We all get hung up on what ‘Jesus said’. So let’s see what he said and what it means to me...
Jesus said, ‘this is my body’
Jesus said, ‘this is my blood’
Catholics talk about Transubstiation, Protestants about Transliteration. So let’s look at what he said...
He did not say ‘this becomes my body’, He did not say, ‘this represents my body’. He said this IS my body, this IS my blood.
Take it for what he said. It does not become, it does not represent, It is!
There is now cannibalism in that.
Take it for what he said. It does not become, it does not represent, It is!
Where is it that Jesus told apostles or Catholic priests to turn bread into Jesus' body??? Why did Jesus call the supposed transformed blood the fruit of the vine??? And Paul call the bread, bread???
There is no cannibalism in a metaphor, that is true. And no need to say “represents,” either. Everybody already knows that’s what a metaphor does, sort of, except it’s really richer than that. But “A is B” is a plain old ordinary direct metaphor, and in any other case where folks didn’t have a dog in the fight, it wouldn’t even be an argument.
Peace,
SR
Your comment: “He did not say ‘this becomes my body’, He did not say, ‘this represents my body’. He said this IS my body, this IS my blood.
Take it for what he said. It does not become, it does not represent, It is!
There is now cannibalism in that.”
Well at least One Protestant can read the actual words, but has a faulty analysis.
From Catholic answers:http://www.catholic.com/blog/tim-staples/are-catholics-cannibals
Miriam-Webster defines cannibalism as:
1. The usually ritualistic eating of human flesh by a human being.
2. The eating of the flesh of an animal by another animal of the same kind.
Cannibalism implies here the actual chewing, swallowing, and metabolizing of flesh and blood either after or during the killing of a human being; at least, if we stick to definition #1.
Catholics do not do any of this in the Eucharist. Though Christ is substantially present—body, blood, soul and divinity—in the Eucharist, the accidents of bread and wine remain. Here it is important to define terms. When the Church teaches the bread and wine at Mass are transubstantiated into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ, we have to understand what this means. The word, transubstantiation, literally means “transformation of the substance.” “Substance” refers to that which makes a thing essentially what it is. Thus, “substance” and “essence” are synonyms. For example, man is essentially comprised of body, soul, intellect, and will. If you remove any one of these, he is no longer a human person. The accidents or accidentals would be things like hair color, eye color, size, weight, etc. One can change any of these and there would be no change in the essence or substance of the person.
In the Eucharist, after the priest consecrates the bread and wine and they are, in fact, transubstantiated into the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord, our Lord is then entirely present. Neither bread nor wine remains. However, the accidents of bread and wine (size, weight, taste, texture) do remain. Hence, the essential reason why Catholics are not guilty of cannibalism is the fact that we do not receive our Lord in a cannibalistic form. We receive him in the form of bread and wine. The two are qualitatively different.
He said You brood of vipers.
Luke 22:14-20 14 When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles. 15 He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, 16 for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." 17 He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, "Take this, and share it among yourselves, 18 for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God comes." 19 He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me." 20 Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Since your religion does not teach you the entire Bible, it is unlikely that you would comprehend the meaning in bold type above. When any animal was slaughtered, the blood is to be poured out upon the ground, never, never ever for drinking.
The Old Testament, which is the Bible Jesus taught from, has clear instructions on handling the blood of the sacrifice. It is not to be drunk because the life is in the Blood. The blood of the Passover lamb was applied to the door posts and lintel for the Passover remembrance. Then, in the Atonement Sacrifice, the sacrifice lamb's blood is to be applied to the Mercy Seat, to cover the sins against the law.
This process was repeated each year by the High Priest of the Tribes of Isral. BUT, Jesus as our great High Priest has entered the Holy Holies with His Blood, the most sacred of all blood, and He has spread His blood upon the Mercy Seat to cover the law of sin and death, FOR YOU AND ME.
The blood is not for drinking, ever! God does not contradict Himself even when speaking thousands of years before an event. The Life is in The Blood. You shall not drink blood, for the life is in the blood.
The Life of Jesus was poured out for you and me on the Cross and Jesus, our Great High Priest, enter the once into the Holy of Holies, and spread His perfected Blood upon the Mercy Seat, to cover the laws of sin and death so that His Spirit, God's Holy Spirit, may enter into your spirit as the earnest of an inheritance, God's LIFE IN YOU and ME, by the blood of Jesus upon the Mercy Seat, not in your belly.
What your religion is insisting you do is substitute the sacrilege of drinking blood, for the Sacred of Christ's blood upon the Mercy Seat. The God of Salvation does not contradict Himself. Do not think you can drink the literal blood of Jesus, in contradiction to what God has commanded to not do. That is sacrilege. And in this case sacrilege against the Most vital Grace Has given to humankind, the process of having God's Life in you. You cannot get God's Life in you through the throat and belly, for as Jesus said, what goes into the mouth comes out in the drought.
I suppose you also think He’s a literal sheep? How about a literal door or maybe literal bread? And would you please tell us how Jesus was sinless and still broke the law against eating blood?
Did Jesus and the apostles eat the actual real body of Christ at that last supper?