Someone I respect has come to the conclusion, after research into early Christianity, including Bible study and reading anti-Catholic scholar David Berçot's opinions, that the wine is blood and bread is flesh. You mentioned in Q&A 0594 that you weren't ready to commit to this position. My thinking is unsure and my faith is not a little shaken. Do you have any further thoughts? --Roy Rudl
First off, Berçot is hardly an anti-Catholic scholar! I have read all his books, heard all his CDs, and visited him twice in his home. He is a scholar of the early Church Fathers, and while he is certainly not a Catholic, strives to proclaim a positive message. He is not "anti" anybody.
He believed (still believes?) in the doctrine that Christ is present in the communion. This is not necessarily the same thing as real presence or transubstantation. Catholics claim that the substance (as opposed to the species) of the communion elements is transformed. Most Protestants deny the transformation, allowing rather only for Christ to be spiritually present in the communion. For the range of opinions, click here.
For the Catholic view, click here.
