A
AngloCatholic1
Guest
I have a personal theory about how and why the controversy concerning the Real Presence arose during the Renaissance. It is interesting to note that the idea of the Real Presence of the Body of Christ in the Eucharist went virtually unchallenged for 1500 years. After all, the Word of God clearly states that Jesus said “This IS my body” (Matt. 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19, 1Cor 11:24). So what suddenly happened in the 1500’s A.D. that would have led devout Christians to question this? The answer, I believe, is the development of the scientific method during the early Renaissance. The church schools and universities themselves, just prior to this time, began teaching Aristotelean methods of thought that championed the laws of deductive reasoning.
Soon, men like Galileo, Kepler, Paracelsus, Copernicus and others became noted academics in this new thinking. Isaac Newton, a century later, became the ultimate champion of this paradigm shift in human thought, ultimately leading Western man into the age of “The Enlightenment” a century later. It is obviously no accident then, that it was during this change in Western thought when the Real Presence first came into question. What clear chain of reasoning could possibly explain how a piece of unleavened bread can be transformed into the body of Our Lord? No such chain of reasoning was found, and so the Real Presence was denied.
End of story? I think not. **The FACT is, the Lord did not stand up before the Apostles in a white lab coat, hold up a piece of unleavened bread and say “Let exhibit ‘A’ represent my physical body”! **No, He CLEARLY said **“This IS my body”. **So, ask yourself this: Would it be right of you to partake of the Eucharist whilst at the same time believing that it is NOT, in FACT, His body? If you think it WOULD be RIGHT of you to do so, on WHAT GROUNDS do you claim this? Is it upon the grounds of the line of reasoning of the renaissance protestants of 500 years ago?
Before you answer this, you should be made aware that, for just over 100 years now, physicists have known that the universe is NOT Newtonian. Yes we can thank Newton for much that we have discovered and achieved over the last five centuries, but the FACT is Newtonian physics is a MIRAGE. It CANNOT be used to explain the origin and nature of the universe, nor do its principles apply at the microscopic and macroscopic levels of existence. Nuclear physicists have known for many decades now that subatomic particles do NOT move and change direction with the rational predictability of billiard balls. Instead they exhibit unpredicted forms of “strange behaviour”. Furthermore, scientists now understand that they can no longer think of themselves as “outside” observers, measuring the universe like a spectator watching a game of 9-Ball. We now know that EVERY act of observation AFFECTS the RESULTS OBSERVED. We are ALL PARTICIPANTS. Likewise, at the macroscopic level, astrophysicists have discovered equally strange phenomenon. Two bodies travelling at two-thirds the speed of light in opposite directions DO manage to transmit light to each other! We have also witnessed gravity so strong it can suck entire solar systems (and light itself!) into tiny “holes” in the fabric of space-time!
So, if Newtonian physics is dead, maybe Protestants should revisit that Renaissance line of reasoning which once so convincingly denied the Real Presence. After all, if Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be, then He is the Author of this universe, and of reality itself. So if He said “This IS my body” (and He did!) then maybe we ought to believe Him!
Soon, men like Galileo, Kepler, Paracelsus, Copernicus and others became noted academics in this new thinking. Isaac Newton, a century later, became the ultimate champion of this paradigm shift in human thought, ultimately leading Western man into the age of “The Enlightenment” a century later. It is obviously no accident then, that it was during this change in Western thought when the Real Presence first came into question. What clear chain of reasoning could possibly explain how a piece of unleavened bread can be transformed into the body of Our Lord? No such chain of reasoning was found, and so the Real Presence was denied.
End of story? I think not. **The FACT is, the Lord did not stand up before the Apostles in a white lab coat, hold up a piece of unleavened bread and say “Let exhibit ‘A’ represent my physical body”! **No, He CLEARLY said **“This IS my body”. **So, ask yourself this: Would it be right of you to partake of the Eucharist whilst at the same time believing that it is NOT, in FACT, His body? If you think it WOULD be RIGHT of you to do so, on WHAT GROUNDS do you claim this? Is it upon the grounds of the line of reasoning of the renaissance protestants of 500 years ago?
Before you answer this, you should be made aware that, for just over 100 years now, physicists have known that the universe is NOT Newtonian. Yes we can thank Newton for much that we have discovered and achieved over the last five centuries, but the FACT is Newtonian physics is a MIRAGE. It CANNOT be used to explain the origin and nature of the universe, nor do its principles apply at the microscopic and macroscopic levels of existence. Nuclear physicists have known for many decades now that subatomic particles do NOT move and change direction with the rational predictability of billiard balls. Instead they exhibit unpredicted forms of “strange behaviour”. Furthermore, scientists now understand that they can no longer think of themselves as “outside” observers, measuring the universe like a spectator watching a game of 9-Ball. We now know that EVERY act of observation AFFECTS the RESULTS OBSERVED. We are ALL PARTICIPANTS. Likewise, at the macroscopic level, astrophysicists have discovered equally strange phenomenon. Two bodies travelling at two-thirds the speed of light in opposite directions DO manage to transmit light to each other! We have also witnessed gravity so strong it can suck entire solar systems (and light itself!) into tiny “holes” in the fabric of space-time!
So, if Newtonian physics is dead, maybe Protestants should revisit that Renaissance line of reasoning which once so convincingly denied the Real Presence. After all, if Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be, then He is the Author of this universe, and of reality itself. So if He said “This IS my body” (and He did!) then maybe we ought to believe Him!
