Evidence for God from Science

jlay wrote:Actually Byb, I agree, (regarding the serious of receiving communion in regards to the context of Paul's rebuke to the Corinthians, not transubstantiation)

Glad to hear we agree on something .

jlay wrote:I was just making a tasteless joke. Apologies if you were offended.

Transubstantiation is a very difficult subject as it is, possibly even more so than the Trinity; no wonder it is termed the mystery of the faith. I only take offense at perpetuating unsubstantiated myths (is that like a pun? I don't know).

If you aren't Catholic, don't receive a Catholic communion. Byblos has already pointed out the Catholic side of it -- on their view, you are receiving the real body and real blood of Christ. There is a lot of theology that is going on behind it. Whether you admit it or not, when you partake, you are implying to everyone around you that you believe what is being said. That's why Jesus said that as often as you receive communion, you are proclaiming Him until He returns. To receive a communion you do not believe in is to effectively tell a lie.

Beyond that, for all of these reasons, Catholics practice a closed communion (something I think all Christians should myself). So when you receive, not only are you claiming to believe what the RCC teaches, you are essentially claiming to be Catholic. You are saying, "Yes, I can receive this, because I am Catholic." To receive knowing you are not a Catholic is, again, to lie.

Third, the Golden Rule applies here. Protestants may not be offended at the idea of receiving communion in a Catholic Church (though they ought to be--it just shows that they aren't taking theology seriously), but do you think they would be offended if they found out that their preacher was really an atheist and was just preaching the theology they wanted to hear to make a buck? Or because he enjoyed the tradition? Yes, they would. And rightfully so. For all the disparagement of "religion" these days ("I hate religion--I love my relationship with Jesus!"), religion is a holy thing. It is our service to God (which is why, by the way, that corrupted religion is so wicked). If you would be offended at people mocking your traditions and not taking them seriously, then you ought not mock and not take seriously the traditions of others.

Finally, anything you have to do in secret is most likely something you should not be doing. If you had told the priest that you were not a Catholic, he would have not let you receive. The fact that non-Catholics have to receive in secret means they are doing something, in my mind, that is at best very likely unethical.

So again, if you aren't Catholic, don't receive a Catholic communion. Catholics will respect you immensely if you take their faith seriously by politely passing, not because you think what they are doing is unimportant since you don't believe it, but because you profoundly respect their beliefs in what they are doing.

Wow, you guys are absolutely right. When I first asked my question I was just thinking about immediately offending members of the congregation, and I almost expected that people would tell me it's not a big deal. I didn't even consider that joining a closed communion was directly expressing a lack of respect for the sacred traditions of the RCC herself.

Jac3510 wrote:If you would be offended at people mocking your traditions and not taking them seriously, then you ought not mock and not take seriously the traditions of others.

It's so obvious. I wouldn't invite myself to an orthodox Jewish family's shabbos dinner and pretend to be Jewish because I liked it, even if I knew that they'd never find out I'm not Jewish. And I would be offended if someone threw on a cap and gown and joined my grad school graduation ceremony just because they liked it...those ceremonies exist to recognize and appreciate hard work. So obvious.

Byblos wrote:About receiving communion, since you were attending a first communion ceremony then you already knew the level of importance that the Church places on such a practice, to the point that first communicants must undergo a full year of study to understand the importance of receiving communion that they indeed are receiving the body and blood of Christ.

This one hit me too. I might as well have told my boyfriend's godson that he didn't achieve anything at all.

Byblos wrote:I know you don't believe in any of this and you might say well, so what?

Please don't assume that I don't respect and admire your faith just because I don't share your faith.

And Byblos, I do not think it is unfair to ask someone to imagine that something is true. If I do eventually stand before God and answer for everything I've ever done, I imagine that I will divert my eyes toward the ground and be pretty quiet when He brings this up. Probably not weeping with guilt as I would about certain other things, but I will be embarrassed. Fortunately, I will be able to tell Him that I never made the same mistake again.

Thanks everybody for answering my question--the people on this board really do offer a lot of great insight for readers.

- E