What do we believe?

The Diocese of Grafton has just held their Synod, and during the proceedings the following motion was put forward:

This Synod:
1) reaffirms its commitment to the authorised standard of worship and doctrine of the Anglican Church of Australia as set out in the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Australia;

2) reaffirms its belief in the doctrine of Christ set out in the Articles of Religion: particularly his bodily resurrection from the dead, that salvation is found in Christ alone and that his death pays the penalty for the sins of the whole world;

3) calls on the Bishop of the Diocese or Administrator to discipline any licensed minister in the Diocese of Grafton who declares doctrine contrary to the Constitution.

This motion was eventually withdrawn due to a vote forcing that withdrawal.  Apparently asking that clergy uphold their vows of ordination is a bridge too far for the synod of Grafton. 

The question I have to ask is what do the good people who were present at that Synod think their church teaches? 

You see The Constitution of The Anglican Church of Australia does in fact make it clear that the doctrine of the church is is defined by the 39 Articles and the Book of Common Prayer. They in turn (along with Scripture) make it clear that salvation is indeed found in no other than Jesus.  

See Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Australia - Ruling Principles:

​This Church, being derived from the Church of England, retains and approves the doctrine and principles of the Church of England embodied in the Book of Common Prayer together with the Form and Manner of Making Ordaining and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests and Deacons and in the Articles of Religion sometimes called the Thirty-nine Articles but has plenary authority at its own discretion to make statements as to the faith ritual ceremonial or discipline of this Church and to order its forms of worship and rules of discipline and to alter or revise such statements, forms and rules, provided that all such statements, forms, rules or alteration or revision thereof are consistent with the Fundamental Declarations contained herein and are made as prescribed by this Constitution. Provided, and it is hereby further declared, that the above-named Book of Common Prayer, together with the Thirty-nine Articles, be regarded as the authorised standard of worship and doctrine in this Church, and no alteration in or permitted variations from the services or Articles therein contained shall contravene any principle of doctrine or worship laid down in such standard.

That same doctrine also makes it clear that Jesus' death was a payment for sin and was substitutionary - hence we read in the prayer of consecration in The Book of Common Prayer:

"...who of thy tender mercy didst give thine
only Son Jesus Christ to Suffer death on the
Cross for our redemption; who made there (by
his one oblation of himself once offered) a full,
perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and
satisfaction for the sins of the whole world;"

Then there is the fact that clergy at their ordination give their assent to these very same articles and also vow to minister the doctrine of the Anglican Church of Australia. That same doctrine that we have just established is found in the 39 articles and book of common prayer.:

Will you faithfully and humbly minister the doctrine, sacraments and discipline of Christ, as he has commanded and as this Church has received them?
I will, by God’s grace.

Bishops likewise make the same commitment - and they also vow to correct teaching that is contrary to that doctrine.

The faux outrage expressed by many about this motion speaks volumes.  It tells us that there are many many clergy who have walked away from the doctrine and faith of the Anglican Church, which they vowed to uphold.  

Now there will be many comments about how the 39 Articles were a product of their time and should be rightly understood as a historical document etc etc.. The problem is however that the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Australia does not make that distinction - in fact it declares that the articles and the Book of Common Prayer are THE standard for doctrine.  

Yes there are different ways to interpret the articles and the theology of the book of common prayer - You can certainly take a Calvinistic interpretation, you can also lean more towards an Anglo-Catholic interpretation.  What you cannot do (with any integrity) is claim that they simply don't matter.  What you cannot do is claim they allow for a complete re-interpretation of what has been orthodox Christian belief about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

I could go on - but I think C.S. Lewis puts it much more articulately than I could. ​

It is your duty to to fix the lines (of doctrine) clearly in your minds: and if you wish to go beyond them you must change your profession. This is your duty not specially as Christians or as priests but as honest men. There is a danger here of the clergy developing a special professional conscience which obscures the very plain moral issue. Men who have passed beyond these boundary lines in either direction are apt to protest that they have come by their unorthodox opinions honestly. In defense of those opinions they are prepared to suffer obloquy and to forfeit professional advancement. They thus come to feel like martyrs. But this simply misses the point which so gravely scandalises the layman. We never doubted that the unorthodox opinions were honestly held: what we complain of is your continuing in your ministry after you have come to hold them. We always knew that a man who makes his living as a paid agent of the Conservative Party may honestly change his views and honestly become a Communist. What we deny is that he can honestly continue to be a Conservative agent and to receive money from one party while he supports the policy of the other. -- Christian Apologetics, C. S. Lewis, Easter 1945