[BlackVeil]

Very thoughtful post, quite different from many of the others on this thread! I agree that the link, with the Eucharist, is faith, and I think that the notion of the spirit transforming matter is key.

At risk of igniting a firestorm, I would observe that the notion of consuming the body of the incarnate God relates, historically, to the Greek mystery religions. Most especially in the cult of Dionysius, the god of shepherds and the god of wine, known as "the good shepherd" and as "the true vine". Some people would say that this invalidates the scriptures, but another interpretation is that God allowed foreshadowings of Christianity in the pagan religions, and so the myth preceeded the reality. Apparently, one notion stressed by the Dionysian initiates is that the death of the body is a necessary part of the re-birth of the soul. Also, that the divine son suffered, and overcame suffering. These profound ideas may have paved the way for the New Testament.

Anyway, I think that Jesus would be very sorry to think that the holy insitution of the Eucharist has led to such hatred! It was not His will, it is the doing of men.

[RobbyS]

Good points. Iconoclasts want to establish a kind of wall between Judaism and paganism, but there were always gates between the two. Abraham was born a pagan and Moses was reared as one. The myth became reality, as you say, when these men had to make choices, That was the moment of revelation, when they heard the voice of God and went in a new direction. The Exile sent the people of God among the gentiles and when the Messiah came, the gentile world had been leavened. That's an old theory and it seems reasonable to me.