In his first epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul warns the Christians not to partake of the Eucharist unworthily:
"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself".
If one, then, has to answer for the body and blood of the Lord when receiving Communion unworthily, how does this square with the Protestant interpretation of the bread and wine being nothing more then mere symbols?
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What is the word "therefore" there for? Its a summary of events previous spoken. The unworthy manner Paul is talking about is people coming to the Lords Supper on empty stomachs in order to eat & drink all the food, That's why he says "don't you have homes to eat in". " Discerning the body" is referring to the Church. That's what he's talking about. Notice he says "you despise the Church and those who have nothing (the poor members) They were cutting in line, making the poor wait to eat last and turned Communion into a feast rather than a humble remembrance. Even as symbols, Communion is a serious ceremony because GOD ordained it.
To say that Paul is saying that the bread is actually GOD, is reading something that is not there. Your view is a delusion.