Here, Ignatius is specifically warning the Smyrneans about the Docetists and Gnostics, two heretical groups who did not believe Christ came in the flesh. Explainer: Why the Eucharist is confusing for many Catholics (and Why is there so much disagreement about holy communion? And in the course of my research, I found fivevery convincing reasons why the Eucharist must be none other than the real body and blood. This manna was bread which came miraculously down from heaven. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. The flesh is best understood as concupiscence. Another objection posed by Protestants is as follows: A human body can only be in one place at a time. So Im guessing that the Jewish people knew Jesus was being literal, even if they didnt really understand it. Most Protestants dont see anything miraculous in the communion elements which could potentially explain why they never see such miracles. Finally, there are some Protestants who come alongside their Catholic brothers and sisters in search for common ground. For that reason, because of old testament injunctions, they leave Jesus. As in all the churches of the saints (1 Cor. So what? The most interesting and most powerful matter at stake here is that if the Catholic Church should be wrong in their belief and thereby the Church of Christ that existed for fifteen-hundred years before the Protestant Reformation should then be, I submit to you, the most arrogant and idolatrous institutional entity that claims to be the people of God and should have in fact been reprimanded, or even struck down, long ago by the Holy Spirit for ever holding such a view. Which in turn gets us back to the initial disjunction proposed by Dr. Kreeft: either the the Catholic Church is dead wrong and idolatrous, being lead by the Holy Spirit to be so, and if not lead by the Holy Spirit, then surely in need of serious rebuking by the Holy Spirit, OR the Catholic Church is right, has been led by the Holy Spirit, and is experiencing the most intimate relationship with Christ possible on Earth. VDOM DHTML tml>. What are these planes and what are they doing? (Venial/Mortal sins and confession are all topics for another day). Catholic's believe, based off of much scripture, the most plain of which is John 6, that the . 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Summa Theologica. Is The Eucharist Is A Symbol Of Jesus? - QNA Experts protestantism - What do Protestants who deny transubstantiation do with Does she actually use the words the Eucharist? Because as long as she doesnt actually believe its the body and blood in her house, there really is nothing wrong with what she is doing. Verse 54: 54 Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise that person up on the last day. rev2023.6.28.43514. There is also the presence of Christ within us by His Spirit. Findmore about this series and a list of all of posts here. There are many more Eucharistic miracles as well that are quite astounding. She wants to discuss this no further . She says it is between her and God. There can simply be no room for excuse here; Biblical Christians know that words of St. Paul indicate serious discernment during the Eucharist, otherwise one may think Jesus was not being symbolic when he said the Eucharist is His body and blood. She is a protestant where they break bread once a month in their church and onr watching their onlinr church can get bread from the fridga and break it too..so she does not have to go to church but says she can church online. The Catholic Church distinguishes between divine revelation, such as the Eucharist, and private revelation, such as Eucharistic miracles. Stack Exchange network consists of 182 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. This is the bread which comes down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh (Jn 6:51).. It is the Eucharist, the Word himself. He explains that for him, the most decisive factor in his conversion to Catholicism was the Eucharist. It is, as Christ Himself says in the Last Supper, (His) body and (His) blood (Mt 26:26-28; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:19-20; 1 Cor 11:24-25). Moreover, the Catholic Church even adores the Most Blessed Sacrament; no, not adore as in find cute, but adore as in from the Latin verb adorare which means to worship. Catholics are known to sit or kneel, sometimes for hours, in front of the consecrated host while its placed inside of a big, shiny, bedazzled apparatus called a monstrance (Google that), and stare or pray in adoration. Trent Horn: In fact, nearly seven in ten Catholics, 69%, say they personally believe that during the Catholic mass, the bread and wine used in communion quote are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is rooted in Scripture. Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholicby Patrick Madrid, A Concise History of the Catholic Churchby Thomas Bokenkotter, What Catholics Believe about John 6by Tim Staples, Two Minute Answers to Your Questions About the Catholic Faith by CatholicsComeHome.org, Who Can Receive Communion by Robert H. Brom, Why cant non-Catholics, Evangelicals and Protestant denominations receive Catholic Communion? Explaining To Protestant Family And Friends Why They Can't Receive They are rejecting His words and taking offense at them because they are relying on their own understanding (i.e. The Bible says: "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but not do what I command? Furthermore, the tense of the word trogon implies that this is an action that will take place continuously over timenot as a one-time event. Nonetheless, it says in the Book of Psalms The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of mens hands. Starting at 8 a.m. Many would agree with Curiousdannii's comment that he would view such miracles with extreme skepticism. Ignatius was the first bishop of Antioch (the city were Jesus followers were first called Christians)andhe studied under the apostle John (the one that wrote the Gospel of John). What do Protestants believe? - Encyclopedia of Opinion - Parlia Catholics, then, are in far worse position because they teach, full hardheartedly, that the Blessed Sacrament is Jesus Christ. And, then, if this is so, 1.2 billion people are deeply mistaken and no better than the followers of Moloch. Taking part in the breaking of bread service helps them to remember Jesus and his death on the cross. 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 and John 6). In verse 66, it records that many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Would they leave over a mere symbol? "The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the postulate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. The biggest difference between Catholics and Protestants is that Protestants come together in Church services and may have Communion once a month (depends on the denomination, but more or less, it's once a month), believing that it is only a symbol. Same amount of Jesus. 1. A type is a person or thing in the Old Testament which foreshadows a person or thing in the New Testament. Most of the Protestant churches reject the doctrine of Transubstantiation but retain some understanding of the Eucharist as an occasion where Christ's presence becomes real and tangible along . 5:5. There is no question as to whether or not the Jews understood Christs words as to be taken literally or not. Dont miss the rest of the posts in the series! I recently answered a question related to Catholicism and then one for Pentecostals/Charismatics, so now I will attempt to complete the trifecta and answer a question on behalf of Protestants, if that is even possible. If Christ is God Himself, the truly infinite, and His resurrected body is animated by the Holy Spirit, should we be surprised that Jesus can do something miraculous regarding his otherwise limited human nature? To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. 7 Key Differences Between Protestant and Catholic Doctrine Now, Id had Catholics tell me that Jesuss words This is my body and This is my blood were literal before, but not one of them could ever give me a single solid reason whyI should believe it other than because thats what they *thought* the words meant. 26:26-30) Christ would have not allowed us to be misguided on? At first, he uses the Greek word phagon which is the normal Greek word for to eat. Part way through the passage, however, he suddenly switches to the word trogon, which literally means to crunch or gnaw. In contrast, Protestants either believe it to be purely symbolic or possibly a consubstantial presence, but certainly not a sacrifice. The second point to note is that Jesus chose to give this teaching about eating his flesh and drinking his blood (in order to have eternal life) during the Passover celebration (Jn 6:4). catholicism - Why isn't the Eucharist of protestant churches considered Well thats not a very good argument. Five times. Either Christ really gives us his body, his blood, his soul, and his divinity, every day at the Celebration of Mass, had done for fifteen-hundred years, and is doing so now, just like he did on The Cross, giving his Life through his Presence, or the Catholic Church is abominably presumptuous about what they believe the Lord Christ has granted her. A good friend once asked me, even if Jesus is present in the Eucharist, why does it matter? First, it matters because Christ says we must eat (His) flesh and drink (His) blood to have eternal life (Jn 6:54). Most U.S. Catholics believe the Eucharist is just a symbol. The bishops This is especially true of the Eucharist. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Thank you! Did not know that. Your email address will not be published. This site uses cookies to serve you better. The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Which is Correct? Huntington Beach, Cal. We can ascertain from these early witnesses that the second and third generations of Christians were certainly taught by the Apostles to believe the Eucharist was the Body and Blood of Christ. Does Pre-Print compromise anonymity for a later peer-review? ]-98/118 A.D.) writes, Take great care to keep one Eucharist. But there are some of you who do not believe. Does this verse teach that Jesus is speaking metaphorically because he says the flesh is of no avail? 1. We must finally address a still remaining objection: but The Holy Spirit surely does not guide us by striking down millions of people who are committing adultery. You are correct. And you should probably go check out these two articles which can explain it much better than I can: Who Can Receive Communion on Catholic.com, Why Cant Non-Catholics Take Communion on CatholicBridge.com. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the son of destruction,[b] 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. What is the Protestant view on Eucharistic miracles? On his way to be condemned to death in Rome for being a Christian, he wrote seven letters to Christians in Ephesus, Phillipi, Rome, Magnesia and Smyrna. How to properly align two numbered equations? Is it morally wrong to use tragic historical events as character background/development? We call it Communion, but it is in fact only a very small part, of the Jewish Passover feast. Especially since, as we have seen, Scripture reveals Jesus as the Passover Lamb of the New Covenant (Jn 1:29; 1 Cor 5:7), and the Passover lamb was not only to be offered but also eaten in a sacrificial communion (Ex 12:5). Twice. And, perhaps, suppose further, as some like to think, this Church became divorced in some way from the true Church (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli) in recent time, some think the Catholic Church is not only wrong, but a total mistake (R.C. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The main differences between Catholics and Protestants Or is it possible to ensure the message was signed at the time that it says it was signed? Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is rooted in Scripture. He also demonstrated how it was idolatry to worship anything that was not God himself. The most extensive passage supporting Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Christ is the Bread of Life discourse in John 6:22-63 during which Christ exhorts a crowd of followers to eat (His) flesh and drink (His) blood. For many Protestants they view the components of Communion to be purely symbolic, but that doesn't mean they don't believe it to be meaningful. Understanding of the Bible Catholicism and Protestantism have distinct views on the meaning and the authority of the Bible. Christ says Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. Was he taking a nap? The world is filled with signs and wonders intended to draw us from the simplicity that is in Christ. Baptism and the Eucharist are the only two of the Seven Sacraments that Evangelical . That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died (1 Cor. The Roman Catholic view of the supper makes the physical body of Jesus present in many placessimultaneously. However, the underlying assumption here is that Christs resurrected body has the same limitations as our bodies. As Leviticus 17:11 states, it is the blood that makes atonement, by the power of its life. While scholars continue to debate exactly what this means, one thing is clear: in the ancient world, the Jewish people were known for their refusal to consume blood. Jesus knew that what he was saying would be taken as blasphemy and invoking them to break the Mosaic Law. Here Christ says it is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail, the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. Yet, the stronger reason is, why had the Church of Christ been guided for fifteen-hundred years in believing the Real Presence? However, Protestants have historically opposed the doctrine as unbiblical. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (Jn 6:53-55). As we consider the language used here, a literal interpretationhowever disturbing or offensivebecomes more obvious. For protestant who do not celebrate the Eucharist, but still hold to Biblical truth, then it is still clear that if Catholics are wrong, and if the Church in general had been wrong, about the Eucharist for fifteen-hundred years, they were (and still are) St. Pauls instructions by being idolatrous and should in fact be incurring punishment. These cookies do not store any personal information. At first I was very skepticalbecause how could you even prove something like this? Yet, Christ persisted in His teaching saying: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. For most Protestants, communion is a ritual meal of remembrance of Christs sacrifice on the cross. What Do Catholics Really Believe About Mary, Saints and Statues? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeIz4UGI_Zc. Required fields are marked *. In this prayer, the celebrant acts in the person of Christ as head of his body, the Church. Teaching Authority in the Catholic Church. Do you believe the Eucharist is the real body and blood? Verse 53: 53 Jesus replied to them: In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Maybe theyll convince you too? 4 Reasons Why the Eucharist Is Not Just Symbolic - Crosswalk He gathers not only the bread and the wine, but the substance of our lives and joins them to Christ's perfect sacrifice, offering them to the Father. First, lets consider idolatry. *This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. This video on the Eucharistic Miracle of Lancianowas my favorite by far. The Priest consecrating the communion bread and wine believes, along with the parishioners, that the work of mens hands (the bread and wine) is to become the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. 8437 BELL OAKS DR. SUITE 503, NEWBURGH, IN 47630, Pingback: Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano | The Miraculous Rosary, {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}, Hello! The major topic that prompted me to delve into a series on the Sacraments was wondering why Evangelical Protestants* don't celebrate them.How can a people who profess to base their faith on Scripture alone ignore the very things in fact, some of the only things that Jesus told us explicitly to do? How can Catholics who adhere to Eucharistic Miracles claim the distinction between substance and accidents?
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