The Lord’s Supper: Five Views
Edited by Gordon T. Smith
InterVarsity Academic / $18.00 US (list)
[Amazon] [IVP]
This slim volume is part of InterVarsity’s popular “Five Views” series. Acknowledging from the start its limited scope and that not every perspective could be included, the book presents theologians from Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, and Pentecostal traditions giving an overview of his or her church’s eucharistic theology. Each chapter is followed by short responses from the other four theologians who note areas of agreement and disagreement, as well as possible ways forward in understanding and practice.
The chapter by Brother Jeffrey Gros is a very fine presentation of the contemporary Roman Catholic theology of the eucharist, drawing on the Catechism as well as contemporary Catholic theologians. Gros covers the historical debates about the nature of Christ’s presence in the sacrament leading up to a well articulated section on what transubstantiation means and does not mean. He also includes a helpful discussion of debates about the “sacrificial” nature of the eucharist and a good summary of ecumenical dialogues that have taken place between the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian churches.
The chapter by Lutheran John Stephenson expresses a very graphic, physicalistic view of the sacrament that reads like pre-Vatican II Roman Catholic eucharistic theology and all that that calls to mind. Given my own ecumenical experiences with Lutherans, it is not clear to me that Stephenson’s view represents Lutherans as a whole. I was also a bit distressed by Stephenson’s tone in his essay and in each of his responses because of its perpetually combative tone, putting down any tradition that does not agree with his particular understanding of Lutheran eucharistic theology. In a book ostensibly concerned with ecumenical dialogue, Stephenson’s chapter borders on the offensive. The editor would have done better to include a writer whose views were more representative and whose approach was more generous.
The chapters from Reformed, Baptist, and Pentecostal perspectives offer clear and helpfully detailed overviews of these streams of eucharistic theology, and complexify the various strains within each tradition. Catholics would do well to study these chapters to get a sense of the complexity of these sacramentologies beyond the typical dismissive Catholic comments such as “they don’t believe in the Real Presence.” Pentecostal Veli-Matti Karkkainen’s chapter stresses the role of the Holy Spirit in his communion’s eucharistic theology which illuminates a neglected area for Roman Catholics. There is, however, quite a bit of overlap in these chapters in their general orientation, foundational figures, and ecclesiologies, as some of the writers acknowledge. It was at this point in the book that I became frustrated with the series’ limitation to five views only, especially given the overlap in these three traditions. Karkkainen’s chapter on Pentecostal theology would have had a fantastic dialogue partner had the equally Spirit-centered Orthodox Church been included, for example. Admittedly, the book’s introduction notes this limitation, but an admitted limitation remains a limitation nonetheless.
Despite these flaws, this is a fine book for getting an overview of the various traditions surrounding the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and I do not see how the reader could come away with anything less than a renewed desire for eventual eucharistic sharing and ecclesial communion. I recommend it for undergraduate and masters courses on eucharistic and sacramental theologies or courses on ecumenism, as well as parish (or ecumenical inter-parish) study groups.
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