When a protestant biblical scholar becomes a Catholic, the result can be electric: the language of the Bible, its stories and dramatic sequences are seen in a new, revelatory light; the water of sola Scriptura has been mixed with the red wine of the Church’s sacramental life. When one reads any book by Scott Hahn this intoxication of the spirit is evident; though a convert of some years his enthusiasm for an enlightened Catholic reading of the Old Testament texts has not waned. This can only be stimulating for readers.

Yes, we have known since our childhood that the sacraments are ‘an outward sign of inward grace ordained by Jesus Christ’ – but what does this actually mean? This book, with its ‘promise’ referring to the Old Testament and its ‘power’ to the New, gives a vigorous reintroduction to a central aspect of our faith – the sacramental life.

Much of the book is devoted to explaining the huge significance of oath-taking in the Bible: ‘At the heart of every biblical covenant lies a solemn and sacramental oath.’ The word ‘covenant’ is the key; it does not imply a legal contract but God’s own oath, signifying a permanent, intimate relationship between Creator and man. Thus, for the Jews of the old law there was no such thing as a ‘Sabbath-only faith’ (or as we might say, a ‘Sunday Catholic’).

They made no distinction between the sacred and the secular world; the sacred entered into every aspect of their relations. ‘A sworn oath invests human language with divine power’ affirms Hahn and he quotes the Jewish scholar, Rabbi Hirsch, on the consequent horror of perjury: ‘committed by one who swears, it can bring about the destruction of an entire world.’ The word is certainly mightier than the sword.

The covenant-oaths of the Father to His people become the sacraments of the new law with the coming of Christ. Each sacrament is examined in turn, in the light of God’s binding word. They are not mechanical processes or magical manipulations; and their effect, as we know, depends on how well we are disposed to receive them. What kept the Jews of the promise faithful now makes all the difference between life and death - ‘They are the only means to come through the trials and battles of life alive.’

As a married man, Hahn pays particular attention to the sacrament of matrimony, admitting that it was his wife, Kimberley, who taught him to take the sacraments seriously when he had confessed to being bored by the theology behind them.’ If married love is a sacramental sign of God’s love for His people, it must reflect that love: faithful, monogamous, indissoluble and fruitful’. Kimberley, a later convert than her husband and from a protestant background even more fundamental than his, says that it was only her commitment to these four aspects of marriage that kept her from leaving Hahn when she sawing him drawn towards the Church.

Ironically, it was after she had pointed him towards the sacraments that he discovered the Catholic Church best reflected the biblical teaching on them. Hahn reminds us that God is just; a covenant, if broken, incurs penalties for ‘a covenant without curses is no covenant at all.’

© 2004 Francis Phillips

Theotokos Catholic Books - Book Reviews Section - www.theotokos.org.uk