Lovelybird Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Hi believers Do you know why Lord Jesus commanded us to eat bread and drink wine together? He mentioned that bread is as his body, wine as his blood. I just read something about ancient ritual. Actually when ancient people long before Jesus worship their gods, they would bind themselves together and to the power of the sacred by a cannibalistic act of ingesting the mana of a dead god. How do you take and understand this? and why did Lord Jesus use this symbolic act? Link to post Share on other sites
OpenBook Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Probably because it's what the people understood 2,000 years ago. Similar to the way He delivered His messages in parables, to help us understand the message via stories. It's the main reason why I attend church regularly - the pastor helps me interpret the Bible and all its messages into today's perspective. I don't take it all in without question, however - I'm always bouncing it off others and turning it over and over in my own mind. I just hope that's OK with God. I think the message of communion is to demonstrate God's boundless love for us, that He will always be with us. And when we gather together with others and ingest food & drink in His name, it's an effective and powerful way to stay close to Him. Link to post Share on other sites
taiko Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Perhaps but it is the Catholic, Orthodox and I think Lutheran and Anglican position that they are eating the mana of their God. While Methodist say I don't know, and I don't care its not that important in the grand scheme of things. The younger Protestant denominations take the symbolic positions Link to post Share on other sites
Author Lovelybird Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Hi, Openbook and Taiko, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this, they are interesting. Taiko, so you think symbolic things aren't important? What is more important? My spiritual mentor also said something very interesting, she is a very cool lady My first thought was that maybe Jesus used the way that most people at that time knew to help them to understand what he wanted to communicate - bread represents His body, wine His blood and that we need to have communion with Him. It's like if we want to communicate with people of today, since a lot of people know what "high" is (something a person can get from using drug which I don't think is everlasting joy), then, to share gospel with people of this age, we could say "Nobody can give you any high higher than the Most High"! Well, I never used drug, but, since "high" from drug is talked a lot on media, then when we say "Nobody can give you any high higher than the Most High", people understand it better. Link to post Share on other sites
taiko Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Didn't say the symbol was not important. Just that it is not done like a fundamental Catholic must go and receive a weekly fix of God's mana. It is done to remember that we gather and party in honor of him. It follows with no weekly obligation and the communion ritual taking place less often. Link to post Share on other sites
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