In Search of Authority Anglican Theological Method from the Reformation to the Enlightenment

by Avis, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780567328465
• ISBN10: 0567328465
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-04-24
• Publisher: Bloomsbury T&T Clark

Summary

Anglican theology has been a hotbed of debate about the issue of authority since the Reformation. What do we really appeal to when attempting to decide matters of doctrine, worship, ministry or ethics? The debate is very much alive today, between Evangelical, Liberal and Catholic Anglicans around the world. This proposed book focuses on the understanding of authority in Anglican theology.

It looks at the way that Anglican theologians, in the past and today, have developed their theories of
authority in relation to burning issues. Avis critiques them in a continuous dialogue or running commentary and set them in an ecumenical context, comparing Anglican positions with Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant ones.

In each area - Bible, tradition, reason, experience -he sets out a new understanding of authority in a constructive
and persuasive way, moving to a series of overall conclusions and recommendations. The sharp critiques of various positions will help to make it the subject of discussion and debate.

Author Biography

Paul Avis has served as the General Secretary of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity and has been involved in numerous theological dialogues and conversations, both in the UK and internationally. He is now Theological Consultant to the Anglican Communion Office, London, supporting various international commissions. He is also convening editor of the journal Ecclesiology.

Table of Contents

Preface \ 1. Introduction: Topical orientation to issues of authority in Anglican theology and their relevance \ 2. Ideas of authority in emerging Anglicanism: The Reformers, Richard Hooker & the classical Anglican writers of the 17th century \ 3. Anglican ideas of authority in the age of Enlightenment and the rise of critical history \ 4. Ideas of authority in modern Anglicanism: the 19th and 20th centuries \ 5. The authority and interpretation of the Bible in contemporary Anglicanism: critical and evangelical views \ 6. 'Everything flows': locating ourselves in tradition and tradition in ourselves. Reason: The Cinderella of Anglican theology \ 7. What authority does Christian experience have for us as Anglicans? \ 8. Can we be sure? Certitude, probability and faith in the Anglican tradition \ 9. Ecumenical
perspectives on authority: the convergence and conflict of traditions \ 10. The relevance of problems of authority for Christian apologetics, especially vis à vis the 'new atheism' \ 11. Summary, conclusions and recommendations