Why Study The Early Eucharist with Tom O'Loughlin

[@nermineguirgis3363]

Eucharist is the actual Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not just a memory and it’s offered in the Church on the altar of the New Covenant. Jesus himself said “ This is my Body and this is my Blood”

[@ilonkastille2993]

I am trying to find out if he is a protestant or a heretic Catholic. I have a feeling he is the first option.

[@ilonkastille2993]

Yes, you are absolutely right, it is not a memory (that is protestant) it is actually the body ,blood, soul and divinity of Christ.

[@Southlander1000]

I have long enjoyed O'Laughlin's writings. I don't always agree with him, but I respect his learning and his teaching.

[@bonniejohnstone]

The problem with the word remembrance as an English translation is that the understanding of the Greek word/meaning is incorrect. It is ‘make present again’ or ‘make the Eucharist a present reality’ over and over again. Even Paul says in the present.... 1 Corinthians 10:16-21 English Standard Version (ESV) 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 10:16-21 English Standard Version (ESV) 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. We say “This is My Body” not “This is what My Body represents 2000 years ago.” (This is Why hardly any Protestants have ‘communion’ any longer. Some have dropped Baptism also.)

[@tomgreene6579]

I think where I live (Ireland) the Church of Ireland still celebrate Baptism and Eucharist in many parishes.

[@ntlearning]

Yep, that's correct Catholic view. But Didache community was done in a real meal. This has big ramifications. For example, it was a table, not an altar.

[@eddiedann6472]

I always found the Eucharist enchanting somehow mysterious and very very distressing. I was taught to believe that if there was one single act that set the Christians apart from all the rest - it was this defining coming together of big and small around a table to break bread and drink wine symbolising the eating of the Christ’s Body and drinking his blood 🩸. What I learned later was indeed this coming together to break bread and drinking wine 🍷 (Not blood 🩸 though) around a table was also a prevalent practice amongst the Jews. Then a similar practice was also practiced by pagan Greeks. Here the sharing of bread n wine were also thought of as eating flesh n blood 🩸 This was also seen in the prevailing pagan mystery cults of the day. Thus are we seeing an evolution of at the start a Jewsish practice of ( breaking bread, passing n sharing a cup of wine) - that sees the later borrowing from mystery pagan cults and ancient Greek practices being adopted by St Paul to offer the gentiles converting to Christianity a continuation of what they were familiar with - in their Pagan cults and practices seen in the prevailing Pagan beliefs centred around Dionysus, Mithraism depicting a sun of God, who dies a sacrificial death, being resurrected. Jesus* accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy and censored them in the harshest of manner - for not practicing what he preached. It’s very very difficult to picture the same Jesus* who upheld the interdiction/ prohibition of drinking blood to invite his disciples to drink blood 🩸something he taught to be forbidden. To me It’s a very very disturbing imagery to see the Messiah not practising and upholding what he preached. In conclusion as a person aspiring to trying to follow Jesus Christ’s teachings as expressly pronounced by him, it’s of great comfort that the Gospel of Jean makes absolutely no mention of the Eucharist . How I wish the Professor had alluded to the prevalent pagan practices, the mystery cults, the Hellenistic beliefs touching partaking of flesh n blood 🩸and of course Mithraism that mirrors Pauline beliefs. This topic is Altogether frightening and very sad.

[@andywong9847]

I miss the part in the NT where Jesus teach on taking the blood. Please enlighten me where is the teaching.

[@julianphillips2100]

Being with Jesus. Thanking the Father.

[@johnedwardjamesjennings4345]

Brilliant.

[@gabesmith9171]

Christ is physically located in heaven at the right hand of the father- not physically distributed millions of times in thousands of places. John Calvin had a beautiful way of describing what happens in the Eucharist- not that Christ is physically coming to us, but that as we eat and drink with faith we commune with him spiritually and in a way are spiritually present with him in heaven alone with other believers. I love celebrating the Lords supper and so grateful to God for this gift

[@susanna6978]

I bet a lot of people missed that. Not having a meal together .

[@JonJaeden]

Is there any connection between Christianity making the table its altar and Judaism, now without the Temple, making the table so central with its dietary laws?

[@jerome96114]

I wonder how he reconciles this with the letter of Clement (~90 AD) who puts what the priest does in the Eucharist in continuation of the Levite offerings of the OT.

[@RedWolf5]

Can you explain this?

[@ntlearning]

It may be irrelevent, because the Didache community existed before Clement. The document shows that the Eucharist was a real meal and the eucharist was done within that meal. Beautiful continuity with the Corinthian Church of Paul's time.

[@davidmonkton5993]

Thanks Tom for your stimulating thought. Do you think the early Methodist 'lovefeasts' captured an aspect of communion in the early church that had got lost?

[@tomgreene6579]

Does the ''sacrificial meal'' imply something about an altar?

[@marshalldarcy7423]

He overlooks the gore, body and blood. As you eat so you will be eaten. As one eats Christ so one will be eaten by Christ. Body is space and blood is time, to find God one must leave time and space so it is the destruction of time and space and thus the sacrifice. One becomes the sacrifice.

[@jeremiahnorth7747]

some things to think qbout for sure

[@redmotherfive]

It's all about Passover