Objective test of transubstantiation: Give a Catholic priest two pieces of bread, one of which has been converted into the Body of Christ and the other one hasn't, but otherwise identical. Do they claim they can tell the difference? Can they?
by 
rodschmidt
ANSWERS: 11
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I'm fairly certain that it's not a case of transubstantiation. It's use of the bread is purely symbolic, they dont make any true claims, to the best of my knowledge, about converting the bread into some form of holy bread, etc.
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henry, that is completely the most wrong of an answer someone could possibly give. Although the Eucharist still appears to look, taste, smell, consist of the same elements of bread... it is not because of what is commanded of its essance or true accidents. All people give names to things according to their accidents not their substance or appearance. You do not look at a piece of bread and say, "fluffy piece of wheat and air" no, you say "bread", which is its accidents. If a person gets a hair cut they might look differently but they are still the same person, that analogy is exacly the opposite when comparing it to the Eucharist. Everything still looks the same, however the essance of that bread has changed to the Body of Christ.
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Interesting question. I would say that they probably don't claim to be able to tell the difference and don't care. As far as I know, no one has ever made a big deal about it.
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My money would be on the one they prayed over. *I don't think they would try. Like Christ said to the devil... "Do not tempt the lord they God."
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You can't 'test' for transubstantiation. The elements retain their physical characteristics. Only their [spiritual] nature changes. If it were any different, there would never have been the split between the churches on the matter.
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A smart priest would say the blessing over both and make your argument moot.
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P.S. I submitted this question to Catholic Answers. They didn't answer.
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Only if it's shaped like an altar boy
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Oh, very simple. Feed it to someone just before he/she dies, and observe whether his/her soul goes to Heaven or to Hell.
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And similarly: Can a priest, preparing to do an exorcism, tell whether another priest was just there five minutes before, exorcising the same spirit?
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Don't be stupid. Do you think a Catholic priest has any special powers? There may be a type of test to see the energy emanating from a blessed host, but it would take a true master to discern the difference with the naked eye. Of course they don't claim such nonsense. They are adminsters of the body of Christ as a symbolic gesture. The person accepting the gift of the host is blessed by Christ consciousness and the amount of benefit obtained by this is between them and God.
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