About this episode

Dr. Craig discusses the Lutheran doctrine of consubstantiation and contrasts it with Calvin's and Zwingli's views of the Lord's Supper.

Having examined the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation in previous episodes, Dr. Craig now turns to three more views of the Lord's Supper. He explains the Lutheran doctrine of consubstantiation — where Christ's body and blood are present alongside the bread and wine, grounded in Luther's doctrine of the communication of attributes (communicatio idiomatum). He then contrasts this with Calvin's Reformed view of a spiritual presence and communion with Christ, and finally with Zwingli's view of the Supper as a memorial ordinance rather than a sacrament. Next time: an assessment of these four competing views.

People in this episode

Host: William Lane Craig

Topics covered

• Lord's Supper
• consubstantiation
• transubstantiation
• spiritual presence
• memorial ordinance

Keywords

• consubstantiation
• transubstantiation
• Luther
• Calvin
• Zwingli
• Lord's Supper
• sacrament

More episodes of Defenders Podcast

• Defenders: Doctrine of the Church (Part 10): The Lord’s Supper - Roman Catholic Interpretation · July 8, 2026 · 14 min
• Defenders: Doctrine of the Church (Part 9): Transubstantiation · June 24, 2026 · 14 min
• Defenders: Doctrine of the Church (Part 8): The Lord’s Supper · June 17, 2026 · 18 min

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