Jesse Harmon
RELIG 321
March 6, 2012
The Thirty-nine Articles (1563)
In
1563, a revision of Edward’s Forty-two
Articles of 1553 was published.
This article is considered to be the defining document of the Church of
England. The articles in this
document deal with the Holy Trinity, the Resurrection of Christ, the humanness
of Christ, free will, good works, the three creeds, baptism, sacraments, and
the traditions of the church. This
paper will discuss some of the articles, and some of my reactions to it.
Article
four discusses the Resurrection of Christ. The article states that Christ did indeed rise from the
dead, was once again human (with flesh and bone), and is indeed sitting at the
right hand of the Father (Janz 369).
I like to think with scientific mindset. Over the years, I’ve tried to come up with a scientific explanation
of the Resurrection of Jesus. I
haven’t come up with any theories, except this (which I painfully would like to
dismiss): Jesus didn’t actually
die, but was sent into a protective coma.
Sounds like heresy to me. I
don’t believe it. I guess this is
one thing that can’t be explained by science.
The
seventh article deals with the Old Testament. This article does states that the Old Testament is not contrary to the New Testament. It goes on to explain that the purity
laws of the Old Testament are no longer needed for the followers of Christ,
since they were written specifically for the people of Moses. However, the article also states that
Christians should still follow the morals set by Moses in the Old Testament
(Janz 370). Before reading this, I
thought this idea of the purity law was a relatively new concept, since my pastor
has talked about it before in church.
He wrote this in a February 9th blog entry,
“… much of the Old Testament book of Leviticus conveys
ritual/sacrificial law no longer valid because Jesus Christ has become the
perfect sacrifice for sin ‘once and for all’ or civic law, invalidated because
we do not live in a theocracy, as ancient Israel was meant to be. But sections
of Leviticus, like the portion of it referred to as ‘the holiness code,’ are
merely explanations of the Ten Commandments, the Mosaic Law…” (Daniels).
However,
Pastor Jason Peterson (LCMS) of Burt, Iowa, states that some laws should still
be in effect. He states that the
laws concerning sexual ethics are still applicable because they “explain the
commandment against adultery,” and laws concerning assault should still be in
effect because they “explain the commandment against murder.” (Peterson).
The
Good Works article is the twelfth one.
“Albeit that good works… cannot put away our sins, and endure the
severity of God’s judgment…” (Janz 371).
This is very similar to what Martin Luther said about good works. Martin Luther believed that humans are
saved by faith alone in God’s grace.
I have always been one to advocate doing good things, as seen in my blog
post from August 14, 2011. My
church, Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, has recently been doing a lot of
“Kindness Outreaches” to the community.
Kindness Outreaches is a program based on ideas by Pastor Steve Sjogren. We had out cold bottles of water to
people who have stopped at red lights at the intersection of Zanesville Avenue
and Hunter Street in downtown Logan, Ohio. Here is what I wrote about a memorable experience.
“One of the most memorable things that
happened was when I handed a bottle to a man and his son in a truck. The
son offered to give me his entire allowance from that week, (a dollar), but I
declined and said the water was really free. They both smiled, said thank
you, and took the water bottles. (We don't take money for these kindness
outreaches. We're trying to negate the idea that churches are only
looking for people's money),” (Harmon).
I used to be
confused as to what was being said about faith alone in God’s grace. Then it struck me a few months ago
while reading about Martin Luther.
Good works alone cannot save
me. One can do good works, but
it’s the faith that brings salvation.
This article reinforces my new thought. It states that good works please God, and is perfectly
acceptable. This is
fantastic! I love doing good
things! I love going to mission
trips to help out families in need.
Article
twenty-eight deals with the Lord’s Supper (Janz 373). I have always been conflicted with the Lord’s Supper. I have believed that communion is a
symbol of what happened at the table, and I didn’t believe that the body and
blood of Jesus were present in the bread and wine (I still have a lot of reservations
about this, but that’s just my Devil’s advocate personality). Being raised Lutheran, I’ve been taught
that the bread and wine contain the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus
Christ. I guess the idea of eating
human flesh and drinking blood grosses me out. Given what I just wrote, you can probably guess that I think
transubstantiation is a bunch of gobbledygook.
Finally,
I’m going to focus on article thirty-four, which deals with church tradition
(Janz 374). I personally love
tradition. I think it’s a great
way for people to know the ways of the church. Since the liturgy is based on scripture, I think it’s sad
that many newer 20-something churches don’t have a liturgy. I’m going to describe what my church
does during services.
First, we have the
typical prelude and announcements.
Then we have the first hymn, which is usually a “welcome to worship”
hymn. Next we have Confession and
Forgiveness. We say, “We confess
that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have
done, and by what we have left undone…” The Kyrie is sung next (“Lord, have
mercy upon us…”). Then we have the
Hymn of Praise. The prayer of the
day is after that, followed by the scripture readings, the Gospel, and the
sermon. We then sing the next
hymn, followed by either the Apostles’ Creed (“I believe…”), or the Nicene
Creed during Holy Communion, (“We believe…”). The Prayers of Intercession are after that, followed by the
Sharing of the Peace. After the
offering, the Doxology is sung.
Then Holy Communion, if scheduled on the first and third Sundays of each
month, is presented. Enwrapped by
Holy Communion is the Great Thanksgiving (“The Lord be with you.” “And also
with you.”), the Sanctus (“Holy…Lord, our God of pow’r and might…”) The Words
of Institution follow that (“In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord
Jesus took the bread…”) Then communion is administered. After that, the Nunc Dimittis is sung
(“As you have promised and as we depart…”). Finally, the Benediction is recited (“The Lord bless and
keep you...”). As you can see,
tradition is very important to me.
My church has gone away from the liturgy found in the old green Lutheran Book of Worship hymnal - we
probably won’t be getting the new cranberry Evangelical
Lutheran Worship hymnals - and toward a newer, self-written liturgy, but at
least it’s a liturgy.
The
article states that all of this is not necessary. I have to constantly remind myself that worshipping God
doesn’t have to be through tradition.
Newer contemporary worship styles are just as important as traditional
styles. I still don’t like it
though. If I want to hear
distorted electric guitars and drum sets, I’ll go to the Scarlet and Grey Café
on Saturday nights. I believe in
the beauty of the pipe organ, as it’s something very special (you generally don’t go to a bar on
Friday or Saturday nights to hear someone play a pipe organ).
This
was a very fun essay to write because I got to let you see a generalization of
my views on Christianity. I hope you
learned something about me and about my faith, as I have been reminded by
writing this piece.
Works Cited
Daniels, Mark.
"Yes, Homosexuality is a Sin; But God Wants to Set People Free from It." MarkDaniels.Blogspot.com. Mark Daniels, 09 Feb 2012. Web. 5 Mar. 2012.
Harmon, Jesse.
"Kindness Outreaches." A Learning Lutheran. Jesse Harmon, 14
Aug 2011.
Web. 5 Mar. 2012.
Janz, Denis R.,
ed. The Thirty-nine Articles. 2nd. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008. 368-76.
Print.
Peterson, Jason P.
"Old Testament Laws." Lutheran Reformission. Rev. Jason P. Peterson,
06 May 2010. Web. 5 Mar. 20
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