So according to your logic, the EFC's lived closest to the time of Jesus, so they must be right?
The EFC's did not write the Bible.
That link is to a Roman Catholic website. At the bottom of the page under contact information it says - If you have questions about this website please contact the webmaster (a True Catholic who is in perfect standing with Holy Mother Church via e-mail at: info@stgemma.com.
Whoops! I thought that I already posted the link. Sorry about that. Here it is -
http://www.justforcatholics.org/a116.htm
Yes it can, though God promised to preserve
His Word.
According to that logic, then we can't fully trust the Bible, yet there is good reason to trust the Bible -
http://home.earthlink.net/~ronrhodes/Manuscript.html
Political matters have always been around. Here are some quotes from the church fathers, which are often cited by Roman Catholics, in defense of their claim that the early church embraced transubstantiation.
Ignatius of Antioch (d. c. 110): “Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes” (
Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1).
Irenaeus (d. 202): “He took from among creation that which is bread, and gave thanks, saying, ‘This is my body.’ The cup likewise, which is from among the creation to which we belong, he confessed to be his blood” (
Against Heresies, 4:17:5).
Irenaeus again: “He has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be his own blood, from which he causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, he has established as his own body, from which he gives increase unto our bodies. When, therefore, the mixed cup [wine and water] and the baked bread receives the Word of God and becomes the Eucharist, the body of Christ, and from these the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they say that the flesh is not capable of receiving the gift of God, which is eternal life—flesh which is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord, and is in fact a member of him?” (
Against Heresies, 5:2).
Tertullian (160–225): “[T]he flesh feeds on the body and blood of Christ, that the soul likewise may be filled with God” (
The Resurrection of the Dead).
Origen (182–254): “Formerly, in an obscure way, there was manna for food; now, however, in full view, there is the true food, the flesh of the Word of God, as he himself says: ‘My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink’” (
Homilies on Numbers, 7:2).
Do you believe in the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation?