Who May Eat the Lord's Supper?

Long before the early twentieth century, leaders in the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement more or less agreed on two points related to the question, who may partake of the Lord's Supper? First, the Supper was for Christians. Second, it was no one's place to identify and prevent someone from eating the Lord's Supper. Again, nineteenth century thought leaders were the ones who had established these two principles. The two following quotes from an early twentieth century source indicate its standing among the Churches of Christ at that time:

“The table of the Lord is for those in his kingdom, for those who cherish him in their hearts and who believe in his sacrificial death. Others should not presume to eat.”

Because each person should “examine himself” (1 Cor. 11:28), no “man or set of men has the right to sit in judgment and determine who shall and shall not eat the supper. The Lord has not conferred police powers on any one to stand guard over his table” and turn away “those who may be judged as unworthy.”

Source

C.R. Nichol and R.L. Whiteside, Sound Doctrine, 6th ed. (Clifton, TX: Nichol Publishing Company, 1920), 1:167, 169.

Brevard Childs on the Biblical Tabernacle

In his monumental 1974 commentary on the Book of Exodus, Yale professor Brevard Childs provided an overview of the long history in which both Jewish and Christian interpreters have sought to understand the tabernacle.[1] Childs noticed a consistent and common fascination with this unique place of worship. The biblical description of the tabernacle, he wrote, "has been regarded from the beginning with the greatest possible interest by Jewish and Christian scholars alike."[2]. And what has been the reason for this? Childs offered a two-part explanation:

First, the dimension of the tabernacle and all its parts reflect a carefully contrived design and a harmonious whole. The numbers 3, 4, 10 predominate with proportionate cubes and rectangles. The various parts--the separate dwelling place, the tent, and the court--are all in exact numerical relation. The use of metals--gold, silver, and copper-- are carefully graded in terms of their proximity to the Holy of Holies. In the same way, the particular colors appear to bear some inner relation to their function, whether the white, blue, or crimson. There is likewise a gradation in the quality of the cloth used. Finally, much stress is placed on the proper position and orientation, with the easterly direction receiving the place of honor.[3]

In addition, Childs highlighted how in the biblical account it is the Almighty who issues each one of the many directions for the construction of the Tabernacle. "Every detail of the structure reflects the one divine will and nothing rests on the ad hoc decision of human builders."[4] Consequently, both Jewish and Christian scholars assumed that these details are rich in meaning, laden with significance. And this naturally led those interpreters to take a figurative, symbolic approach. In the post-Reformation period, Christian studies of the Tabernacle reveal a distinctive effort "to demonstrate the typology between the kingdom of God in the symbolism of the tabernacle and the church."[5]

Notes

[1] Brevard S. Childs, The Book of Exodus: A Critical, Theological Commentary, The Old Testament Library (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974), 537-50.  I refer to this work as "monumental" because, with only a handful of possible exceptions--most notably Karl Barth's commentary on Paul's Letter to the Romans--very few twentieth-century commentaries on any book of the Bible made a greater impact than did Childs's work on Exodus. Much of its prominence stemmed from the author's construal of the task of commenting on a biblical text. At the outset, Childs revealed his intention to break new ground by reclaiming what was essentially old ground. Compared to "the majority of scholars within the field," he set out to present "a different understanding of the role of biblical interpretation." While the majority apparently considered historical-critical scholarship an end in itself--particularly investigations of the so-called depth dimensions of the text--Childs intended to use higher criticism as a means whose end was nothing short of what he often referred to as "the recovery of theological exegesis" (ix). And this explains the subtitle he gave to his commentary.

[2] Ibid., 547.

[3] Ibid., 537-38

[4] Ibid., 540.

[5] Ibid., 548.

Silas Kennedy and the Christian Church at Davis, Oklahoma

In August 1897, Silas Kennedy established a congregation of the Christian Church at a community in the Chickasaw Nation known today as Davis in Murray County, Oklahoma. He served as one of the congregation's first elders and beginning in 1898, led the church to start construction of its first meeting house.[1] Kennedy took an active role in the civic life of early Davis. Beginning in 1900, when the growing town had ten doctors and three dentists, he served on the local Board of Health.[2]

Davis became home to the Kennedy family. Silas died there, at age 69, in the spring of 1918. He was still serving as minister and his funeral was held at the church he had established over twenty years before. His wife, Charlcy Dockary Kennedy survived until 1933. One of their three sons, Luke M. Kennedy, became a dentist and had practices in Davis and, later, Elk City, Oklahoma, where he died in 1943.[3] No fewer than eleven members of the extended family lie buried in a plot at the Greenhill Cemetery in Davis.

Notes

[1] Theresa Gabel, ed., Davis, Oklahoma (Davis, OK: Arbuckle Historical Society, 1981), 168. See also D. C. Gideon, Indian Territory (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1901), 197, which indicates the existence of a Christian Church at Davis around the turn of the century.

[2] Ibid., 192; R. W. Chadwick and Sharon Chadwick, “Davis,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=DA015.

[3] "Gone to His Reward. Rev. S. E. Kennedy," Davis News, April 25, 1918; "Mrs. S. E. Kennedy Buried Here Monday," Davis News, January 26, 1933; "Dr. L. M. Kennedy Buried Here Tuesday," Davis News, January 21, 1943.