Dr Paul Allen

  Martin Luther and Consubstantiation With the publication of The Babylonian Captivity of the Church in 1520, Martin Luther attacked the sacramental system and the eucharistic practices of the Roman Catholic Church. In particular, he addressed three “captivities” to which the church had subjected the Lord’s Supper.  The first captivity was the church’s withholding of the cup from the laity and the administration of communion in one kind. Luther passionately opposed this practice. He emphasized Jesus’ insistence that the cup is drunk by “all” of his disciples. He also dissented logically, reasoning that if the Lord’s Supper is given “to the laity, it inevitably follows that it ought not to be withheld from them in either form.” Most important, Luther focused on the fact that “the blood is given to all those for whose sins it was poured out. But who will dare to say that it was not poured out for the laity?” Finally, Luther questioned why the church, if it concedes that the lai...

The Road to Emmaus appearance, based on Luke 24:13-32, painted by Joseph von Führich, 1830. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When the disciples walked the road to Emmaus twenty centuries ago, Jesus concealed His identity so that they didn’t recognize the “stranger” at their side. These men were not in a garden. There were no roses covered with dew. But they walked and talked with the risen Christ . What was their experience like? When their eyes were finally opened and they recognized Jesus, He suddenly vanished and they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32, NASB ). That is the normal human reaction to the immediate presence of Christ—“hearts burning within us.” My heart would be scorched to a cinder if I could hear His voice. My soul would explode in joy if I could walk with Him and talk with Him. I would travel the world to find a garden where He was visibly prese...