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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Communion | Matt 26:26 | jimcar | 87477 | ||
My question regards Communion. Who can participate? Who is authorized to give communion? Tell me where the answers are substantiated in the Bible. | ||||||
2 | Communion | Matt 26:26 | reilly1041 | 87478 | ||
I assume that you are referring to the Roman Catholic Church's Communion, or Holy Eucharist (I believe Protestant churches refer to communion as the Lord's Supper.). According to Catholic Church, an ordained priest is authorized to give communion. The Church has recently also had "lay ministers" which are lay people who can administer communion (bread and wine). Note however that only the priest can "consecrate" the host, and then the lay minister can administer it (distribute it to the congregation). The Cath Church's position is that only Catholics who are not in state of mortal sin (meaning that they have not committed a mortal sin which they have not yet confessed to a priest) can participate in the Holy Eucharist. The reason is that allowing all Christians to participate in Communion would imply a unity of churches which unfortunately does not exist today. The very different interpretations of the Last Supper and how we are to celebrate it (i.e., is it the Cath Church's view of the Holy Eucharist in which the bread/wine is changed into Christ's body/blood or is it a remembrance of the last supper or it is somewhere in between) would also lead to the Cath Church's position that only Catholics can participate in Communion. In terms of substantiating the Cath position w/Scripture, the seemingly simple description of Jesus sharing his Last Supper with his disciples and telling them "Take it and eat, this is my body" (Mt 25:26-29) has been interpreted in widely different ways among Christians. The Catholic position, as I mentioned above, is transubstantiation, in which it is believed that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ (the "Real Presence" of Christ). I'm sure you can find more posts on this subject by searching (upper right corner) for transubstantiation or real presence. |
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3 | Lutheran/non denominational communion | Matt 26:26 | jimcar | 87489 | ||
Thanks for the answer. It has brought up more questions. I should say that I've just started taking religion seriously that past 6 months and have been studying mostly the NIV New Testament. Maybe what I'm about to type is specificially for my Lutheran faith. From what I've read, Jesus, while on this earth was representing God and spreading his word. Jesus was forever hanging around Gentiles ( which I've learned were non Jews or those not considered chosen, or something like that ). He was constantly pointing out how everyone was the same thru the eys of the Lord. His chosen teachers were to spread the word throughout the world. It never mentioned excluding anyone from anything. From what you've said, Catholics and Lutherans are doing exactly what God does not want by building barriers. We should be building bridges. The more I learn the more confused I get. What brought this to the forefront for me was my participation in a nondenominational type service where the town pharmacist hands out the bread and wine. At first I thought this was wrong. But all I could find in the Bible was references to elders leading people in faith. I'm not sure what's right. Maybe it doesn't matter so much about rituals and traditions and earthly beliefs. I do know the Bible says to believe that Jesus died for our sins and he lead a life here on earth so we could more easily understand God. Anyway, thanks for your input. James |
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4 | Lutheran/non denominational communion | Matt 26:26 | reilly1041 | 87504 | ||
James, Excellent questions, I can't wait to see what other forum members think. It sounds like you and I have similar backgrounds. I was raised Catholic but only started to seriously work on my relationship with God about 18 months ago, starting with studying the NT. What struck me in reading the NT for the first time was how much Jesus talked about how we should live as opposed to how we should follow a "religion" (for example, the Sermon on the Mount, Mt 5). As far as I have found, He didn't prescibe any complex religious ceremonies, but the Catholic Church is full of them. Even the Last Supper sounds so simple: Take and eat this bread (mt 26:26), do this in memory of me. How did it get turned around so much that a priest has to silently recite sacred words over the bread and there are rules upon rules concerning how the communion is distributed and maintained? (I do not say these words as Catholic-bashing, more like sadness that I didn't know Jesus even though I was a "good Catholic".) I totally agree with you that the key is believing in Jesus - that He died for our sins. We need to learn all that we can about Him so we can be closer to Him, we need to worship Him, we need fellowship with other Christians. These are things that I am looking for in a church (I have been trying out many different non-Catholic churches for the past couple of months). I will pray for you in your journey. Keep asking your questions! reilly |
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5 | Lutheran/non denominational communion | Matt 26:26 | DennisSSG | 87507 | ||
James, In reference to your statement of everyone being the same in the eyes of the lord.There seems to be alot of confusion with the building of barriers and of the chosen people of God. My pastor just preached on the subject today. He referenced Gen 12:1-3, pay close attention to verse 3... verse 3 simply says that ALL people will be blessed through Abram. My pastor said that the term chosen people has been turned around from it's original intent. Since God loves all people, He had chosen the Jewish nation to spread His word and His free gift's of mercy, grace and salvation. You can substitute any denomination for Jewish. All churches should be inclusive to all people, instead of setting up all kinds of conditions that have to be met before you enjoy the grace and love of Jesus Christ. You can go to my churches website at www.nwcc.org and click on the audio archives and look for this sundays message and listen to it. The messages are in the Real Player format. This message should clear up alot of your confusion. In Christ, Dennis |
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