> This blood into wine smacks of
> cannibalism to me!-
Well, yeah, Patrick, obviously, but it was/is *symbolic cannibalism, see?
Which makes the whole (Roman) Catholic position a bit weird, since if you're going to (as the papal pronouncements seem to imply) take the Good Boke literally, then surely the communion waffer should be composed of unleavened bread? Why stop at one particular symbolic point? Sounds as if the priests who quietly substitute rice wafers and grape juice are simply extending the logic of the intepretation, and behaving like doctors who quietly practice effective euthenasia even although it's not yet legal.
> but then if someone was supposed to be
> able to do the old Roman conjurers trick of turning water
> into wine
Hey, didn't know about that, Pat! Reminds me that the source of a good part of the early English texts denouncing gambling were bssed on a chapter in Reginald Scot's _Discovery of Witchcraft_ in 1584 where Scot tried to show that most of the practices of witches were based on what he called (or was called in the English translation) juggling.
The final text where this appears, I'm not sure exactly when but early eighteenth century I think, was apporopriately enough authored by someone calling himself "Hocus Pocus Junior".
R.
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