Parmenides argued that a particular being cannot become another particular being. For example air cannot become fire but must first cease to be air as such. The change of air to fire would be in this case a mere replacement of one being for another. Aristotle answered this problem with his distinction between three factors [...]
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I recently presented (in class) a study concerning the placement of Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin within Henri de Lubac’s historical scheme (in his Corpus Mysticum). I concluded that they were men of there times but that they both retained a strong ecclesiology. I also concluded the following: Neither Thomas nor Calvin believed Christ’s presence [...]
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Commenting on Ephesians 5:26 Calvin declares:
When Paul says that we are washed by baptism, his meaning is, that God employs it for declaring to us that we are washed, and at the same time performs what it represents [...] Others again suppose that too much importance is given to the sign, by saying that baptism [...]
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In the great American debate between John Williamson Nevin and Charles Hodge, the problem [of predestination and the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist] resurfaced as an inner-Reformed controversy. Hodge was a predestinarian Calvinist, Nevin a sacramental Calvinist, and their debate may make one wonder if it is possible to be both at once. [...]
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Being in communion with someone means to receive the body of the Lord with them. Being united with the saints in the Church and participating in the Eucharist, being part of the common Kindgdom, and sharing in the holy mysteries go together in tandem and it can be said that they are one and the [...]
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I’m presently combing modern Thomist interpretations of the Eucharist in an effort to find similarities between St. Thomas and St. Calvin (as one professor here calls him). I’ve realized that Thomas’ commentary on the Gospel of John is a good place to start. See this quote, for instance:
What our Lord said about eating his flesh [...]
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Q: Does faith unite one to Christ?
A: Yes
Q: Is Christ God?
A: Yes
Well, there you have it. Now one must go on to question what sort of union believers have in Christ. I haven’t quoted Nevin in a while, and I’ve recently been looking back through his The Mystical Presence. What an excellent book. This paragraph [...]
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A common speculation regarding the Lord’s Supper is that there is no special partaking of Christ for the believing subject in the event of eating and drinking the elements. If the sacrament is a means of grace (WCF 27) and grace only comes through union with Christ then what more should one expect from the [...]
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