Christ the bread of life : an attempt to give a profitable direction to the present occupation of thought with Romanism

Preface to Second Edition, i

Receiving Christ as the Bread of Life the Practical Aspect

of Faith, 7

Subject how divided, ...... 9

First, — Relation of the Lord's Supper to the Life ofLaith, 9

Eternal Life, one from the beginning,

Psalm xc, Acts xvii. 28, .

Faith feeding on Christ, St. John vi. 27-58,

Divine teaching here needed, and promised,

Giving liberty, not bondage, ....

Christ's words spirit and life, ....

Alleged reference of St. John vi. 27-58 to the Lord'

Supper, the two views, ....

Results of error here, negative and positive, A faith demanded alien to Christianity, the faith of

physical mystery not of a spiritual truth, Transubstantiation the extreme development, Appeal to sense, Appeal to spiritual discernment, These distinct while harmonious, Advantages of the latter, .

Question suggested here, ...... 32

Difficulty spiritual not intellectual, . . . -33

CONTENTS.

The answei- of Christian experience is conclusive, . 36 The new faith objected to, . . . . -37

Demands a further development, .... 38

Evil result thus perfected, ..... 39

Deceptive elements of peace in the faith of the Mass, 41

We cannot serve two masters, ..... 42 That here there are two services seen historically and in the light of Eternal Life, light which justifies present fears, ......

This perfects its parallelism with the elements of the

Truth and the danger it involves, . Justice to Romanism aimed at, ...

Warning to Protestants here suggested, Perverted and deceptive use of the Lord's Supper, Inference which this suggests to Romanists considered Felt need of God not faith, .... Our misuse of the Lord's Supper implies self-deception Questions for self-examination, Relation of worship to knowledge, . Awe and earnestness why accepted as religion, . The highest awe belongs to the purest light, To witness that this is so our high calling,

47 49

SECOND, — Feeding upon Christ considered as expressing the

part of Man's Will in Faith, .... 74

Jewish and Romanist understanding of St. John vi.

Figurative use of "food," "feeding," in relation to

St. John Lv. 5-34 connected with St. John vi. 27-63, 80 Light thus shed on the mystery of spiritual life, Fleb.

The Father's will Christ's meat, .... 83

That will in Christ our spiritual food, ... 85

CONTENTS. vn

S7

Eternal Life one in Christ and in us, St. Matt, xi

27-30,

This unity is known in the light of Eternal Life, . 89 By movements of the will is spiritual food appropriated, 91 Christ the true vine, ...... 92

Christ the light of the world, 93

Christian experience, ...... 94

Difficulties suggested, how to be regarded, . . 96

Faith absorbed in its object, ..... 97

Yet further explanation called for, .... 99

A departure from the simplicity that is in Christ, . 101 Justification and Sanctification unduly separated, . 103 Their unity, seen in the light of Eternal Life, . .105 Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory to God, . 107 True relation of faith to Eternal Life, . . . 109

Error in system with truth in the life, how to be

Evils still great and difficult to estimate, . . .114

Risk of misconception, . . . . . 115

We may be aided by considering some superficial and

inadequate views which prevent our reaching the

simplicity that is in Christ, . . . . .121

Unsuccessful endeavour to harmonize, . . .127 Light reveals unity, . . . . . .128

Christian Prayer, . . . . . . .129

In the name of Christ and according to the will of

The confusion of thought as to Justification exists also

The Divine Law of Prayer, . . . . 135

Substitutes for the Spirit of Prayer, . . . .137

Romanist and Protestant, . . . . 139

The Scriptures as well as the Church put between vin COXTEXTS.

Third, — Development of the Mass from the Lord's Slipper, 143

True importance of the change, . . . 145

Meaning of the Lord's Supper and its value, . . 147 How marked at the first by praise and prayer, . 149

Symbols in time identified with what they expressed

first in fonn of words, afterwards in thought, . 153

Hence a change of their function and a new faith, . 155 Whose strength was mystery, not love, . . 157

Peace in darkness the fruit of faith in light, . 159

Light, not darkness, saves, . . . . .160

The quest of Orthodoxy not in the light of love hardens and misleads, . . . . .163

Transubstantiation, sought to be connected with the Incarnation, . . . . . . .166

God comes near to man in love therefore in light, . 169 The two aspects of religion now considered, . . 171 Question as to the figurative or literal use of words not to be decided by the words alone, but by the light in which they are read, . . . .177

Error here may coexist with a living faith, . -179

The Eucharistic Sacrifice, to be taken to the light of the Atonement, . . . . . . .181

Appeal here to the light of Christianity, the Christian

consciousness in its response to the words of Christ, 186 Result looked for where no prepossession, . .188

Even where there is may be reached, . . .190

Preface To Second Edition

The Infallibility of the Church and Transubstantiation are to Protestants the most repulsive aspects of the teaching of the Church of Rome. — Yet they are also her great attractions to those who pass over to her from Protestantism ; and, once accepted, form her strongest hold upon them.

The explanation of this seeming contradiction appears to me to be that, however open to obvious and palpable objections these two doctrines are, — the one as making a logically inconsistent demand on reason, the other as opposed to sense, — they offer themselves as severally meeting deep cravings of humanity — cravings which may be so strong as to tempt to a blind grasping at what promises to satisfy, in spite of all protestations of sense and reason.

As to the doctrine of the Infallibility of the