Anglican thought?

A small group of close friends and I meet every Wednesday night in a local pub to talk theology over a pint of ale. A frequented topic within our discussions is the Catholic/Protestant division(s), a topic (hopefully) quite expected amongst Anglicans. In our discussions, it has become increasingly apparent that said divisions are far from being only dogmatic in nature, but are (or perhaps, have become) manifested in the philosophical/epistemological realm. Often, when one of us makes a point for one side, another will respond, "But you're thinking as a Protestant, not as a Catholic," or vice versa.

For me, as one who is very much hoping that Anglicanism is (or can be) a legitimate Via Media (a sort-of "middle road" between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), such a realization brings with it definitive points for exploration. What, indeed, does it mean to "think as a Protestant"? as a Catholic? And, significantly, does "Via Media Anglicanism" necessarily fall into one camp or the other, or is there (or can there be) a distinctly Anglican way of thinking? And, of course, how would such a way of thinking be expressed?

It seems that our little group of theologians (and I use that word lightly, at least in my case) have appropriated the usage of the terminology, "a RC/P way of thinking" based on certain methodologies of philosophical development born, at least in part, in denominational dogma regarding specific doctrines, not the least of which being ecclesiology, as well as its role (or lack thereof) in hermeneutics. Can there exist a substantive understanding of these doctrines specific (although perhaps not unique) to Anglicanism?

It seems that a quick glance at the current (highly) politicized debates within the Anglican communion would say, "no". Of the loudest voices on both ends of the debate, there are mainly those who, despite their lip service to the inherent goodness of maintaining unity (which conceptually may prove nonsensical in a Catholic way of thinking, anyway), are quite obviously arguing in a very Protestant manner. And perhaps those (like +++Rowan) who are working hard to maintain a sense of catholicity (note--small "c") about the Communion are incapable of or unwilling to bring to fruition the implications of a more Catholic understanding of ecclesiology.

Giving further weight to the "no" answer is the claim of John Henry Newman's Apologia Pro Vita Sua. While I am only in the midst of my first time through this engaging work, I am well aware that Cardinal Newman's conclusion was that the Via Media was an untenable position, which ultimately led to his conversion to Roman Catholicism.

But some of the parenthetical notations of my first two paragraphs should reveal the quiet hope that I hold: that this time of crisis in the Anglican Communion could eventually be precisely the vehicle for (re-?) establishing a Via Media, most especially in thought. If nothing else, provided there exists an Anglican Church beyond these debates, Anglicans should emerge with a greater--not lesser--sense of who we are. Doctrinal assumptions should become more--not less--nuanced to a particular "standard". And perhaps Anglicans across the globe may have to "opt in" to a particularly Anglican expression of the Christian faith, which, please God, would be actualized in our episcopal structure, in our bishops. Perhaps then we might have the building blocks to a genuinely Anglican way of thinking.

Seem like a long shot? Hmmm...I would say, "More like impossible." But surely my faith in a Lord who rose from the dead teaches me that "impossible" never rules out hope. Hope that is seen is no hope at all.