No parroting here. We simply cite Christ’s own words and the practice of early Christian Churches, and received tradition. This you are unwilling to confront. This is something that “low-information” Christian followers are unwilling to examine. Just ask the “pastors” of the tens of thousands of mushroom Christians sects from Rev. David Koresh to Rev. Jim Jones to the Joel Osteens, Schullers, and Rev. Jeremiah Wright to current day televangelist hucksters and mega-church rock n’ roll hillbilly congregants. The early Christian belief in the Eucharist is conclusive. Here’s one example.
St. Ignatius became the third bishop of Antioch, succeeding St. Evodius, who was the immediate successor of St. Peter. He heard St. John preach when he was a boy and knew St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Seven of his letters written to various Christian communities have been preserved. Eventually, he received the martyr’s crown as he was thrown to wild beasts in the arena. Below is one of his letters.
“Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the heterodox in regard to the grace of God which has come to us. They have no regard for charity, none for the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, none for the man in prison, the hungry or the thirsty. They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His graciousness, raised from the dead.” (”Letter to the Smyrnaeans”, paragraph 6. circa 80-110 A.D.)
“No parroting here. We simply cite Christ’s own words and the practice of early Christian Churches,”
That’s exactly what I did. What you did was assert that you did that, in reply to my doing of it, and ignored every single thing I said which demonstrated that Christ was quite clear on the matter, despite Roman mass hysteria.
Here’s Ignatius agreeing with my view:
“Not that I know there is anything of this kind among you; but I put you on your guard, inasmuch as I love you greatly, and foresee the snares of the devil. Wherefore, clothing yourselves with meekness, be renewed in faith, that is the flesh of the Lord, and in love, that is the blood of Jesus Christ. Let no one of you cherish any grudge against his neighbour. Give no occasion to the Gentiles, lest by means of a few foolish men the whole multitude [of those that believe] in God be evil spoken of. For, Woe to him by whose vanity my name is blasphemed among any. Isaiah 52:5” (Ignatius, Epistle to the Trallians)
To be renewed in faith, that is the flesh of the Lord. In the letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ignatius was rebuking the Donetists, who abstained from the Lord’s Supper because they denied that Christ had a body in the first place. They believed He died and suffered only in image, but not in reality. Citing the Lord’s Supper was an effective refutation for these heretics, since for the Eucharist to even spiritually be called “The Lord’s Body,” it presupposes that He had one in the first place. As for the language itself, it’s no different than the language Christ Himself used, which He also affirmed was yet still, in the case of the blood, “the fruit of the vine” that He would even drink in the Kingdom to come:
Mat 26:27-29 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; (28) For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (29) But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.