Metaphors of Eucharistic Presence: Language, Cognition, and the Body and Blood of Christ

In Metaphors of Eucharistic Presence: Language, Cognition, and the Body and Blood of Christ, Stephen R. Shaver brings together the fields of cognitive linguistics and liturgical theology to propose a new approach to the ecumenically controversial issue of eucharistic presence. Drawing from the work of cognitive linguists such as George Lakoff, Gilles Fauconnier, and Mark Turner, and theologians such as Robert Masson and John Sanders, Shaver argues that there is no clear division between literal and figurative language: rather, human cognition is grounded in sensorimotor experience, and phenomena such as metaphor and conceptual blending are basic building blocks of thought. Complex realities are ordinarily understood by means of more than one metaphor. Inherited models of eucharistic presence, then, are not necessarily mutually exclusive but can serve as complementary members of a shared ecumenical repertoire. The central element of this repertoire is the motif of identity--the eucharistic bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ--grounded in the Synoptic and Pauline institution narratives. From a cognitive standpoint, this metaphor can be understood both as figurative and as true in the proper sense, resolving a dichotomy that has divided the churches since the Reformation. The identity motif is complemented by four major non-scriptural motifs: representation, change, containment, and conduit. Inaugurating a new interdisciplinary conversation, this book contributes to ongoing ecumenical reconciliation not only by addressing eucharistic presence but also by demonstrating an approach which may hold promise in other historically controverted areas. Meanwhile for cognitive linguists it offers an intriguing case study in the application of that discipline to theological questions.

Table of Contents:
Preface Abbreviations Chapter 1. Introduction: Theology in Multiple Metaphors 1.1 Liturgical theology and the embodied mind 1.2 An additive method 1.3 Metaphors of eucharistic presence 1.4 Some notes on scope and standpoint Chapter 2. Metaphor, Embodied Realism, and Sacramental Truth 2.1 Introducing conceptual metaphor theory 2.2 More complex metaphors 2.3 Metonymy 2.4 Polysemy and prototypicality: beyond classical categories 2.5 Beyond objectivism: embodied realism for theologians Conclusions Chapter 3. Conceptual Blending and Two Ways of Feeding on Jesus 3.1 Conceptual blending 3.2 Asymmetric blends: bread is Jesus, Jesus is bread 3.3 The Synoptic/Pauline metaphor: this loaf and wine are jesus' body and blood 3.4 The Johannine metaphor: Jesus' flesh and blood are heavenly life-giving bread and drink Conclusions Chapter 4. Identity: The Great Divide 4.1 The identity motif in Christian tradition 4.2 Zwingli: "is" as a trope 4.3 Luther: "is" as literal predication 4.4 Some illustrative exchanges 4.5 A cognitive-linguistic assessment 4.6 Broader implications of the great divide Conclusions Chapter 5. Identity: Bridging the Divide 5.1 Overcoming the dichotomy: Robert Masson and the tectonic process 5.2 Building on Masson's work: radial extension and prototypicality 5.3 The Synoptic/Pauline metaphor as a tectonic shift 5.4 Polysemy: identity and distinction in tension Conclusions Chapter 6. Representation 6.1 Symbols as material anchors 6.2 The Y2 construction: a more complex integration network 6.3 Representation and Identity in coexistence 6.4 Revisiting the polysemy networks from Chapter 5 Conclusions Chapter 7. Change 7.1 Development and variations of the change motif 7.2 Reformed and Lutheran responses to the change motif 7.3 The eucharistic gifts as bread and wine Conclusions Chapter 8. Containment 8.1 Development and variations of the containment motif 8.2 Post-Reformation responses to the containment motif 8.3 Transubstantiation: a special combination of change and containment Conclusions Chapter 9. Conduit 9.1 Verticality and the emergence of the conduit motif 9.2 Visual conduit language 9.3 Reformed and Roman visual piety: an unexpected convergence Conclusions Chapter 10. Bringing the Repertoire Together 10.1 Affirmations in common: the ecumenical repertoire of metaphors 10.2 Embodied entailments: the duration of Christ's presence 10.3 Embodied entailments: adoration Conclusions Selected Bibliography in Cognitive Linguistics

About the Author :
Stephen R. Shaver is the rector of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Santa Rosa, California. He earned his Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, where he has taught courses in eucharistic theology and liturgical leadership.

Review :
He [Shaver] pushes contemporary eucharistic theology in a way that will likely prove to be invaluable. His work builds upon Hunsinger's writing with a remarkable freshness and offers a framework for taking an old conversation in a new direction. Shaver's book provides a constructive and innovative contribution to contemporary sacramental and ecumenical theology. Those with ears to hear and eyes to see will find some helpful goods to bring to the meal that still divides. There is much in this excellent volume to stimulate theological, liturgical, and metaphysical reflection on the eucharist.