1. Alister McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction
Chapter 16
The Doctrine of the Sacraments
Wiley-Blackwell 2010

2. The Early Development of Sacramental Theology
Roman North Africa, 3rd and 4th centuries
Tertullian
Greek mysterion (mystery) to Latin sacramentum (sacrament)
Sacrament and sacraments
Parallel between sacraments and military oaths
Augustine of Hippo
“visible forms of invisible grace”
Sacraments both signify and evoke or enable
Wiley-Blackwell 2010

3. The Definition of a Sacrament
Augustine
A sacrament is a sign
The sign resembles the thing it signifies
Hugh of St. Victor ( )
A physical or material element
A likeness to the thing that is signified
Authorization to signify the thing
Efficacity: the sacrament is able to confer the benefits it signifies
Peter Lombard (c )
Omit reference to physical or spiritual element
Seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, marriage, ordination, extreme unction
Martin Luther
The Word of God
An outward sacramental sign
Two sacraments: baptism and Eucharist
Wiley-Blackwell 2010

4. The Donatist Controversy: Sacramental Efficacy
Cyprian of Carthage: no true sacraments outside the church
Donatists
validity of sacraments depend on personal qualities of the person who administers them
Augustine
Insufficient weight to the grace of Jesus Christ
Ex opere operantis (on account of the work of the one who works)
Ex opere operato (on account of the work which is done)
Wiley-Blackwell 2010

5. The Multiple Functions of the Sacrament
Sacraments convey grace
Ambrose of Milan, Augustine
Peter of Aquila: sacraments are the precondition, not cause, of grace
Protestant reformers
Sacraments strengthen faith
Philip Melanchthon ( )
Gracious divine accommodation to human weakness
Martin Luther
Second Vatican Council
Sacraments enhance unity and commitment within the church
Huldrych Zwingli
Baptism and circumcision
Public declaration of loyalty to the church
Wiley-Blackwell 2010

6. Sacraments reassure us of God’s promises toward us
Martin Luther
A sacrament as a “testament”
A case study in complexity: the functions of the Eucharist
Recollection: looking backward
Continuity between church and Israel
Remembrance of the death of Jesus on the cross
Anticipation: looking forward
The return of Christ
The hope of the New Jerusalem and the heavenly banquet
Affirming individual faith
Affirming corporate belonging
Wiley-Blackwell 2010

7. The Eucharist: The Question of the Real Presence
“This is my body” (Matthew 26:26)
Cyril of Jerusalem (c )
The ninth-century debates over the real presence
Paschasius Radbertus and Ratramnus of Corbie
Candidus
Medieval views on the relation of “sign” and “sacrament”
The sign itself
Something that is both a reality and a sign
The sacramental reality
Thomas Aquinas
Transubstantiation
The Fourth Lateran Council (1215)
Aristotelian categories
Substance and accidents
Wiley-Blackwell 2010

8. Transignification and transfinalization
Transfinalization: consecration alters the purpose of the bread and wine
Transignification: consecration changes the meaning of the bread and wine
Edward Schillebeeckx, The Eucharist (1968)
Consubstantiation
Martin Luther
Simultaneous presence
Genuine presence
A real absence: memorialism
Huldrych Zwingli
Remembrance, memorial
Metaphorical/figurative
Wiley-Blackwell 2010

9. The Debate Concerning Infant Baptism
The New Testament
Karl Barth’s criticisms
Lacks biblical foundation
Devalues the grace of God
Weakens the link between baptism and discipleship
Infant baptism remits the guilt of original sin
Augustine
Infant baptism is grounded in God’s covenant with the church
Huldrych Zwingli: baptism and circumcision
Infant baptism is unjustified
Believer’s baptism
Benajah Harvey Carroll ( )
Proper authority
Proper subject
Proper act
Proper design
Wiley-Blackwell 2010