This is pretty funny. I hadn’t heard of him before, so I checked out his website and some of his earlier clips are even funnier.
Thanks for sharing!
Aaron
Which branch of Christianity calls for its followers to eat the real flesh and blood of a dead god? The Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches proclaim that the “Real Presence” (body, blood, soul, divinity) of the LIVING (not dead) Christ replaces what was previously just bread and wine. Lutherans believe the spirit of Christ is present under forms of bread and wine. All other Christian branches pretend Jesus didn’t make such a dumb statement.
The rejection of this idea isn’t new, and in fact, it’s pretty much reported in the bible. Check this out:
John 6: 52 – 53 “Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.”
and then
John 6: 66 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
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So pretty much any non-Catholic/Orthodox was much summed up in the 66th verse. The one billion Catholics in the world today would take after the 12 idiots who were gullible enough to believe what Jesus said =P.
http://liberatedmind.com LiberatedMind.com
If you ask a Catholic if the bread and wine are turned into the REAL body and blood of Jesus, they will answer with a resounding “yes”. When pressed to explain, it becomes fuzzy. Is that still bread? No. Is it Jesus’ body? Yes. If I take a sample will it have the DNA of Jesus? No. Why not? Because Jesus is “present there”. Oh, so it isn’t his body? Yes, it is.
???
Let’s look to the catholic Catechism for an answer to this. Number 1333 says: “At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ’s Body and Blood.”
That to me sounds like it actually is, actually becomes the body and blood of a 2000 year old dead guy. When you quoted John 6, Jesus says that you must eat his flesh and blood, not a waifer or sip of wine with his magical “presence” imbued into it.
I agree with you, it is a fantastical seemingly vampirish wish they have to actually eat Jesus’ flesh and drink his blood to be “saved”. I feel like I should be doing an episode of “Really?!” with Seth and Amy…
Aaron Lopez
But Jesus isn’t dead. The same CCC explains that Jesus is still alive. It would make sense metaphysically after all. Jesus was here to conquer “_____” =P
I quote John 6 not to state the obvious, but to show you the minor detail that followers walked away from such a ridiculous statement. Why would John mention something like that? If it was any other way, maybe Matthew 26 should go along the lines of “This is like my body, but not really!… this is like my blood, but it’s not actually!” then we should get Matthew 26(b) where Jesus explains the metaphor just like he explained every other allegory he used.
Unlike our Christian brothers, Catholics don’t take bible verses out of context and use it to make our own sense. Likewise, we looked at John 6, and Matthew 26 and put two and two together. The NT isn’t a storybook that you read from cover to cover. The gospels are four different accounts pointing to the same One Truth. That means they don’t contradict each other in Truth. That means out of the many possible explanations for the Last Supper from many different denominations, only one explanation is true.
I’d just like to say now that the Roman Catholic Church is one of the two main branches which can trace its lineage back to the first apostles, who were walking and talking with the historical Jesus. The other(s) is(are) the Eastern Orthodox Church(es). Both churches believe the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus.
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Sure, you can ask people to explain how that is the Real Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The bread doesn’t taste like body, and the wine doesn’t taste like blood, probably just like at the Last Supper. Anyway, back then, some guy essentially pointed at a rock and told everyone that it is now a fish. Despite previously showing to them he is the master of the universe, many scoffed at the idea and walked. Some stayed and began to call it a fish.
It is 2010 and people are still scoffing and taking a walk. Some of us continue to call that rock a fish.
Why are some of us calling it a fish? Because God said it was a fish, and God, throughout his 4000 years of divine revelation, has never led us astray. If it’s a fish, it’s a fish, no matter how much it looks like a rock. If it tastes like unleavened bread and tastes like pinot noir, we’re lucky they’re damn tasty. But he also revealed to us that when he blesses it, it becomes his own flesh and blood. Argue that we know better and we end up as looking as good as Mr. Lucifer (ignorant, arrogant, and looking like a dumbass in front of your friends), but it’s better for us to just suck it up and say yessbossmansir lol.
That’s just it, by the way – the mystery of the Eucharist is divine revelation. It can’t come to conclusion by natural reasoning alone. It took God to tell us “Hey, you need to eat me to survive” for it to be instituted here on Earth. As an ex-Catholic, you know that the Eucharist is central to the faith. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that it is also the greatest leap of faith one can take for God.
C’mon, belief that there is a Supreme Being? Yeah, that’s ontologically possible. Belief that Good will conquer Evil (karma, if you will)? Yeah, perhaps. Belief that eating your own sentient-God-who-rebirthed-himself-as-a-33-year-old-virgin will bring you everlasting life? It’s gonna be easier for that camel to go through the eye of the needle, correct? =P
And do you really think we have a wish to be cannibals? Do you really think we relish the idea of feasting on a 30 year old man? Do you really think we want to be the subject of ridicule of the 21st century as we do what we do? I can tell you, if God gave us a much easier option, where fame, fortune, and a lot of friends were guaranteed, we’d ditch the God-eating thing and take the fast lane. Unfortunately…
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
… trust me babe, we’re crossing our fingers for that one XD.
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You will never find empirical evidence for the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Anyone who cites the miracle of Lanciano as empirical proof is also ignorant. That miracle was specifically granted for the priest who himself doubted the Real Presence (that’s why it’s called private revelation. All these Catholic miracles are to strengthen the faith of those exposed to that miracle, not to convince anyone else).
The closest you could ever get to “proving” the Real Presence is by reading Cartesian metaphysics. René Descartes wrote a lot about mind/body division, and you may have gotten a taste of it in first Matrix film. Incidentally, Descartes is also one of the founders of modern science and mathematics.
Unfortunately, Seth and Amy are comedians. Free thinkers, perhaps, but not critical thinkers. While many of their skits are hilarious, I doubt a discussion of the Eucharist would make any sense in their field of expertise.
It’s what irks me about people such as Dawkins and Hitchens. You know how we roll our eyes at the next religious figure trying to make a political impact? Like y’know, keep your religion out of our government type thing? Same principle applies: Keep your biology and your journalism out of our metaphysics. Like how religion and politics shouldn’t mix, metaphysics and their totally irrelevant disciplines shouldn’t either.
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On a side note, have you tried cold showers? I’ve been trying it for a week (ending a warmish shower with a few minutes under a cold tap), and quite honestly, my skin has never looked or felt better, nor my hair healthier. Especially good if you’ve developed calluses from exercising or whatever.
http://liberatedmind.com LiberatedMind.com
In your third paragraph you acknowledge that the bible has 4 different accounts of the story of Jesus, and that none of them are consistent, yet you say that they are consistent in “truth”. What do you mean by this? I can cite many examples where the bible contradicts itself. Who first saw Jesus after he rose from the dead? There are four different “true” answers. Was there a major earthquake after he rose or not? Half and half. Did previously dead people get out of their graves and walk around a day after Jesus rose? What town was Jesus born in?
“Why are some of us calling it a fish? Because God said it was a fish, and God, throughout his 4000 years of divine revelation, has never led us astray. If it’s a fish, it’s a fish, no matter how much it looks like a rock.”
This is the blind obedience defying all evidence that I object to. You seem to be saying that because someone thousands of years ago wrote down a story of a guy who claimed to be supernatural you believe it, even when presented with mountains of evidence that defies this bronze age book. Never mind that you haven’t proven that “god” exists, I’ll entertain this line of argument. In the bible, God is the mafia boss. He says “thou shalt not kill” and yet goes about killing people by the thousands either directly or by ordering one of his characters to do his bidding. Do as I say, not as I do. He has certainly been a misleading and device god. His 10 commandments don’t even cover basic social ills like rape, child abuse, and slavery.
“[Eucharist]…it is also the greatest leap of faith one can take for God.”
Faith is what is required to “jump” from evidence to supposition. It is the mental abandonment of logic one must employ in order to convince one’s self of something that is desired to be so.
“Same principle applies: Keep your biology and your journalism out of our metaphysics. ”
Atheists do keep reason and logic out of the personal lives of those who wish to carry their make belief friends into adult hood. What you do in the privacy of your own life is none of my business. It is when these unfounded ideas based on “faith” and not reason leach into public schools, government and the lives of innocent children that we atheists voice our opinions. When child rape is globally covered up by the church, we speak out for the victims. When the Texas board of education wants to teach creationism in science class, we voice our opinion and reference the constitution’s separation of church and state. When the US government sponsors a “day of prayer” we voice our opinion. Anyone is entitled to believe whatever they wish and pray to whomever they wish. When these notions are enacted upon the public is where we take issue.
Besides that, it is entertaining to exercise reason upon the far out myths like transubstantiation and help those inside the box view their beliefs from outside… like what Mr. Deity does.
http://liberatedmind.com LiberatedMind.com
I’m glad the cold showers help. :) I haven’t used soap on my face for 8 months and it always looks fresh and clean, almost magazine quality. Have you tried steaming or using coffee grounds one a week?
