Church Fathers ping!
That really isnt the relevant question though. Is the doctrine correct is what should concern people.
I find it inconsistent that the average RC accepts the sayings in John ... "I am the door" ... "I am the vine ..." ... etc. as drawing a clear analogy for instruction purposes; but when it comes to "this is my body, this is my blood" ... it has to be taken in a literal fashion.
Call me "separated" then ...
As this post is sure to draw heated responses from our non-Catholic brothers and sisters on FR, allow me to give them some questions as a starting point for discussion.
Why did Jesus say what He said in the Gospel of John chapter 6, knowing the radicalism of telling His followers they must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have life within them?
The prohibition against cannibalism and the drinking of blood was well known by the Jews and would surely be rejected. Some did in fact leave Jesus following those words and yet, Jesus did not clarify them as symbolic nor did He try to stop them from leaving. In fact, Jesus directly challenges the Apostles about His words as “difficult and hard to hear” and offers them the opportunity to also leave Him.
If God is able to create from nothing the entire world, i.e. everything seen and unseen, why is He not also able to make Himself present in the bread and wine?
Is God omnipotent and omniscient? Has He knowingly allowed millions of people to be damned eternally for following Catholic beliefs?
I have posed these questions before to no response.
Anyone who claims that the Holy Spirit guides them to all truth is making the same claim as the Catholic Church but without the history of her to back them up.
You posted 16 earthly people or entities and their writings you, and the Church of the Magisterium, use as sources for one aspect of your belief system or religion. One wonders how many more you have for the rest of your religion.
I just smile to myself when I read Catholics condemning Mormons for one prophet and a couple of extra books in a seemingly never ending series of anti Mormon posts.
Who or what you base your belief system on is your god or gods.
I only have one God in my belief system who I go to for all truth. He has only authored one source for His truth, the Old and New Testament Scriptures. BVB
It’s fairly obvious from all these quotes that whatever the ECF taught regarding the “real presence” it is far removed from the RC dogma of transubstantiation.