Bücher von Gerald Bray

What is orthodoxy? In recent controversies in the Church of England and in the wider Anglican Communion, those who insist that the Church's traditional teachings about marriage and celibacy cannot be altered are increasingly described as 'orthodox', a claim that has been disputed on the ground that orthodoxy is defined by the great creeds and confessions of the Church, none of which mentions the subject.This Briefing argues that orthodoxy extends well beyond what the creeds and confessions state. It is rooted in the mind of Christ, which is revealed to us in Holy Scripture and encompasses every aspect of life, including our doctrine and practice of matrimony. Orthodoxy is expressed not only in creeds but also in the forms of our worship, not least in the rich tradition of hymnody that has stood the test of time. Christians of every tradition resonate with orthodoxy because it bears witness to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, as he illuminates and applies the Word of God to our lives.Using the words of the well-known hymn The Church's One Foundation, Gerald Bray demonstrates what orthodoxy is and why it matters both to individual believers and to the Church as a whole. In every generation we are challenged by new heresies and divisions that seek to lead us astray. Orthodoxy is the unchanging teaching of Christ given to us in the Bible as the resource we need to combat them. It unites us with the saints of the past, the present and the future in the spiritual warfare that engages God's people as we make our way to the heavenly kingdom promised to all true followers of Jesus.

Synods are gatherings of church officers that convene for the purpose of deliberating what church policy should be. Their agenda may include resolving disputes that have arisen as well, as making plans for the future development of the life of the church. They are typically representative bodies, though who they represent varies from time to time and from church to church. They have been held from the very earliest days of Christianity, and for many centuries they were understood to be assemblies of bishops. That is still the case in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, but Anglican practice is much broader in scope, including clergy and laity as well. Modern synods also meet on a regular basis and operate according to a fixed constitution. They share some features in common with those of other times and places, but they are not direct descendants of any particular ancient tradition. There is no form of Anglican synodical government beyond the level of the national church, a fact that has become increasingly problematic in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Reform of the national synodical structure and the development of an effective form of synodical government that will be regarded as authoritative by the entire Communion are the greatest challenges we face today and it is these that this essay seeks to address.

A new edition of one of the founding documents of the Church of England, allowing easy comparison of the changes between successive versions.

What motivated the men who gave us our Bible in English? Much of the answer lies in the turbulent religious history of the era, but there are clues which can be found in the prefaces published with each new edition. This collection of the prefaces to the main translations of the Bible into English between 1525 and 1611 has been prepared to coincide with the four hundredth anniversary of the first edition of the Authorised or King James Version. An introductory chapter delineates the key events, and this is followed by each of the texts, with notes indicating the sources of the various quotations and allusions. This collection therefore provides the historical and theological ancestry of a much loved translation, and readers can hardly fail to be challenged by the spiritual concerns of the translators.Gerald Bray is Director of Research for the Latimer Trust. Prior to this appointment he taught church history and historical theology at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University from 1993, having previously served as lecturer in theology and philosophy at Oak Hill College in London.