Contending for Truth in LoveTom Ascol One of the most poignant
scenes of the Protestant Reformation comes from the Marburg
Colloquy in 1529. The conference was convened in hopes that it
might unite what was becoming an increasingly fragmented
Protestant movement. In Zurich, the Swiss Brethren (later to be
known as Anabaptists) had become convinced of believers' baptism
and fully separated from the Protestant movement led by Zwingli.
In Switzerland and beyond Protestants began to further divide
along what came to be called "Lutheran" and "Reformed" lines.
One of the key issues of contention was the nature of the Lord's
supper, specifically, the nature of Christ's presence in the
supper. All of the reformers were united in the rejection of the
Roman Catholic view of transubstantiation. Decreed at the
Council of Trent and based on Aristotelian metaphysics, Roman
Catholic doctrine asserts that when the priest consecrates the
elements the substance of the bread and wine is changed into
Christ's flesh and blood, re