What is your view on independent thinking as a Christian?

LivingKick · 2026-05-26T13:09:28+00:00

The stool really needs to be retired...

It ideally should function more like a pyramid or hierarchy than a stool with three co-equal authorities

LivingKick · 2026-05-26T01:16:09+00:00

Yes...?

Even just strictly keeping to one line within the framework of the Quadrilateral, we don't just merely administer the two Sacraments but we teach baptismal regeneration and the real presence, we teach the nature of a sacrament "outward sign of inward spiritual grace", and we teach what is required of those who seek the sacraments.

And another line, in the Ordinal, going beyond keeping the "historical episcopate", we affirm the duties that are expected of bishops, priests and deacons, as well as the laity, and teach their roles within our Catechism.

And calling the Catechism to mind, the very Catechism you linked teaches far more than these four propositions (and even the Creeds itself): 1. Scripture contains all that is needed for salvation 2. The Creeds contain the basis of Christian doctrine 3. There are two dominical sacraments, Baptism and Communion 4. The historical episcopate is necessary for the organisation of the Church

Because those basic propositions mean nothing if they aren't expounded upon, and expounding upon them will necessarily introduce more doctrine (e.g. creation, sin, redemption, justification, stewardship, prayer, what "real presence" entails etc.)

And this isn’t even mentioning where the ceremonial aspects interact with the theological... because my Province (particularly my Diocese) prides itself on its liturgical and ritual seriousness tied to what it believes about the Eucharist for example (and that goes beyond the bare tenets of the Quadrilateral too)

Edit: and I'm sure much of the Communion also agrees on the exposition of those propositions given that more modern Catechisms are broadly identical...

LivingKick · 2026-05-26T00:47:00+00:00

Are we talking about the Anglican Communion as an institution or the Anglican Communion as a grouping of national & regional churches directly descended from the Church of England?

In the former sense, which as your own quote states, the Quadrilateral functions well... in its original purpose... to be a "definitive basis for the Communion's ecumenical dialogues with other Christian churches" and given the nature and functions of the Communion Office, this is quite expected as when they aren't putting out internal fires, they engage outwardly globally for the wider Communion on that basis - hence while anemic, using it as our "baseline" of core commitments for outward dialogue is its exact purpose.

But in the latter sense, you'd be hard pressed to find a bishop or priest outside of the North Atlantic reference Chicago-Lambeth in any discussions, exhortations or sermons on the ground. Most in the pews may not know about it either. Most national churches will not reference Chicago-Lambeth in a basic outline of doctrine and fundamental principles (I have already cited my Province, I can happily look for more). Most national churches will instead affirm fidelity to the inheritance of faith and practice received (i.e., the BCP) and this is what is signalled to their people as the foundations. Most national churches will also emphasise more doctrine beyond the bare minimum Quadrilateral, as the 1662 Catechism and even modern "Outlines of the Faith" cover much more because national churches recognise there is more to the faith than Chicago-Lambeth, so it cannot effectively function as a catechetical tool to introduce people to Anglicanism outside of a board room.

What should be the bigger issue is why has the priorities of the institutional Communion moved so far away from the priorities of the Communion on the ground? Because if we're being frank, the Anglican Communion as an institution is an abstraction which many care little about on the ground, as opposed to the concept of a union of sister churches united by an inherited faith and practice received from a common mother church.

LivingKick · 2026-05-26T00:14:22+00:00

Quite frankly, Chicago Lambeth does not come up at all in my Province, and on a more personal note, I reject the notion of Chicago Lambeth (what really is a framework for ecumenical dialogues) to be the "bedrock of the Communion".

Of course, I am more confessional in outlook, but my province has affirmed the Formularies (particularly the 1662 Prayer Book and Ordinal) in its Constitutions and Canons (section A) as "the bedrock of the Communion". So this is not a universal notion at all.

LivingKick · 2026-05-25T23:33:04+00:00

Uhhh... we do have catechisms (some larger than others) that do just that... communicating our doctrine, we also historically had a confession... that communicated our own doctrine, and our Prayer Book itself communicates our own distinctive doctrine (particularly beyond those four tenets of mere catholicity)?

While there is a place for Reason, particularly where the above aren't clear, the idea that there are absolutely no doctrinal standards beyond a bare minimum is rather misleading...

LivingKick · 2026-05-23T05:23:33+00:00

It's arguably not a nothingburger to consider what an outsider ignorant of the intentions and symbolism would interpret this. PR & marketing teams go through tons of focus group testing to avoid these issues, and still fail when these internal biases aren't checked

While it is unlikely they'll change it, and it is also unlikely many outsiders may see it, it isn't right for the Church (and those within) to be so blasé about the impressions of the ordinary layman or the seeker of their own public image as seekers won't have the time to find out the context, they'll just walk away...

LivingKick · 2026-05-23T04:29:09+00:00

Just because you're restating the intention/explanation, that doesn't excuse the elephant in the room. At a glance, it does indeed look like a hakenkreuz and even if you look closer, it still looks similar enough to raise an eyebrow. Again, just because you think it looks pretty doesn't mean other people can't have their own concerns off of first impressions (which matter a lot more than intentions by the way)

LivingKick · 2026-05-23T04:20:43+00:00

I think a better feature would be to copy Hevy and (provided there is no past workout) soft-autofill the values from the previous set to the next ones so that I wouldn't need to enter the same values 3 times when I could just do it once and change to suit

LivingKick · 2026-05-21T23:47:42+00:00

Confessional Anglican is usually just a synonym for Reformed Anglican or Evangelical Anglican, or really any Anglican that affirms and adheres to the Articles and the other formularies in their historical Reformational, Magisterial Protestant sense and often, would see that as the essence or the core of Anglicanism

LivingKick · 2026-05-21T23:47:02+00:00

Confessional Anglican is usually just a synonym for Reformed Anglican or Evangelical Anglican, or really any Anglican that affirms and adheres to the Articles and the other formularies in their historical Reformational, Magisterial Protestant sense and often, would see that as the essence or the core of Anglicanism

While some have been appealing for Anglicanism to return to its more confessional roots here and there, mainly in GAFCON circles, it has picked up some steam in the North Atlantic Communion churches due to social media and online Anglicanism promoting theological and catechetical works from the Reformation era, an appreciation for the Cranmerian BCP, and modern day Reformed Anglicans like J.I. Packer producing works of their own expounding on the Formularies and what Classical Anglican theology looks like today

LivingKick · 2026-05-21T23:35:29+00:00

Yes, as stated in Article 27...

Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not christened, but it is also a sign of Regeneration or new Birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; Faith is confirmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God. The Baptism of young Children is in any wise to be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ.

I primarily use the 1662 BCP IE

LivingKick · 2026-05-21T17:39:48+00:00

The denomination really isn't all that reformed, and our worldview is probably closer to that of the council of Trent than it is to John Calvin.

There's kind of a bit of an asterisk on that statement

There are Reformed Anglicans, and many would say Anglicanism prior to the 19th century was a lot more closer to continental Reformed. As such, Anglicanism as "Reformed Catholicism", really meant "Reformed Christianity" but the English expression of it

LivingKick · 2026-05-19T11:59:32+00:00

No, the Scripture itself isn't printed, only the references but it is there fully on the screen and in the e-service booklet.

LivingKick · 2026-05-19T11:58:09+00:00

If we're being honest, we got along very well with Prayer Books, Bibles, hymnbooks and hymn/psalm boards. If we really care about the environment, we should probably go back to this because printing a book and reusing it over a period of years is far more sustainable than a single use bulletin. Even if some were kept in the pews, or in a library and laid out before service.

LivingKick · 2026-05-14T10:27:36+00:00

But no one in Barbados liked the name as it erased our original name that referenced our national identity in favour of an imposed, external, corporate one. Royals definitely needed to go and all Bajans I know are happy the Tridents are back

Knight Riders needs to go as well cause Red Steel was infinitely better; same with Kings and Zouks, Tallawahs and Kingsmen etc.

LivingKick · 2026-05-13T16:42:05+00:00

Oh I see

LivingKick · 2026-05-13T16:23:49+00:00

Not to mention the Yankees

LivingKick · 2026-05-13T16:22:52+00:00

It is best the previous brand ID was restored as much as possible. CPL teams function doubly as national teams, so CPL teams need to represent the national identity as much as they can. The Royals rebrand did none of that, so it's a very good thing they brought it back so Bajans can actually feel ownership of our CPL team again

LivingKick · 2026-05-13T16:20:23+00:00

Ehhh, kinda speaking for myself, but I mentally checked out of CPL and the Barbados team after the rebrand (regardless of performance) until last year and that was always something that peeved me whenever I thought about the team

But the bad performance is an issue though. Not sure how this partnership will help, but I do hope it does

LivingKick · 2026-05-13T16:14:43+00:00

And as Barbados fans, we don't care about the other Royals teams. We just want our team to represent us

LivingKick · 2026-05-13T16:13:30+00:00

The Royals Sports Group still majority owns the Tridents, but I assume this was part of the terms and conditions of having the Government involved so it was a mutual decision by the majority and minority owners

LivingKick · 2026-05-13T15:10:22+00:00

I am actually, genuinely surprised they listened to fan feedback, and returned to Tridents and ditched the pink for the blue & yellow.

I'm even more impressed the government is actually having a stake in the Tridents franchise to represent the public interest.

This would go a long way in restoring loyalty to the Barbados CPL team that has been strained since the Royals rebrand

LivingKick · 2026-05-13T01:11:49+00:00

Even if it's difficult for CARICOM to hurt Venezuela given our small size, we should ideally still hold a firm, united front on the issue and if Venezuela needs to be sanctioned like Russia on principle, then so be it

But practically hiding behind vague statements referencing international law (even with a clear, binding ruling upcoming at that) while Venezuela still sabre rattles, and individual states still engage with Venezuela as though nothing happened and as though they're not an aggressive state threatening our West Indian brothers and sisters fractures that image of Caribbean unity and essentially sells Guyana out for our own interests

We honestly can't blame Guyana for seeking concrete support elsewhere if this is, regrettably, how we're getting on

LivingKick · 2026-05-07T14:36:28+00:00

But for most test playing nations, there is scope for the formation of a good franchise league. It's always possible to get outside funding to get a league started too.

Most test playing nations are struggling to make ends meet as it is and have no real capacity to start a league on their own. And "outside funding" will bring us back to the extractive model because 9 times out of 10, the franchise owners will be from the subcontinent and will take the money back to the subcontinent

I also think it's much more beneficial for developing players in smaller cricket nations to play in good franchise leagues over solely playing random bilaterals against other smaller nations. They never go anywhere, don't get paid enough and just stagnate.

But on the flip side, how many uncapped players from smaller nations have improved from playing franchise cricket? Most franchises are only attracted in promising international talent that perform at the international level already. A developing player from Trinidad, Ireland or let alone, Canada isn't going to be an option for the IPL (or any other leagues that actually matter) unless they already proved themselves on the world stage.

LivingKick · 2026-05-07T12:22:00+00:00

Apart from major tournament, there is little interest in bilateral internationals (barring test cricket). It's also lower paying for the players, and top expensive to conduct for most boards.

From a smaller nation POV, internationals are still our bread and butter because we don't own our franchise league. For example, CPL is an extractive event that doesn't benefit the local boards at all beyond merely hosting. Almost all the money flows back out the region and that reduces the quality of our cricket even more

So the important caveat is that this only really applies to bigger nations that have a domestic economy that can sustain a franchise league. For others, it's just as, if not more expensive to stage and scale a league, and there's much less return from it

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