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Disputed doctrine.

Hentenza

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also in true Charity and concern for the immortal soul of all.

1 Cor 11:27 Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord.
11:28 But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice.
11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.
Nonsense. A mainstream Christian that loves the Lord is not unworthy to receive communion. Open communion churches like mine also have the same scripture. Haven’t seen one keel over yet.
 
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concretecamper

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Nonsense. A mainstream Christian that loves the Lord is not unworthy to receive communion. Open communion churches like mine also have the same scripture. Haven’t seen one keel over yet.

Gen 3:4 And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death.


You sound like someone we all know.
 
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BobRyan

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Christians dispute many things but none more vehemently than the doctrines that divide them. Consider these:
  1. Credo baptism
  2. Sabbatarianism
  3. The number of sacraments
  4. The canon of holy scripture
  5. The use of doctrinal standards
  6. The proper interpretation of the holy scriptures
  7. Symbolic sacraments that perform no effective mediation of any graces
  8. Rejection of confession and penance
  9. Rejection of bishops
  10. Predestination both to glory and to perdition
  11. Submersion in baptism
  12. The real absence
  13. Rejection of vestments
  14. Rejection of the Crucifix
  15. Rejection of prayers to and through the saints
  16. Rejection of postmortem cleansing of souls
  17. ... many many more.
It makes one wonder how Christians can ever hope to find a way to mutual respect and shared communion.
And under the heading "and many many more"

1. Mary "sinless like Christ"
2. Mary "mother of God"
3. Priests having "powers to confect the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ"
4. "Communion with the dead"
5. Third temple in Jerusalem vs True Temple in Heb 8:1-5 at the time of Paul's writing
6. Dispensationalism
7. Amillennialism
8. 66 books in the Bible, or 73 or 77 or ...
9. justification for persecuting others, even other Christians

It is a cornucopia of options
 
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Servus

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also in true Charity and concern for the immortal soul of all.

1 Cor 11:27 Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord.
11:28 But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice.
11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.
The set up for that being:

20 When you come therefore together into one place, it is not now to eat the Lord's supper.
21 For every one taketh before his own supper to eat. And one indeed is hungry and another is drunk.
22 What, have you not houses to eat and to drink in? Or despise ye the church of God; and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? Do I praise you? In this I praise you not. 1 Cor 11:20-22

That is the unworthy manner Paul is talking about. Context matters.
 
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jas3

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Nonsense. A mainstream Christian that loves the Lord is not unworthy to receive communion. Open communion churches like mine also have the same scripture. Haven’t seen one keel over yet.
Groups with "open communion" are just having grape juice and bread, usually by their own confession, so no surprise there.
 
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Servus

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Groups with "open communion" are just having grape juice and bread, usually by their own confession, so no surprise there.
They are saying the elements themselves are not supernatural. Despite what a counsel came up with hundreds of years after last supper.
 
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Xeno.of.athens

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I wonder which one will Christ hold higher, shared love for Christ or doctrinal unity. Sorry but He already chose during His ministry on earth by giving us the two love commandments and not another set of rituals. He was quite critical of rituals actually.


Wow. The only church with the fullness of faith is yours? All others are defective? All others are in error? All others need to come out of the darkness?

I love my fellow Catholics. I am a deacon in my church and there is a Catholic Church about a block away from ours. We have charitable events together, once in a while we have a potluck lunch after church on Sunday, and even have our youth play sports together. Bingo nights are fun. And yet we cannot worship our Lord together in a shared service. They will always have an open invitation. That’s just sad.
It’s clear you care deeply about Christian unity, but the way you’ve framed this - “fullness of faith,” “defective,” “darkness,” “sad” - feels less like an invitation to honest dialogue and more like an attempt to corner the other person emotionally. Catholics don’t refuse shared worship because they think you’re in “darkness”; they refrain from intercommunion because they believe the Eucharist is the sign of already‑existing doctrinal unity, not a tool to create it. You clearly have warm, genuine relationships with your local Catholic parish, which is wonderful, but that makes your tone here even more puzzling. Are you trying to understand their reasoning, or are you trying to pick a fight?
 
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Hentenza

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Hentenza

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Groups with "open communion" are just having grape juice and bread, usually by their own confession, so no surprise there.
In remembrance of our savior as the scriptures clearly tell us. You clearly do not understand the importance of communion for other mainstream churches. It seems that you are one of the elitists that I was talking about in my other post.
 
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Xeno.of.athens

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And under the heading "and many many more"

1. Mary "sinless like Christ"
2. Mary "mother of God"
3. Priests having "powers to confect the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ"
4. "Communion with the dead"
5. Third temple in Jerusalem vs True Temple in Heb 8:1-5 at the time of Paul's writing
6. Dispensationalism
7. Amillennialism
8. 66 books in the Bible, or 73 or 77 or ...
9. justification for persecuting others, even other Christians

It is a cornucopia of options
It’s a thoughtful list, and it really does show how wide and varied the Christian tradition has become over the centuries. Still, presenting these differences as a kind of “a cornucopia of options” can make it harder for people to feel heard or respected. Every one of those beliefs has a long story behind it, shaped by sincere attempts to follow Christ faithfully, even when the conclusions differ. If the hope is genuine conversation and deeper understanding, approaching these topics with curiosity rather than dismissal will open far more doors. I’m always glad to talk through any of them in a constructive way if that’s what you’re aiming for.
 
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Xeno.of.athens

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Groups with "open communion" are just having grape juice and bread, usually by their own confession, so no surprise there.
If you mean that their beliefs about holy communion are explained as "symbolic" then you're right, it is juice and bread present only as symbols of the body and blood of Christ - not a real presence but rather a real absence.
 
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Hentenza

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It’s clear you care deeply about Christian unity, but the way you’ve framed this - “fullness of faith,” “defective,” “darkness,” “sad” - feels less like an invitation to honest dialogue and more like an attempt to corner the other person emotionally. Catholics don’t refuse shared worship because they think you’re in “darkness”; they refrain from intercommunion because they believe the Eucharist is the sign of already‑existing doctrinal unity, not a tool to create it. You clearly have warm, genuine relationships with your local Catholic parish, which is wonderful, but that makes your tone here even more puzzling. Are you trying to understand their reasoning, or are you trying to pick a fight?
If you want to see the tone that I usually receive from your camp just look at your fellow Catholics @concretecamper and @jas3 responses to me in this thread. Elitism, which includes the words that I cited in my post and you repeated here, is what keeps the dialogue contentious.

Communion is one of the things that bonded the early Christians to each other as they were breaking bread from house to house and took their meals together (Acts. 2:46). This was the universal church composed of all believers and the way that it should be.
 
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Hentenza

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If you mean that their beliefs about holy communion are explained as "symbolic" then you're right, it is juice and bread present only as symbols of the body and blood of Christ - not a real presence but rather a real absence.
Where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name I am there in their midst……..(paraphrase of Matt. 18:20).

No. Is real presence.
 
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jas3

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You clearly do not understand the importance of communion for other mainstream churches.
I was a mainline open-communion Protestant for about 30 years, so I like to think I have some idea of the importance or lack thereof placed on communion in those communities. When you've never experienced anything else, it might feel like you're taking it seriously, but there's a wide gulf between memorialism and the type of communion described in 1 Corinthians.
just look at your fellow Catholics @concretecamper and @jas3
I am not a Roman Catholic.
Elitism, which includes the words that I cited in my post and you repeated here, is what keeps the dialogue contentious.
Rather, you coming out swinging in #17 at churches that practice "closed" (i.e. normal) communion invites an atmosphere of contention.
 
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Servus

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It’s a thoughtful list, and it really does show how wide and varied the Christian tradition has become over the centuries. Still, presenting these differences as a kind of “a cornucopia of options” can make it harder for people to feel heard or respected. Every one of those beliefs has a long story behind it, shaped by sincere attempts to follow Christ faithfully, even when the conclusions differ. If the hope is genuine conversation and deeper understanding, approaching these topics with curiosity rather than dismissal will open far more doors. I’m always glad to talk through any of them in a constructive way if that’s what you’re aiming for.
Let's take into consideration that he was compared to Satan in this thread. That right there is concrete evidence of his assertion.
 
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Hentenza

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I was a mainline open-communion Protestant for about 30 years, so I like to think I have some idea of the importance or lack thereof placed on communion in those communities. When you've never experienced anything else, it might feel like you're taking it seriously, but there's a wide gulf between memorialism and the type of communion described in 1 Corinthians.
I was a Catholic for the first 25 years or so of my life. I don’t miss the Catholic Church.
I am not a Roman Catholic.
So you are not but your tone is quite similar.
Rather, you coming out swinging in #17 at churches that practice "closed" (i.e. normal) communion invites an atmosphere of contention.
Not swinging just exposing. The thread is about disputed doctrines and that one is one of mine. You are not going to get added brownie points for your theology when you get to the same heaven as the rest of us.
 
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Servus

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If you mean that their beliefs about holy communion are explained as "symbolic" then you're right, it is juice and bread present only as symbols of the body and blood of Christ - not a real presence but rather a real absence.
Not exactly. The presence of Christ is acknowledged; He is considered very much present. But not in a literal physical flesh and blood presence as in one is drinking the physical blood of Christ and eating the physical flesh of Christ. In other words a holy spiritual presence rather than a physical presence.
 
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PloverWing

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Groups with "open communion" are just having grape juice and bread, usually by their own confession, so no surprise there.

If you mean that their beliefs about holy communion are explained as "symbolic" then you're right, it is juice and bread present only as symbols of the body and blood of Christ - not a real presence but rather a real absence.

Not necessarily. There are churches that practice open communion and also believe in Christ's real presence -- that Christ is truly present in the Sacrament, not merely symbolically. The Episcopal Church (and Anglicans more generally) is one example. If I understand them correctly, the ELCA and the United Methodists are two other examples.

There are more Protestant groups than just the Baptists.
 
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Servus

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Not necessarily. There are churches that practice open communion and also believe in Christ's real presence -- that Christ is truly present in the Sacrament, not merely symbolically. The Episcopal Church (and Anglicans more generally) is one example. If I understand them correctly, the ELCA and the United Methodists are two other examples.

There are more Protestant groups than just the Baptists.
By presence does that mean believing that the wine has turned into the literal physical blood of Christ? That they are drinking the actual human corpuscles of Jesus?
 
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