Understanding Four Views on the Lord's Supper
Who should participate in the Lord's Supper? How frequently should we observe it? What does this meal mean? What happens when we eat the bread and drink from the cup? What do Christians disagree about and what do they hold in common? These and other questions are explored in this thought-provoking book. This new volume in the Counterpoints: Church Life series allows four contributors to make a case for the following views: Baptist view (memorialism), Reformed view (spiritual presence), Lutheran view (consubstantiation), and Roman Catholic view (transubstantiation). Each view is presented by its proponent, then critiqued and defended in dialogue with the other contributors. Learn the strengths and weaknesses and arrive at your own informed conclusion. The book includes several appendix resources, as well as discussion questions for each chapter to facilitate small group use. - Back cover.
Series
Series
8 released booksCounterpoints
Counterpoints is a 8-book series first released in 1996 with contributions by Wayne Grudem, Richard B. Gaffin Jr., and Robert L. Saucy.
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This book served as a decent introduction to the debate on what Communion is and some of the practical implications of each view. Though I find myself aligned closest to the Reformed view, the Baptist and Catholic chapters were my favorites (the other two seemed to ramble). Beyond the debate on presence, both of these chapters really dove into the background and meaning of Communion in ways that I think are meaningful no matter what view you hold (such as the connections with Passover and other covenant signs, and the emphasis on the communal nature of the Lord's Table).
Whether this book is the best introduction to this topic is debatable (right now I have nothing else to compare it to), but it's definitely a topic with exploring for anyone who calls himself Christian.
