A Discourse Against Transubstantiation - Softcover

John Tillotson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 037136695X ISBN 13: 9780371366950

Publisher: HardPress, 2019

Synopsis

A Discourse Against Transubstantiation by John Tillotson is a 17th-century Anglican polemic that argues against the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation in the Eucharist. Tillotson contends there is no necessary or evident scriptural basis for transforming bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, and that the signs of the sacrament are figurative representations conveying grace rather than literal changes in substance. He surveys the Church's grounds for the doctrine—Scripture, the perpetual belief of Christians, ecclesiastical authority to declare new articles, the supposed necessity for change, and priestly power—and critiques each as insufficient or flawed. Drawing on patristic testimony from early writers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Augustine, and Chrysostom (via later interpreters), the treatise argues that the Eucharist was historically understood as a sign or memorial rather than a literal transformation. The work traces the doctrine's emergence in the medieval period and argues for relying on Scripture and reason over ecclesiastical innovation, warning against idolatry and the moral hazards of miracle-making claims.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 037136695X
• ISBN 13: 9780371366950
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 66