Revision of the Liturgy, a Lecture on the Book of Common Prayer

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LECTURE. The Lecture which Dr. Soltau delivered on Friday last furnished full description of the erroneous system of divinity called Tractarianism, and the extent of its prevalence within the British Dominions. I shall build upon the foundation which was laid on that occasion, and shall here assume, that Tractarianism as a system of religious teaching and practice, differs essentially from the way of life and the truth of God, as taught in Holy Writ. I shall also consider it unnecessary here to occupy your time by any lengthened proofs of the well known fact, that the body of the Clergy who adopt that form of Belief, rest the defence of their principles on certain words and passages to be found in the devotional Offices and Eubrics of the Church. Our Association assumes that there is some pretence for this plea, and therefore seeks as its main object a Revision of the Liturgy, with a view to its release from all matter susceptible of an interpretation favourable to the peculiar Tenets involved in the Tractarian Scheme. But in order that in the course of the enquiry we may have the main points on which the Tractarians rely specifically before us, I will here enumerate certain of the more prominent of the unsound and unscriptural doctrines, which it is alleged by that School of Divines, are to be found in the Prayer chapter{Section 4 Book, and are consequently assumed to be Doctrines of the Church of England. I will particularly name, amongst others, Baptismal Begeneration, or, the absolute renewal of the Moral Nature of all Infants, in and by the Act of Baptism; The alleged change of the elements at the Communion into the real Body and Blood of Christ, by the Act of Consecration; The sacrifice of the Altar; The assumed Sacerdotal Office and Authority; Auricular Co...