A Guide to the Sacraments
by John Macquarrie
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Book Summary Information
Author: John MacquarrieEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-09-05
ISBN: 0334026814
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: SCM Press
Book Reviews of A Guide to the Sacraments
Book Review: "We Live in a Sacramental Universe"
Summary: 5 Stars
Not long ago - still within living memory, in fact - there was a time when Anglican theologians believed that the purpose of Anglicanism was to help reunite broken Christendom - Eastern, Protestant and Roman - and that the best way to do this was to do so through a deep study of the Tradition - liturgical, sacramental and Biblical/hermeneutic. This vision produced some truly monumental theologians such as William Temple and Michael Ramsey, both of blessed memory; it also produced John Macquarrie. Macquarrie's Guide to the Sacraments is among his best known and best-loved theological works; it brings together historical and Biblical insights within a richly Catholic, ecumenical framework. The theological movements within Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism in the mid-20th century, in particular, are still fresh for Macquarrie, which makes this work itself breathe with reverential mystery and critical insight.
The title for this review, "We Live in a Sacramental Universe", is actually a quote of William Temple's. Temple was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942 until 1944; he is widely considered to be the greatest Archbishop of Canterbury since St. Anselm in the late 11th/early 12th century, and he is one of Anglicanism's great doctors. It is from within this Temple-esque framework - the sacramentality of the world - that Macquarrie begins his book, spending five thoughtful (but not too long) chapters exploring recent Anglican and Roman Catholic views on the very nature of sacramentality. He brings in numerous Biblical and historical perspectives and the reader is given to a sense that the reality of the sacraments - the word "sacrament" comes from the Latin "sacramentum", which means "mystery" - is far deeper and far wider than any lone theory could ever explain. Thus, rather than delimiting the sacramental, different perspectives serve as thresholds to the sacramental. In short, sacramentality is situated as a broad horizon that Macquarrie then begins to articulate the seven individual sacraments in light of.
Reading Macquarrie's Guide, one gets a sense that all sacraments are not created equal. This is hardly surprising, as baptism and communion have historically held pride of place among all Christians (by which I do not simply mean all denominations, but throughout history as well), alongside the ordained ministry. Two chapters are devoted to baptism, one to confirmation, one to penance/reconciliation, five to communion, one to unction, four to orders/ordination, and one to marriage. One of the things I genuinely like about this book was that Macquarrie engages biblical perspectives in addition to historical perspectives, but rather than simply citing proof texts, he goes into historical contexts and places the sacraments within a larger narrative. It's a method of doing theology that ought to be used more, but is sadly not used often enough. Yet, Macquarrie is a brillian guy - he was one of the first translators of Martin Heidegger into english and is quite literally world-renowned - and he handles his subject with care, neither truncating nor elaborating beyond what is necessary.
This is not simply a book of systematic theology; it is far from something so dry. Given that the sacraments - the mysteries - are so central to Christian worship, readers should not be surprised if in reading this book, they find themselves seeing more than a little something of God in its pages. The incarnational and sacrificial nature of Christian theology is present throughout, and articulated in a coherent and mature fashion. Macquarrie is, quite clearly, one who has not simply studied the sacraments but lived them; A Guide to the Sacraments is a book that reflects this depth and substance.
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