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Why Sacraments?
Why Sacraments? explores at the Christian sacraments in relation to the Bible and the theological tradition, presenting solid theology in an accessible and popular manner. The book looks at the place of the sacraments in the worship of the church and the life of the Christian. The reader will find both a discussion of the seven rites called sacraments and an investigation of what it means for something to be sacramental.
192 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2013
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About the author
Andrew Davison
62 books14 followersAndrew Davison (DPhil, University of Oxford) is the tutor in doctrine at Westcott House, University of Cambridge, in Cambridge, England. He has taught theology at St. Stephen’s House, Oxford, and is known for his writing on doctrine, mission, and the church. He is coauthor of For the Parish: A Critique of Fresh Expressions and joint editor of Lift Up Your Hearts.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 10, 2020
As with the previous book that I have read by Andrew Davison (For the Parish) I left this book with a mixture of appreciation for his clear prose and passionate argument and frustration at his one-sidedness and special pleading. In fairness, the latter comment can be countered by saying that (a) the book is only 150 pages long and so hardly has space for nuanced argument and (b) he self-consciously writes from the Anglican Catholic tradition so why should he be expected to put himself in the shoes of a more Protestant and Evangelical reader. Even so...
Much of sacramental theology seems to be a post-hoc rationalisation of early church practice that developed over the first few centuries. There are seven sacraments, because seven is a Biblical number. But why those seven, and why limit them to seven (or expand past two - the Reformers sacramental number)? Confirmation squeezes in although Davison is fairly acrobatic in explaining why. Foot washing, despite it being a clear command of Jesus, does not. Presumably foot-washing fell out of practice fairly early on in Church life and so didn't make the cut. Anointing the sick is a sacrament, but not exorcism even though I think the Gospels treat these two aspects of ministry as distinct.
The answer as to these oddities is explained, in the Catholic tradition, as an affirmation of the mind of the Church transmitted to us through tradition (although confirmation is a Western, not an Eastern, tradition). That is fine and holds up within that theological worldview but Davison undercuts it once he discusses marriage and in particular the possibility of same-sex marriage. Tradition certainly doesn't support the latter, but Davison notes that the majority of modern theologians do. Hmm.
Aquinas and Aristotle feature heavily in this book, as might be expected. Davison comes down on the side of transubstantiation in the Eucharistic debate, finding much to commend in Aristotle's idea of substance and accidence. He doesn't ask the question as to whether Jesus and Paul would have had Aristotle at the forefront of their minds when they broke bread. Perhaps it doesn't really matter, although I would be inclined to apply Occam's Razor in this instance. He is right - contra Zwingli - to insist that whatever we make of Jesus' words, the early church had no truck with the idea that Jesus was simply asking his disciples to remember a spiritual event. "This is my Body" must mean so much more than that.
As with For the Parish, the great strength of Davison's writing is that he invites us to joust with him. As before, I ended up disagreeing with him and questioning his ideas at a number of points, but all the more stimulated intellectually because of it.
Much of sacramental theology seems to be a post-hoc rationalisation of early church practice that developed over the first few centuries. There are seven sacraments, because seven is a Biblical number. But why those seven, and why limit them to seven (or expand past two - the Reformers sacramental number)? Confirmation squeezes in although Davison is fairly acrobatic in explaining why. Foot washing, despite it being a clear command of Jesus, does not. Presumably foot-washing fell out of practice fairly early on in Church life and so didn't make the cut. Anointing the sick is a sacrament, but not exorcism even though I think the Gospels treat these two aspects of ministry as distinct.
The answer as to these oddities is explained, in the Catholic tradition, as an affirmation of the mind of the Church transmitted to us through tradition (although confirmation is a Western, not an Eastern, tradition). That is fine and holds up within that theological worldview but Davison undercuts it once he discusses marriage and in particular the possibility of same-sex marriage. Tradition certainly doesn't support the latter, but Davison notes that the majority of modern theologians do. Hmm.
Aquinas and Aristotle feature heavily in this book, as might be expected. Davison comes down on the side of transubstantiation in the Eucharistic debate, finding much to commend in Aristotle's idea of substance and accidence. He doesn't ask the question as to whether Jesus and Paul would have had Aristotle at the forefront of their minds when they broke bread. Perhaps it doesn't really matter, although I would be inclined to apply Occam's Razor in this instance. He is right - contra Zwingli - to insist that whatever we make of Jesus' words, the early church had no truck with the idea that Jesus was simply asking his disciples to remember a spiritual event. "This is my Body" must mean so much more than that.
As with For the Parish, the great strength of Davison's writing is that he invites us to joust with him. As before, I ended up disagreeing with him and questioning his ideas at a number of points, but all the more stimulated intellectually because of it.
November 25, 2022
3.5 stars. Read this for a class and it definitely prompted some interesting discussion. However, I don’t think I would have finished it if I wasn’t required to. It’s not a bad book but it is definitely written to readers who have somewhat of an extensive knowledge of the sacraments. I just don’t feel as if it was the best book to describe the sacraments to me personally, but I would recommend if you are wanting to really dive deep into the sacraments
November 9, 2022
It is a short yet fantastic read. The author writes from a clear Anglican perspective and does very little arguing or exploring beyond such view. This is, of course, not surprising for a book this short on topics of such depth.
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May 21, 2025A nice outline of the sacraments, from a distinctly Anglo-Catholic perspective. A little shallow at points, but given the broad scope of the topic, it does a commendable job at hitting the most important subjects.
March 27, 2018
A clear introduction to the Sacramental approach of the catholic traditions.
July 2, 2020
It's a specialist read but it presents a clear and intelligent view of sacramental theology. Useful for all in ordination training.
January 4, 2025
Good practical reasoning for our participation in the various sacraments, however it took a lot of effort to keep reading. I would still recommend it as a helpful read when considering the sacraments.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews