I promise that I'm not taking over...

Hello all,

I promise that I'm not taking over the blog, but I have Anglicanism on the brain, so I thought that I would share. I finished EOTCT (I liked the introduction of an acronym Rach) this morning, and I have to say that I'm still somewhat disappointed with it. I wanted us to read a book about Anglicanism that would be a clear introduction, but also interesting and relevant... and since this talked about evangelicals being drawn to Anglicanism, it seemed like just the thing. Perhaps because it is a meditation on a personal journey there's a lot in it that is specific to his experience that isn't exactly relevant to mine. I did like the later chapters a bit more, especially when he shared his experiences of a separated church, and that he values Anglicanism for being a via media between Protestantism and Catholicism. I think that's the level on which Anglicanism should be discussed; yes the liturgical worship is different in important ways from contemporary evangelical services -- but some of this is just aesthetic. I attended the evangelical non-denominational 'mega church' in downtown Boston last month... and from the service I could have been in a mainline Lutheran church. It was sort of 1/2 liturgical, we used hymn books, did call and response etc. The Anglican liturgy is vital and important... but I wish that Webber had focused less on it being 'mysterious'. And Rach, your point about the overuse of impenetrable is right on...

I hope that this isn't a too negative assesment of the book. Perhaps it was meant as a gentle introduction to Anglicanism, but I suppose I want something more substantial at this point. I thought I would share with you all the books I'm checking out of the library this afternoon (I'm not actually suggesting anyone read this with me, but I want to do some reading in preparation for being confirmed, and I thought I would share). I realize that at this moment I'm very much on a road towards denominational identity change, so that is where my thoughts and emotions are... and I don't want to co-op the blog for that purpose. But I love sharing these thoughts with you guys, so I'll just keep going.

Some books I'm considering:
-Anglicanism: A very short introduction by Mark Chapman
-Anglican approaches to scripture by Rowan A. Greer
-Paul in Fresh Perspective by NT Wright
-Anglicanism: The Answer to Modernity by Duncan Dormor

Just some titles and thoughts. I hope that I'm not going Episcopal-crazy.... but I figure, if you want to learn about something, you might as well read about it.