Comments on: The sacraments and divisions in the reformations (Reformations 9) http://www.philipharland.com/Blog/2005/10/29/the-sacraments-and-divisions-in-the-reformations-reformations-9/ Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean houses my podcast, websites, blog, and publications, providing an entryway into social and religious life among Greeks, Romans, Jews, Christians, and others in the Roman empire. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:14:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Phil Harland http://www.philipharland.com/Blog/2005/10/29/the-sacraments-and-divisions-in-the-reformations-reformations-9/comment-page-1/#comment-46 Phil Harland Tue, 13 Dec 2005 19:42:42 +0000 http://www.philipharland.com/Blog/?p=28#comment-46 Anonymous said... I've always been amazed that Luther and so man others failed to grasp the metaphor of "This is my body," coming from one whose favorite method of teaching was his use of parables. Ralph Hitchens 11:32 AM Phil Harland Phil Harland said... Thanks for the comment, Ralph. As you say, Luther (like many others trained in medieval techniques of scriptural interpretation) did certainly continue to interpret certain passages in a "spiritual" or allegorical manner. There were differences of opinion on which passages were to be interpreted literally and which ones allegorically. One of Luther's main concerns with a non-literal interpretation of "this is my body" seems to be that a non-literal interpretation could, in his view, also lead to an undermining of the notion of the incarnation (the notion that Christ literally came in the flesh could be seen to parallel the notion that Christ was literally present in the bread). Phil 12:55 PM Anonymous said…

I’ve always been amazed that Luther and so man others failed to grasp the metaphor of “This is my body,” coming from one whose favorite method of teaching was his use of parables.

Ralph Hitchens

11:32 AM
Phil Harland
Phil Harland said…

Thanks for the comment, Ralph. As you say, Luther (like many others trained in medieval techniques of scriptural interpretation) did certainly continue to interpret certain passages in a “spiritual” or allegorical manner. There were differences of opinion on which passages were to be interpreted literally and which ones allegorically. One of Luther’s main concerns with a non-literal interpretation of “this is my body” seems to be that a non-literal interpretation could, in his view, also lead to an undermining of the notion of the incarnation (the notion that Christ literally came in the flesh could be seen to parallel the notion that Christ was literally present in the bread). Phil

12:55 PM

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