The Oxford Handbook of Sacramental Theology ed. by Hans Boersma and Matthew Levering (review)

In light of this work’s wide-ranging scope and breadth of content, it may be a misnomer to entitle it a “Handbook,” a term that tends to imply concise reference to a specific topic, which the reader can access quickly and efficiently. Such a handbook this work definitely is not. It might have more aptly been entitled a “compendium” or even “encyclopedia” of sacramental theology. Consisting of forty-four separate essays, each by a different theologian from disparate liturgical traditions and theological disciplines, it is a very ambitious project. The essays are divided into six parts, the first four of which consider the development of sacramental theology from an essentially historical and chronological perspective, while the final two parts consider “Dogmatic Approaches” and “Philosophical and Theological Issues in Sacramental Doctrine.”

Under this broad umbrella, the editors have identified three primary purposes in their collection of these essays: historical, ecumenical, and missional. The historical purpose is the one best served by the essays, which are informative and insightful, providing a rich tapestry interweaving the various strands of theological development and definition of the sacraments, beginning with the Scriptures and continuing through patristic and medieval eras. Especially enlightening are the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic contributions, which provide an interesting perspective, apart from the usual Catholic-Protestant distinctions. The chronological exploration concludes with Post-Reformation and contemporary periods.

The ecumenical dimension of the work is somewhat more problematic, in that it attempts to create a common foundation for sacramental theology in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox traditions, a noble but daunting task. In the end, however, old differences die hard. Because the essays are authored by theologians of each of the traditions, the Handbook definitely provides a platform for a broad exposure to them. At the same time, the essays can sometimes get repetitious, as the same ground is covered by different writers. There are, for example, at least a dozen different operative definitions given for what a “sacrament” is.

Ecumenical divergences are exposed along predictable lines. Those of the Catholic and Orthodox traditions naturally understand the number of sacraments as seven, while the Protestants begin with the assumption that there are only two sacraments. Using the two sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist as a starting point for dialogue is profitable, of course, but in too many of the essays the assumptions of the authors are more or less taken for granted. Some of the Protestant essays (such as Nicholas Perrin’s “Sacraments and Sacramentality in the New Testament” or Richard Bauckham’s “Sacraments and the Gospel of John”) appear simply to assert the lack of scriptural warrant for other sacraments beyond Baptism and Eucharist, without engaging such passages as John 20:22–23 or James 5:14–16. While these citations may not be convincingly conclusive to all theologians, it would contribute to the discussion to present Protestant perspectives on such texts, rather than simply to ignore or dismiss these scriptural references. Similarly, perhaps for ecumenical concerns, there did not seem to be a direct challenge to the Protestant assumptions or an explicit defense of the scriptural foundations of the “lesser sacraments.”

An additional problem is the fact that the editors seem reluctant to divulge the confessional affiliation of each writer. Although from the table of contents, the reader may be able to deduce the possible ecclesiastical tradition of some of the authors, this is not always self-evident, and consequently discerning his or her full meaning and intention can be a challenge. A forthright statement of the ecclesial membership of each theologian would provide a degree of clarity and transparency that is otherwise lacking.

When it comes to the “missional” purpose of the Handbook, the ecclesiastical divergence becomes more obvious, as some of the essays tread on dangerous liturgical ground. In his essay, “Liturgy, Preaching, and the Sacraments,” Gordon Lathrop seems to assume apodictically that modern liturgical principles are the only valid ones...