The Interruptive Word: Eberhard Jngel on the Sacramental Structure of God's Relation to the World

(Paperback)

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While German Lutheran theologian Eberhard Jngel (1934-) has made a number of significant contributions to contemporaneous discussions of sacramental theology, this topic has largely been ignored by interpreters of his thought. This study summarizes and evaluates, through a close reading of primary and secondary source materials, Jngel's approach to the problem of sacrament. R. David Nelson considers Jngel's claim that the word of God functions sacramentally as it addresses its hearer, and analyses his assertion that Jesus Christ is the unique and preeminent sacrament of God for the world. Progressing to an exploration of Jngel's ecclesiology, Nelson reveals Jngel's interesting approach to the question of the church's sacramentality. The volume concludes with an investigation into Jngel's doctrines of baptism and the Lord's Supper. The Interruptive Word demonstrates that Jngel consistently appeals to the category of 'interruption' for describing God's sacramental relation to the world and its actualities, concluding that the hegemony of the category of 'interruption' in Jngel's theology of sacrament raises important questions concerning its coherence and tenability.

Reviews

A fine contribution to Jungel studies and contemporary theology of the church and sacraments. -- Mark Mattes * Lutheran Quarterly *
This book provides a solid introduction to the nature of Jngels theology of sacrament for the uninitiated the clear argumentation and precise exposition provide the reader a helpful entrance into an otherwise dense subject matter. -- David Tew * Anglican Theological Review *

Author Bio

R. David Nelson is Acquisitions Editor for Baker Academic & Brazos Press.