Woes...lol
A quote from my thesis:
The sacramental mysteries are bound neither to ex opera operato ritual isolated from theological truth nor to subjective experience in symbolic ritual. As has been demonstrated, these two extremes were the two realities of the mystery cults. The Eleusinian mysteries purported to be either effective in themselves, despite their inability to relate the ritual to the god they purported to reveal; or either effective only in their ability to engender an individual subjective experience in the participant which is incommunicable and theologically questionable. Sacrament avoids each extreme; indeed, it transcends the purported dichotomy.
...how in the world did I get myself into this predicament? lol. Now I have to explain how a sacrament works? How it is simultaneously efficacious in itself but also valent upon the faith of the participant? What the heck am I doing to myself? I'm in way over my head.
The sacramental mysteries are bound neither to ex opera operato ritual isolated from theological truth nor to subjective experience in symbolic ritual. As has been demonstrated, these two extremes were the two realities of the mystery cults. The Eleusinian mysteries purported to be either effective in themselves, despite their inability to relate the ritual to the god they purported to reveal; or either effective only in their ability to engender an individual subjective experience in the participant which is incommunicable and theologically questionable. Sacrament avoids each extreme; indeed, it transcends the purported dichotomy.
...how in the world did I get myself into this predicament? lol. Now I have to explain how a sacrament works? How it is simultaneously efficacious in itself but also valent upon the faith of the participant? What the heck am I doing to myself? I'm in way over my head.