Product Description

The theology of the Eucharist has long been the subject of heated debate, particularly since the Reformation. George Hunsinger's book explores ways in which Christians might resolve their differences in this area. With the aim of fostering ecumenical convergence, he tackles three key issues dividing the churches about the Eucharist: real presence, Eucharistic sacrifice, and ordained ministry. Hunsinger, a Protestant theologian in the Reformed tradition, brings Eastern Orthodox views more systematically into the discussion than has been common in the West. He also discusses the social significance of the Eucharist. His detailed conclusion summarizes and clarifies the argument as a whole with an eye to explaining how the views proposed in the book could lead the churches, beginning with the Reformed church, closer to the day when obstacles to Eucharistic sharing are overcome.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #485394 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review

"What is needed now is a clear and comprehensive guide to contemporary sacramental and liturgical theology together with some realistic proposals for movement toward mutual recognition. That is precisely what George Hunsinger proposes to provide in The Eucharist and Ecumenism: Let Us Keep the Feast. And in many significant and persuasive ways he does. This book merits serious attention by scholars and church officials alike. Hunsinger is a model ecumenical theologian. Some twenty-five years after the World Council of Churches' Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, and after some forty years of very serious dialogue among the churches, Hunsinger has moved the conversation forward significantly. It will be a while before we see another book as good at dealing with these issues, which are vital for the unity of Christians." --Commonweal (3/27/2009)

Hunsinger is amazing. Not only is he a top-notch theologian who finds significant common ground between the Reformed, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodoxy, but he also manages to argue for women's and gay ordination in a logical and level-headed way. I disagree stridently with him on women's and gay ordination, but he is still a model for peaceful discussion. --Study and Liturgy, September 15, 2009

I cannot recommend this book too highly. It demonstrates the possibility of receptive ecumenism. -- The Rt Revd Christopher Hill, Bishop of Guildford. From 1974-1981 he was Co-Secretary of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC). --Church Times, June 5, 2009

In this elegantly written and well-argued book, Hunsinger addresses each of the areas of contention -- presence, sacrifice, priesthood and social significance -- with clarity and generosity in the hope that we can rediscover the unity that is ours. . . . His ability to understand and use other traditions reveals not only his lightly carried erudition but the generosity that shapes his work. . . . The Eucharist and Ecumenism is a book someone needed to write, but it was not clear that anyone would know how to write it. Hunsinger shows us that it can be done. --Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School --The Christian Century, October 20, 2009

The book ends quite literally on a peaceful note. . . . Hunsinger rescues H. Richard Niebuhr's often maligned Christ and Culture (1951) for subtle use in advocating a "eucharistic transformation of culture" - and gives welcome recognition also to E. L. Mascall's Corpus Christi (1953). . . . In his conclusion, Hunsinger sums up his proposals for the three main controverted matters concerning the eucharist . . . At the theological level he has been quite persuasive. --Geoffrey Wainwright, Duke Divinity School --International Journal of Systematic Theology, January 2010

The great strength of this discussion is that no one Church is exempt from the needful process of self-critique. All in all, a worthwhile study, mature in its point of origin, but comprehensive in its coverage, and challenging in its conclusions. --Journal of Theological Studies, October, 2009

Review
"What is needed now is a clear and comprehensive guide to contemporary sacramental and liturgical theology together with some realistic proposals for movement toward mutual recognition. That is precisely what George Hunsinger proposes to provide in The Eucharist and Ecumenism: Let Us Keep the Feast. And in many significant and persuasive ways he does. This book merits serious attention by scholars and church officials alike. It will be a while before we see another book as good at dealing with these issues, which are vital for the unity of Christians." --Commonweal, 3/27/2009

About the Author
George Hunsinger is Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is author of Disruptive Grace: Studies in the Theology of Karl Barth (2000) and How to Read Karl Barth: The Shape of His Theology (1991).