Another Jesus? The Eucharistic Christ and the New Evangelization
by Roger Oakland
Category: Religion

Many Christians think that the Christian tradition of communion is the same as the Catholic tradition of the Eucharist. But this is not so. The Eucharist (i.e., Transubstantiation), is a Catholic term for communion when the bread and the wine actually become the very body and blood of Jesus Christ, thus when taken the partaker supposedly experiences the presence of God. These transformed elements are placed in what is called a monstrance and can then be worshipped as if worshipping God Himself. The implications are tied in with salvation. With the Eucharist, salvation becomes sacramental (participation in a ritual) as opposed to justification by faith in Christ alone. While this mystical experience called the Eucharist cannot be upheld through Scripture, there appears to be an increase of interest by evangelical Christians towards this practice.