The patriarchal environment of nineteenth century England viewed women as weak and naïve creatures who should submit to the dictates of men. Religion, however, could give women a sense of freedom and independence from male authority. When auricular confession began to gain acceptance in some sections of the Anglican Church, women saw this as a way of asserting their independence because they could confide their personal thoughts and problems to a clergymen. This could, in the opinion of some, threaten the powerful role of the husband or father by substituting an alternative patriarchal system, and many critics warned of the dangers associated with the confessional, especially the weakening of the male dominated family structure. The Priest in Absolution gave advice to Anglican confessors, but the sexual nature of the questions, made public in 1877, shocked the public and confirmed the fears of the opponents of auricular confession.

The paper explores the rise of Reform in the Church of England, and critically examines some of the reasons why (theologically and sociologically) the movement has also developed an aggressive side to its character. After briefly considering the history of Reform (now ten years old) the paper deploys some methodological perspectives drawn from the late James Hopewell's contribution to congregational studies, before turning to some of the key issues that define Reform's agenda. Some further analysis examines the prospects for Anglicanism, where the Communion is bound together less and less by a common form of governance, and increasingly by a shared ethos and moral affinity. A conclusion discusses the relative strength of Reform within the context of the Anglican Communion as a whole. The paper is exploratory in nature: an exercise in testing a methodology within the broad penumbra of modern ecclesiology. The paper is not intended to be a definitive account or interpretation of Reform. From the outset, the author recognizes that the movement itself merits far more attention than one academic paper can possibly give it.

Anglicanism has come to worldwide significance in the context of modernity and debate about the recent difficulties in the Anglican communion which have been of such note and concern has been influenced by this context. The categories of the debate as reflected in the Virginia Report provide a case study of the difficulties. That report is examined in this light and the tendency of the argument drawn out to show a disposition to see issues in terms of control and exclusion. A consideration of the origins of the Anglican Communion shows that it expresses a disposition of Christians to pray for one another. It is a myth not in the sense that it is unreal but in the sense that it provides a way of understanding how the communion works. It works like a myth and in being re-enacted gains its force. This argument is combined with the notion of scapegoat in the writings of Rene Girard and applied to the case of Gene Robinson in order to lead to a better understanding of inclusive love and communion.

The Windsor Report of the Lambeth Commission on Communion was published in late 2004 and has been released with encouragement from the Archbishop of Canterbury that it be studied around the Anglican Communion. A ‘reception’ process has been established to solicit input and monitor discussion on the Windsor Report from across the Anglican Communion. This article is a reflection on the report from the perspective of an American Episcopalian missiologist and was offered as part of the ‘reception’ process. In a step-by-step examination of the contents of the Windsor Report, the reflection presents underlying currents, concerns and possibilities for the Anglican Communion arising from the Report. There is much of benefit in the Report while at the same time dissent is registered with some of its presuppositions and findings.

This article sets out to provide a context for contemporary discussions about baptism and Eucharist — specifically, the practice of offering communion to those who have not been baptized — and will examine the baptismal theology of the early church and compare this with the thinking of contemporary reformers. I will review scriptural evidence, Patristic thought, and some contemporary scholarship, demonstrating no evidence to support a claim of returning to the authentic roots of the tradition. Rather than condemn or condone the practice of communicating the unbaptized, I recommend that we study it more carefully — lest the church miss a significant opportunity for evangelism. Yet caveat lector: this practice remains an exception — not the norm.

Honest to God, published in 1963, was one of the most public religious bestsellers of the twentieth century. Because it was written by an Anglican bishop it was especially controversial. Yet there are questions that remain and this article highlights seven such questions which draw attention to weaknesses in the book. An alternative proposal is offered here. Robinson had his finger on a real problem in postwar British church life and, in a measure, theology. I believe the problem was mostly or largely caused not by the New Testament and historic Christianity itself, but by the way in which the post-Enlightenment world had assimilated and re-expressed the Christian faith. What Robinson referred to when speaking of supraor supernaturalism belonged within an essentially Deist or Epicurean framework, and he was struggling with the unwelcome consequences of people being unable to relate to their absentee landlord, and simultaneously puzzling over the fact that some people did not find this a problem. The huge popularity of his book shows that he struck a chord with a great many people. The tragedy of Honest to God, as I perceive it, is that Robinson did not see that what he was rejecting was a form of supernaturalism pressed upon Christianity by the Enlightenment; that he did not therefore go looking for help in finding other ways of holding together what the classic Christian tradition has claimed about God.

This article explores Coleridge's understanding of imagination, Scripture, the spirituality of the world, and our reality as the image of God. I begin with Coleridge's understanding of the inspiration of Scripture and the interpretive process. By locating the imagination in this interaction among writer, reader, and God, I surface Coleridge's more significant description of imaginative thinking as a spiritual act that calls us into the truth of our being and of the world's reality. Implicit in Coleridge's vision is a correlation between human imaginative creativity and the creative being of God as a dimension of our reality as the image of God. Thus, I claim that imaginative preaching, when seen through Coleridge's lens, renews that image within us, awakening us to our reality as spiritual, free beings, but only when we enact our freedom within the context of God's freedom and action which we know through our reading of Scripture.

This article discusses the theology of one of the major figures of theology in Edwardian England, Charles Gore (1853–1932), particularly his understanding of kenosis and vulnerability in relation to Christ and the Christian. Beginning with an analysis of the loss of invulnerability by the Church of England, the article uses the theology of Donald Mackinnon as a backdrop for understanding the notion of ‘rough discipleship’ outlined by Gore which strips away the trappings of power. Through a detailed discussion of Gore's works on the incarnation and the Sermon on the Mount, a picture is drawn of the requirements of the Christian character as well as what he regarded as the authentic church freed from the state. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of kenoticism in relation to the crisis of authority in contemporary Anglicanism. Assertions of power and authority are shown to be a denial of the complexity and vulnerability implied by the powerlessness and tragedy of Christ.

Three aspects of the Anglican understanding of Christianity can make a distinctive contribution to Christian–Muslim dialogue today. Recognition of the importance of context highlights the complexity and variety of the situations in which Christians and Muslims encounter one another. Basing unity on a sense of collegiality which can withstand disagreement offers a model for shared working across religious differences. The interpretation of Scripture through reason and tradition under the guidance of conscience points to a dialogue between those addressed by the Bible and by the Qur'ān respectively. These themes are illustrated through contemporary Anglican involvement in three Christian–Muslim projects, and their theological implications are explored.

The article explores the complexities of church-state relations in Uganda, with particular reference to the two dominant churches: the Anglican Church of Uganda (the Protestants) and the Roman Catholic Church. Together the two churches include some 80 per cent of Ugandans. Since the beginnings of Christianity in the late nineteenth century, the rivalry between the two communions has had political implications, with the Anglican Church perceived as constituting a quasi-establishment and the Catholics as lacking political clout. In local discourse, ‘eating’ refers to the enjoyment of political power; ‘sharing’ to the expectation of inclusion. The article looks at the attempt to overcome sectarian politics, and the Christian witness of both churches in the face of state oppression and violence.