TCID V
August 20, 2022
Participants
Dr. Jonathan Ciraulo, Roman Catholic Panelist
Pastor Thomas Elbert Jr., Lutheran Panelist
Dr. Jim Orrick, Baptist Panelist
Fr. Jim Curry, Speaker
Question 01
We believers do rightly affirm that our Lord is one God in Trinity, that He alone is worthy of worship, and that His holy perfections are enumerable. God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, infinite, immutable, wise, merciful, just, good, etc. Indeed, we know something of the Lord’s characteristics, we even attempt to speak about them, and undoubtedly take great pleasure in their display. But how might we understand these attributes in relation to their possessor? Is the Almighty composite, that is, composed of material or metaphysical parts, or is He utterly simple? If simple, does that in any way suggest that He is easily or entirely comprehensible? Should it be said that God’s characteristics reside outside Himself, or somehow within? For instance, is God’s goodness an emulation of, or participation in, a “goodness itself” which is self-existent and external to the Godhead? If God’s characteristics are not intrinsic, what conclusions could be drawn from such an assertion? How is our Lord’s essence related to His attributes? Is it possible that they are identical? Is it possible to affirm that God is both Triune and devoid of parts?
Question 02
Who instituted the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and for what purpose was it established? Does the Eucharist act solely as a memorial of Christ’s death on the cross, or is it likewise treated as sacrifice? If also a sacrifice, in what way is it related to the crucifixion, the lone act which accomplished an everlasting redemption? Further, is Christ really present in some manner during the administration of the Lord’s Supper, either along with, or in its elements, or otherwise? If truly present, are the body and blood of the Redeemer substantially (corporally) present, or are they purely made available spiritually to those who have faith? Can Christ be present corporally while additionally seated at the right hand of God? In order to enact Christ’s substantial or spiritual presence within the Eucharist must a change occur and are the elements themselves ever converted into the body and blood of our Lord? If a conversion of the elements takes place, what is transformed and what initiates the transformation? What concludes it? Do the words of the institution maintain any special significance with regard to the sacrament? Finally, can it be said that Christ is distributed and fed upon alongside, or under the species of, the elements of bread and wine despite the religious disposition of the consumer? What role does faith play in the Lord’s Supper? Do the unworthy and unbelieving receive the body and blood of Christ together with the regenerate?
The Church in Dialogue 