Saturday, December 13, 2014

David Bercot on the Eucharist (Lord's Supper/Sacrament) in Early Christianity

I just came across this video on youtube (a recording of a lecture by David Bercot) on the nature of the Eucharist (in LDS nomenclature, the "Sacrament"):





I have written a few things about the nature of the Eucharist; one can find a note on some important exegetical issues on Jeff Lindsay's LDSFAQ page on LDS practices.

For those who are interested in studying the issue of the Eucharist, whether biblical, theological, and/or historical, the following books would be good places as introductions to this important issue:

Darrell Stone, A History of the Doctrine of the Holy Eucharist, 2 vols.

David Bercot, comp. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs

Fritz Chenderlin, “Do This as My Memorial”: The Semantic and Conceptual Background and Value of 'Anamnesis' in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25

Hermann Sasse, This is My Body: Luther's Contention for the Real Presence in the Sacrament of the Altar

Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 8 vols. (While often biased against any “substantial”-presence view, contains very good historical information on the development of the Eucharist as a sacrifice and the theological debates vis-a-vis the question of the nature of “Real Presence” among the “magisterial Reformers.”)

Aaron Milavec, The Didache: Faith, Hope, and Life of the Earliest Christian Communities, 50-70 C.E.

David W. Pao, Thanksgiving: An Investigation of a Pauline Theme

Ernest Bartels, Take Eat, Take Drink: The Lord's Supper through the Centuries

James T. O'Connor, The Hidden Manna: A Theology of the Eucharist, rev ed.

J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, rev. ed.

Robert A. Sungenis, Not by Bread Alone: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Catholic Mass

Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist

Idem. Jesus and the Last Supper

Louis Bouyer, Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality of the Eucharistic Prayer

Alan P. Johnson, The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper and Doctrines Related Thereto (an LDS work specifically on the Eucharist)