I am continuing my reading of A Brief History of Sunday by Justo Gonzalez. It's quite a page turner and has whet my appetite to read more church history. Here are some of my impressions after reading about the Middle Ages. This is the era that adopted the doctrine of transubstantiation - the Communion bread and cup become the actual physical body and blood of Jesus during the celebration of mass. This belief was widely held and spread via stories of a miraculous transformation before it was formally adopted as church dogma . So "popular piety and experiences in worship moved ahead of theological development." This doctrine changed the tone of mass from a joyous celebration to a "fearsome experience." In R.C. Sproul's lectures on Martin Luther, he described the young Luther as trembling and being barely able to speak when he performed his first mass for fear of mishandling the body and blood of Christ. This belief also changed how communion was served b...