If God forbade the drinking of blood in the Old Testament, why are we permitted to partake of the Eucharistic Body and Blood in the New Testament? Wouldn’t this be a contradiction?

There are several reasons why not. Here are three.

First, the prohibition of drinking blood was part of the Old Covenant ceremonial law. The ceremonial law was given to order Old Covenant worship of the one true God, to train the people of God for the coming of the Messiah (Gal 3:23-26), and to foreshadow Christ (Col 2:16-17). Once the Messiah has come, however, the ceremonial law became obsolete (Gal 3:25, Col 3:24-25, Heb 8:13).

Second, Christ is God. Therefore, he has the authority to propose a new law that supersedes the old (Matt 5:27-48, 11:29, 28:18; 1 Cor 9:21; Gal 6:2; James 2:8). The New Law commands us to partake of Christ’s Body and Blood (John 6:53-56). Therefore, Christ’s command makes it permissible.

Third, the prohibition against drinking blood seems to be tied to the practice of pagans who attempted to share in the life of animals or demons (1 Cor 10:19-21). This is, of course, wrong. It’s idolatry.