Why do Protestants think that the Eucharist is only a symbol?

[CarmelJerome]

So many of the people I knew or knew about back during my evangelical days who maintained that the Eucharist was symbolic or spiritual have gone on to believe that Jesus is symbolic of the Father, a representative, and not one with the Father. When one truth of faith is reduced to a purely representative function, the contagion inevitably spreads to other aspects of faith, to the creed, to the moral life.

 

[chero23]

So many of the people I knew or knew about back during my evangelical days who maintained that the Eucharist was symbolic or spiritual have gone on to believe that Jesus is symbolic of the Father, a representative, and not one with the Father. When one truth of faith is reduced to a purely representative function, the contagion inevitably spreads to other aspects of faith, to the creed, to the moral life.

Unfortunately that happens when you read the Bible superficially. You gather texts, but don’t put it together. We are blessed to have a Church that has done this since the beginning and taught this for 2000 years.

 

[Darryl_B]

It has been my observation that those protestant churches that deny the real presence and view it instead as symbolic, will generally fill the void that is left as lacking, with other things. So if you look at the focus of your church service, what is it that takes the focus?

For the Catholic Mass it is the Eucharist, all the service focuses on that. For the protestant symbolic churches the void that is left by removing the real presence, is instead filled with other things. One such thing is the Bible, digesting the Bible, so the focus of the service is preaching of the Word filling that void with long sermons. For others it is the Holy Spirit, digesting the Holy Spirit, so the focus of the service is the gifts of the Holy Spirit. All the while trying to fill that void that has been produced as a consequence of changing the Word of God from real, to symbolic.

 

[Halligator]

It is important to note that protestants…High Church Anglicanism do believe in the real presence but not in transubstantiation…

Some Episcopalians (Anglicans in the United States) believe in transubstantiation of the Eucharist, in the same way we Catholics do. That’s a personal belief of theirs, not a church dogma.

The Episcopal church is pretty broad-minded about its members’ acceptable beliefs. So you can’t reliably say “Episcopalians believe this… Or that…” because some of them may believe this or that doctrine or dogma…and some may not…and none will be counted heretic.

It’s confusing to outsiders like me.

Arthur