The Eucharist and the Bible
Actually the statement above contains a number of errors. We all know that you could
Have a dozen Orthodox church members sit down and write out what supposedly takes place during the Eucharist, and they would all be different answers. That is not because the Eucharist is a "mystery".
The reason that the Eucharist is a "mystery" is because those sincere churchgoers have no idea of what the correct answer should be.
Now this might sound a little complicated, but bear with us. After all, You are smart enough
to handle this, and God did not subject you to anything beyond His ability to help you.How would your Orthodox friends answer the following questions: In the Eucharist, does the Bread and the Wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus:
1. When the Priest handles it ?
2. When the Priest blesses it ?
3. When the Priest hands it to you ?
4. When you place it in your mouth ?
5. When you swallow it ?
6. When you sincerely believe that the miracle occurs ?
It sounds distasteful, but if you eat another human, what will be found in your stomach will be the forensic evidence of your action. If the Bread and Wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus, then – since this is a miracle of God – would the forensic evidence not also be found in your stomach (potentially) ?
If it could not be found in your stomach, could it be that the "miracle" did not take place because of your lack of faith ?
When Jesus said "THIS IS MY BODY…THIS IS MY BLOOD" – and we are supposed to take this literally, then which part of his body was He taking and actually cutting up to
give to his Apostles ?IF Jesus did not physically start cutting himself up, and that is something that we cannot take literally, then why would we take literally the rest of the passage that tells
us to do likewise, "AS I HAVE SHOWN YOU" ?If the Apostles did not like a particular other apostle, would they be then asking him to do the Eucharist, hoping that he would take a Vital portion of himself, and that he would then bleed to death ?
Just how many times can you eat part of your Body if you are the Apostles, living by example, and say to others: now do likewise… before a real medical problem develops ?
You can pray to God for our souls and We will defer on whether or not a cannibal has ever asserted as a legal defense, that his last meal was only an example of the "Eucharist".
After using a small amount of humor to make valid intellectual and spiritual points nonetheless, we will turn our focus now towards the subject with a bit more seriousness, and much more accurate solutions – to a ceremony which remains a
Genuine dilemma to many who have not had the chance to study the historical development and misuse of the service of the Eucharist, to mislead people into believing that they were saved by the actions of a Priest (rather than by the sincere
decision of their own mind and heart).Here is what we do know about the Eucharist:
1) there is no "Eucharist".
2). The Eucharistic wafer is not Divine.
3.) the Term "Eucharist" is found NOWHERE in the BIBLE.
4) the Concept of a Eucharist was developed by confused Gnostics, who already taught that the method to be
united with their own Gods, was to unite themselves to the essence of their gods {They were trying to erase the boundary between the Creator and the Creation}.5) the Doctrine of the Eucharist asserts that a Christian unites to the Essence of God, and it is
this unity to that essence which saves them eternally.
6) The Doctrine of Salvation by Faith in Jesus Christ alone – which is what the Bible teaches and states in a plain manner –
is what unites a believer - not to Christ in His essence, but to the Promises of Christ.7) Followers of Christ will never be united to the Essence of Christ. There will always be a spiritual and permanent boundary between the Creator and the Creation. Christians are united to Christ through the process of their becoming the ADOPTED sons of God.
8) Since believers in Jesus Christ know the following - that:
a) they are Saved by GRACE through Faith
b) God will never leave them nor forsake them
c) the Holy Spirit Indwells them
d) to be absent from the Body is to be present with the Lord
e) there is no need for them to assert that they are united with Christ, since
they are already united to Christ through the Holy Spirit
who indwells them.
f) Therefore, as the Scriptures state, there is no Eucharist, only Communion
to remind us and help us focus on what the Lord – in His Grace –
did for Us.
9) The Eucharist can – Christologically, and Spiritually – Not convey to us
something which we as believers do not already possess. We possess – Today and
Right Now - All of the benefits of Knowing Jesus Christ personally, despite what the Eucharist claims to confer.
According to a priest named Theophane stated that there are 4 things necessary for your Salvation:
1. faith
2. life according to the Divine Commandments
3. Divine Grace, but only the kind given through the Divine Mysteries, and
4. The Divine Priesthood [of the Eastern Orthodox Church]
Now Contrast this with the Bible. IT says for your salvation, the ONLY thing you
Need is a belief in the work and message of Jesus Christ, and belief in his death and
Resurrection. That is it. There is nothing else needed !
When you are saved, You receive Divine Grace. There are no Divine Mysteries, and certainly none that any of us need to worry about concerning our salvation. Our life according to the Commandments is NOT necessary for us to earn or obtain our salvation. Salvation is something that God gives to us. It is not something that any of can earn, because Salvation is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast (or take pride in his/her own accomplishments). What Theophane the Priest is really
trying to say is that we need to do "good works", so that they can be attributed towards our salvation.The Bible says (Rom 1:17 KJV) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
(Rom 5:17 KJV) For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
(Rom 5:18 KJV) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Concerning our works, the Bible also states that our righteousness is as filthy rags, and that we will take the crowns that we receive as a result of our work down here, and throw them back To the Lord. So what is the point then, of having to focus on our good actions ?
We take good actions to please God as a result of our Salvation, but not FOR our Salvation.
The Eucharist - For those who have the courage
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