[T]he Lord’s Supper, when separated from its proper context of a full meal, turns into a strange, pagan-like rite. The Supper has become an empty ritual officiated by a clergyman, rather than a shared-life experience enjoyed by the church. It has become a morbid religious exercise, rather than a joyous festival–a stale individualistic ceremony, rather than a meaningful corporate event. As one scholar put it, “It is not in doubt that the Lord’s Supper began as a family meal or a meal of friends in a private house . . . the Lord’s Supper moved from being a real meal into being a symbolic meal . . . the Lord’s Supper moved from bare simplicity to elaborate splendor . . . the celebration of the Lord’s Supper moved from being a lay function to a priestly function. In the New Testament itself, there is no indication that it was the special privilege or duty of anyone to lead worshipping fellowship in the Lord’s Supper. -- Viola and Barna’s "Pagan Christianity?"
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 18:19:22 +0000
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