Bridge of Reason

Transubstantiation is the Catholic dogma that the substance of the Eucharistic elements turn into the body and blood of Christ at consecration, only the appearances of bread and wine still remaining. They base this mainly on Jesus’ teaching in John 6, where Jesus taught, ‘ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.’ John 6:54 The 16 th century Council of Trent declared anathema (a curse) on anyone who denied the dogma. Does the bread and wine turn into the body and blood of Christ? Did Jesus intend us to take his words literally, or is there another meaning here? John 6 begins with the account of Jesus’ feeding of the five-thousand. We remember the story of the boy with the loaves and fishes, how Jesus multiplied them, gave thanks ( eucharisteō ‘to thank’ ) and distributed this generous bounty. So generous, indeed, there were 12 baskets of food left over. John tells us the people would take Jesus by force and make...

As we continue on Tuesdays to look at the claims of Catholicism, we consider the fact the Catholic Church, according to Scripture, makes too much of Mary. We should, I believe, all make more of Mary. Mary is the mother of our Saviour, called by the angel, ‘favoured one,’ and told she had, ‘found favour with God.’ Her relative Elizabeth called her, ‘blessed among women.’ Her humility and obedience are a model for us all. Who can fail to be impressed by this young woman’s reply to the angel, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ (Lk.1:26-45) Would that we, when considering the purposes of God, should be so abandoned to praise as was Mary in the Magnificat (Lk.1:46-55 ) We should make more of Mary, but the Catholic Church makes too much of Mary. They Testify of Me Mary is mentioned by name twelve times in the New Testament, most of them in the birth narrative. Looking at those occasions when she is mentioned it is hard to understand how Cath...

Image by  Jeroným Pelikovský  from  Pixabay   I was asked very recently about witnessing to Roman Catholics, especially how we might speak intelligently about the myriad of issues that arise in such a conversation. You will, no doubt, be familiar enough with some of them: the veneration of Mary; the authority of the pope; prayers to the saints; the nature of the elements in communion; praying for the dead and purgatory and so many more. First of all, in any discussion on faith, we must find the shortest route to the cross, for it is at the cross salvation is found. In that journey, then, we must clear away any and all obstacles that may seriously impede our progress. In other words, we must deal with those issues first that have direct bearing on our understanding of salvation. So we come to the question of purgatory. Purgatory The Roman Catholic teaching is very familiar. It is that the sacrifice of Christ makes it possible for me to make amends, here and in purg...

Nothing highlights more the very different needs of people coming out of the cults than the respective understandings of 'church' by Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. In an article on the LDS Church website , an overview of membership mentions the word 'church' nine times, including the article's title, and all positively. It speaks of belonging to the church, access to blessings through the church, opportunities for serving in the church. It typically capitalises 'the Church' when referring to to the Mormon Church. Mormons understand 'church' to be an institution, much as does the Roman Catholic Church. 'Traditional' describes the Mormon approach to 'church,' even when Mormonism stands in opposition to other churches in its claim to be 'the only true Church.' This is evidenced in Mormon buildings boasting stained-glass window portrayals of Mormon history (right). Jehovah's Witnesses, on the other hand, harbour a deep s...

    The above diagram is meant to illustrate the total apostasy of “Christendom” and an apologetic for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS) – Jehovah’s Witnesses. I wonder if those of you who know the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses could put them in their right place in the diagram. Doug Harris, founder of Reachout Trust, points out in his book, The Jehovah’s Witnesses, Their Beliefs and Practices , “ It is very unlikely that Charles Taze Russell actually set out to create what today is known as the WBTS. Even if he did, his version is certainly not the one we have now. If Russell were alive today, he would be disfellowshipped because so many changes have taken place over the years.” Might it be said then that Jehovah’s Witnesses as we know them today started after Russell’s death? Indeed, Jehovah’s Witnesses as we know them, with their distinctive New World Translation (NWT) Bible, their elevation of just 144,000 to heaven, the blood transfusion controv...

Watching a documentary entitled Heaven: Beyond the Grave on demand… After about 40 minutes, the question comes up: Who gets to go to heaven? To give the documentary credit, Jesus is given pole position on the subject, and they quote: John 3:3 – “Verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” and John 14:6 – “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Then three talking heads follow. Randy Alcorn : Is it exclusive to say that one can only be saved through Jesus? And I would say, absolutely it is. It is Jesus who said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” So I think we have to look at Jesus and say, Was that unloving and narrow of him to do? Well, certainly it isn’t unloving, because the very Jesus who said that, we’re told actually went to the Cross to die for the sins of the whole world. Father Michael Manning : I believe that Jesus’ love is much more expansive than...

  The Bolivian Episcopal Conference on Friday asked the overwhelmingly Catholic nation to cast aside the "growing" trend of seeking protection from bad luck by making offerings of coca, cigars or drinks to human crania. As much of the world celebrates Halloween and Mexico prepares for its Day of the Dead, Bolivian bishops had another festival on their minds, the Day of Skulls, which falls on November 8. Bolivian Catholics asked to forgo human skulls - Yahoo! News UK

The Foundation for Christian Studies at www.studychristianity.org is drawing the attention of an increasing number of Christian apologetics and anti-cult ministries. Typical among the comments from those who have contacted us are: Warning! Pass this on as a warning!!! This is very deceptive. Deceptive Web site! What could be deceptive about a foundation dedicated to the study of Christianity, whose web address is an open invitation to "study Christianity"? Well, this foundation is a thoroughly Mormon institution and the deception is in that this fact is not immediately apparent. Keith MacGregor of MacGregor Ministries commented " It may be hard for many to find out that this is LDS unless one knows Mormonism" Having studied the site we have found that the alarm is justified. I wrote to the founders putting people's concerns and asking why they feel it necessary to be less than frank about their identity and activities. The following is the extent of our cor...