Bob C Hardin

Hayes vs Hardin Debate, Holy Communion Bob C Hardin

The "Hayes vs Hardin Debate" is a written debate between Bishop Jerry L. Hayes and Pastor Bob C. Hardin conducted during the Summer of 1986 on the subject of the Lord's Supper. At the time of the debate, Bishop Hayes was pastoring Emmanuel Church of Christ in Huntsville Alabama and Pastor Hardin was pastoring the Church of the Firstborn, in Whitehouse, Tennessee. Both disputants are of the Oneness Pentecostal faith but hold different positions on the Lord's Supper. Bishop Hayes holds to the orthodox position of literal elements of bread and wine, while Pastor Hardin holds what is normally called the "Spiritual Communion" doctrine that argues against using the literal elements of bread and wine to represent the body and blood of Christ. There was a written agreement that either disputant could publish the debate as long as the manuscript was presented in its entirety. The Hayes/Hardin debate is presented in this publication in its entirety: Three essays affirming a literal Lord's Supper with literal elements by Bishop Hayes, and three denial essays by Pastor Hardin; Then, three essays by Pastor Hardin affirming a Spiritual Communion without literal elements, and three denial essays by Bishop Hayes denying Hardin's affirmations. The book includes every chart used by both men; they appear within the debate text and also at the end of the book. To our knowledge, this is the only debate on this subject in print to date. This fact alone makes this book a must-have for all students of Church doctrine.