Why Matter Matters: Philosophical and Scriptural Reflections on the Sacraments

Rating:
Summary: Good Response to the New Gnosticism
Review: David Lang's book explains why the Catholic Church takes the position that she has no power to alter the matter used in the sacraments. The matter or material used in each sacrament, whether water in Baptism or wheat bread and grape wine in the Eucharist, matters because it originates in divine choice. Lang shows how that divine choice fits into the long panorama of salvation history recorded in the Scriptures. Lang also relies on philosophical argument to show how particular matter makes a difference. This reasoning also applies to the issue of priestly ordination of women because the proper matter for the sacrament of holy orders is a male candidate. Lang's work illustrates the Catholic view that God works through particular forms of matter and so makes the choice of matter significant. Lang's arguments counteract the New Gnosticism prevalent in modern Western culture that views distinctions between different types of matter as unimportant. It is worth reading because it exposes how the desire of some to arbitrarily change the sacraments contradicts both divine revelation and human reasoning.

Rating:
Summary: Faith and reason in wedded bliss.
Review: I highly recommend this book to anyone interested on why the Church so adamantly insists on the importance of particular material substances for the valid use of the God-given means of grace. This book convincingly demonstrates that controversies surrounding such seemingly trivial issues as wheaten vs. non-wheaten bread for the Eucharist evince the great chasm that exists between most of contemporary thought on the one hand and a *truly* Catholic worldview on the other. A philosophical and Scriptural tour de force!