Here's a question I ask all Protestants on this subject. Did the Apostles eat the Body and Blood of Jesus? Jesus said "This is My Body..."... was it?
Christ often spoke in metaphors and/or parables and it seems clear he was doing so at the Last Supper. He was telling them of the sacrifice to come as he was the only one who fully knew and understood what was coming and used this as an opportunity to help them see one more bit of his omniscience and Godhood.
Of course He could cause the transubstantiation the bread and wine into His body and blood, but it also seems odd that they would continue to be bread and wine. I also have problems with the thought that, because one becomes a Catholic Priest, one is automatically endowed with the ability to perform (or perhaps facilitate is a better word) miracles that have not been readily accomplished since the apostles were dispatched.
I have trouble understanding why so many of the religions of the world absolutely require to have their priests available to "save" the souls of the congregation, when it clear that the Word of the bible only requires one to believe and ask Christ into his heart. We went from the Old Covenant, which proved that men could not become worthy on their own efforts, and into a New Covenant where it seems that other men (if you call them "priest") can help make you worthy.
I'll trust The Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit to be sufficient in and of themselves and consider the Lord's Supper as a symbol that we understand and appreciate that He was willing to be tortured and killed by sinners that sinners might have an Eternal relationship with Him.
God Bless
Could you provide a citation for this, please?
It's because certain people always crave superior status and privileges over others. Basically the same motive liberals and socialists have. Jesus came to give us the truth and set us free from man-made "religious systems."
I do not understand the portion of your statement shown in bold, since the line of Catholic priests have been doing this since the time of the apostles.
(from a Protestant) Yes. It was.
I have been pondering a similar thing we "teach" our kids in church. We tell them that when we confess our sins and ask forgiveness, "in God's eyes" our sins are gone. We tell them that when God looks at us He doesn't see our sins. I've stopped a class before and said, look if our sins are gone in God's eyes, they are gone. Period. If He looks at us and doesn't see "our" sin, then there's nothing there. What we perceive as reality doesn't make something real.
Scripture tells us a lot of stuff that doesn't match what we see or feel. We are born again. Our sins are as far from us as the east is from the west. He cleanses us of unrighteousness. This is His body, take and eat. His kingdom is at hand. The church is His body.
I wish I saw those things more clearly than I see "reality".