<> Ask the Pastor Fr. Walter P. Snyder Q: Is there any place to find a condensed set of beliefs of the many different Christian churches? A: There are a number of places to turn. However, even before they get printed, such comparisons are dated. It seems that someone is always trying to reinvent religion or give it a personal twist. Usually, this is not for the better, as the great preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Rest assured that the only thing new in theology is that which is false." We also remember that the official beliefs of a body are not always held by all those claiming membership in that body. With all this in mind, you might consider an older text on the subject, from Concordia Publishing House, *The Religious Bodies of America* by Frederick E. Mayer. With some of the newer groups and offshoots, you'll have to make your own connections. From Abingdon Press comes a more recent volume, the *Handbook of Denominations in the United States--10th Edition* by Frank S. Mead. You should be able to order either of these from a Bible or regular bookstore. On the internet, I have a brief comparison of the Lutherans to other churches at: Q: Are Lutherans unique in their belief of body/bread and blood/wine at Holy Communion? Do Anglicans, Orthodox, or others share this belief? Also, what of the term "Consubstantiation" being used to define the Lutheran understanding of the elements at Holy Communion? A: To answer, let me first reemphasize what I said above: "The official beliefs of a body are not always held by everyone claiming membership in that body." With this caveat, I'll answer that I am unaware of anyone else officially teaching that the communicants receive actual bread and wine and the very body and blood of Christ. There are a few "Lutherans" who deny this, while I've met people from other churches who accept this. Protestantism generally views the Lord's Supper as either a memorial meal in which Christ is present in some general, spiritual manner or as bread and wine with a specific, special spiritual presence of Christ--but the possibility of actually receiving the physical body and blood of Jesus is still denied. Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism generally teach "Transubstantiation," wherein the bread and wine are changed in their essence to the body and blood of Christ--although it still looks and tastes like bread and wine. Anglicanism (including the Episcopal Church) has theologians who teach a variety of interpretations. "Consubstantiation" is an attempt by some to define the Lutheran teaching of the Real Presence of Christ in his Supper without understanding it. This interpretation of Lutheran teaching has been around for a long time. From the dictionary we read: "con-sub-stan-ti-a-tion \ noun (1597): the actual substantial presence and combination of the body and blood of Christ with the eucharistic bread and wine according to a teaching associated with Martin Luther--compare transubstantiation. *Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary*, (Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated) 1993." It implies that the substances are all present, but separate. Thus, bits of Jesus' body snuggle up next to specks of bread and droplets of his blood are intermingled with the wine. As much as possible, Lutherans tend to avoid "substance" language completely, since it is more the language of philosophy than of theology. The Rev. Kevin Guillory says, "Whether it's 'transubstantiation' or 'consubstantiation,' we're still dealing with pagan (Aristotelian) philosophy and ontology and not biblical categories. Therefore, any 'substantiation' will have to be rejected due to its purely human origins." Our teaching is that we get it all, but that we don't try to explain how. Instead, we hear the clear, plain words of Scripture tell us that we receive both the body and the blood and also the bread and the wine. My friend and brother pastor Eric Stefanski said, "Every molecule is at the same time naturally and physically bread and wine and supernaturally but physically the body and blood of Jesus; the bread and wine cannot be distinguished from the body and blood, because they are *one and the same*, as Jesus' own use of pronoun indicates. [emphasis his]" We don't try to explain this ongoing miracle; instead we thank God for this wonderful gift and medicine for our sin-sickened selves. That's it for now. You can submit questions by mail to "Ask the Pastor," PO Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or just stop me on the street. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches in Jasper and Woodville and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1998 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.