History has bequeathed Christendom 3 dominant traditions by which the Supper is observed. In this class we briefly survey & reject both Roman Catholicism's "transubstantiation" & Lutheranism's "consubstantiation". The bulk of our attention is given to "memorial symbolism" - the tradition extant in modern evangelicalism. This tradition can be traced back to the views of Zwingli & is not, in itself unbiblical. The concern with this tradition is that it is truncated & thus tends to an imbalanced emphasis upon individuality & subjectivity. The practical results are Christians whose Christianity is embedded in their private subjective experiences & a weakened church community which is not rightly discerned (1 Cor 11:29) when the Table is observed in such an atomistic fashion. Also, to view the Supper as solely a memorial deprives the believers of the present feeding on the present Christ with whom, by the Spirit, we fellowship at the Table. Rather than communing with the present living Jesus, the memorialist recalls doctrines about past events accomplished by an absent Jesus. The Supper, rather than being like a tombstone which reminds us of a departed loved one, is more like a wedding ring which calls us to enjoy the present relationship with Him to whom we are covenantally, intimately & livingly joined.
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Pastor Dunn holds a Bachelor of Arts from Cedarville College, Cedarville, Ohio (1975); a Master of Arts in Humanities from Western Kentucky University (1978); and a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Massachusetts (1982). Pastor Dunn...
