Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, Chapter 6, 110 A.D.:
Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God ... They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes.
St Ignatius, personally instructed in the Faith by St John, wrote this 1,901 years ago and though he was talking about the Gnostics of his day, could very well have been speaking to the non-Christians on this thread. keep perishing in your disputes.
What inspired infallible book do i find Ignatius in ? Did he believe that the apostles ate the actual flesh that christ was wearing???
Could be said about the Catholics today.
Ignatius' writings are known forgeries...You ought to consider how that makes you look by perpetuating those forgeries...
Jesus knew people like you would misunderstand what He was saying, and so He immediately clarified, to ensure that people wouldn’t believe they’d literally be eating his skin and blood.
In John 6, He says, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” Whoa! What can that mean?
Just a couple of verses later, in the very same chapter, He clarifies for those who think He’s speaking of literal skin and blood:
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
Jesus is clearly speaking of Spiritual relationship, not of literally consuming flesh. That “flesh,” after all, “is no help at all.”
Yes, in a metaphorical sense, we partake in Jesus. We clothe ourselves in Him. He abides within us. We taste Him, and see that He is good. But we don’t munch on his skin; chewing skin “is no help at all.” It is the Spirit who gives life.