Essays first published in the Ottawa Citizen 1999-2004.
"The words that follow were written over a period of about six years. Throughout, I worked as an Anglican priest, serving in a very public way as the Dean of a Cathedral, writing about faith regularly in the newspaper, and going about my duties as pastor. .... The interweaving of personal searching with the questions and issues that were posed to me from the lives of other people created occasions to reflect deeply on the faith that I had committed my life to .... But more than being a cause for introspection, these questions called forth expression: not the proclaiming of theology to an anonymous audience that needed to hear certain things, but words that responded to things people wanted to hear about -- theology that had come through and was being spoken into the crucible of human experience. What follows in these chapters is a series of concise reflections in the form of responses to the experiences, questions, issues and situations of many people." -- Intro., pp. 7-8.
Contents: Introduction -- Who is God ? -- What is faith about ? -- How is faith lived out ? -- Is there faith in the world around me ? -- Why go to church ? -- Does prayer make a difference ? -- What role does the Bible play ? -- Is there any sense to all the confusion ? -- Conclusion.
Author is an Anglican priest and dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa.
Commenting on John Hill's article "How is the Bible authoritative for us ?" on page 1 of this issue, the author says: "John Hill's article is as articulate and lucid as we would expect of him. One cannot help but note, however, that it is, in the main, an article about all the ways that scriptures are not authoritative for us. They reprove and train, says Paul, but John points out the absence of any reference to authority" (p. 10). The author comments specifically on the debate about homosexuality and the blessing of same sex unions and says that he, like Oliver O'Donovan, does not believe that the Church has not yet had "a conversation about different pastoral approaches to gay and lesbian members ... has not taken place". The author feels that the argument about same sex blessing seems to be over and decided in favour of the "liberals". "For all their indubitable failings, the traditionalists in our church tend to know the scriptures. They really do care about the larger doctrinal issues behind the present controversy. The liberal victors need to see how vital the traditionalist reminders of biblical authority are, however aggravating it may be to hear them .... will the Church say to these members `we have no need of you `?. On this score, I trust that leaders like John Hill will be true Mauricians and, as such, prove to be defenders of those who uphold the traditional notion of the Bible's authority".
"Published with the approval of Frederic Jackson, Archbishop of Qu'Appelle, Vicars Short, Bishop of Saskatchewan, Douglas Ford, Bishop of Saskatoon". -- inside front cover.
"1972, jajc, wgp". -- p. 12.
Contents divided into sections: The Creed -- The Bible -- The Sacraments -- Prayer -- Love -- Living Out Your Faith in Daily Life -- Rule of Life.
Page [13] is blank page headed "Notes".
Contains outline of Anglican belief organized into subject sections with illustrative quotations from scripture.
OTCH Note: Special supplement to "Saskatchewan Anglican", March 1973.
Contents divided into two parts: Part One: My Journey to Anglicanism -- Part Two: My Response to Blessing Same-Sex Unions.
"This writer has attempted to show that the exclusion-inclusion motif was an issue which Jesus himself implicitly addressed during his ministry and which was a theological-doctrinal challenge for the early church as well. .... The overall argument of the book is that the above bible texts suggest that a paradigm shift away from the old biblical theological worldview of exclusion was begun by Jesus who, in his ministry, demonstrated attitudes favoring inclusion of groups of people who were usually ostracized by mainstream Jewish society. .... This book has shown that in doing theology classical Anglicanism has used not one only, but three important pillars: Scripture, Tradition and Reason as criteria and means of reaching consensus regarding its theological and doctrinal positions. .... The Anglican Church has sought in the past to steer a middle road between extremes, while allowing people and movements with different theological positions to remain within the Communion and to work collegially and collaboratively based on their commonalities or common ground despite, and without stressing, their theological differences. It is the hope and prayer of this writer that this ethos will eventually prevail and continue. Finally, it is important to note too, that in the present theological-doctrinal impasse on the blessing of committed same-sex unions, those in opposition appear to be focusing exclusively on some selected parts of Scripture as their 'controlling images', interpretive lens or guiding texts for looking at the whole bible; and have excluded other parts. .... In addition, the opposing groups do not seem prepared to look at the historical Tradition of diversity, inclusion and comprehensiveness. This demonstrates a lack of appreciation of the historic nature and the history of the Anglican Church. The purpose of this book was simply to highlight another selection of biblical texts as controlling images and interpretive lens for looking at the whole bible regarding the matter of blessing same-sex unions. If this book has been able to show that there are other equally valid biblical ways of looking at the same issue, it will have served its purpose." -- Overall Conclusion, p.143-146.
Contents: Introduction -- A Spiritual Journey -- Where Are You Coming from ? -- Where Are Your Methods Coming from ? -- In Whose Hands: Ours or God's ? -- Back to the Bible, Tradition & Reason ! -- How Doctrine Develops and the Church Grows -- Did They Say "Integrity and Sanctity ?" -- Facilitating God's People's Growth -- Creation in Revelation: How Doctrine Develops -- Conclusion -- Bibliography.
"Reverend Dr. Carlos Roberts was ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church in 1976 in Trinidad-Tobago in the Caribbean and became an Anglican priest in Canada in 1999. His parish was severely impacted by the Anglican Church of Canada's General Synod 2004 resolution to 'affirm the integrity and sanctity of committed same-sex relationships'. This crisis led him to the theological reflection on blessing same-sex unions that he outlines in this book". -- back cover.
"This volume is a collection of essays offering a response to the Montreal Declaration. It furnishes a critique that is thoughtful and tempered, potent and vigorous. The several authors often reveal an appreciation for the theological conversation that has been developing out of the Declaration -- in fact, they have been profoundly absorbed in that conversation. However, when they examine some of the specifics of the Declaration, they find themselves severely wanting as an expression of Anglicanism or, indeed, of the fullness of the Christian faith" -- Foreword.
Contents: Foreword / Michael G. Peers -- Introduction: Recovering authenticity in Anglican faith and practice / John Simons -- Feminism and the Church : challenge and grace / Susan L. Storey -- Naming and glorifying the Trinity : a response to the Declaration's stricture / John Simons -- Towards a Biblical church : a plea for accountability in the way we use scripture / Paul Jennings -- The Word of God and "God's word written" : the Montreal Declaration on the authority of scriptures / Stephen Reynolds -- Humanity is one and history is one : Anglican social thought and the Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials / Terry Brown -- Faithfulness and change : moments of discontinuity in the Church's teaching / Gregory Baum -- Reflections on the "Anglican Ethos" : the dialogical middle way / Eileen Scully -- Study Guide / Paul Jennings -- Appendix : The Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials -- Contributors.
"This volume is a collection of essays offering a response to the Montreal Declaration. It furnishes a critique that is thoughtful and tempered, potent and vigorous. The several authors often reveal an appreciation for the theological conversation that has been developing out of the Declaration -- in fact, they have been profoundly absorbed in that conversation. However, when they examine some of the specifics of the Declaration, they find themselves severely wanting as an expression of Anglicanism or, indeed, of the fullness of the Christian faith" -- Foreword.
Contents: Foreword / Michael G. Peers -- Introduction: Recovering authenticity in Anglican faith and practice / John Simons -- Feminism and the Church : challenge and grace / Susan L. Storey -- Naming and glorifying the Trinity : a response to the Declaration's stricture / John Simons -- Towards a Biblical church : a plea for accountability in the way we use scripture / Paul Jennings -- The Word of God and "God's word written" : the Montreal Declaration on the authority of scriptures / Stephen Reynolds -- Humanity is one and history is one : Anglican social thought and the Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials / Terry Brown -- Faithfulness and change : moments of discontinuity in the Church's teaching / Gregory Baum -- Reflections on the "Anglican Ethos" : the dialogical middle way / Eileen Scully -- Study Guide / Paul Jennings -- Appendix : The Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials -- Contributors.
"This volume is a collection of essays offering a response to the Montreal Declaration. It furnishes a critique that is thoughtful and tempered, potent and vigorous. The several authors often reveal an appreciation for the theological conversation that has been developing out of the Declaration -- in fact, they have been profoundly absorbed in that conversation. However, when they examine some of the specifics of the Declaration, they find themselves severely wanting as an expression of Anglicanism or, indeed, of the fullness of the Christian faith" -- Foreword.
Contents: Foreword / Michael G. Peers -- Introduction: Recovering authenticity in Anglican faith and practice / John Simons -- Feminism and the Church : challenge and grace / Susan L. Storey -- Naming and glorifying the Trinity : a response to the Declaration's stricture / John Simons -- Towards a Biblical church : a plea for accountability in the way we use scripture / Paul Jennings -- The Word of God and "God's word written" : the Montreal Declaration on the authority of scriptures / Stephen Reynolds -- Humanity is one and history is one : Anglican social thought and the Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials / Terry Brown -- Faithfulness and change : moments of discontinuity in the Church's teaching / Gregory Baum -- Reflections on the "Anglican Ethos" : the dialogical middle way / Eileen Scully -- Study Guide / Paul Jennings -- Appendix : The Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials -- Contributors.
"This volume is a collection of essays offering a response to the Montreal Declaration. It furnishes a critique that is thoughtful and tempered, potent and vigorous. The several authors often reveal an appreciation for the theological conversation that has been developing out of the Declaration -- in fact, they have been profoundly absorbed in that conversation. However, when they examine some of the specifics of the Declaration, they find themselves severely wanting as an expression of Anglicanism or, indeed, of the fullness of the Christian faith" -- Foreword.
Contents: Foreword / Michael G. Peers -- Introduction: Recovering authenticity in Anglican faith and practice / John Simons -- Feminism and the Church : challenge and grace / Susan L. Storey -- Naming and glorifying the Trinity : a response to the Declaration's stricture / John Simons -- Towards a Biblical church : a plea for accountability in the way we use scripture / Paul Jennings -- The Word of God and "God's word written" : the Montreal Declaration on the authority of scriptures / Stephen Reynolds -- Humanity is one and history is one : Anglican social thought and the Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials / Terry Brown -- Faithfulness and change : moments of discontinuity in the Church's teaching / Gregory Baum -- Reflections on the "Anglican Ethos" : the dialogical middle way / Eileen Scully -- Study Guide / Paul Jennings -- Appendix : The Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials -- Contributors.
"This volume is a collection of essays offering a response to the Montreal Declaration. It furnishes a critique that is thoughtful and tempered, potent and vigorous. The several authors often reveal an appreciation for the theological conversation that has been developing out of the Declaration -- in fact, they have been profoundly absorbed in that conversation. However, when they examine some of the specifics of the Declaration, they find themselves severely wanting as an expression of Anglicanism or, indeed, of the fullness of the Christian faith" -- Foreword.
Contents: Foreword / Michael G. Peers -- Introduction: Recovering authenticity in Anglican faith and practice / John Simons -- Feminism and the Church : challenge and grace / Susan L. Storey -- Naming and glorifying the Trinity : a response to the Declaration's stricture / John Simons -- Towards a Biblical church : a plea for accountability in the way we use scripture / Paul Jennings -- The Word of God and "God's word written" : the Montreal Declaration on the authority of scriptures / Stephen Reynolds -- Humanity is one and history is one : Anglican social thought and the Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials / Terry Brown -- Faithfulness and change : moments of discontinuity in the Church's teaching / Gregory Baum -- Reflections on the "Anglican Ethos" : the dialogical middle way / Eileen Scully -- Study Guide / Paul Jennings -- Appendix : The Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials -- Contributors.
"Copyright 1966 by Ernest Harrison". -- verso of t.-p.
Includes bibliographical references.
"The original title of this book was 'Mother Church is Dead and Gone - What do the Children do Now ?' Though unsuitable, it summarized the theme with some accuracy. Mother Church is no longer a central character in the Christian drama, but the Church remains so. With the collapse of its authoritarian structure, many members are seeking new guidelines to replace those which have hitherto been provided only under 'lawful authority'. This book offers a few suggestions as to where those guidelines are being found. .... The following pages simply attempt to describe, as accurately and honestly as I can, some of the patterns of Christianity which I perceive in the present and which I think the future holds. An increasing number of Christians -- to a greater or lesser degree -- no longer accept the traditional creeds, doctrines, liturgies or moral precepts. Yet they consider themselves Christians and hope to be so received; they consider themselves loyal members of their respective denominations and hope to be so received. If this book enables them to feel more confident in their hope -- or if it enables those of a more traditional bent to welcome them -- then it will be justified". -- Preface.
Contents: Preface / Ernest Harrison -- Acknowledgements -- The New Freedom -- A Many-Splendoured Society -- So There is No God -- Did Jesus Believe in God ? -- Did Jesus Rise from the Dead ? -- A New Book Called the Bible -- The New Morality -- The New Parish.
Author is a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada.