Church Society - Issues : Doctrine : Heads : Griffith Thomas Sacrament of Redemption - Chapter 11

The late W. H. Griffith Thomas pointed stated:

Exegesis of New Testament teaching is, as we have seen, clearly opposed to the Tractarian doctrine of a Eucharistic sacrifice. Neither ποιειν [poiein] nor αναμνησις [anamnesis] has anything sacrificial in it, while the object of the verb καταγγελλτε [katangellte] (I Cor. xi.), which means to “proclaim verbally,” must be man and not God. In the Lord’s Supper Christ is neither offered “to” God nor “for” man; He is offered “to” man as Saviour and sustenance to be accepted and welcomed by faith. It would be well if we could avoid ambiguous and misleading terms. The Lord’s Supper is not strictly a commemorative sacrifice; it is the commemoration of a sacrifice.(13) It has been truly said, “You may as well call the Waterloo banquet a memorial battle, as call the Lord’s Supper a memorial sacrifice.”(14) If the words “Eucharistic sacrifice” mean some sacrifice which is offered only at and in the Lord’s Supper it is certain that no such idea occurs in Bible or Prayer Book.

To read the rest of the article by W. H. G. Thomas at the Church Society website click here: Church Society - Issues : Doctrine : Heads : Griffith Thomas Sacrament of Redemption - Chapter 11