Sacraments: Two Views, by Alamo Bill

"Baptism and the Lord’s Supper can be viewed with two emphases: (1) what God does, or (2) what humans do. The first view understands baptism and the Lord’s Supper as “sacraments.� The latter view sees them solely as “memorials.� “Memorialism� has some interesting consequences ..."

Catholics view the sacraments as things done by God for man.  This is a major one of several reasons why many Protestants do not understand Catholic sacrements and sacramentals.  They see them as works Catholics do to get to heaven - and that is not Catholic teaching at all.  Rather, through the Sacraments, works of God for man, not works of man for God, God gives us grace.

Biblical examples of Catholic sacramentalism:

+ Act 19:11-12 KJV  And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:  (12)  So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

+ Act 5:15 KJV  Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

+ Jam 5:14 KJV  Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord

Again via the Pontificator blog, I found a fascinating article on The Anglican Scotist blog about the different views of the Bible in the Anglican Communion.

The Pontificator blog is really one of the best, and I try to keep up to date with it.  His post called “Symbol and Realityâ€? is about the Anglican [Episcopalian in the USA] view of the Eucharist, specifically those of Lancelot Andrewes and Alexander Schmemann, neither of whom I had heard of before this.  Catholics explain the Real Presence in terms of transubstantiation, while others, including many Anglicans, use the explanation consubstantiation, or impanation.  While Andrewes did not accept transubstantiation, the original blog to which Pontificator refers, figura et res, veritas et figura, at the Meam Commemorationem blog, says:

"There is no hiatus, the Eucharist IS the Body and Blood and the Sacrifice offered on behalf of the sins of the whole world. There is no doubt in the mind of Andrewes about the reality of the whole Christ in the Sacrament."

I don't have the theological background to understand all that Jeff Steel at Meam Commemorationem quotes from Schmemann regarding this issue, but it was interesting to read all the same.

Pontificator's comment includes the following: "My one question about Schmemann's ontology of symbol is whether it truly allows the difference between an icon and the eucharistic Body and Blood. ... Hence the insistence of II Nicaea that the Eucharist is not an icon of the Body and Blood but is the Body and Blood."

Certainly food for thought.

Josh S has some interesting insights on the Eucharist in the Here We Stand blog, metalutheran.blogspot.com.

[W]hen Jesus says "This is my body," the Reformed answer with "No, Jesus, you can't possibly mean that," instead of "Amen." I believe quite strongly now (Sasse's influence, maybe? ) that responding to the Words of Institution is a fundamental part of celebrating the Lord's Supper and thus why we can never celebrate with the Reformed. When the pastor says, "This is the body of Christ," the Lutheran responds with "Amen," while the Calvinist responds with "No, it's not--that's impossible!" The Reformed "no" occupies the place in the celebration that the Lutheran "yes" does. Well guess what? That's not the appropriate way to come to the Table.

Catholics and Lutherans might not agree completely on the nature of the Eucharist, but we're historically a lot closer than many other Christian denominations, and a better understanding is growing.

Earlier in this blog, I referred to the Gestapo-like raid on St John's Episcopal Church in Connecticut. There is more news:

Bishops plan to take Connecticut cleric to church court - The Beaufort Gazette
Priest Removal - 13News, WIBW.com

Andrew Smith, the bishop of Connecticut, is being taken to a religious court by 9 other Episcopal bishops.  The "Connecticut Six" - 1 priest who has been removed from his parish, and 5 others in danger of similar action against them - have asked to be taken under the supervision of a different bishop.

The Anglican Communion is being divided on a number of issues, and we may see more dramatic splits in the future.

Michael Pahls has a brilliant post on his blog at Reformed Catholicism - Classically Protestant *and* Constructively catholic, entitled The Theotokos and Doctrinal Criticism.

He discusses Catholic and Orthodox Mariology (referred to as Mariolatry by anti-Catholic Protestanst) and the problems Protestantism has with them.

Most Protestant difficulties with Roman Catholic and Orthodox Mariologies (not identical theologies, by the way) stem from a failure to understand the intrinsic connection between Mary and the Church. ...
Saying "Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces" is nearly identical to saying, "the Church is Mediatrix of all graces." ...
A sacramental understanding of the Church is, of course, a prerequisite for finding this teaching acceptable. For Roman Catholics, the Orthodox, Presbyterian/Reformed Christians, Lutherans, and Anglicans this should be old hat. ...
If it was necessary to assume Mary's physical body into heaven for her to receive an anticipatory share in the Resurrection, than the resurrection body of Jesus and of us demands an essential continuity with our present embodiment. In other words, Jesus is not merely “alive to God� in a disembodied way as more liberal Christians wish to affirm. ...
The only really good grounds on which Protestants might object to Roman Mariology  ...

See also my essay on the Theotokos on my website.

On his blog, Dave Armstrong once again has a good debate on Sola Scriptura.  See The Novel and Unbiblical Doctrine of Sola Scriptura, Part I (vs. Lutheran Steve Parks)

Pontificator also has a good post.  See “Is ‘Word Alone’ An Evangelical Possibility?â€?

The Pontificator blog has two interesting articles on the unification between the Eastern and Western lungs of the Church. The first is a quote from St John Maximovitch, the second a quote from HH Benedict XVI, from when he was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.  

On his blogsite, Steve Bogner makes some intelligent comments on the current Creation vs Evolution debate sparked off by recent comments from HH Pope Benedict XVI (in his inaugural homily) and Cardinal Schonborn.

Support the Catholic Church by bringing a few Catholic votes to this predominantly anti-Catholic website's survey results. 

http://www.sermonaudio.com/survey.asp

(Note: you'll have to supply a valid e-mail address and get their weekly sermon list update.)  

Dave Armstrong has posted an excellent list of quotes on Sola Scriptura at his blog site.

Fr Nichols, OP, has a good article on the issues relating to the reunion of Orthodoxy and Catholicism.

For a few Eastern Catholic sites, see my Eastern Catholicism page.

Sign the petition at http://www.c-fam.org/cgi-bin/jpthegreat.pl

What on earth do these people think they are up to?  They've taken a good Christian devotion, unfortunately often maligned by other Christians who don't understand it, and turned it into some pagan worship event - at a Christian, or supposedly Christian, church.  Now this extreme IS a corruption of the Christian faith ... not the real meditation on the life of Christ, and asking Mary to pray for us.  Take a look at the prayers they use.

Experiencing the Goddess Rosary  by Dalyn Cook

"The banner on the outside of Ebenezer Lutheran Church boldly proclaims “Goddess Rosary Every Wednesday 7 p.m.� Doubtless this precipitates questions in the minds of passers-by: a rosary at a Lutheran church? A feminist take on a ritual indigenous to a denomination with an especially strong patriarchal foundation? I was eager to experience this new phenomenon, and it was with open mind and heart that I entered Ebenezer on my first Wednesday evening in the City. Thought the church was empty, I felt that I had stepped into a Presence, like a mother’s warm embrace. The attendees were few in number, yet there was a sense of fullness in this welcoming space. I inhaled deeply the earthy scent of the incense, sending up delicate tendrils of smoke which curled around the altar in a nimbus visible against the warm rays of the evening sun filtering through the stained-glass windows."

http://www.herchurch.org/id8.html

You scored as Catholic. You are a Catholic. You believe that the bread and wine are transformed by the priest and become the Body and Blood of Christ. Though the accidents, or appearance, of bread and wine remain, the substance has been changed. The Eucharist remains the Body and Blood of Christ after the celebration, and is reserved in the Tabernacle; Eucharistic devotions are proper. As the whole Christ is present under either species, you partake fully of the Eucharist even if you receive only one. Catholic 100% Luther 75% Calvin 38% Zwingli 19% Unitarian 0% Eucharistic theology created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Roman Catholic. You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you. Roman Catholic 100% Neo orthodox 79% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 79% Emergent/Postmodern 50% Fundamentalist 43% Classical Liberal 43% Charismatic/Pentecostal 29% Reformed Evangelical 29% Modern Liberal 25% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Augustine. You have a big view of God and also take human sin and depravity very seriously. Predestination is important for you. Augustine 93% Anselm 93% Karl Barth 73% John Calvin 60% J?Moltmann 40% Jonathan Edwards 40% Friedrich Schleiermacher 40% Paul Tillich 27% Charles Finney 27% Martin Luther 27% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

I found this nice quiz linked off Bill Cork's blog ...

You scored as Amillenialist. Amillenialism believes that the 1000 year reign is not literal but figurative, and that Christ began to reign at his ascension. People take some prophetic scripture far too literally in your view. Amillenialist 100% Moltmannian Eschatology 75% Postmillenialist 45% Preterist 35% Premillenialist 25% Dispensationalist 15% Left Behind 5% What's your eschatology? created with QuizFarm.com

Catholic Cardinal's Evolution 'Compromise' Condemned  
 
"Washington, DC's Cardinal Theodore McCarrick (sic) says Roman Catholics do not have to believe in the biblical account of creation. He recently told reporters at the National Press Club that, instead of the Bible's account of God creating Adam and Eve, Catholics can believe in evolution -- as long as they agree that God was involved."

Original news item

I found it on the SermonAudio RSS feed for the quite anti-Catholic SermonAudio site.

Bill Cork puts the current issue of evolution vs creation in perspective.  It was caused by comments by Cardinal Schönborn in the NY Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/07/opinion/07schonborn.html

See Pope John Paul II's Message to Pontifical Academy of Sciences
October 22, 1996 at http://www.cin.org/jp2evolu.html

"BRISTOL, CT (7/13/2005)--The Bishop of Connecticut Andrew Smith descended quietly and swiftly on the parish and offices of St. John's Episcopal Church, one of six that has been accused by the bishop of abandoning communion with him over the church's theological and moral direction. They have adamantly denied that assertion. The Bishop and 12 of his diocesan leaders walked into the parish, demanded access to the rector's private office, "hacked" into the parish computer and told the secretary the church now had a new priest-in-charge the Rev. Susan McCone."

For the full story:

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2744

Orthodox Quote for the Day

From Soren Kierkegaard (Provocations, Chapter 15; Plough Publishing pgs. 58-60):
 
    "There are two ways of reflection. For objective reflection, truth becomes an object, and the point is to disregard the knowing subject. By contrast, in subjective reflection truth becomes personal appropriation, a life, inwardness, and the point is to immerse oneself... When the question about truth is asked objectively, what is reflected upon is not the relation but the 'what' of the relation... when the question about truth is asked subjectively, the individual's relation to the truth is what matters... God is a subject to be related to, not an object to be studied or meditated on... The person who chooses the subjective way immediately grasps the difficulty of trying to find God objectively. He understands that to know God means to resort to God, not by virtue of objective deliberation, but by virtue of the infinite passion of inwardness. Whereas objective knowledge goes along leisurely on the long road of deliberation, subjective knowledge considers every delay of decision a deadly peril. Knowing subjectively considers decision so important that it is immediately urgent, as if the delayed opportunity had already passed by unused."