Dr. Peter Leithart's article,
Paedocommunion, the Gospel, and the Church from the latest Credenda/Agenda nails it....
Paedocommunion is not only
about admission requirements narrowly considered, but like paedobaptism, is linked with a whole range of issues. It is not only about the nature of the Supper, but also about the Church, baptism, and most broadly, the character of the salvation that Christ has achieved in the world. The gospel is not directly at stake in the paedocommunion debate. Opponents of paedocommunion honestly and sincerely proclaim the gospel of grace, and I am grateful to God that they do. Still, the ecclesial and theological shape that the gospel takes correlates significantly with the positions on paedocommunionm, and the coherence between the gospel and the church's practice is at the heart of this debate. The stakes are not so high as they were when Luther protested indulgences and the myriad idolatries of the late medieval church. But the stakes are high, very high.
What
is the "shape of the gospel" in American churches across our multitude of denominations? More and more, I think the issue of paedocommunion and the Covenant, more generally, will "shape" the answer.
