The author of The Mad Morality is back again, this time with a fresh, witty and helpful analysis of the Christian sacraments. Eller’s style is deliberately conversational, and avoids the technical vocabulary that usually marks sacramental theology. His intent is to communicate easily with the average layman and pastor - and he is not opposed to a bit of humor as a vehicle for theology.
The author’s basic contention is that the church has deserted its original understanding of its nature, and has taken on the character of a formal and authoritarian institution. In the process, baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been given a different interpretation - that of the sacramental.
But, says Eller, there is some evidence that in our day the church is becoming aware of its mistake, and is attempting to recover the vision of its original nature. If it is to accomplish this, he contends, the church must also rethink its sacramentalism.
In Place of Sacraments constitutes a careful analysis of all the New Testament references to the sacraments, and suggests a new understanding of what these rites were meant to be. But the author doesn’t stop there; at every point he explores the implications of his findings for today’s church.
Vernard Eller has a way of making people uncomfortable - he makes us think about the real meaning and nature of Christianity. In Place of Sacraments is that kind of a book.