The Levellers were INTERNATIONALISTS!

When the English Monarchy was abolished in 1649, it was done in the name of Christianity and the Revolution that this was part of was inspired - explicitly - by Christianity.

But the Christianity - whilst it had a nationalist flavour - was NO form of Anglicanism.
Nor Roman Catholicism.
It was Protestant Puritanism.
The Levellers and The Diggers, for example - both very inspired by Christianity - were what could now be called very INTERNATIONALIST.
So is Christianity!.....
...............

Anglicanism is Idolatry!

Another important thing to say about Anglicanism (or what could be called "English Catholicism" or "Anglo-Catholicism" perhaps) and its symbol "The Compass Rose" with the George's Cross at its centre) is the following.

Strictly speaking, no form of Christianity should concern itself with any one country or people. Obviously.

Regardless of who the leader of the country is.  So here is yet more idolatry. For Anglicanism does just that. And, in the symbol, the English flag is at the centre!

If Christianity is to exist at all, it should be very explicitly anti-nationalist.

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The Armenians and the Russians, and to some extent a few others,link their Christian denomination too strongly with a country or people.

Christianity should be internationalist and universalist.

However, Anglicanism is uniquely wrong on this - for still today the Monarch is its spiritual head! Quite wrong!

THE COMPASS ROSE

"THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE"

This emblem is the Seal of the Anglican Communion.
It is to be found at Canterbury Cathedral.
It is known as "The Compass Rose".

The words are in GREEK - the original language of the New Testament.

The Monarch was only made the head because of the power of the Papacy.

The truth on this subject for me is that the Monarch shouldn't be the Head but that there are also problems with the Papacy!

Anglicanism was the religion of the English/British Empire!

Another point to make is that -

Anglicanism was the religion of the English/British Empire!

......

Whilst this was a good thing in some ways ("curate's eggs") like most Empires it wasn't "All good" - obviously.......

........

The Empire has - let us face it - given way to the Commonwealth....

Should Anglicanism also evolve into something else?........

Anglicanism wants to convert the world!

Anglicanism wants to convert the world!

You may say, "No it doesn't!" I reply, "It must do!".

Since the truth is that Anglicanism tries to make converts all across the world and all across Christendom - at the present time - it must logically infer that it ardently desires the political monarch of the UK to be the spiritual supreme governor of every church and every christian on our tiny planet.

Whilst I think that The Queen may be the right person for such a Totalitarian job, this point of logic of course points to the ultimate ridiculousness of the Anglican position at the present time!

Take power in the power of logic!

Maybe the way forward is to make the Archbishop of Canterbury more formally the head of the Communion.

Our present Archbishop is a very good one - Justin Welby.

On "Anglican Evangelicals"

Can there be such a thing as an "Anglican Evangelical" Church?

Or a "Swedican Evangelical" Church.

I should not really even have to write the rest of this post.


Some people say it is a question of knowing where to "draw the line".

People shouldn't really need to be told that John Fisher - first Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cambridge - drew the line across his neck to have it chopped off; sooner than have a Monarch spiritual head of the Christian Church in England or anywhere.

IF YOU ARE IN ANY KIND of Evangelical Cristian Movement and at the same time ANY KIND of Anglican this must be a bit tricky.

The MONARCH CANNOT BE THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH.

IN ANY WAY. 


Whilst the Monarch is the Head of the Anglican Communion in any way - it remains STRICTLY SPEAKLING a POLITICAL and not ENTIRELY a religious entity.

Difficult

It is VERY difficult to find many books on Christianity that tell the full truth about Anglicanism!.....
even now!.....
..........................

Let us one day BANISH Monarchy Worship from Christianity
like Patrick banished snakes from Ireland.

William Tyndale's last words!

William Tyndale's last words - which he bellowed very loud before his execution in Antwerp in 1536 were - "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes!"

This man is perhaps not as well known as Thomas More and John Fisher. Thomas More even persecuted and executed men like him.

In his last words, was Tyndale referring not just to his and others' unjustified and ferocious persecution by the government of England for translating the Bible into the English tongue?

Was he also further referring to an opposition to the recent fenomenon in England of the Monarch being the Head of the Church - a situation only 2 years old at the time?

Maybe not. But it is an interesting thought.

Disestablishment of the Church of England.

Disestablishment of the Church of England is a good idea.

The Monarch being head of the church is a flawed concept and always has been.

Ever since the Church in England took the monarch to be the Head of the Church it has been a false idolatry.

It is at present an imperialist church too, the official church of the English/British Empire with all that that implies.

I do not believe that the Church in England can continue to call itself a religion whilst it has the Monarch as it's head; yes, I contend that since its creation in the 1530s the Church of England has not been a religion, but a form of state worship.

It is wholly wrong in a democratic society for the head of a religion to be the head of the political state.

Separation of church and state is fundamental and has been for 200 years.

This applies to the Papacy too.
http://www.seechange.org/

A religion should not be about political power.

From "Zadok the (Angry) Priest".
....

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I will mention that the Christian Church in Sweden had a SIMILAR solution to that in England regarding the Reformation. A national governmental Lutheran church.
Hoyever, in the defence of what could be called - for didactic purposes - SWEDICANISM the Monarch specifically was never any kind of figurehead or ruler - spiritual or otherwise - of the Christian Church in Sweden.

The Swedican Church :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Sweden

A Modest Proposal!....

A modest proposal... by no one in particular.....

One possibility for the C of E - and I don't know if it has been mooted - I would be surprised if it has not - is the following.

Pope was replaced with Monarch at its inception.

What is the Pope? A senior leading cleric.

Why not now replace Monarch with Archbish of Canterbury at some point in some way?

There have been - and still are:) - some wonderful and truly divine Archbishes of Canterbury! :D

Some very wise theologians.

The set up of the C of E is very democratic all things considered....

and allows for very sensible and very radical Christian thinking.....:)

With very best wishes :)
.....

BTW in the US what we in England call the "Anglican" church is -
far more logically and correctly - almost always called the
"Episcopalian" church.

Reflecting the Apostolic succession rather than the nationalist element -
among other things....


....

"COME UNTO ME..... AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST"

This is a lovely altar piece at my local Anglican Church.
With some words of Christ on it!

Another saying of Christ's is -

"MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD!"

In my opinion, a clear implication of these words is that - his "kingdom" is a spiritual and not a political kingdom!

I think these words of Christ just mentioned compromise the Christian Church that this lovely altar
is found in.

This is the case because the political Monarch and head of the political state in which it is found - the "U.K." - is also the spiritual head and "Supreme Governor" - to the exclusion of anyone else - of the Church in which this is found.

......................

Queen Elizabeth II and her kingdom are very much "of this world" - as you may realize when you vote for an M.P. to serve the Crown in Parliament!

ANGLICANISM - GOVERNMENT-APPROVED ROCK N ROLL!!!!

ANGLICANISM - 
"GOVERNMENT-APPROVED ROCK N ROLL!!!!"

"Anglicanism" was a political measure.

"Anglicanism" was a political measure to solve a political crisis.

The specific political crisis that gave rise to and consolidated Anglicanism - I think we can all agree - is over. :)

When would I say that this "crisis" was clearly "over"?

Maybe by 1600?

And guess what happened in the year 1603?

ENGLAND ENDED AS AN INDEPENDENT KINGDOM.

The maintenance of "Anglicanism" was EXTREMELY CONVENIENT for the usurper who took the throne that year and who 2 years later was nearly murdered by a large group of English Catholic conspirators.

The first terrorists in history were ordinary outraged Middle Class ENGLISH people.

:D

*MORE :) to follow*

John Fisher

JOHN FISHER (1469-1535).

(Recognized as a Saint in the Roman Catholic church).

"So far as the Law of Christ allows" is a frase that was introduced by this man in 1531 at a Convocation on the subject of the role of the Monarch.

He was trying to save lives and lessen the cataclysm which sadly was to come!
Sadly this great filosofer, scholar and humanist met an unfitting end.
He completely REFUSED to accept the "ACT OF SUPREMACY" of 1534 - as did so many others.
For this and since attempts to do good were too much for the King, he was perpetually imprisoned and eventually executed.
His head was placed on London Bridge then thrown in the Thames and his remains buried without ceremony at All Hallows churchyard in Barking, Essex.

I was unaware of this Yorkshireman of principle who shares his Feast Day with Saint Thomas More.

He was the First (Lady Margaret) Professor of Divinity at my "alma mater" of a kind - Cambridge University.

He was also a Renaissance humanist like More - in the sense that he believed in studying the Classical languages.

He was also summarily murdered by Henry 8th King of England at Tower Hill - once again on the simple point that he could not accept a law stating that the Monarch was the spiritual Head of the Christian Church in England.

When I read about him today I was moved.
The thing is it was in the second paragraph of the account of his life and it seemed so brusque - straight away one was reading of his last moments and what he said.
Along with the fact that English people simply don't seem to appreciate their own history.

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Anglicanism is English - Papism is German!

Anglicanism has its historical origins in English culture - 
Papism had some of its origins in German culture!...

(so fucking what!) 

The point is -

Extreme Anglicanism (1543) is PURE EVIL and PLAIN STUPID!
andExtreme Papism (1054) is PURE EVIL and PLAIN STUPID!

"Anglicanism" makes religion into a democracy.
"Papism" makes religion into an autocracy.

Religion is not politics.

ANGLICANISM IS AN ERROR!

NEVER MIND THE "ERRORS OF ROMANISM"
ANGLICANISM IS AN ERROR!