It's actually a violation of CF rules to accuse Christians who believe in the Real Presence of practicing cannibalism.
But to answer your question, here is a good statement of what the Real Presence is all about.
The Lord's Supper, otherwise known as the Sacrament of the Altar, the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, is the Sacrament by which Jesus Christ sustains our faith. It is the sustaining Sacrament. This is a most profound mystery. According to his own words, the resurrected and ascended Jesus gives His entire true body and true blood, in, with, and under consecrated bread and wine, to every communicant to eat and to drink to assure them of the forgiveness of sins and promise of eternal life. He gives that forgiveness and eternal life He won in the death and resurrection of His body. (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark14:22-24; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 1 Corinthians 10:16) This is not cannibalism. Yet, in a mystery, Christ does give His true body and true blood in the bread and wine for Christians to eat and to drink. He does not do this for bodily nourishment, but for spiritual nourishment. He does this to provide a concrete and tangible assurance of forgiveness and salvation to each communicant personally. And since this Sacrament is a deep mystery that makes no sense to human reason, it requires faith to believe that what Christ promises is true, in spite of the fact that what He is saying seems impossible. This is consistent with being saved by faith alone. Taking Christ at His word as to what He says this Sacrament is exercises and strengthens saving faith which trusts Christ's Word and rests in His forgiveness and power alone. We receive this Sacrament in sorrow for sin, as God defines it, in a desire to turn away from it, and in faith in Christ and in His words regarding what this Sacrament is and what he gives through it.
Our Saviour Lutheran Church
