I went back to my old Church today, they built a new worship center and I wanted to see it. Also, they do have a very nice service and I wanted to attend it.

I did not realize they changed the procedure for Communion.
It use to be if you did not want to go up you did not have to and you stayed seated in your pew. Now, since it is not pews, but rather rows of chairs, with out much room to get by a seated person, everyone goes up and if you are not partaking you are suppose to signal the person offering the bread/ juice, but they never told us what the signal was. Just signal in some way, was the instruction given.

Well I got in line, with every intention of signaling, but when I got there, and my old Pastor said , Body of Christ given up for you , and then said my name, I completely forgot about the signally and said, thank you ( which I am pretty sure is not the right answer. (help me out here, was I suppose to say amen.. i forget ?)

Anyway, I have been trying to rationalize my actions, since the minister said anyone who is following Christ , come partake of the table, regardless of church affilation,etc.
And since we follow all the Prophets, I have been thinking maybe partaking was ok.

Do you think it is wrong to go up for The Lord's Supper if you are not a
Christian ?

~peace

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Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do ~Rumi

The apostle Paul said to examine youself first. He also said who partakes unworthly shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Paul said if you take communion unworthly you eat and drink ****ation on yourself. He also said many are sick and have died because of this...........Do you believe this?

My question to you is are you a believer in Jesus, and the finished work of the Cross?............Do you miss having the Lord Jesus in you life regularly? I am not asking these questions to try and convert you. Only the Holy Spirit can bring you to God. I am just curious.......jerry

I am going to try to answer your questions below


I believe you are referring to these verses:
"For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh ****ation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."— 1 Cor. 11:29, 30.

Paul is addressing the Corinthian Church, prior to this he expressed concern over their behaviour, being segmented, eating and drinking in church, the rich eating excessivley infront of the poor , who may not have anything to eat, etc.

To this group he is saying, look at yourselves, examine your selves.
To me these verses are saying, do not come to " communion" , the Lord's supper, if you are not going to love each other, be in union, and follow the example of the Lord.

I believe one should examine themselves, and if one is not living a life that is one of love, they should fix that.

It seems to me, Paul was trying to get the Corinthians to see that they had changed or preverted the practice of the Lords' supper. They changed it, from something given for remembrence, into their own practice by forgetting the "Lord's body", and making thier own ritual.
This is why he gave them instructions on how to perform it in other verses of that book.






Well, Yes I do believe in Jesus.
Yes I do love Jesus.

No I don't miss having Jesus in my life, because Jesus is not absent from my life.

By finished work of the cross, I assume you mean, vicarious atonement?

I absolutely do not believe in vicarious atonement.


Below are links to sermons, that touch on how I see Jesus, and salvation, in regards to the Christian faith, I believe the Swedenborgian Church, has the best understanding of salvation.

Both are written by a Swedenborgian minister.


http://www.leewoof.org/leewoof/1997/12-28-97.htm

http://www.leewoof.org/leewoof/1998/12-13-98.htm

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Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do ~Rumi

The church I go to, the minister says "All Are Welcome".....

I don't understand what the rest of it is about, isn't Christ said to be inclusive.....

Is Paul trying to create some protocols here? If so, I'm not aware what they are, or even the specific book and verse in the Bible that he is referring to.

That would be helpful in trying to come to a better understanding.

I guess the real question is what does Christ say about partaking in the remembrance?

Christians need to research early Christian traditions before accepting the New Testament accounts of the pagan eucharist ceremony. Earliest Christian communities knew of no such interpretation of the Lord's Supper where one "eats" and "drinks" the symbolic flesh and blood of the dying/resurrection god. How can I say this? Read the Didache's Thanksgiving ceremony instructions. The Didache is considered the oldest catachism book we know of and its references to Christians meeting still in homes instead of churches confirms its very early recording of Christian views.

Biomystic,

Can you share more with us on what the first Christians understood the Lord's Supper to mean.

Thanks,

Peace

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Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do ~Rumi

The "Thanksgiving" section of the Didache shows that the early Christian congregations that existed before the New Testament Gospels were declared canonical did not have the fundamental Pauline doctrine of celebrating the Eucharist as the "flesh and body of Christ"." In the Didache the Eucharist celebrates God directly, not Jesus.

The complete text of the Didache was discovered in the Codex Hierosolymitanus, though a number of fragments exist, most notably in the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. It was originally composed in Greek, probably within a small community. Below is the Thanksgiving section of the Didache instructions to Christian believers.



CHAPTER 9 THE THANKSGIVING SACRAMENT



1) Now concerning the Thanksgiving meal, give thanks in this manner.

2) First, concerning the cup: We thank You, our Father, For the Holy Vine of David Your servant, Whom You made known to us through Your Servant Jesus; May the glory be Yours forever.

3) Concerning the broken bread: We thank You, our Father, For the life and knowledge Which You made known to us through Your Servant Jesus; May the glory be Yours forever. As this broken bread was scattered over the mountains, And was gathered together to become one, So let Your Church be gathered together From the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for the glory and power are Yours through Jesus Christ forever.

5) But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving, unless they have been baptized in the Name of the Lord; for concerning this the Lord said, "Do not give what is holy to dogs."



CHAPTER 10 PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION



1) After the meal, give thanks in this manner:

2) We offer thanks, Holy Father, For Your Holy Name which fills our hearts, And for the knowledge, faith and eternal life, You made known to us through Your Servant Jesus; Yours is the glory forever.

3) Almighty Master, You created all things for Your own purpose; You gave men food and drink to enjoy, That they might give You thanks; But to us You freely give spiritual food and drink, And eternal life through Your Servant.

4) Foremost, we thank You because You are mighty; Yours is the glory forever.

5) Lord, Remember Your Church, To deliver it from everything evil And perfect it according yo Your love, And gather it from the four winds, Sanctified for Your kingdom which You have prepared for it; For the power and glory are Yours forever.

6) Let Your grace come, And let this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David! May all who are holy, come; Let those who are not, repent. Maranatha. Amen.

7)But permit the prophets to make Thanksgiving as they wish.

Biomystic,

Thanks for that post. Good stuff there.

I especially like how , they gave the praise to God and called Jesus a servent.

~Peace

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Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do ~Rumi

I think one of the questions asked here by peace 123 was

"Do you think it is wrong to go up for The Lord's Supper if you are not a
Christian?"

I'm a Baha'i with a Christian background... Actually as a Christian I used to assist a priest during the Eucharistic Service so I am pretty familiar with it as a rite in the Christian Church.

On becoming a Baha'i I withdrew my membership from the church.

As a Baha'i I also accept Christ as a Manifestation of God.

But I am no longer a Christian even though I respect Christianity as a revealed religion.

I will not particpate in Communion at say a church I am visiting...

One reason to me that I will not particpate is that it can confuse others. In some Churches only members of the Church can particpate in Communion and one has to go through a confirmation process...Since I'm not a member and have no intention of joining the Church I think it could be misleading and possibly taken as being desrespectful to participate

Secondly, as a Baha'i we have no priests or ministers or outward rites such as Communion, Baptism or outward services like a Church so it would also be against my own belief to particpate in a Communion service.

- Art

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"it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God."
- Johannes Kepler

I am not a Christian,but I agree with the above that the simple religion of Jesus should not be overburdened with such new ceremonies/traditions which have no basis from Jesus,whatsoever.Please don't mind.
Thanks
paarsurey@yahoo.com