On Record
This basically a record to see if my views change in twenty years:
I know this flys in the face of both what I was taught in the RCUS and what is the current status quo in the OPC explicity & in the Reformed/Presbyterian church implicitly, but I really don't think the preaching of the Word in the worship service on Sunday morning is more important than any other single element in the worship service, whether it be the singing of hymns, the sacraments, or the benediction.
I wish I knew where we got so gung-ho about it all. I've been to a couple RC services, and the homily's weren't horrible, they were just kindof bland. Maybe it was in response to that that the Reformed world went sermon crazy. Does it have something to do with our yet to be overthrown beligerent enlightenment foundationalism? Our nearly complete misunderstanding of neo-orthdoxy (and kierkegaard)?
Heck, I dunno. Why am I thinking about this at 7 in the morning?
Josiah Q. Roe | By Josiah Roe | 07:35 AM
Comments
The emphasis on the preached word as the centre of public worship goes all the way back to the Reformation, so visiting a modern, post-Vatican II RC service and using that to try to get into the psychology of guys like the English puritans isn't going to get you very far. It seems a pretty understandable reaction to a time when worship was mostly not conducted in the vernacular.
That said, I agree with you. Being a good little reformed zealot, I would say that the word is the centre of our worship, but by that, I would not necessarily mean the word preached. Ideally, the singing, readings, responses, corporate prayer, etc would all be thoroughly rooted in the word. Of course, I also think we should have the celebration of the Lord's supper every week, and that it should be the culmination of the service - so maybe I'm endanger of having my reformed zealot membership card revoked.
Posted by: Rob Huffstedtler at December 30, 2003 02:44 PM
It's all about control. Give up time and airspace and you give up control.
Posted by: kevin at December 30, 2003 07:57 PM
Another consideration: Preaching is, traditionally, the most mind-centered aspect of the worship service. In our heed to avoid an anti-intellectual, pietist church service, I think the Reformed camp has leaned toward the rationalistic. No surprise, considering when and how the Protestant church emerged.
Posted by: mesh at December 31, 2003 10:19 AM
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