I have found Bryan Spinks book on the sacramental theology of Stuart theologians disappointing. So far, there’s little besides some fairly superficial summaries of the work of individual theologians. Some of these open up interesting angles, but Spinks makes no effort to relate shifts in sacramental theology to larger cultural movements (as do, for example, Miri Rubin, Michal Kobialka, and, grandaddy of them all, Michel de Certeau). Spinks basically does the spade work for such a cultural study of sacramental theology for the Puritan period, which is work that very much needs to be done.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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