Who knows not that ancient Christians were wont to give the Eucharist to infants at the breast?Calvin's Tracts, trans. Beveridge, vol 3, p322
(Wrongly, in my view, Calvin disapproves of young children receiving the Lord's Supper because he thinks 1 Corinthians 11:28 means that to receive it aright they would have to examine themselves in a way they are incapable of).
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2 comments:
What's your take on 1 Cor 11:28 in this context, then?
Gerv
Well, Paul has in mind the abuses at Corinth. (Verses 27 and 29 might very well refer to the Corinthians attitudes to the body of Christ, the church). Paul is exhorting the Corinthians who are corrupting the Lord's Supper by getting drunk, being the greedy, despising the poor at the Supper etc. (cf. vv20-22, 33-34) Sins which a tiny infant is unlikely to commit if his parents set him a good example and instruct him well.
I take it that one should examine oneself in so far as one is able. To be consistent, Calvin ought perhaps also to have excluded the mentally handicapped from the Supper if they cannot examine themselves with sufficient rigour.
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