Glutton for punishment that I am, I've once again gone mano-a-mano with another Presbyterian with a prayer book, one Chris Arnzen, who does this dreadful podcast. The exchange happened tonight at the dubiously named Prayer Book Anglican Facebook discussion group. Here's how it went down. (I know something of Rev. Salter, so I started asking niggling questions about him since Arnzen is publicizing a podcast to be done with him.) :
So there we have it, ladies and gentlemen, proof positive that Puritanism STILL exists, but thankfully as no more than a curious museum piece. Amusing to those of us who know what real Anglicanism is, but unfortunately a potential trap for people who don't know but who have somehow become interested in Anglicanism and stumble upon these guys. So that's the purpose of this post, to warns seekers who stumble in here not to stumble on to Salter, Veitch, Arnzen & Co. They are not Anglican in any way, shape or form. They are merely Calvinists bearing a prayer book that does not belong to them. The Calvinists had their shot at making the Church of England an English Reformed Church, but they were rebuffed by the Crown and wiser divinity, and were left behind in the dust. Anglicanism cannot be defined by its Edwardine phase or by the half-educated ravings of the Puritans. The term "Anglican" didn't even appear as a descriptor until long after the Puritans left the Church of England, a time when anti-Calvinist Caroline Divinity began to hold sway and has continued to hold sway in orthodox Anglicanism today. These people have no part with us. They need to be honest, acknowlege their defeat and commit to Presbyterianism. It's that simple.