You would think something as significant as that would have been recorded somewhere. It is not recorded that they all drank from the same cup that Jesus did.
When I partake of Communion, it is in recognition and memory of Christ's sacrifice, of His body being torn and His blood being shed. It is a shared sacrament with the Body and done in the deepest reverence. If Jesus wants to make it His actual flesh and blood, that's up to Him.
God is the final authority. I pray daily that I not be deceived by the cacophony of people clamoring for my attention. So, no, I am NOT the final authority, I can't be, because down that road lies only deception.
Again, not what I asked. Here on earth, do you believe you are your own final authority on scripture?
Obviously, you're not listening because you're not getting the answer you want. I'll quote what I've already said:
In other words, it doesn't matter what you believe? That basically, in anything you consume, under any circumstances, if Jesus wants to make it his actual flesh and blood, that's up to him. Before receiving communion, it matters not what you believe about transubstantiation....I find that an incredible cop-out. It is on the order of you stating that all are "saved" no matter what their faith, no matter what they believe.
Nonsense. Once again you take everything to the absurd extreme. Why do you do that?
I am actually listening very carefully. And I hear you saying, when it comes to scripture, you decide what you will believe. I have no doubt you listen and study. It's just when push comes to shove, here on earth, you will decide for yourself what God is actually saying through scripture.
It's not an absurd extreme. It's astonishing that someone who holds no belief in the Eucharist (transubstantiation) belief doesn't matter because it "just happens" if Jesus wants it to. It's a belief that is neither hot nor cold...and we know what Jesus says about such a belief.
Ultimately, we ALL have to decide for ourselves what God is saying to us. If we just read Scripture and pray for discernment, we have to internalize what we hear and "decide for ourselves'. If we just hear what some rando on the internet says, we have to internalize what we hear and "decide for ourselves'. If we just hear what the Church says about a subject, we have to internalize what we hear and "decide for ourselves'. So, it boils down to this:
It's a trust that God will reveal to us if we are doing something incorrectly. Why do you insist it only becomes the Eucharist when a priest says it is? If I recognize it as such, why would Jesus not honor that?
In the same way, if it is just between you and God, then no one else should take your word for it either. That means there is a universal position of, "It's God and me against all the rest of you."
Catholic/Orthodox trace every priest's training, ordination, anointing back to one of the Apostles who passed along their teachings, anointing.
No, it just means that no one should blindly take my word for something from Scripture. They should take the references I cite, check them out IN CONTEXT to make sure they say what I am claiming they say, then go to God in prayer asking honestly if I am correct. This is far too important to blindly trust any one man's word alone.
And again with trying to read my mind. Stop it.
And again with the extremes. Where did I ever say an individual should go off and establish a different church? Obviously, that's what you've been conditioned to think that Martin Luther and the other reformers did, when it could not be further from the truth. Remember, they were one of you. They were priests in the Catholic Church and became aware that the Church was teaching falsehoods. When they attempted to inform the Church of such, they were harshly rejected.
Leaving is not/was not the only option. Try renewal from within.
They tried that and were rejected. The only option open at that point was leaving.
I'll just leave this quote here so we call all note the "questions" being asked, and of course the lack of followup comments and snarky statements:
It's not a snarky comment. I am pursuing your thought that the individual should be the final authority on what he/she believes or interprets scripture as saying. There is no need to get defensive. If you feel that is the better way for all people to view scripture, why not discuss it? What is wrong with God working one-on-one with everyone in regards to the meaning of scripture? If you have a point, make it. Otherwise, it's just something to sometimes think about.
Very well, I see that you do not understand what I said. Even if you simply take what a Papal bull says about Scripture or accept as Gospel truth a tradition that has been around for a long time or if you just take a priest's/pastor's word for it, you ARE responsible for what you believe and will be held to it. The Bereans did not blindly take an Apostle's word on things, they diligently searched the Scriptures FOR THEMSELVES to make sure what he said was true. That's what WE need to do, take what we hear and search Scripture to see if it is true.
How is this different than any Protestant, LDS, JW or nondenominational church?
What do you believe the consequences are exactly?
