
Rites of the New Humanity
Essays on Sacramental Theology
Peter Leithart(Author)
Theopolis Books (Publisher)
Published on 22. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
452 pages
978-1-957726-24-3 (ISBN)
Description
How do Rites of Water and Wine Influence Theology?
Can the church affirm that the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper are necessary for salvation? Why not?
When it comes to the sacraments of the church, theology in American evangelicalism has often downplayed the communal aspect of salvation, by sundering the Old and New Covenant or abstracting sacramental theology from the rituals of the Scriptures.
Such abstraction ignores the social dimension of salvation, that the effects of the First Adam's sin were fully overcome in the Last Adam, Jesus Christ. Rather than remaking individuals, Jesus' redemption remakes humanity, restoring humanity to communion with the triune God.
In his book, theologian Peter J. Leithart shows how the church's rites of water as well as bread and wine constitute a new humanity by remaking man as a man in relationship with God and others. Salvation is social salvation because it restores individuals in addition to restoring their relationships and the ritual forms of those relationships.
Leithart's book includes several essays exploring the meaning of signs as ritual actions, how to appreciate the Old and New in theology, understanding baptismal regeneration as a sociological event, tying the rite of baptism to the New Covenant priesthood, and evaluating different theological models of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and more.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
595 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-957726-24-3 (9781957726243)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Peter J. Leithart is President of the Theopolis Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, and Founding Pastor at Immanuel Reformed Church in Birmingham. He is the author of a number of books, including Creator (IVP) and Jesus as Israel: The Gospel of Matthew Through New Eyes (Athanasius Press). He and his wife, Noel, have ten children and twenty grandchildren.