The Old Testament saints had many ways to live and relive the great works of God, such as the Passover. The saints today have two basic ways to do the same in the sacraments. But why are there so many different positions on each of these subjects?

These two books, part of Zondervan’s Counterpoint Series, are perhaps the best way to study these issues because each position is written and defended by those who hold it. The other views then have a chance to refute the position, and finally the original author has the final rebuttal. This approach eliminates the typical “straw-man” arguments that many times are used to defend one’s own position.

The first book includes resources, such as a listing of statements on the Lord’s Supper from creeds and confessions, quotations from noted Christians, a resource listing of books on the Lord’s Supper, and discussion questions for each chapter to facilitate small group and classroom use. It covers the Roman Catholic view (transubstantiation), Lutheran view (consubstantiation), Baptist view (memorialism), and the Reformed view (spiritual presence). The defenders are Russell Moore, John Hesselink, David Scaer, and Thomas Baima.

The baptism volume covers the Baptist view by Thomas Nettles, the Lutheran view by Robert Kolb, the Christian Church/Church of Christ view by John Castelein, and Richard Pratt writes on our Reformed view.

There are many books in this format by several different publishers. To see more of these balanced approaches to many topics see the Doctrine/Multiview section of our catalog or go to our website at www.cepbookstore.com.

—Dennis Bennett
   Coordinator of Training and Resources