Anglicanism's Nicene Creed is Calvinistic

Oct 14  Hudson Barton. Comments: 6
Anglicans Beware!  A "TULIP" by any other name is still a TULIP.
This article seeks to introduce the concept that there are no discrepancies between The Nicene Creed, the 39 Articles and the "5 points of Calvinism."

At the heart of Calvinist and Reformed theology is an assertion that God is responsible for and sovereign over everything.  That would include our creation, election, justification, sanctification, resurrection and life everlasting.  

If we can accept that premise, then let's also admit that other theological systems allow for powers apart from the sovereignty of God; things which God cannot or will not control.  Such powers would include the will of man, the operations of science, the communication between this world and worlds beyond the grave, and the 'laws' of nature and of probability.  

So let's look at what the Nicene Creed teaches: 
  1. God is described as "maker... of all things visible and invisible"   That is to say, He has created not only the "seen and unseen" (as it falsely declares in some versions of the Nicene Creed) but also that which we cannot ever see.  
  2. The plan of salvation in Jesus Christ is established "... before all worlds..."  He is not merely at the beginning of time, but His existence is actually  before the beginning.   Notably, the Nicene should not be rendered to say that Jesus Christ is "eternally begotten".   This would render Him subject in part to the constraints of time.  We are taught in the real Nicene Creed that the purpose of salvation was established by God before time itself existed, that events in time have no bearing on God's plan of salvation.
  3. The Nicene's salvation storyline is very simple: He died... He rose... He sitteth (on the throne)... He shall come again.   There is no intervening dependency upon the will of man, the intervention of saints (or of Mary), or operations of nature that are independent of God's sovereignty.  God is plainly and simply the author, the only author of salvation.
  4. God is the maker of "the Life of the world to come."   We are not the makers of heaven.  Its design is God's alone, and should we be privileged to be with him in heaven, it will not be because we deserved it.  
This completes the picture that the Nicene Creed paints for us.  God is the maker of that which was before our world, of that which is our world, and of that which comes after our world.  He is the alpha and omega, and apart from Him nothing is... and nothing happens.

Because Anglicanism purports to agree with the NIcene Creed, authentic Anglican theology must therefore be understood to agree with it and to support the principles on which it is founded.  In the following five points, the reader will see that the principles drawn from the Nicene Creed are also to be found in Calvinism and in the theology of the 39 Articles, namely that:
  1. Man's situation is such that he is in no position to save himself.  Calvinists call this man's "total depravity."  The Anglican equivalent is plainly found in Article IX and in the Nicene expression "one baptism for the remission of sins"; thereby presupposing man's sin as the underlying condition for which God's plan of salvation (Jesus Christ) was begotten.
  2. God established His plan of salvation apart from the influence of His creation, that it was complete before time began.  The plan of salvation is not conditioned upon things beyond His control.  At the end of time the world is precisely as he elected it to be.  Calvinists call this "unconditional election."  The Anglican equivalent is found in Article II, Article XVII, and the Nicene words "maker of... all things visible and invisible... and in Jesus Christ... begotten... before all worlds."  
  3. The resurrection whether to heaven or to eternal damnation, is precisely as He wished it to be before time began.  The targets of atonement are all of His choosing.  They do not choose themselves.  He established a separation between the saved and the lost and does not allow His mind to be changed by intentions or deeds or events of which He himself is not the author.  Calvinists call this "limited atonement."  The Anglican equivalent is found in Article XVII, Article X, and Article XIV.  The Nicene Creed says the same thing in the expression "For us men and for our salvation."
  4. The completion of God's plan of salvation is a sure thing.   The Grace of God is irresistible, and His Power is unlimited.  Calvinists call this the "irresistible grace" in God's plan of salvation. The Anglican equivalent is found in Article XVII and elsewhere.  The Nicene Creed summarizes it by using the imperative form of the verb to be in saying "He shall come again" (not "he will come again").
  5. God will let none perish from his hand, nor save more than He chose to save.  His plan and sovereign Will were complete from "before all worlds" such that the "life of the world to come" which we anticipate is what He made for us before we even knew him.  Calvinists call this "perseverance of the saints."  The Anglican equivalent is found in Article XVI, Article XI and Article XVII.  The Nicene Creed expresses it by simply ignoring any effort by man to assist in the plan of salvation.
The Nicene Creed preceded the Reformation by 1200 years.   It preceded Augustine, whose theology is often claimed to be the precursor of the Reformation, by 200 years.  As much like Calvinism as the Nicene Creed (of the 3rd century seems to be, it is the theology of the early church and of the Apostles.  

What is astounding is that modern Anglicanism, or what I call "Neo-Anglicanism",  ridicules the reformed (Calvinistic) formula (the five points), stands back from the reformed Anglican confession (39 Articles), and re-establishes many of the heresies condemned by the Council of Nicaea.  

Authentic Anglican theology can be found only by returning to the 39 Articles, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and the authentic Creeds.  Modern Anglo-Catholics, Anglican Evangelicals and Anglican Charismatics all take exception in one way or another to the principles of the English Reformation.  They are all "Neo-Anglicans."

We're having an open discussion about this and related issues on Facebook.  Please join us there, or comment here.
Fearsome Comrade "Seen and unseen" is a direct translation of the Greek version of the Creed, which states "ορατών τε πάντων καί αοράτων." October 14, 2009
Martha If you do not understand the difference between "will not" and "can not", then I don't think this discussion is ever going to get off the ground. By the way, the point of including "eternally begotten" within the Creed was to address the Arianists who held that Jesus had been begotten at some point and was not existing "before the beginning". I suggest you actually find out the reasons the Creed was developed and the controversies it was dealing with before telling us that it is pure Calvinism and nothing but, and that the rest of us - Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and non-Calvinist Protestantism, have no idea what it means. October 14, 2009
aaytch Fearsome. The Greek churches that I know translate it "visible and invisible". The Roman church, after going with "seen and unseen" for a few decades has now come back to the original. That original was the Latin translation which is "visibilium omnium et invisibilium". So I will stick with "visible and invisible" October 14, 2009
aaytch Martha. The expression in the Nicene Creed is NOT "eternally begotten" but rather "begotten... before all worlds". They mean entirely different things, but I do agree with you that the point was to address the Arians. The expression "eternally begotten" did not appear until the '79 BCP. While it may be interpreted in an orthodox way, it lacks of precision and has allowed a gnostic theology of diffused divinity to grow. October 14, 2009
Timber aaytch, since I've never been here before I'm assuming that you are the person you posted the article above by your defence of it. I thank you for your 5 points explainng how Calvinism fulfills th Nicene creed or visa verso. It totally served to reinforce my previous opinion of Calvinism that if Calvinism be true why would God even bother. Why would he not just cut to the chase and create those he wanted saved and just not bother with all this mess.. Awful cruel of him to put us all through this misery for no reason whatsoever. Tim October 19, 2009
aaytch Actually, what the Scripture teaches (and the Nicene Creed, and Calvin) is that before you (men) ever sinned, God established (begat) His plan of salvation such that we might have a real relationship with him, not as robots, but with a restored free will which is otherwise, with the "fall of Adam", unable to choose Him. It is in our nature to take what does not belong to us and to desire what is not ours. We, like Adam try to pass blame to others, such as Eve, and even try to blame to God himself for tempting us. It is true that we are compelled by our nature to choose evil rather than good. Otherwise we should be like God himself, whose divine nature is good. We are not gods. We don't share in that aspect of his divine nature. But we may give him thanks for the remission of our sins that our eyes may be opened, that our wills may be transformed, and that our bodies may be made alive again. More on this theme here: "Choosing Christ. Who Gets the Credit" http://anglicansinthewilderness.com/resources/article-2 October 22, 2009

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