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Given for You: Reclaiming Calvin's Doctrine of the Lord's Supper (Paperback)

~ (Author), R. C. Sproul (Foreword) "John Calvin's doctrine of the Lord's Supper is rich, complex, and often surprising..." (more)
Key Phrases: symbolic memorialism, new covenant priesthood, mental recollection, Lord's Supper, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ (more...)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 370 pages
Publisher: P & R Publishing (October 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 087552186X
ISBN-13: 978-0875521862
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #342,729 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#33 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Sproul, R.C.
#63 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Protestantism > Calvinist

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
John Calvin's doctrine of the Lord's Supper is rich, complex, and often surprising. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
symbolic memorialism, new covenant priesthood, mental recollection, matter signified, spiritual eating, weekly observance, sacramental union, confessional standards, bodily ascension, sacramental doctrine

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Lord's Supper, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Last Supper, Grand Rapids, Roman Catholic, New Testament, Old Testament, Charles Hodge, John Calvin, Holy Ghost, Augsburg Confession, Peter Martyr, Jonathan Edwards, Confession of Faith, Council of Trent, Christ Jesus, Martin Bucer, New England, Francis Turretin, Short Treatise, Martin Luther, Spirit of Christ, Holy Supper, Presbyterian Church

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

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4.4 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book from Dr. Mathison, December 31, 2002

By	Geoffrey S. Robinson (Haddon Heights, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dr. Keith Mathison has produced an excellent followup to his last excellent work, the Shape of Sola Scriptura. Like that work, this book is concerned with recovering the richness of doctrine from the Reformation. Here, the author is recovering, defending, and defining Calvin's view of the Eucharist. Calvin's view involves the Real Presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. Since he doesn't fall into transubstantiation Roman Catholics will think he denies the Real Presence. Since most Protestants (including the Reformed) deny any sort of Real Presence, this will seem weird at best, Romish at worst.

This book fits into a general category I would call "the catholic Reformed" movement. There is a significant and growing number of people who are Reformed but at the same time more broadly catholic. In other words, they are connected to and give consideration to the church prior to the Reformation. Also, the catholic Reformed (and some others) have views closer to the original Reformers than many modern Reformed, although these two groups still share a lot in common. There are a variety of reasons for this, but this book cannot be understood apart from this context.

This book is written primarily for those who are Reformed, so all can recover the richness of Calvin's doctrine. Almost immediately into the book, Dr. Matthison covers the original Reformed Eucharistic beliefs and how a divergence from those beliefs came about. If you are not Reformed, would you care about this? Probably not. If you are arguing about fidelity to the Westminster Confessions, etc., this matters.

Dr. Matthison then goes on to give a biblical defense of his position. He also critiques other views. He gives a wonderful, but short, critique of the Roman Catholic position. He also wonderfully highlights the significance of the Passover meal in a way that supports his position. In the appendix he covers Eucharistic views from the Didache to Aquinas, and that section is most helpful and useful.

Lastly, Dr. Mathison covers controversial practical issues like the use of wine and padeocommunion.

If you are Reformed, this book is a must. If you want to understand the Lord's Supper better, it is also a must. This book will be useful in general. This book is a gift and should be read and bought.

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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Recommended but..., March 25, 2005

By	Classical Mom (The Left Coast) - See all my reviews

Keith Mathison does an excellent job of conveying the history and meaning behind the Reformed view of the Lord's Supper. In an era when Christians seem to think the religion was founded at their conversion this book gives an excellent overview of our heritage. Mathison also delves into the reason why most confessional churches have dropped the weekly observance of this very important Sacrament.

I do have one very serious problem with the book however and that is why I gave it only three stars. In the first chapter Mathison quotes prolifically from Calvin's Institutes, book 4, chapters 14 & 17, to lay down the foundation for his argument. Unfortunately he makes it sound as if Calvin believed that absolutely NOTHING happens to the unbelieving heathen who partakes despite the warnings not to. This is not what Calvin believed at all as is evidenced from the very chapters Mathison quoted so freely from.

I will use two sections here for brevity's sake and advise you to read Calvin's Institutes along with the book.

1)Mathison quotes from 4.14.7 to prove that the Supper is only "effective" to the one who takes it with a believing heart. But Calvin does state in that section that "The wicked incur a heavier condemnation [for partaking]"

2)Two pages later he quotes Calvin's quote of Augustine, "In the elect alone the sacraments effect what they represent." He fails to quote further where Augustine is quoted as saying, "...the Lord's morsel was poison to Judas, not because he received evil, but because and evil man evilly received a good thing."

There are several more omissions that I encourage readers to look up. It is due to these omissions that the common American reader (who probably does not own a copy of the Institutes let alone have read it) might agree with Mathison's conclusion about paedo-communion. His reasoning is disturbing. Toward the end of his argument for paedo-communion he begins to sound as if he believes that our children's baptism is an agent of their salvation and, if pushed, he might actually come down on the side of those who believe in baptismal regeneration. He argues that we cannot bar from the table any who have been baptized. He sets up a straw-man argument when he compares the barring of infants and children from the table to the barring of elderly senile folks. This is ludicrous. Any pastor who knows his constituents will know whether they had previously shown signs of faith. What we are waiting for in our children are those signs of faith.

I do not speak as one who has never wrestled with this. I have three young boys and, as a mother, I must say the idea of paedo-communion is very appealing. I know what communion effects. I know that my children are in need of what it effects. But as a mother who knows her children AND who has a firm belief in the historical Reformed & Presbyterian view of communion, I cannot in good conscience subject my children to possibly more wrath on the off-chance that they are not saved.

Not all Israel is Israel. God loved Jacob but despised Esau. Yet they were both circumcised...the sign & seal for which baptism is now the replacement.

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you only buy one book on the Supper...., October 24, 2004

By	Raymond Cannata "Rev. R. Cannata" (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mathison's Given For You on Calvin's view of the Supper is a must have. Not overly profound; reads kind of like a really, really good, long seminary paper, and occasionally cliched. But about as good of an overview as I've seen. Lots of nice, clearly outlined, short sub-chapters. Makes a good argument for wine in the Meal and even for paedo-communion. The part on Nevin is especially good. He also shows there were important differences on the meal between fellow Princeton theologians (as well as between fellow Scottish theologians, Southern, etc.). Because he wrote a book on postmillennialism I had avoided this one for some time, but I'm glad I gave him a chance.

Three other books to consider: NT Wright's The Meal Jesus Gave Us; Peter Leithart's Blessed are the Hungry; and Robert Letham's one (Letham gives a counter-balance to Mathison on the Paedo-communion stuff).

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Renewed Life for the Church
Mr Mathison, like his book on postmillennialism and scripture, gives a thorough, clear, and sufficient case for his position. Read more

Published on February 11, 2007 by Jacob of Sterlington

4.0 out of 5 stars Koinonia, Calvin &The Lord's Supper
A thumb nail sketch ,at the start of the book, is given about the differences between transubstantiation, consubstantiation, and symbolic memorialism. Read more

Published on March 1, 2005 by Philip S Roeda

5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical theological look at the Lord's Supper
I bought this book an a whim and was very glad that I did. Mathison has done contemporary Christianity a service buy publishing this work. Read more

Published on July 1, 2004 by Ian H. Clary

4.0 out of 5 stars Are you for paedocommunion, Dr. Mathison?
With much insight on his historical studies, the main
weakness is the author's somewhat wobbly stance, if you
will, or rather his inclination toward paedocommunion,
as... Read more

Published on October 9, 2003 by mcendo

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent text on the Holy Communion
This book is an excellent and thorough overview and defense of John Calvin's orthodox position and teaching concerning the Holy Eucharist. Read more

Published on June 19, 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars not just a "symbol"
My 2.5 decades of Christian life have largely been spent in churches which hold to a purely symbolic and/or "memorial" meaning of the Eucharist/Communion (and Baptism as well)... Read more

Published on March 11, 2003 by Eric Weiss

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