Presto-Chango!

©1999 by James A. Fowler. All rights reserved.

You are free to download this article provided it remains intact without alteration. You are also free to transmit this article electronically provided that you do so in its entirety with proper citation of authorship included.

The illustrator of these parodies is Aaron Eskridge.
For contact and information about Aaron: Illustrator's Page

Text of article below graphic

 
     "Once a pig, now a cow," said the Jewish fellow as he began to eat a ham sandwich at the local deli.

    "Once a Ford, now a Ferrari," reasoned the cash-strapped college student as he purchased an automobile for transportation to school.
 

 

   "Once a cracker, now the body of Jesus." "Once grape juice, now the blood of Jesus," intoned the priest as he presented his eucharistic incantation.

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   Most modern people are skeptical of the illusory and make-believe transformations often preceded by the pronouncement of "abracadabra" or "presto-chango!" Are you one of those who has a difficult time believing in magical metamorphosis or mystical transformation of substance? These are often the superstitious mysteries of religion.

   Honesty and scientific integrity demand that we admit that the substance has not been transformed, but can be said to symbolically represent another entity. Without a doubt, this is what Jesus meant when He said, "This is My body, ...This is My blood" (Mark 14:22-24)