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Sacraments and Worship: The Sources of Christian Theology
The church's development and use of sacraments has evolved in many ways from the days of the early church to the present. This sourcebook provides key theological texts that played a role in those movements. Johnson traces the history and theology of individual sacraments along with their liturgical context in the church's worship. He includes materials previously developed in James F. White's classic collection, Documents of Christian Descriptive and Interpretive Sources (Westminster John Knox Press, 1992), and supplements these to provide a wide range of indispensible materials. He also contributes helpful background notes to give the reader the full breadth and depth of the church's thought on these important topics. This book will be of great value to those studying the history of Christian worship and the development of the sacraments.
- GenresReligion
442 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 31, 2016
The sacraments and worship stand at the heart of the Christian faith. Everything we do is rooted in our worship of God, and the sacraments provide grounding for worship and serve as its expression. Having said this, it is clear that Christians are not of one mind when it comes to either worship or sacraments. Protestants have two sacraments, while Roman Catholics have seven. For some worship is extremely formal and for others quite informal. There is, you might say, some history behind this diversity of belief and expression, and Maxwell Johnson’s book provides the kind of resources that help illuminate this diversity.
Sacraments and Worship forms part of a new series entitled The Sources of Christian Theology. According to the publisher, this series is intended to”provide resources for the study of major Christian doctrines.” Each volume in the series provides “essential elements of theological formulations about each doctrine,” with the editor of each volume providing an introduction and contextual material to better understand the nuances of these texts.
The editor of this volume is Maxwell Johnson, a Methodist liturgical scholar teaching at the University of Notre Dame. He notes the influence of two other liturgical scholars who also have taught at Notre Dame, James White, himself a Methodist, and Paul Bradshaw, an Anglican priest. This convergence of Catholic and Episcopal (both Methodist and Anglican varieties) is evident in the layout of the book and the concerns of the editor. He believes strongly that history can be of great help in understanding our current liturgical and sacramental concerns.
To continue reading review click-- http://www.bobcornwall.com/2012/04/sa...
Sacraments and Worship forms part of a new series entitled The Sources of Christian Theology. According to the publisher, this series is intended to”provide resources for the study of major Christian doctrines.” Each volume in the series provides “essential elements of theological formulations about each doctrine,” with the editor of each volume providing an introduction and contextual material to better understand the nuances of these texts.
The editor of this volume is Maxwell Johnson, a Methodist liturgical scholar teaching at the University of Notre Dame. He notes the influence of two other liturgical scholars who also have taught at Notre Dame, James White, himself a Methodist, and Paul Bradshaw, an Anglican priest. This convergence of Catholic and Episcopal (both Methodist and Anglican varieties) is evident in the layout of the book and the concerns of the editor. He believes strongly that history can be of great help in understanding our current liturgical and sacramental concerns.
To continue reading review click-- http://www.bobcornwall.com/2012/04/sa...
July 13, 2012
After requesting this book, I felt intimidated. I haven’t done much reading about the sacraments but the small amount of reading I had done was surrounding standard Protestant practice. After learning more about this book, I realized it was a survey of the development of sacrament theology from the early church fathers to modern church. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised.
I often have said that one of the underlying issues facing evangelicalism today is a lack of historical perspective. Many evangelicals do not know from whence they came. They are not familiar with common development of key doctrines or heresies. This fact can be seen in the way wider evangelicalism rehashes the mistakes of our past. Johnson quotes Roman Catholic scholar Robert Taft who rightly remarks,
As a historian of Christian liturgical traditions, it is my unshakeable conviction that a tradition can be understood only genetically, with reference to its origins and evolution. Those ignorant of history are prisoners of the latest cliche, for they have nothing against which to test it. (p. x)
Johnson goes on to say,
Recent developments in Christian worship around the world, for example, the increasing phenomenon of megachurches, the church growth movement, the development of “seeker services,” and the increasing notion across ecclesial lines that the church’s liturgy is but “one” of several options for “worship,” challenge the historic priority of sacramental worship. What appears to be at stake in this, I would submit, is a particular theological understanding of how God is believed to act in the world and church.
That is, the classic sacramental-liturgical tradition claims that God acts primarily vis-à-vis creation and humanity through means, instruments, and mediation, in ways that are described as both incarnational and sacramental. So the theologian, grounded in and formed by what today might be called the ecumenical-liturgical-sacramental tradition, can no more view that foundational understanding of how God is believed to act as one “option” among several than she or he can fly in the face of canon, creed, and confession without thereby denying his or her own identity and separating himself or herself from the historic orthodox Christian faith. (p. xiii)
Also, the point was made that our theology developed from our worship. So as the church baptized people in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit and the trinity came under attack we responded because our practice had already been proclaiming this truth for centuries.
Especially with regard to the challenges of doctrinal heresy, Christian worship was not only formed by, but also helped in forming, orthodox Christian teaching. Orthodox Trinitarian and christological doctrine developed, in part at least, from the church at prayer, as the baptismal-creedal profession of faith gave rise to the “official” creeds themselves, as prayer to Christ contributed to understanding his homoousios with the Father, as the Holy Spirit’s “divine” role in baptism shaped the theology of the Spirit’s divinity (xiv)
I will grant that this as long as our practice is rooted in Scripture.
The format is straightforward. Each chapter starts with a brief survey of the topic at hand and then Johnson moves us through the history of that particular teaching from the early church, medieval church, reformation, counter Catholic reformation, and modern thought. This format lends itself to easily accessing any of the section independently by topic or period.
My family history is rooted in Roman Catholicism. Both sides of my family are primarily Roman Catholic even if nominally so. I was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church but within two years my parents became Christian and turned their back on the church. I have not however taken much time to read up on Roman Catholic theology. I know some basics but I haven’t spent a lot of time studying it.
Sacraments and Worship provides a nice summary of the development of Catholic thought on their sacraments. And I now feel like I have working understanding of Roman Catholic thought on the sacraments. For those with an interest in Roman Catholic, early church, or Reformation theology this book would be an easy to use and invaluable reference guide.
I often have said that one of the underlying issues facing evangelicalism today is a lack of historical perspective. Many evangelicals do not know from whence they came. They are not familiar with common development of key doctrines or heresies. This fact can be seen in the way wider evangelicalism rehashes the mistakes of our past. Johnson quotes Roman Catholic scholar Robert Taft who rightly remarks,
As a historian of Christian liturgical traditions, it is my unshakeable conviction that a tradition can be understood only genetically, with reference to its origins and evolution. Those ignorant of history are prisoners of the latest cliche, for they have nothing against which to test it. (p. x)
Johnson goes on to say,
Recent developments in Christian worship around the world, for example, the increasing phenomenon of megachurches, the church growth movement, the development of “seeker services,” and the increasing notion across ecclesial lines that the church’s liturgy is but “one” of several options for “worship,” challenge the historic priority of sacramental worship. What appears to be at stake in this, I would submit, is a particular theological understanding of how God is believed to act in the world and church.
That is, the classic sacramental-liturgical tradition claims that God acts primarily vis-à-vis creation and humanity through means, instruments, and mediation, in ways that are described as both incarnational and sacramental. So the theologian, grounded in and formed by what today might be called the ecumenical-liturgical-sacramental tradition, can no more view that foundational understanding of how God is believed to act as one “option” among several than she or he can fly in the face of canon, creed, and confession without thereby denying his or her own identity and separating himself or herself from the historic orthodox Christian faith. (p. xiii)
Also, the point was made that our theology developed from our worship. So as the church baptized people in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit and the trinity came under attack we responded because our practice had already been proclaiming this truth for centuries.
Especially with regard to the challenges of doctrinal heresy, Christian worship was not only formed by, but also helped in forming, orthodox Christian teaching. Orthodox Trinitarian and christological doctrine developed, in part at least, from the church at prayer, as the baptismal-creedal profession of faith gave rise to the “official” creeds themselves, as prayer to Christ contributed to understanding his homoousios with the Father, as the Holy Spirit’s “divine” role in baptism shaped the theology of the Spirit’s divinity (xiv)
I will grant that this as long as our practice is rooted in Scripture.
The format is straightforward. Each chapter starts with a brief survey of the topic at hand and then Johnson moves us through the history of that particular teaching from the early church, medieval church, reformation, counter Catholic reformation, and modern thought. This format lends itself to easily accessing any of the section independently by topic or period.
My family history is rooted in Roman Catholicism. Both sides of my family are primarily Roman Catholic even if nominally so. I was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church but within two years my parents became Christian and turned their back on the church. I have not however taken much time to read up on Roman Catholic theology. I know some basics but I haven’t spent a lot of time studying it.
Sacraments and Worship provides a nice summary of the development of Catholic thought on their sacraments. And I now feel like I have working understanding of Roman Catholic thought on the sacraments. For those with an interest in Roman Catholic, early church, or Reformation theology this book would be an easy to use and invaluable reference guide.
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