Description: Amy Nelson Burnett's Debating the Sacraments brings together the foundational disputes regarding the sacraments that laid the groundwork for the development of two Protestant traditions--Lutheran and Reformed--along with the critical question of authority, particularly biblical authority. She then places these disputes in the context of early print culture, showing how the ideas of the major reformers was filtered through the pamphlets of lesser known figures and translators, editors, and printers.
Review Quotes: "This book is an impressive accomplishment and seems destined to become the new standard reference for scholars looking to engage debates over the sacraments in the early Reformation. Burnett's profound facility with the primary sources is richly on display throughout the monograph. Her sophisticated analysis yields fresh insights about the subject matter which will inform future studies for many years to come ... Debating the Sacraments belongs on the shelf of every student of the Reformation, and every theologian interested in sacramental theology and the nature of ecclesial authority." -- David Luy, International Journal of Systematic Theology
"Burnett's focus is on the period when Protestant sacramental theology became hot topics in the 1520s. Her approach is chronological as well as wide-ranging ... This gives the book an authoritative, reference-like power that will make it the place to turn to for all future forays into this tangled topic. Her approach is also unique among other treatments of this topic since her net is wider and more nuanced than what we have had before." -- Donald K. McKim, Journal of Ecclesiastical History"In the current volume, Amy Burnett has managed to tackle one of the theological debates most fraught with danger and to bring new clarity to the early stages of the intra-Protestant debate over the Lord's Supper. This is no mean feat...in the future no one should dare write anything on the role of Lord's Supper in the early Reformation without taking seriously this outstanding piece of research. It is remarkable scholarship and a fitting tribute to the other historian able to do this kind of work, her Doktorvater, the late Robert Kingdon." -- Timothy J. Wengert, United Lutheran Seminary, Comptes Rendus"Amy Nelson Burnett is a foremost authority on the controversy over Christ's bodily presence in the Lord's Supper, which pulled apart the early Reformation in the 1520s. In this new book she successfully combines two distinct approaches, the cultural history of printed communication and the history of theological doctrines. With immense learning and superb clarity, she invites us to re-think the 'who', 'how' and 'why' behind this acrimonious debate." --Euan Cameron, author of the European Reformation and Enchanted Europe"This study is an instant classic, a new standard for interpreting the Protestant sacramental controversies as a whole. Burnett's exemplary contextual analysis of the unfolding series of printed exchanges that made the controversy the hottest discussion in the mid-1520s provides a rich model for assessing how published treatises could take on authoritative voice in addressing central matters of piety and practice." --Robert Kolb, Professor of Systematic Theology Emeritus, Concordia Seminary