Baptist Sacramentalism Review of Book

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The path of Professor I X.Carrol l's life is com- / / ^parable to mine in ^ (reverse, and our views ^ ^ >about the need for a ^Christian perspective tothe challenge of immigration arecompatible. The book deals with ageneral discussion about Hispanic

immigration and devotes onechapter each to a theologicalreflection about humans from theOld Testament, "The Law and thesojourner/' and New Testamentguidance for welcoming thestranger. The final chapter asks thepractical question "Where do we

go from here?" The bibliographyenlarges the horizon of anyinterested reader seeking otherworks, both secular and religious,about the topic of immigration.

Carroll's suggestions are incisiveand worthy of reading. They arevaluable to people in churches, bothlay and pastoral, especially in areas

of the country where immigrantpopulations abound. Providing arealistic Christian ethic, it can beused as a study guide forcongregations interested inministering to foreign bornpopulations.

David R D'AmicoRetired Evangelism and Missionsf d CBF t

y

Baptist Sacramentalism, ed. by

Anthony R. Cross and Philip E.Thompson. Studies in Baptist

History and Thought, vol. 5.Colorado Springs: Paternoster /Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2007. xvi +298 pp. $31.00. ISBN1-59752-743-2.

Baptist Sacramentalism 2, ed. by

Anthony R. Cross and Philip E.Thompson. Studies in Baptist

History and Thought, vol. 25.Colorado Springs: Paternoster /Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2009. xxiv+304 pp. $36.00. ISBN 1-60608-601-4.

These complementary volumes, printed earlier in the UK(Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2003,

2008, respectively), offer the mostserious collaborative explorationofsacramental theology in Baptistlife,by some of the most thoughtfulBaptist theologians of the 21 s t

century. Edited by a transatlanticduo, the first volume containsessays by Clark Pinnock, Timothy

George, the late Stan Grenz, StanPorter, Michael Haykin, JohnC l ll d St H l


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Book Reviews

Review and Expositor, 106, Fall 2009

includes Paul Fiddes, J.Ramsey Michaels, StanFowler and Sean Winter.All essays in the firstissue are by Baptists,whereas the secondexpands beyond the Baptist cadre.However, it remains consistentwith the broader SBHT series'

intention to be written both byBaptists and those sharing "aninterest in relating Baptist historyand thought to the other branchesof the Christian church and to thewider life of the world"(BS2,p. vi).

The first volume explores manyissues. On sacramentalism and

spirituality, Pinnock (ch. 1) arguesfor the Spirit's sacramentalworking through the physical,offering fifteen Spirit-mediatedgraces in the material world (pp.11-17),while Timothy George (ch.2) argues that more than justparticipating in the sacraments, thechurch is a sacrament. Othersacramental issues are addressed,with Thompson (ch. 3) suggestingthat sacramentalism was part of"the early Baptists7 theologicalgenius," informing parameters forreligious liberty, yet compromisedin the name of religious libertyafter the America Revolution.

Next, Tim Grass and Ian Randallpresent aspects of Spurgeon's

Grenz reasons that thesymbols of baptism andthe Lord's Supper tellthe salvation storythrough a reenactmentthat appropriates on

going union with Christ shared bymembers of the redeemedcommunity until "the glorious day

when the community to whichthey point is present in its fullness"(p. 95). Barry Harvey thenproposes (ch. 6) somewhat of areturn to an earlier Baptistdisestablishment that might be"orchestrated" by similar sacramental practices cultivated by

the earliest followers of Jesus,whose "new style of public life"tangibly displayed that the "newcreation has dawned" (p. 116).

In chs. 7-8 of the first volume,Porter mines exegetical snapshotsfrom Acts about baptism'ssacramental nature, while Stan

Fowler gives a mid-20

th

-centuryexample of Baptist theological andhistorical naiveness towardsacramental questions. AnthonyCross follows (ch. 9) by demarcating the important roleWheeler Robinson played in the20th-century British Baptistrediscovery of a sacramental

(pneumatological and comprehensively ethical) under-standing


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contain essays on theLord's Supper. Haykinlooks at 18 th-centuryBaptist Calvinist views;Curtis Freeman contrastsearlier static views withmore recent dynamic Baptist views;and Elizabeth Newman exploreshow Baptists might move towardsa more "real presence" of theLord's Supper. In chs. 13-14,Colwell argues for an indelibleordination and sacramental clergy,whereas Steve Holmes takes asimilar approach with a viewtowards "a corporate ministry ofthe whole Church which is

indivisible" (p. 254). Finally, BrianHaymes (ch. 15) offers a brief essayon the importance of the preaching"event" being a sacrament,signifying that "God's graciouspresence is in our midst, enablingthe preacher to speak and thecongregation to hear" (p. 270).

Dedicated to the memory ofStan Grenz, who served as aneditorial consultant for the SBHTseries, the second volume keeps instep with the first, looking towardthe recovery and reconstructionof a robust sacramentalism inBaptist modality (p. xxiv).Christopher Ellis (ch. 1) introduces

"embodiment" language into thediscussion, while J. Ramsey

the book of Hebrews (ch.2).Pur ves explores struggles of participatorycommunity in ch.3,whileColwell (ch. 4) exploresmediation in light of

Christ's prayer in John 17. In ch. 5,Mike Bird (not a Baptist) highlightsmore theological problems withthe "ordinance" view, while SeanWinter (ch. 6) quarries Romans asa resource for Baptists to employin emphasizing baptism andScripture's teaching about it.Anthony Clarke argues for opencommunion as a convertingordinance (ch. 7); Paul Sheppy

explores the sacrament of penance(ch. 8); and Graham Watts alignsrecent talk of "sacred space" undera theologically responsible rubric(ch. 9), which ends the section thatexplores biblical and theologicalquestions.

The remaining chaptersconcern sacramental reflectionsfrom within various traditions. Ch.10 has Cross arguing for baptismas part of conversion; in ch. 11Peter Morden presents Spurgeon'srich view of the Lord's Supper inlight of the 19th-century preacher'sview of spirituality; and ch. 12includes Sean White's sketch of

select Southern Baptist views of theLord's Supper in the 20th-century.


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Book Reviews

Review and Expositor, 106, Fall 2009

trinitarian participationand mediation (ch. 13);Steven Harmon exploresimplications of Gregory ofNyssa's sacramental theology of the word forBaptist theology (ch. 14); andStanley Fowler, like Cross in thisvolume, explores baptism as a

climactic part of conversion andhow this approach relates toChurches of Christ (ch. 15).

The contents of each volumesurprised Anglican Jim Packer andCatholic Francis Fiorenza, eachwriting a foreword. These essayscontribute greatly to ecumenical

conversation, seeking to begrounded in robust ecclesiology.Criticisms will be raised aboutthese volumes - does this road leadto Rome? If not, perhaps betterwork is forthcoming on how earlierconceptions of Baptist sacramentalism distinctly separatedfrom Rome, and how biblical and

theological guards might beestablished (assuming they exist)to maintain vigorously healthy andgenuinely ecumenical dialogue inthe future. Yet these essays aredistinctly Baptist. At points, theessay writers clarify theiravoidance of a faith-negatingCatholic view of the overly-objectified sacraments that areeffective in and of themselves (BS1

sound less "Baptistic,"however, perhaps raisingfurther discussions onthe future meaning of"Baptist" in light ofsimilar engagements.

Essays herein, together withthose forthcoming from at leasttwo more volumes in the Baptist

Sacramentalism series, may be oneof the best ways of not justfurthering the ecumenicalconversation, but also furtheringconversations uniting Baptists,which is no easy feat. The essaysare largely British, and one wishesto see a greater contribution fromacross the Baptist contingency inthe US and abroad. Someevangelicals may have difficultyabsorbing the research, which, iftruly ecumenical, needs to inviteother Baptist voices into theconversation. One could hopealternate arguments arise inforthcoming essays, suchas,contra

baptism as a converting ordinance(BS2, ch. 7), or consideration ofmore traditional Baptist positionsfrom scholars with moreconservative views. Other topicsfor further discussion related tosacramentalism might be churchdiscipline, features of healthychurches, and mission, among

others.

The volumes contain good


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(e.g., Grenz is noted on \BS1,p. 18 andBS2,p.263, / / *though not mentioned in ^^v

indexes). Overall, the ^ W

series provides a fresh

look at sacramental

theology offered in light of the

recent postmodern conversations

chiding individualism while

supporting community orientation,namely the community that God has

chosen to dwell among. The essays

show that Baptist ecclesiology (and

sacramentalism) receives much

more from theology than sociology,

and seems to once again be making

a comeback among Baptist thinkers

and Baptist congregations today.

Jason S. Sexton

St. Mary's College

St. Andrews, Scotland

CanThese BonesLive?: A Catholic,

Baptist EngagementwithEcclesiology,

Hermeneutics, andSocial Theory, by

Barry Harvey. Grand Rapids: Brazos

Press, 2008. 318 pp. $24.99. ISBN

9781587430817.

^ f philosophical theology in\\ recentmemory thanBarry

^^} Harvey's CanThese Bones

SjT Live?: A CatholicBaptist

Engagement with Ecclesi-

ology,Hermeneutics,and

Social Theory. Harvey brilliantly

interweaves biblical narratives,

philosophical arguments , and

theologicaldoctrinesinwaysthatdonottakeaway from any ofthe three.

Though much can be said about

Harvey's book, this review will

addresstwo of the moreimportant

arguments (important,at least, for

contemporary theology) that

Harvey develops. First is Harvey's

assessment of JamesMcClendon's"baptist vision"; second is his

response to Ephram Radner's

argument concerning the Holy

Spirit's abandonment of the

contemporary church. It is in his

engagement with Radner that

Harvey's title gains its most

significance.

McClendon makes his first

substantialappearance in Harvey's

book aroundp. 51, when Harvey

suggests, "Few have unpacked this

interpretivestancebetterthanJames

McClendonin his discussion of the

'baptistvision,' which he defines as

'shared awareness of the present

Christian community as theprimitive community and the


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^ s

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