Time For the Avoiding of Diversities of Opinions
from English Churchman:
At the time of the English Reformation, it was evident that there needed to be a clear codification of what were and were not the essential biblical doctrines that would be beyond discussion in the reformed Church of England.
Those reformers knew there could be no grey areas— doctrinal commitments would have to be distilled to their essence in order to prevent weakening of the recovered gospel witness. What did they do to ensure this commitment? They gave us the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion as well as the Books of Homilies, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal. To this day, they are the official doctrinal commitments of the Church of England and almost all Anglican Provinces abroad.
The full title for the Articles shows the intention of the authors.
Articles of Religion
Agreed upon by the Archbishops and Bishops of both Provinces and the whole clergy in the Convocation holden at London in the year 1562 for the avoiding of diversities of opinions and for the establishing of consent touching true religion.
The Reformers saw biblical doctrine as defined within those carefully worded biblical parameters. Diversities of opinions on those subjects were not acceptable. Some people disagreed as to their legitimacy but they were clearly stated and published. No one was left in doubt about what was accepted and that which was rejected
Later, during the reign of Charles I, a preface was affixed to the Articles in the Book of Common Prayer to further explain how they should be understood. Few today have bothered to read the declaration but it is nonetheless instructive. It reads in part:
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