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The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology - Saint Mary ...

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<strong>and</strong> fleshly; but in its essence more true than all earthly truth, more real<br />

than all earthly reality, more substantial than all earthly substance. <strong>The</strong><br />

body <strong>and</strong> blood of Christ are more truly present in the Supper than are the<br />

bread <strong>and</strong> wine, because. their sphere of presence is divine; the bread <strong>and</strong><br />

wine are but the gifts of the h<strong>and</strong> of God, the body <strong>and</strong> blood of Christ are<br />

inseparable constituents of God's incarnate person.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Non-Lutheran interpreters have made concessions of great<br />

importance in their interpretation of these texts. GUALTHER, one of the<br />

greatest of the Zurich divines (d. 1586), says: "Shall be held guilty of the<br />

same crime with Judas who betrayed Christ, with the Jews <strong>and</strong> soldiers<br />

who scourged Him, spit upon Him, wounded, crucified Him, <strong>and</strong> shed His<br />

blood." PAREUS: Heidelberg (d. 1622): "Judas betrayed, the Jews<br />

condemned, the soldiers pierced Christ's body <strong>and</strong> shed His blood upon<br />

the Cross. <strong>The</strong>y who abuse the sacrament are absolutely partakers in their<br />

crime (sceleri prorsus communicant)."<br />

SEBASTIAN MEYER, of Berne: “<strong>The</strong>y commit murder (caedem<br />

committere) <strong>and</strong> shed the Redeemer's blood," "incur the dreadful crime of<br />

parricide."<br />

One more proposition remains to be touched, but it is negative in its<br />

character, <strong>and</strong> in this dissertation we have proposed to confine ourselves to<br />

the positive <strong>and</strong> thetical. Here, therefore, we reach the end of our<br />

exhibition of the positive propositions in which our great Confession sets<br />

forth the faith of our Church. We have the five simple propositions which<br />

are yielded by the analysis of the Tenth Article. We have viewed them<br />

purely as Scriptural questions. We have treated them very much as<br />

independent propositions, establishing each on special evidence of its own.<br />

But, while the argument for the faith of our Church is so strong on each<br />

head as well as on the whole as to bear even this severe process, it should<br />

not be forgotten that none of these are, in fact, isolated. <strong>The</strong>y cling together<br />

with all the internal coherence of divine truth. <strong>The</strong> truth of any one of them<br />

implies the truth of all of them. If we have failed in establishing four<br />

separately, yet have succeeded

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