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84*The*Anglican*Doctrine*of*Baptism**Scripture*and*the*Thirty:Nine*articles.” 79 *The*whole*episode*established*the*primacy*of*the*Articles*as*the*hermeneutical*grid*through*which*the*Prayer*Book* was* to* be* understood,* thanks* in* large* part* to* the* work* of* William*Goode,* Rector* of* St.* Antholin’s* church* in* London. 80 *Evangelicals* began* to*appreciate*their*Reformation*heritage*more*after*the*Gorham*judgment,*and*to*cooperate*more*freely*with*nonconformists*as*a*result,*less*worried*about*High*Church*critics*questioning*their*Anglicanism. 81 *There*has*always*been*a*spectrum*of*evangelical*opinion*on*this*subject.*Though* all* would* reject* the* Roman* Catholic* view,* some* have* always* been*more*Zwinglian,*so*to*speak,*and*felt*uncomfortable*with*anything*more*than*symbolic,*tokenistic*language.*Socinians,*who*rejected*orthodox*Trinitarian*theology*for*a*rather*flat*and*blinkered*(supposedly*“Bible*alone”)*hermen:eutic,*also*took*this*view,*even*denying*that*baptism*was*to*be*continued*at*all* after* the* first* century. 82 *Some* evangelicals* have* approached* this*conclusion* in* recent* years,* notably* David* Broughton* Knox* who* seems* to*make*baptism*a*merely*optional*(and*in*many*contexts*an*inappropriate*or*meaningless)* act. 83 *The* formularies,* and* Reformed* theologians* generally,*declare* this* view* biblically* inadequate.* Most* evangelical* Anglicans* have*taken* the* hypothetical,* conditional* view* of* baptismal* efficacy.* Others* have*also* held* to* the* view* that* as* well* as* signifying* these* conditional* blessings,*baptism* truly* does* admit* a* child* into* the* privileges* of* the* church* in* a*covenant*relation*to*God,*and*that*this*is*such*a*great*and*distinctive*blessing*as* to* deserve* the* name* regeneration.* Yet* regeneration* is* not* by* them*understood*as*conversion,*or*the*spiritual*transformation*of*the*soul.*Thus*********************************************************************79*J.*C.*Ryle,*The#Upper#Room*(Edinburgh:*Banner*of*Truth,*1990*[1888]),*354.*For*more*on*the* Gorham* Case,* see* Owen* Chadwick,* Victorian# Church:# Part# One# 1829D1859* (London:* SCM,*1966),*250:271;*J.*C.*S.*Nias,*Gorham#and#the#Bishop#of#Exeter*(London:*SPCK,*1951);*and*J.*R.*S.*Taylor,*“Gorham*on*Infant*Baptism,”*in*Churchman*66*(1952),*141:147.*80*E.g.*his*A#Defence#of#the#ThirtyDnine#Articles#as#the#Legal#and#Canonical#Test#of#Doctrine#in#the#Church#of#England#(London:* Hatchard,* 1848)* and* (mentioned* earlier),* The#Doctrine#of#the#Church# of# England# as# to# the# Effects# of# Baptism# in# the# Case# of# Infants.* See* also* Peter* Toon,*Evangelical#Theology#1833D1856:#A#Response#to#Tractarianism* (London:* Marshall,* Morgan,* and*Scott,*1979),*87:88.*81*See* Donald* M.* Lewis,* Lighten# Their# Darkness:# The# Evangelical# Mission# to# WorkingDclass#London,#1828D1860#(Westport:*Greenwood*Press,*1986),*178.*82*See*the*English*translation*of*their*Racovian#Catechism*(London,*1652),*109:112.*83*See* D.* Broughton* Knox,* “New* Testament* Baptism”* in* Selected#Works,#Volume#2:#Church#and#Ministry*(Kingsford*NSW:*Matthias*Media,*2003),*263:309.*He*seems*thankfully*inconsistent*with* his* own* exegesis* of* certain* biblical* passages* and* perhaps* because* of* his* otherwise*generally*Reformed*Anglicanism*does*allow*that*water*baptism*today*can*be*legitimate*in*some*circumstances.* Baptism* is,* however,* “suitable* only* for* a* very* few* persons* in* a* fully* Christian*culture”*(305),*and*unwise*and*inapplicable*in*many*heathen*cultures*(309).*In*the*BCP,*infant*baptism*is*a*prayer,*he*says*(306:307),*nothing*more.*Knox*claims*Article*27*asserts*“that*the*baptism*of*infants*is*consonant*with*holy*scripture”*but*that*“it*is*not*identical*with*the*baptism*of*holy*scripture”*(308).*This*appears*to*be*somewhat*different*to*the*actual*assertion*in*the*Article*that*“infant*baptism*best*accords*with*the*institution*of*Christ.”#