitable Anglican Divines who sought to protect the Creed in its entirety, even in its most obscure and difficult aspects. Great debates, stirring struggles of ideas and the future of Anglicanism were all at stake and set in those years. You don't want to miss this interview!

Dcn. Barton Gingerich interviews 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 my 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 after 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.

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?


We interview Dr. Andrew Pettegree, professor at the University of Edinburgh, and discover the surprising answer -- Luther was a genius at mastering the media which in his hands became a vast lever which countervailed the countless powers of the forces arraigned against him. We speak with Dr. Pettegree about the unheralded story of Luther's media genius, and consider the paradigm of media mastery as it applies to today.

In 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.

In this podcast we have regular conversations on Anglican history, doctrine, and values with noted scholars, professors and experts -- and sometimes just among ourselves. In this episode we look at the surprising phenomenon of the appeal of traditional or 'non-modern' things to the youth of today, across all levels of society. From the uptick of millenials and young families in traditional Anglican churches to the increase of attendance among traditional Roman Catholics, to many other instances -- we discuss the nature and sources of this fascinating phenomenon, and connect it with the discontent with Modernity which is engendered by today's secular culture.