# Poll: Have you heard of the Eucharist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 12, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841 "2007-04-12T19:12:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/21 "2007-04-12T20:21:29Z")
[QUOTE=zelie zelerton] So the original sin was nothing to do with menstruation? Is original sin different to the idea of ‘Eve’s curse’? How did Mary’s parents conceive her without original sin? Or is it something she did that made her conception without sin? [/QUOTE] Original sin is a state of being for a human, nothing to do with biology. The belief (for the Catholic Church anyway) is that God created Mary without original sin so she would be a pure person to carry Jesus. The sacrament of baptism washes away original sin. And original sin did come about through the fall of man and woman, represented by Adam and Eve. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/22 "2007-04-12T20:21:49Z")
I had, years ago, long before we began leaning towards Catholicism. I was Anglican, though, and Anglicans use the terms interchangeably. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/23 "2007-04-12T20:25:00Z")
[QUOTE=zelie zelerton] So the original sin was nothing to do with menstruation? Is original sin different to the idea of ‘Eve’s curse’? [/QUOTE] Very much so - Original Sin is something that all humans have, through being descended from Adam and Eve, and their sin the Garden of Eden. As I recall my Catholic dogma, all persons are born with an inheritance of Original Sin, and it is through Baptism that this taint is removed. (This reasoning was also why unbaptised infants would be condemned to Hell in some thinker’s minds. AIUI this reasoning is specifically not a part of Catholic teaching at this time.) As for why Mary was born free of the taint of Original Sin, it was a miracle granted to allow for the birth of the Christ, because without it she wouldn’t have been able to give birth to the Son of God. Catholic here, and yeah, I know the eucharist. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/24 "2007-04-12T20:26:55Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] (This reasoning was also why unbaptised infants would be condemned to Hell in some thinker’s minds. AIUI this reasoning is specifically not a part of Catholic teaching at this time.) [/QUOTE] There was also the idea of limbo, where the unbaptised baby couldn’t go to heaven because of original sin but was innocent in terms of deliberate sin. I think that idea has been set aside as you say. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/25 "2007-04-12T20:40:28Z")
Thanks for the info guys (and apologies for hijacking!). I’m still a little confused as to why Mary had to be a human without original sin. Wouldn’t that make her kind of non-human? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/26 "2007-04-12T20:42:17Z")
I know the term Eucharist but I was wrong about what it means. I thought it was the Wine and the Wafer. Jim {Born Catholic, but started my recovery before communion.} ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/27 "2007-04-12T20:46:50Z")
Yes, I’ve heard of the Eucharist. But we call it the Sacrament in our church. (Our Sacrament = Communion, and Catholic sacraments are what we would call ordinances. I think. Whee!) ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/28 "2007-04-12T20:47:40Z")
I’m actually a bit more familiar with the[U2charist.](http://www.e4gr.org/pray/u2charists.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/29 "2007-04-12T20:55:53Z")
I do know what the Eucharist is, in a non-technical kind of way. But that said, I’m a wee bit unsure about what exactly it signifies. I think of it as being that part of the mass, and the whole business with the wafer, rather than the wafer itself. You wouldn’t eat a Eucharist, in other words. Anyway, here’s the technical and long-winded [explanation](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05572c.htm). But maybe somebody less lazy can tell me the origin of the word. I think it refers to sacrifice. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/30 "2007-04-12T21:05:25Z")
It means “thanksgiving,” from _eukharistos_ “grateful.” Raised Protestant and we never called it that - always “Communion” or “Lord’s Supper.” So while I was more than aware of the basic idea (though not every detail of the Catholic rite), I would have missed that particular terminology. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/31 "2007-04-12T22:43:12Z")
I had heard of it, and vaguely knew it had something to do with the wine, bread, blood, body thing. I didn’t learn it in (Presbyterian) church. If I didn’t, I would have guessed it meant a specific kind of card shark. Dogmas, though, usually have eight tits.😛 ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/32 "2007-04-12T22:48:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Poll: Have you heard of the Eucharist? Yes. I’m not Catholic. I hope this data point is helpful to your studies. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/33 "2007-04-12T22:51:24Z")
I think I’d vaguely heard the term as a child and came to know what it actually meant in Catholic school. I remember being vaguely curious but pretty sure I knew what it meant. In the Easter service, our rector mentioned some interesting experiences he’d had during Holy Week. Apparently, the baristo (I’m making it masculine cause I can! ha!) at the Starbucks on 6th, I guess, asked him “What’s that… thing?” and generally waved at him. Apparently he was asking about the clerical collar. Later on, he got into a conversation with a stocker at a local grocery store. He mentioned that this was a busy week for him, whereupon he was given a quizzical look before light dawned: “Ah! Texas Relay!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/34 "2007-04-12T22:57:45Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I know the term Eucharist but I was wrong about what it means. I thought it was the Wine and the Wafer. Jim {Born Catholic, but started my recovery before communion.} [/QUOTE] Wait, it’s not? 😕 [www.thefreedictionary.com:](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Eucharist+) > [@](#): > > 1. A sacrament and the central act of worship in many Christian churches, which was instituted at the Last Supper and in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed in remembrance of Jesus’s death; Communion. > 2. The consecrated elements of this rite; Communion. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/35 "2007-04-12T23:03:46Z")
I was raised Anglican, but apart from hearing references to it during church, and the definitions above, I have no fucking idea what the Eucharist is. I do know all about the Nicene Creed though. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/36 "2007-04-12T23:12:58Z")
I’d heard of it, but had no idea what it was before reading this thread. FTR I wasn’t raised in any church and don’t attend church now. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/37 "2007-04-12T23:26:47Z")
[QUOTE=zelie zelerton] I’m still a little confused as to why Mary had to be a human without original sin. Wouldn’t that make her kind of non-human? [/QUOTE] She was human in all other ways. She was conceived through sexual intercourse between her parents, she was mortal, she was capable of committing sin — although, she did not, according to the dogma. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/38 "2007-04-12T23:33:16Z")
I’ve heard of it, but I had no idea until today what it meant. I’m 32 years old, if you’re interested. And an atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/39 "2007-04-12T23:37:19Z")
Heard of it, of course, but never practiced cannibalism, even symbolically. The Eucharist is the name usually applied to the elements of the sacrament of communion, the wafer and the wine. Catholics are supposed to believe when they partake of these things and repeat “body of Christ” and “blood of Christ” that these literally _are_ the body and blood of Jesus. This is supposed to be a great mystery. This is still a small sampling, but it is interesting that so few who were raised Catholic even know what the Eucharist is. I was not raised Catholic myself, but from doing crossword puzzles I saw the clue “Eucharist plate” often enough to arouse my curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/40 "2007-04-12T23:40:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Have you heard of the Eucharist? Yes. SWMBO is Catholic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841.md?page=3)