Transubstantiation is a philosophically based argument, used in Roman Catholicism, to explain rationally the presence of the Lord's body and blood in the Supper. Jesus said, "Take, eat; this is my body...Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant" (Matt. 26:26-27). Jesus said that we eat his body and drink his blood, so we do. I take him at his Word. Do I understand how this happens? No. So I leave it a mystery. As C. S. Lewis once quipped, “Jesus said, ‘Take, eat,’ not ‘Take, understand’” (Letters to Malcolm).
Written by Chad Bird, 1517 Scholar