Description
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are means of grace, representing spiritual realities by whose observance the Church and its members celebrate the life they are given in Christ.
Upon this belief Professor Arndt examines the meaning of “sacramental theology” particularly in its relation to the whole of the Gospel of Christ. He believes that the “Font” and “Table” are symbolic events representing God’s renewing action, and through them this “Community of faith and people of God becomes concrete in historical actuality”.
He does not claim that this essay provides a complete sacramental theology. He is primarily concerned with securing a perspective of sacramental practice in the hope of assisting in a “reconstruction of sacramental teaching, a more responsible ordering of practice and a more understanding participation in the sacraments of the gospel”.
About the Author
Dr. Elmer J. F. Arndt, was one of the leading theologians of the United Church of Christ, U.S.A.. He was Professor of Historical Theology at the Eden Theological Seminary at Webster Groves near St. Louis, U.S.A. He died in 1969.
Contents
Preface
I. Promptings for a Reconstruction of Sacramental Theology
II. Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and Preaching the Word
III. The Normative Authority of the Scriptures
IV. The Baptism of Jesus and Christian Baptism
The Baptism of John
The Baptism of Jesus
The Baptism of Jesus and Christian Baptism
The Sanction for Christian Baptism
V. Christian Baptism
The Divine Action
The Human Response
VI. The Lord’s Supper in the New Testament Church
Variety of Practice and Teaching
The Underlying Unity in the Variety of Interpretations
The Divine Action Inaugurating the New Age
Vicarious Sacrifice and Fellowship
Participation and Eternal Life
The Forgiveness of Sins
VII. The Presence
The Living Presence
The Eucharistic Response
Index
