Tracts for the Times, Vol. I

by University of Oxford

Publishers:

J. G. & F. Rivington; J. H. Parker

, 1834

Overview

In the wake of the French Revolution, political and religious reforms spread through Europe. As these changes jumped the English Channel into Britain, they aroused the concern of many Christians who believed that the liberalism and individualism of Enlightenment thinking were in opposition to the values of the Church. In 1833, a clergyman named John Keble preached a sermon called “National Apostasy” before a group of judges and magistrates. Keble argued that the nation was guilty of abandoning God and called the nation to repentance. In the wake of the sermon, a group of Oxford scholar-priests, including Keble, began publishing a series of tracts. Consequently, their movement became known as the Tractarian Movement. They called the tracts Tracts for the Times. The tracts touch on a wide variety of topics, ranging from technical theology to devotional works on liturgy. One of the main concerns of the authors was that the Church of England had become too detached from its roots. They believed that the Reformation, while necessary in some ways, had been taken too far in the 300 years following the first Book of Common Prayer and that important beliefs and practices had been lost. In other words, the wheat had been torn out with the tares. The result was that the Church of England was now weak and in danger. The Tractarians (as they became known) encouraged a return to the teachings of the Church Fathers and stressed the importance of regular participation in the life of the Church. They emphasized the need for Christians to allow the beliefs and practices of the Church, not the prevailing culture, to act as the primary source of their beliefs and practices. Volume one contains tracts 1 through 46, written from 1833 to 1834.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Yet speak I must; for the times are very evil, yet no one speaks against them” (Volume 1, Page 1)

“Alas! can a greater evil befal Christians, than for their teachers to be guided by them, instead of guiding? How can we ‘hold fast the form of sound words,’ and ‘keep that which is committed to our trust,’ if our influence is to depend simply on our popularity? Is it not our very office to oppose the world, can we then allow ourselves to court it?” (Volume 1, Page 2)

“Tell them of your gift. The times will soon drive you to do this, if you mean to be still any thing” (Volume 1, Page 4)

“Doubtless the only true and satisfactory meaning is that which our Divines have ever taken, that there is on earth an existing Society, Apostolic as founded by the Apostles, Catholic because it spreads its branches in every place; i.e. the Church visible with its Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. And this surely is a most important doctrine; for what can be better news to the bulk of mankind than to be told that Christ, when He ascended, did not leave us orphans, but appointed representatives of Himself to the end of time?” (Volume 2, Page 2)

“Therefore, my dear Brethren, act up to your professions. Let it not be said that you have neglected a gift; for if you have the Spirit of the Apostles on you, surely this is a great gift ‘Stir up the gift of God which is in you.’” (Volume 1, Page 4)

Product Details

• Title: Tracts for the Times, Vol. I
• Author: University of Oxford
• Series: Tracts for the Times
• Publishers: J. G. & F. Rivington, J. H. Parker
• Print Publication Date: 1834
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Church of England › Doctrinal and controversial works; Oxford movement › Sources; Religious thought › England
• Resource ID: LLS:TRCTSTIMES01
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T21:02:48Z