Quote:
Originally posted by honeychile
I'm keeping out of the whole fish bit, except to repeat what two of my pastors (one former, one current) have said: If you're living a life in which Christ is the foremost of your thoughts throughout the year, giving up anything for Lent is a meaningless gesture.
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Wow! This thread moved along! I hadn't seen it in a few days.
Anyway, honeychile, your pastor is a classic evangelical.
Ok - Most eastern Christians (Orthodox) and many western Christians (Anglican, Catholic) have maintained high-liturgy - outward, communal rituals of worship. I'm sure most of the "early church" was rather liturgical as the first adherents were Jewish!!
The tendency away from liturgy was a response to what some perceived as empty worship. But, please do not be fooled into believing that low-liturgy Christian traditions (e.g. the vast majority of evangelicals) do not themselves engage in empty worship.
The issue was never with the manner of worship, but with the people doing the worship. And, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with high-liturgy or low-liturgy when one's heart is set for God.
Observance of festivals and holy days is an outward, communal sign of worship. honeychile, perhaps your church has communion services? I fail to see the difference between that and another worshipful act.
The issue of evangelicals dismissing age-old traditions is not limited to church gossip. Let me tell ya, it's happening right here at my seminary. During a discussion I had with a fellow seminarian, I was put on display. He found out that I cross myself, do prostrations and pray Morning and Evening Prayers (a practice derived from Judaism). Then, he proceeded to mock me and ask when he could stop by to "watch" me.
Be careful when you consider Christians not like yourself. Christianity is not a matter of the mind (theology/doctrine) but is a matter of the heart (the relationship with God/worship/obedience).
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