Great group last night. Thank you all for coming and for your great participation.
Are Anglicans protestant?- the easiest way to answer that question is in the context I used it- the answer would be "yes." By protestant, we mean the formation came out of the intense period of change known as the Protestant Reformation. The doctrinal standards are distinct in several key ways from Roman catholicism, or as we did not get to last night, Eastern Orthodoxy. Remember, I said the key difference between Roman Catholics and those groups that came out of the Reformation is not worship style, vestments, liturgy, etc....but justification. The Roman Catholic view of justification- at least as traditionally stated- is, in my view, clearly wrong.
The Anglican Communion is rich and large and varied, and in many ways it represents a via media- middle way- between the continental Reformation, and the Roman church. Also remember: the status of Catholic v. Protestant emphasis varies through the many years. For hundreds of years, the more or less typical Anglican approach looked very much like what a Presbyterian would be familiar with. Many things you may take for granted as being "decidedly Anglican" are relatively recent innovations- weekly Communion, the sign of the cross, etc....not that old at all in Anglican usage (though both of the examples I used are, in fact, ancient practices of the church catholic). Which brings us to...
Finally, know that the Roman Catholics do not own the word catholic, nor do the Orthodox own the word orthodox. Both are not only names of "tribes" of Christians, but perfectly wonderful words that all believers can and should freely use to describe their faith. We should at all times be both catholic (recognizing the unity of the church through the ages, transcending time, space, and denomination) and orthodox (right-thinking) as we follow Christ.
