Artos said:
The distinctive element in Methodism is HOLINESS IN HEART AND LIFE.
John Wesley said that the reason why God raised the Methodists was to spread 'scriptural holiness' throughout the land.
Its like the Salvation Army where their focus is on social concerns....or the Pentecostals whose focus is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit.
They hold something that is from the common pool (for Christians) but highlight it as their special calling/focus/charism.
Hence I wanted to know what is for Anglicans- that special calling.....
That's a difficult question, but if I had to put something out there, I'd probably say our focus is on unity and inclusivity. I know that first part sounds pretty funny giving all the divisiveness going on in the Anglican Communion right now, but just because we fall short of our calling sometimes doesn't mean we don't have it.
When England kept going back and forth between Roman Catholicism and Protestanism, Elizabeth realizes some sort of compromise was going to have to be struck to bring Catholics and Protestants to the same table. She took some of the main things perceived to be important to the Catholics like liturgy, liturgical seasons, real presence in the eucharist, the historic episcopate, and the three-fold ministry and some of the things most important to the Protestants like salvation by grace through faith, scripture as being sufficent to salvation, a biblical focus, no Pope, etc and combined them into one tradition. To Anglicans, our tradition encompasses the best things about being Catholic and the best things about being Protestant while adding in a little bit of flavor that is distinctive to Anglicanism. Nowadays, that sort of thinking manifests itself in strong ecumenical ties with both Evangelical Lutherans and Roman Catholics, as well as in bridging the modern gaps between liberals and conservatives (Sometimes unsuccessfully). We also tend out to the outcasts -- women, gays, blacks, AIDS patients, etc. and make them full partners in our work of reaching towards the Kingdom of Heaven.
We like to have vigorous debates and then slap each other on the cap and have a tea or coffie hour.
The other thing I think you might tend to find in Anglicanism is a certain level of intellectualism. Anglicans tend to think a lot, too much some might say! A lot of famous scientists and political leaders in the United States have been Episcopalian historically, which is not a coincidence in my view. Of course, in the realm of faith, maybe intellect isn't always such an asset, since sometimes it can be a roadblock, but I have to love a church where many of the parish halls have posters of Jesus that say "I came to die for your sins, not take away your brain.". It was really neat for me to find a church where I could think things through without being yelled at and called an apostate or something for questioning Church doctrines from time to time.
John
