Posted on 02/13/2021 8:18:22 AM PST by HypatiaTaught
Good morning my conservative FRiends.
I am reaching out to hopefully get an answer to my lifelong question of a central belief in the Christian faith, especially the Roman Catholic faith.
Background: I grew up in a very Roman Catholic family. I am number 10 of 13 children, 8 boys, 5 girls. Mom also had 2 miscarriages which in truth, she became pregnant with 10 boys rather than the 8. Mom had 15 pregnancies in 17 years.
We went to Mass every Sunday and all the holy days. Mom actually taught Catechism to the community and was a very loving soul.
My question since the age of eight and remains 50 years later, why do we have the belief of actually having to eat the body of Jesus Christ?
I am a very logical person, but this concept of consuming the flesh of God's son to obtain salvation simply doesn't make sense. I get that he died for our sins and was sacrificed. I know the history of sacrifices 2000 years ago. Tribes sacrificed lambs, goats and other livestock. But why the eating of his body or any human body? We don't eat humans. I don't even eat animals any more, for digestive purposes. Maybe I am the only one who finds this tenant extremely disturbing.
Read John 6 again, pray more, read John 6 again.
“Do this in memory of me”
Duh
Look to pre-Christian temple sacrifice practices and feasts and you might get some context that will help.
From the Master’s mouth! John 6:53 “Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
You don’t understand my question.
Why the EATING?
Sounds like a good question to ask your priest.
NEXT.
This is a question an atheist democrat would ask.
Again Why?
This belief sounds like a vampires tenant.
Can we not just do the good works and love our neighbor.
Think!
It’s symbolic and not literal. And it’s not required for salvation. That couldn’t be more clear.
Jesus’s consciousness is real and it is here now. John 14 explains that if you are in Jesus, ( which is what communion is all about) the Our Father that is in Jesus is also in us.
We are consciousness, souls or spirits.
Another issue (or set of issues) is found in the aborted sacrifice of Isaac, wherein God rejects human sacrifice.
Instead of labeling me, please think.
Because he said to do it
It’s symbolic and not literal. And it’s not required for salvation. That couldn’t be more clear.
_____________________________________
Getting warmer. Thanks for the best answer so far.
Salvation has absolutely nothing to do with communion or any other act one can perform. It's a gift and all you have to do is sincerely ask for it.
Communion is simply a way of remembering the sacrifice made by Jesus when he was crucified.
Jesus’ disciples found Jesus’ teaching hard to accept in Jn. 6.60:
Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard (this), said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it?
And in v63, Jesus said:
It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.
Didn’t he make it clear that he wasn’t speaking of eating his literal flesh? The flesh profiteth nothing!
It’s God’s Word and the last Word. You obey it and live.
Okay into little more detail it’s a symbolic sacrifice instead of a real sacrifice -in the old days they used to actually sacrifice a lamb.
That kind of religious gobbledygook really just makes no sense at all
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