Systematics Journal Entry #13

Well, we’ve moved from ecclesiology, to sacramental theology-- something of a natural progression this time.

In his usual, practical approach, Migliore zeroes in on the sacraments recognized by Christians of whatever stripe: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Holy Eucharist for us Episcopal types). And there, he outlines the differences in traditional belief systems: the validity of infant vs. adult baptism, and the nature of Christ’s presence in Communion. In the former, I appreciated his discussion, and not just because I agree with him. He argues both sides of the issue, bringing up points that I had not considered, before finally concluding that “the two forms of baptism... together express the full meaning of baptism better than each would alone.” (p. 217).

Williams take on the topic is more introspective: he considers the traditional sacraments of the Christian tradition, but then looks behind them toward the nature of what is meant by saying something, anything, is “sacramental.” He talks about signs, but does not stop with the standard catechetical definition. Instead, he moves on into the necessity of signs as “the means of coming to knowledge of something or someone other than ourselves,” (p. 200) and emphasizes both the abstract/spiritual and concrete/incarnational nature of our sacramental expressions.