June 11, Wow! I really stink at this! Finished Frank Herbert's Dune. I also read "The Lord's Supper" by Robert Letham. It's nonfiction theology, in case you didn't pick up on it. It's a great overview of all the different views on the Supper, the strengths and weaknesses, and the like. He puts forth the Reformed view of a spiritual presence of Christ in the sacrament, but not a physical one. The Westminster Confession mentions what they saw as idolatries and errors resulting from transubstantiation. (The bread and wine physically becomes the body and blood of Christ) A more moderate position is the Lutheran, consubstantiation, yet Christ is still physically present. To their credit, the men at Westminster were much less harsh toward the Lutheran position. The questions that a Christian has to ask himself is, "Are the problems of a physical presence valid?" Also, does the Bible require a physical presence? Or, if one tends toward the Supper as simply a memorial, are there problems in that as well? Important questions are these. This is perhaps the most important privilege we have as God's covenant people. All people would benefit from thinking about it. It is not only the territory of theologians.
Update: I read the whole thing. I’m sorry, but what a weirdo. I thought you [Tom Darrow, of Denver, CO] made a trenchant case for why lockdowns are bad, and I definitely appreciated it. But a graduation speech is *not* the place for that. Secondly, this is an august event. It always is. I would never address the President of the United States in this manner. Never. Even the previous president, though he deserves it, if anyone does. Thirdly, the affirmations of Catholic identity should be more general. He has no authority to propound with specificity on all matters of great consequence. It has all the hallmarks of a culture war broadside, and again, a layman shouldn’t speak like this. The respect and reverence due the clergy is *always due,* even if they are weak, and outright wrong. We just don’t brush them aside like corrupt Mafia dons, to make a point. Fourthly, I don’t know where anyone gets the idea that the TLM is how God demands to be worshipped. The Church doesn’t teach that. ...
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