The Development Of Anointing In The Modern Church

This article traces the history of anointing since the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. Note how each development in the history of anointing was based on larger theological discussions. The Protestant Reformers of the sixteenth century envisioned the purification and renewal of medieval European Christianity according to the doctrinal and experiential norms, which they saw contained in the Scriptures and the first five centuries of early Christian tradition. Remarkably, however, for all the profound theological, ecclesiastical, and societal change brought about by the Reformation, the ancient Christian rite of anointing for healing received little positive attention from leading Protestant thinkers. They rejected the Catholic sacrament of the extreme unction as unbiblical and, for the most part, consigned supernatural gifts of healing to the apostolic age. While Rome was accused of misinterpreting James 5:14-15, no correct Protestant exposition of the text was set fo…