Slightly reluctantly, he agreed that they were, but then quickly turned to cite Hooker and his infamous three legged stool – namely that the Church of England builds its doctrine on three foundations: Scripture, Tradition and Reason holding all three in a beautiful tension. I knew that what he said probably wasn’t correct, but had very little to say in response….
If only I had read this excellent article by Nigel Atkinson!
Richard Hooker is ‘unquestionably the greatest Anglican theologian’ and perhaps the most misunderstood. He should be one of the greatest allies of conservative evangelicals who wish to see the Church reformed, and yet sadly, more often than not, is used against us in a way that does violence to his theological convictions. Atkinson’s article succinctly locates Hooker firmly within the Reformed camp, refutes many of the attempts by other camps to claim him as their own, and brilliantly outlines Hooker’s understanding of both Scripture and Tradition.
Atkinson ends with an analysis of the process that led to the ordination of women and shows how Hooker would have stood firmly against the process involved. That horse may have bolted… and yet the application of Hooker’s theology to modern debates is a model which we would do well to heed!
Atkinson, Nigel. “Hooker’s Theological Method and Modern Anglicanism.” Churchman 114/1 (2000): 40–70.