Excellent points, Judy. Worship can
be acceptable or unacceptable to God. If it feels good, it isn’t
necessarily acceptable to Him. I sat in on part of a church service in
which the “Reverend” was a lesbian, and the congregation was filled
with sodomites. They were quite into their “communal worship”
as they hugged each other and rejoiced in the fact that God loved them so much
they could come out of the closet. I had to leave when they started
handing out “communion” as I just couldn’t stomach watching
that sacrilege. It was enough to make even me throw up. Izzy
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Judy Taylor
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2005 1:59
PM
To: TruthTalk@mail.innglory.org
Cc: TruthTalk@mail.innglory.org
Subject: [TruthTalk] Exerpts
Worship shapes our spirituality
"...our spirituality is usually shaped more by the experience
of communal worship than it is by preaching and teaching....the way we think
about God and relate to God is influenced enormously by our experience of God
in communal worship..Songs are especially formative. We are far more likely to
find ourselves humming something we sang in church when we go home than we are
to find ourselves meditating on a phrase in the sermon..(not one of yours, of
course)..
jt: I would disagree
with the above statement Lance - Is it yours? Actually spirituality
shapes worship rather than vice-versa because true
worship depends upon a
correct heart attitude and we do not enter God's presence just any old way - We
must properly prepare ourselves to worship.. And God does not accept all of
it. He spoke through the prophet Amos and told the Israel of that day
that their feasts and worship times literally made him want to vomit ... He
also spoke through the prophet Isaiah about a crowd who were pretty pleased
with themselves and these descended into sheol rejoicing.
Christian philosopher and scientist Michael Polanyi spoke of
knowledge that we simply absorb by a kind of 'osmosis' without even realizing
that we have done so. This is what he refers to as 'tacit knowledge' Most
Christians simply imbibe a theology through the way that they worship.
jt: This is not
the way anyone is to learn let alone Christians. This is how the animals
perform (by instinct). Humans must be taught, we have been given a mind
so that we can think and God will reveal Himself to whomsoever He will. The
only ones who imbibe should be drunks.
.theology springs from right worship but theology also, in
turn, guides and ensures right worship.There is a circular relationship between
the two as healthy worship and theology support each other....how theology can
guide the kind of worship that in turn shapes people spirituality.
jt: Just like your
little trinitarian dance, round and round and round we go...
|
