The Banquet's Wisdom: A Short History of the Theologies of the Lord's Supper

I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Kimel's review above. While this book is very much worth reading and keeping on hand for reference, it is not exactly what I would call honest in regards to the unpopular view among certain types of "modern" Christians that the bread and wine are also the body and blood of Jesus, which is the universal belief of the early Church and the unbroken teaching of the Church (East and West) until this very day. Everyone in the early Church, except for some heretics (but not all), received the Eucharist as the body and blood of Jesus Christ What does differ, and what this book is useful for, is the differing explanations of the "how" and "what" of the presence and identity of Jesus in the consecrated elements. As I read this book, one thing I had to remember about theological study is that very often people are debating and discussing not the accepted reality of what is believed, but the why and how, as is often the case with dogma. In this sense, theology is a footnote to the lived reality of the worshipping Eucharistic community. To this end, I feel that Mac does a decent job. It seems, however, that there is a subconscious Docetism at work in his sacramental theology. Matter is bad, or not quite good. But it all goes back to Christology. Christ is both/and, not either/or in terms of his full divinity and humanity. The symbol is also the reality. The early Church is not Zwinglian, although much of modern evangelicalism functions out of such a paradigm! Another not so subtle theme is an assumption (totally unproven and our current situation disproves it) that if we are open-ended with our sacramental theology we can have more Christian unity. I could write volumes on how this does not pan out, but suffice it to say that if you are interested in this topic, see Kallistos Ware's Communion and Intercommunion and my review of it as a critique of the modern false teaching from Zwingli. Other books that I would recommend on this topic from a biblical/traditional perspective are: For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, Beginning Apologetics 3 : How to Explain & Defend the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality of the Eucharistic Prayer, Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries, The Hidden Manna: A Theology of the Eucharist, The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth and McPartlan's The Eucharist Makes the Church and Sacrament of Salvation: An Introduction to Eucharistic Ecclesiology. Jordan Bajis' Common Ground: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity for the American Christian covers tis material is a very compact and detailed manner.

Having been studying the eucharist, this book was a triumph! I had difficulty getting a copy in the UK so it was the last I read of the suggested reading list at college. Very good on the historicity of the eucharist and of the development of traditions. Eminently readable - for a theologian Macy had a 'common touch' when writing. Many theological books are best kept for periods of insomnia - I read this one in the same way I eat chocolate - always ready for the next bit! Buy it, lend it, but make sure it comes back to you. It's a book I will look at often. (And not bad for sermon material either!)