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This Is My Body: An Evangelical Discovers The Real Presence

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Shea's work is a great place to start if you're interested in the traditional, biblical view of the Eucharist and matter in general. While the Roman Catholic Church holds a rather defined view of the sacramental presence (compared to the Orthodox) it is well worth noting that the west approaches many topics with its own concepts, which is not something to be looked down upon or rejected as "a tradition of men". Shea's book is another of those which Catholic apologists will want to have to give away. It's cheap and accurate, as well as persuasive. For a more detailed study, see "Eucharist" by Louis Bouyer. For general critiques of Protestant anti-Catholic arguments, see Shea's other book, "By What Authority?" or for an Orthodox approach to Protestantism, see Jordan Bajis' "Common Ground". The main thing is to pray, receive the Eucharist, and study for yourself. There are no missing links in the history of Eucharistic theology. Take some time to review the data first hand; pick up the Fathers and the New Testament. But don't forget that this book is a fine place to start.

This is an excellent book for those who want the basis of Eucharistic belief broken down into readable, understandable pieces. It is hardly exhaustive of the topic, as that is not what the author was attempting. A good companion would be Scott Hahn's tape "The Fourth Cup". For a good understanding of the belief in the Eucharistic Presence, start with Catholic authors. Otherwise, such writers as William Webster and Jame R. White (who is anti-Catholic) as another has recommended without revealing these authors slant against the Church, might confuse searchers by presenting some very misunderstood ideas by outsiders incapable (& often not desirous) of understanding & then allege that they are expounding upon the Catholic teaching. Tim Staples is another excellent author for follow-up to this one who was once evangelical but became Catholic for the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

All of the magnificent cathedrals of Europe were based upon one fact- that Christ God became present to humanity on the altar and was eaten by the faithful every divine liturgy. The architects and builders sought to pay homage to Christ's humility to come to them in the simple forms of bread and wine. Heaven and earth meet in this act. When you realize this basic fact, that the real presence is the heart of two thousand years of worship, then you begin to understand the perspective of Christian theology and worship. You also realize why the modern notions of worship, which are usually not more than emotionalism and bubblegum self-help, fall far short of the rich heritage of Christianity East and West.

Shea's work is a great place to start if you're interested in the traditional, biblical view of the Eucharist and matter in general. Shea's book is another of those that Catholic and Orthodox (and maybe Lutheran) apologists will want to have to give away. It's cheap and accurate, as well as persuasive. While the Roman Catholic Church holds a rather defined view of the sacramental presence (compared to the Orthodox) it is well worth noting that the west approaches many topics with its own concepts, which is not something to be looked down upon or rejected as "a tradition of men". For a more detailed study, see "Eucharist" by Louis Bouyer. For general critiques of Protestant anti-Catholic arguments, see Shea's other book, "By What Authority?" or for an Orthodox approach to Protestantism, see Jordan Bajis' "Common Ground". "The Lamb's Supper" by Hahn was a nice introduction to liturgical and eucharistic theology.

If you want to dig even deeper to realize what weight the Eucharist bears upon ecclesiology, McPartlan's books "The Sacrament of Salvation" and "The Eucharist Makes the Church" are fundamental, as is the newly reissued "Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries" by Werner Elert. You see, it all ties together- Eucharist, Incarnation, Forgiveness, Church, Worship, Passover and Eschatology.

The main thing is to pray, receive the Eucharist, and study for yourself. There are no missing links in the history of Eucharistic theology. Take some time to review the data first hand; pick up the Fathers and the New Testament. But don't forget that this book is a fine place to start.

There are many differences between the Christian faith of history and the Christian faith of contemporary Evangelicalism. Perhaps nowhere is the contrast made clearer than in the doctrine of the Real Presence. An affront to many Evangelicals, the belief that the body and blood of Jesus Christ was made present in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist was at the center of early Christian worship. Many Evangelicals, frustrated by the immature state of their own worship, have begun to explore the historic liturgies of the Church and are soon confronted by the question of Christ's presence and the rejection of the modernist assumptions underlying their own tradition.

For those on this path, Mark P. Shea's This Is My Body provides a wonderful introduction to the theology behind the Real Presence in general and the Catholic understanding of this doctrine in particular. Shea, himself a former Evangelical, is well versed in that tradition's objections to the doctrine and concentrates on five commonly raised issues: the ban on human sacrifice, the Mass adding to Christ's sacrifice, the ban on the drinking of blood, the Eucharist as idolatry and salvation by works, and the Eucharist as a merely symbolic gesture. In an impressive treatment of these issues, Shea covers much ground in a limited space and demonstrates the Evangelical position makes no sense either biblically or historically.

One point of disagreement for some Protestants might be that Shea has constructed a "straw man" by not considering the varying positions on the issue within Protestantism. However, Shea quite explicitly states he is countering the Evangelical position only and not all possible positions held within Protestantism. He points out the major figures of the Reformation all held some doctrine of the Real Presence (albeit different from the Catholic position) and even quotes John Calvin approvingly as evidence.

While certainly not exhaustive, This Is My Body provides a great starting point for inquirers without any hint of polemic. Given Shea's carefully constructed presentation, many Evangelicals upon reading it may move towards the Church of history and reply to the "The Body of Christ" with a hearty "Amen!"

This is a nice, short readable book that could be quite helpful for Evangelicals and others who wish to understand the Catholic teaching regarding the Eucharist. Mark Shea demonstrates the holes in may of the objections to that teaching that he discovered when examining it as an evangelical himself. Far from being a scary polemic as many apologetic works can be, this is good-natured discussion of the subject.

It's a short book, but a good introduction.

Mark Shea is one of the most talented writers of Christian apologetics on the scene today. While this is more of a personal journey than a scholarly study, Mark is forceful and honest in his assessment of the evidence and compellingly clear in his presentation and arguments. After reading his work you either have to agree or disagree -- there is no room for "Gee, that's nice".

A great read for anyone who is either considering the Catholic Church's claims or is convinced of the truth but struggling to explain it to others.

Also recommended are Mark's "Making Senses out of Scripture" and "By What Authority". He can be found as a regular contributor on EWTN or on Catholic Exchange's website (where he does a regular PodCast).

The author does an excellent job of explaining the scriptural and logical reasons why the Bible alone does not contain the fullness of the faith. The author does well to consider arguments for sola scriptura (as he is a former evangelical) and shows where and why they fail.

This book while short does an exellent job.
Shea's writing is clear and concise.
He presents both biblical and historical evidence that fully supports his position.
I would strongly reccomend this book to any one who wants to either defend or fully understand the Catholic position.

This little book of 51 pages is gigantic in its call to Christ. Our lord who is present in the Eucharist. This is what Catholics believe Real Presence,This means Jesus is there. Body, Blood ,Soul and Divinity. There is no longer one crumb that is bread,there is not one drop that is wine. If you are Catholic read this, if you are not read this , it just might open your eyes. This thing we call the Real Presence is penetrating, uplifting And will challenge your faith and mind. READ THIS BOOK!!!

This little pamphlet takes us on a flyover view of the critical difference between Protestant and Apostolic (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Coptic, etc) churches. Mr. Shea writes the story as his personal journey to understanding and, not so much conversion as fulfillment. Like Thomas Howard in Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament, Mr. Shea sees his evangelical beginnings as just that, a beginning. The final destination for both, when taking their evangelical understanding to it's logical conclusion, was not a new form of evangelicalism but instead the Roman Catholic church.

Beginning with an itemized list of objections that he held against the Roman Catholic teaching on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Mr. Shea walks us through the evangelical path he followed to see the false assumptions underpinning those objections. Using scripture and the earliest writings of the Apostolic fathers, he shows that the real presence is not something invented in the Roman Catholic church of the dark ages but a core doctrine of the church from its beginning. He continues the historical journey all the way to the "reformers," Calvin and Luther, to support the real presence view (likely a shock to most Protestants in general). Following that thought through to its implications about apostolic authority and then to implications of apostolic authority to the papacy, we are given insight into how his house of cards fell around their foundation of questionable assumptions.

Mr. Shea admits this brief little work is not intended as a full blown apologetic. The intent is that we might "taste and see that the Lord is good" and then explore what more we might be missing in the rejection of this most important of doctrines. Jesus said, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you." It is imperative that we, as Christians claiming to love and follow Him, should answer this question in our own hearts. The stakes are high if we neglect so great a salvation. Mr. Shea's little treatise is a good place to start and the suggested reading he provides at the end will give you further direction in study.

This question alone is paramount to understand in the dialog between Catholics and Protestants. No matter where you end your search, this little book will give you a deeper understanding of Christians in the other camp. If you understand no other distinguishing doctrine, you will want to understand this one. Mark Shea has given a concise and immensely readable little guidebook. Well worth the few minutes and few dollars it will take to read it.