The Word, Church And Sacrament: In Protestantism And Catholicism

Rating:
Summary: A great and irenic introduction . . .
Review: . . . to the differences between Protestantism and Catholicism in three key areas. Bouyer, a French Catholic convert from Lutheranism, has written more than 40 books over the years, perhaps the best known being The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism. He also has a wonderful book on the Church, The Church of God, a remarkable book on the history of mysticism, The Christian Mystery: From Pagan Myth to Christian Mysticism, and many other books of both great learning and brilliant reflection.

Although writing as a Catholic convert, one of Bouyer's aims is to present as clearly as possible the insights of the Protestant view on Word, Church, and Sacrament. This is both to show that there are many points in common between Catholic and Protestant understandings, but also to show that, in a sense, Catholicism has not only the capacity to embrace everything true in Protestantism, but to complete those truths with fuller understandings.

Another remarkable thing Bouyer accomplishes is to affirm the necessity of the Reformation on account of the abuses that had arisen in the Medieval Church, and even to acknowledge the accuracy of many of the impulses and insights of the Reformers, while still maintaining the integrity of the overall Catholic understanding.

French Catholics seem to have an incredible gift of speaking the truth in love. One thinks of the late Jean Guitton, whose book The Church and the Gospel, sadly no longer available, was perhaps the definitive treatment of the question, How does the gospel endure in time? More recently, one thinks of Jean-Luc Marion's God Without Being and the remarkable writings of Rene Girard. These authors, perhaps more than any others, have found a way to write books both of deep learning and greatness of spirit.

In a way, this little book provides a wonderful introduction to the somewhat neglected writings of the great modern French Catholic thinkers. Greatly rewards careful reading.