Brian C. Brewer - Martin Luther and the Seven Sacraments: A Contemporary Protestant Reappraisal

With characteristic robustness, Martin Luther dismissed all but two of the seven sacraments of the mediaeval church. Yet Luther valued the spiritual support that people received from the ceremonies associated with penance, confirmation, marriage, ordination, and even extreme unction. He devised ways of capturing the beneficial purpose of each rite while insisting on the absolute priority of faith as the way of salvation. In Martin Luther and the Seven Sacraments , Brian Brewer reviews Luthers teaching in this field, compares it with the opinions of subsequent reformers, and recommends methods of reviving the legitimate purposes of the seven sacraments in Protestantism today. This book is a model of the use of historical theology as a resource for the contemporary church.

David Bebbington , University of Stirling, Scotland; Baylor University

This excellent volume by Brian Brewer is an important exploration of Luthers sacramental theology. Brewer not only offers a convincing historical portrayal of how Luther reframed the sacraments but also probes possibilities for enriching contemporary Protestant practices. For those seeking greater understanding of the Lutheran Reformation and for those involved in contemporary ecclesial life in an ecumenical context, this stimulating study is essential reading.

Ian Randall , Spurgeons College, London; International Baptist Theological Study Centre, Amsterdam

Martin Luther and the Seven Sacraments is both a historical review and a practical retrievala must read for anyone interested in how the sacraments and rituals of the church have been and are to be understood. In leading us through the remains of medieval Catholic and early Protestant church towers, Brewer not only offers us a banister with which to steady ourselves but may have even got hold of the bell rope.

David Wilhite , George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University

In this searching and carefully researched book, Brian Brewer wears his considerable learning lightly. His thoroughbut thoroughly Protestantappreciation of Christian practices thought by Roman Catholics to be sacraments reveals their value even for Protestants. That marriage is not a sacrament does not mean it is trivial; that ordination is not a sacrament must not hide its importance. Brewers work is ecumenical in the best sense of the word. Rather than pretending that no differences remain among Christian communions, it mines the depths of our traditions for nuggets of wisdom and insight. As the church observes five hundred years of Reformation, this book will help us remember what must be retained and what can be let go.

Derek Nelson , Wabash College