Reflections in Glass
by Archbishop Peter Carnley.

Reviewed by John Davis.

Those who have an interest in these things would know that there is a battle going on in the Anglican Church, for its soul and future direction. What we have here is something of an Australian battle guidebook for the curious. Keep a theological dictionary nearby if you need to, but this is a work of real significance. The Anglican Primate and Archbishop of Perth is a major player. Peter Carnley is a theologian and church politician, due to retire in 2005.Whatever else, this book is a direct attack on just about all that 'Sydney Anglicans' would hold to be fundamental.

Carnley and Sydney have a history. Peter Carnley was the first bishop in Australia to ordain women priests – in Perth in 1992 – while the matter on the east coast was tied up in the state courts by the Sydney diocese. Sydney evangelical Anglicanism is in a class of its own. Carnley knows the power of Sydney. He wants to highlight where they are 'at odds with mainstream Anglicanism'.

Peter Carnley is in the liberal catholic tradition of Anglicanism, though he himself prefers the tag 'progressive orthodox'. This is for Sydney evangelicals very seriously 'the other side', the opposition. This book explores half a dozen subject areas that sharpen the distinctions. There are opposing approaches to the teaching authority of the Church and to the place of the Scriptures. Early on, Carnley calls for 'an appreciation of the mystery of the transcendence of God as against all overconfident fundamentalisms' and for a 'generosity of spirit through reasoned conversation and debate.'. Given the stakes and given the issues, that is a big ask.

The book starts with a memorable media controversy after a feature article on the Resurrection in The Bulletin of April 2000. The dispute became one 'about the uniqueness of Christ and whether Christians claim to have a monopoly on salvation'. For Carnley, that 'public frenzy' was like a lightning rod. The deeply held convictions have not gone away.

So Reflections in Glass is a major protagonist's contribution towards clarifying just what all the fuss is about. A substantial chunk of the book goes right to the centre of things for the Christian: the cross and resurrection. 'Substitutionary antonement' does not come out well. For Sydney, that is a key article of faith. Carnley argues that the forthcoming General Synod should approve of the consecration of women as bishops. Sydney considers that the Bible denies headship to women. Carnley urges a reconsideration of homosexuality and, in particular, faithful same-sex relationships. Sydney is appalled at such moves and has fought them at the international level. Carnley slams the Sydney position on 'lay presidency' at the eucharist; and he argues for a central place for ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue.

Will there be a split? This is a book that will go a long way towards explaining why. Reflections in Glass makes it clear that the adversarial 'trends and tensions in the contemporary Anglican Church' are deep, and they are getting deeper.

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