Baptist theologian defends the common cup
Russell Moore, Dean of Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary:
I'm not offended by people disagreeing me on this. I'm just stunned by the reason they most often give for dismissing this ancient Christian practice: germs.The common cup is, well, gross to many Christians because they don't like the idea of drinking after strangers. That's just the point. You're not drinking after strangers. You're drinking after your own flesh-and blood, your family. And the offense is precisely the issue.
You're recognizing Christ Jesus, discerning his Body, in the "flesh" of his Body the church around you. If drinking after your brothers is "disgusting," then how much more eating Jesus' flesh and drinking his blood. That was disgusting to an assembly a while back as well.
Now, I'm not calling on churches to pick up the common cup and the common loaf in the middle of a swine flu pandemic. That wouldn't be prudent. But maybe now's the time to start thinking about how our hyper-hygienic American culture might be leading us toward cleanliness and away from Christ.Read it all.
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