Good post, TF. I think your ending point is key--that Augustine's Eucharist isn't the RC Eucharistic teaching IF Augustine is allowed to speak for himself. All too often it seems that Albrecht forces his view INTO their statements, in other words, he over-comments his accepted view into the text rather than allowing Augustine to do his own thing. Many of his subscribers don't seem to see the obvious--that being that over-commenting is not an answer. Masking it with a mocking tone and ad hominems doesn't make the over-commenting any more palatable, let alone believable.
I find it ironic in some ways that "Churchmouse" precedes my comment. I would segue into St. Augustine on another level of this matter of Christ's body and blood and His "Spirituality" always being present. Being God, He manifested Himself into a flesh and blood body that is a central tenet of the Faith.
Quoting from Robert Capon's brillant book, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment, page 110:
"....Crux muscipulum diaboli, said St. Augustine: the cross is a mousetrap for the devil; and then [H]e, Jesus, proceeded to work out the whole scenario of the Crucifixion in pure mickymouse, complete with the devil salivating over the prospect of Christ's demise, and then being caught in the trap of the Redeemer's death, and finally realizing, in the Resurrection, that he had been tricked by "fake bait"...."
What seems to me to be missed quite frequently, and moreso these days, is partly the reason the devil has been so successful with the RCC in these sorts of Papist teachings. Christ, remember, is Spiritual and has always been Present "spiritually", [for a brief time in History though, in the same form as we blog ourselves in here, in flesh and blood] as God Our Heavenly Father is always Present, "Spiritually", as the Holy Ghost is always Present too.
As you rightly noted Scripture, TF, Christ is always uniquely "present" where two or more are gathered in His Name and even more so pronounced, when we partake, in remembrance of Him, as also as one baiting the devil with His body and blood, so that the full effects of the Sacraments can affect our wretched souls with His joy, effecting our freedom from this world, the flesh and the devil.
It seems that "now" that Satan understands the "trick", that is, that the resurrection is now being made visible, he does everything in his evil power to confuse the effects of the Sacrament's power and the power of the resurrection upon those being held in his own mousetrap.
Act 4:33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
Who is hiding the Truth from the Elect? It certainly is not the Lord! It certainly is not Our Heavenly Father. It certainly is not the Holy Ghost. I know I am grateful to the Lord for the "Spiritual" effects of the body and blood, when, in remembrance of Him, I also partake of the Sacraments with others gathered together in His Name for the same purpose, the liberty of our souls from the clutches of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Also, your point about the "mistakes" being dealt with as time rolled along. It makes perfectly good sense that History is the judge of when the Church dealt with heretical mistakes and the silence during St. Augustine's time seems to reflect that there wasn't anyone misrepresenting the Sacraments during that period mistakenly interpreting Truth in error.
This vigilance is very much necessary, even today, as it seems the enemy is doubling their efforts to keep the Truth from spreading to more darkened by their lies and delivering them from the clutches of His judgment to the freedom of His Election as the Sons of God.
Reformed Apologist | Male | Adult | Bible-Believing | 5 Solas | 5 Petals on my Tulip | Ecclesiastically Presbyterian | not Federal Visionist | Optimistic in my eschatology, but not dogmatic | Opposed to the errors of Rome | Opposed to the errors of Pelagius | Trinitarian | In favor of Christian liberty | Otherwise Anonymous
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3 comments:
Good post, TF. I think your ending point is key--that Augustine's Eucharist isn't the RC Eucharistic teaching IF Augustine is allowed to speak for himself. All too often it seems that Albrecht forces his view INTO their statements, in other words, he over-comments his accepted view into the text rather than allowing Augustine to do his own thing. Many of his subscribers don't seem to see the obvious--that being that over-commenting is not an answer. Masking it with a mocking tone and ad hominems doesn't make the over-commenting any more palatable, let alone believable.
I find it ironic in some ways that "Churchmouse" precedes my comment. I would segue into St. Augustine on another level of this matter of Christ's body and blood and His "Spirituality" always being present. Being God, He manifested Himself into a flesh and blood body that is a central tenet of the Faith.
Quoting from Robert Capon's brillant book, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment, page 110:
"....Crux muscipulum diaboli, said St. Augustine: the cross is a mousetrap for the devil; and then [H]e, Jesus, proceeded to work out the whole scenario of the Crucifixion in pure mickymouse, complete with the devil salivating over the prospect of Christ's demise, and then being caught in the trap of the Redeemer's death, and finally realizing, in the Resurrection, that he had been tricked by "fake bait"...."
What seems to me to be missed quite frequently, and moreso these days, is partly the reason the devil has been so successful with the RCC in these sorts of Papist teachings. Christ, remember, is Spiritual and has always been Present "spiritually", [for a brief time in History though, in the same form as we blog ourselves in here, in flesh and blood] as God Our Heavenly Father is always Present, "Spiritually", as the Holy Ghost is always Present too.
As you rightly noted Scripture, TF, Christ is always uniquely "present" where two or more are gathered in His Name and even more so pronounced, when we partake, in remembrance of Him, as also as one baiting the devil with His body and blood, so that the full effects of the Sacraments can affect our wretched souls with His joy, effecting our freedom from this world, the flesh and the devil.
It seems that "now" that Satan understands the "trick", that is, that the resurrection is now being made visible, he does everything in his evil power to confuse the effects of the Sacrament's power and the power of the resurrection upon those being held in his own mousetrap.
Act 4:33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
Who is hiding the Truth from the Elect? It certainly is not the Lord! It certainly is not Our Heavenly Father. It certainly is not the Holy Ghost. I know I am grateful to the Lord for the "Spiritual" effects of the body and blood, when, in remembrance of Him, I also partake of the Sacraments with others gathered together in His Name for the same purpose, the liberty of our souls from the clutches of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Also, your point about the "mistakes" being dealt with as time rolled along. It makes perfectly good sense that History is the judge of when the Church dealt with heretical mistakes and the silence during St. Augustine's time seems to reflect that there wasn't anyone misrepresenting the Sacraments during that period mistakenly interpreting Truth in error.
This vigilance is very much necessary, even today, as it seems the enemy is doubling their efforts to keep the Truth from spreading to more darkened by their lies and delivering them from the clutches of His judgment to the freedom of His Election as the Sons of God.
The one mouse-trap our Churchmouse can embrace!
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