When I responded to the inquiry as to whether anyone missed the 1928 BCP I had no idea that I would unleash a firestorm of controversy as to parishioners preference between the two different versions extant during my lifetime. Perhaps I read too much into the inquiry whether anyone missed the 1928 BCP, and interpreted that as soliciting a preference. Regardless, the two versions are not just different iterations of the same thought. As to the Collect for Grace, the 1928 version (p. 17) requests Gods power that our doings being ordered by thy governance ... be righteous in thy sight. Read reasonably, this unequivocably states that God is the prime mover in our actions, and is consistent with the theological position that we, who cannot do anything that is good without thee (1928 BCP, p. 200, Collect for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost), in short that we are utterly dependent on God for our existence. The MP Rite I version (p. 57, 1979 BCP) states: that we, being ordered by thy governance, may do always what is righteous in thy sight. Though the difference may be subtle, I believe that this suggests that our existence, rather than our actions are subject to Gods righteous judgment, and that we may earn Gods favor by our actions. I believe that all who confess the faith in Christ crucified are justified in Him, regardless of our individual actions, and that our justification is not contingent on our actions. To some this may be a matter of interpretation, but to me it is the substance of our faith: that while we were still unrighteous, God sent His Son to take our sins upon Him.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 01:26:17 +0000
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