The sacrament of communion is one of two sacred practices in Protestant Christian churches. Baptism is the other. In regards to communion, believers are exhorted by Christ to drink wine (or, these days, juice) and eat bread in remembrance of His sacrifice on the Cross. In contrast to the Roman Catholic Church, Protestants do not believe that the physical elements actually are the literal body and blood of Christ, but rather just symbolic elements of Christ’s work.

The Roman Catholic church’s insistence on the bread and juice being literal actually brings me to the point of this blog faster than I had anticipated. Let’s imagine if you’re Roman Catholic and you partake of communion one Sunday. The administrator of the communion solemnly warns you that you are literally taking in the real body and blood of the Lord. Wow! How awesome! What could be a more intimate experience with God…