Norseman

Eating the body of christ, drinking the blood of christ; can we say "cannibalism" anybody? Why do you have to devour christ every time you go to church (presbyterian, I don't know about the other faiths particular traditions).

Where did that come from?

Amaleq13

Apparently, it came from a "divine revelation" Paul received:

"For I -- I received from the Lord that which also I did deliver to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was delivered up, took bread, and having given thanks, he brake, and said, `Take ye, eat ye, this is my body, that for you is being broken; this do ye -- to the remembrance of me.' In like manner also the cup after the supping, saying, `This cup is the new covenant in my blood; this do ye, as often as ye may drink [it] -- to the remembrance of me;' for as often as ye may eat this bread, and this cup may drink, the death of the Lord ye do shew forth -- till he may come; so that whoever may eat this bread or may drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, guilty he shall be of the body and blood of the Lord: and let a man be proving himself, and so of the bread let him eat, and of the cup let him drink; for he who is eating and drinking unworthily, judgment to himself he doth eat and drink -- not discerning the body of the Lord." (1Cor11:23-29, YLT)

Naruto

Well, eating Jesus means there's less of him, which is a good thing.

Baidarka

Perhaps John Allegro was right; perhaps we are dealing with a mystery cult which used drugs to induce ecstatic alternate states.
He hypothesized that the wine and wafers were drugged and that the drugs were supposed to convince those who partook of the Communion that they had ingested Jesus/God.

quartodeciman

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Matthew 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 14:22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
Mark 14:23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
Mark 14:24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

John 6:48 I am that bread of life.
John 6:49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
John 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
John 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
John 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
John 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

1st Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

1st Corinthians 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
1st Corinthians 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1st Corinthians 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
1st Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
KJV

It all sounds terribly un-kosher!

Godless Wonder

In Catholocism, aren't their rules about who is supposed to eat Jesus? Only those who have made to to a certain level, or something? (Sorry for the vagueness, I've been an atheist for my whole life and know squat about Catholic church rites.) What's supposed to happen to somebody who mistakenly eats Jesus without having made it to the proper level first?

Norseman

I don't know about catholicism. I too have been an atheistm my whole life, though that didn't stop my mother from dragging me along to church. At the church I used to go to, about halfway through the service, they'd bring out bread and grape juice, and you'd get in lines and walk up to the front where you'd eat the body of christ and drink the blood of christ.

I didn't even think about vile that was/is to be doing that, even if you're not actually being cannibalistic, just that whole symbolism thing associated in eating people. It's just wrong.

Ad Astra

I don't know about other churches, but mine let anyone at the service have some. They would play some music and everyone would file out of their seats, walked up to the priest, eat a wafer, have a sip of wine and then go back into their seats. That was one of the reason I left Catholicism; the idea of getting on my knees and having a 2000-year-old Arab guy come into my mouth was very sickening. (Great, now I'm torn between using or )

Amaleq13

My understanding is that you are only allowed to take communion if you have been to confession. Jesus doesn't want dirty sinners to eat him.

graymouser

To partake of the eucharist (aka communion, aka the body & blood of Christ, aka the most blessed sacrament, and if I were still a Catholic I'd've capitalized all those words) for the first time, you must:

1. Be a Catholic.
2. Have been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.
3. Have received some level of catechism.
4. Have confessed your sins to a priest.

To partake of the eucharist after this "First Holy Communion," you must not be conscious of mortal sin (ie, have confessed any mortal sins to a priest).

It's interesting when you consider the "levels" concept. Baptism would be first, then reconciliation (confession), then eucharist, then confirmation, then marriage or ordination (priesthood), and finally extreme unction (annointing of the dying).

If the ideas about the drugs are true, I feel left out, having been a Catholic prior to deconversion.

-Wayne