From his commentary on I Corinthians iv:15 - There remains another question of greater difficulty: As Christ forbids us to call any one father upon earth, because we have one Father in heaven,(Matthew 23:9,) how does Paul dare to take to himself the name of father? I answer, that, properly speaking, God alone is the Father, not merely of our soul, but also of our flesh. As, however, in so far as concerns the body, he communicates the honor of his paternal name to those to whom he gives offspring, while, as to souls, he reserves to himself exclusively the right and title of Father, I confess that, on this account, he is called in a peculiar sense the Father of spirits, and is distinguished from earthly fathers, as the Apostle speaks in Hebrews 12:9. As, however, notwithstanding that it is he alone who, by his own influence, begets souls, and regenerates and quickens them, he makes use of the ministry of his servants for this purpose, there is no harm in their being called fathers, in re...

A very interesting summary and assessment of the Primates meeting at First Things .

If you have not, please read this wonderful letter by the Bishop of Uganda regarding the recent meeting of the Anglican Communion Primates. The more things like this I read, the more encouraged I am about what happened in Tanzania. Thank you Titusonenine!

See his post here. If the link doesn't work, type: http://leanderharding.classicalanglican.net or look up Dr. Leander Harding.

I would say that for the most part I am disappointed. The General Convention of 2006 seemed clear enough to me. The September deadline for TEC to make plain her response to Windsor is a good thing; but it will be devastating for orthodox Anglicans around the world if more equivocation is accepted by the Primates from TEC. The Archbishop of Canterbury is trying to use all his genius to keep TEC in the Communion, but, because of the issue of Truth which is at stake, he is at the same time driving individuals and churches out of the Communion. The doctrine of TEC is plain and their persecution of the believing is public. PB Schori's statements have been forthright. There is really no reason for not taking action against open heresy if the Church believes the Faith, once delivered to the saints, is the pearl of great price. There was another way of dealing with the current state of affairs that could have been taken and that would have been healthier, if there had only been an Ar...

Read Toon's initial response.

For those interested in the paedocommunion debate, here is an interesting excerpt from George Herbert's The Country Parson : The time of every ones first receiving is not so much by yeers, as by understanding: particularly, the rule may be this: When any one can distinguish the Sacramentall from common bread, knowing the Institution, and the difference, hee ought to receive, of what age soever. Children and youths are usually deferred too long, under pretence of devotion to the Sacrament, but it is for want of Instruction; their understandings being ripe enough for ill things, and why not then for better? But Parents, and Masters should make hast in this, as to a great purchase for their children, and servants; which while they deferr, both sides suffer; the one in wanting many excitings of grace; the other, in being worse served and obeyed. The saying of the Catechism is necessary, but not enough; because to answer in form may still admit ignorance: but the Questions mu...

If you have not seen it, here is a link to the article entitled "Why We Left the Episcopal Church" by The Rev. John Yates and Os Guiness of The Falls Church, Virginia. Click here for the article.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who by thy Holy Spirit didst preside in the Council of the blessed Apostles, and hast promised, through thy Son Jesus Christ, to be with thy Church to the end of the world; We beseech thee to be with the Primates of the world-wide Anglican communion about to assemble in thy Name and Presence this coming week in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Save them from all error, ignorance, pride, and prejudice; and of thy great mercy vouchsafe, we beseech thee, so to direct, sanctify, and govern them in their work, by the mighty power of the Holy Ghost, that the comfortable Gospel of Christ may be truly preached, truly received, and truly followed, in all places, to the breaking down the kingdom of sin, Satan, and death; till at length the whole of thy dispersed sheep, being gathered into one fold, shall become partakers of everlasting life; through the merits and death of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

An excerpt from my sermon on Sexagesima Sunday (arguing for a sacramental world view): In closing, let me bring up another issue: the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. What is this about? In nature, ashes are the product of the dissolution or disintegration of a creature. Through the instrumentality of fire, what once was is no more. In the past, people must have associated the dissolution that ashes represent with the dissolution of their own hearts and bodies when great tragedies struck or when they were aware of how their sin was tearing their lives apart. Thus, they would put ashes on themselves as a symbol of what was going on in their lives and as a way of expressing outwardly their grief, similarly to the way people today wear black when a loved one has died. We find much of this in the Bible. In Isaiah 61:3, the prophet tells us that the Messiah would give us beauty for our ashes. In other words, though we live in mourning for our sin, God will so deal with our sin that we ...

Below is the link to the Appendix of Bishop Meade's Reasons for Loving the Episcopal Church . It is titled: "APPENDIX, Containing proofs that the Reformers on the Continent and those of England acted on the same principle in conducting the Reformation." It is a .pdf file. Meade Appendix .