It's absolutely true. Going to church is like going to see Rocky Horror: All the singing along, squirt-guns, Bic lighters, and thrown rice serves as a way to give the straights a reason not to confront the fact that Frank N. Furter is wearing a corset and fishnets and fucks Brad.
There isn't much room for direct experience of God in, say, the Lutheran liturgy.
There isn't much room for direct experience of God in, say, the Lutheran liturgy.
That's not true in my experience -- rituals are wonderous things that very often spark our direct experience of the Divine. I am not specifically familiar with Lutheranism, but if they're forgiving sins and celebrating Communion then they are up to their waist in the Mystery no matter how formal the service is, and the Spirit has plenty of room to do its work.
I'll grant that the Lutheran liturgy probably doesn't afford one insight into the specific direct experience that is weighing on one's mind at the moment. That's not a bug. I would suspect that small-group study is an important facet of any faith tradition. That's exactly where the religion is, six people learning to talk about the most personal and unworldly relationship they have, and using that language to bridge the spiritual experiences of each other with the theological framework of the global leaders and ancient teachers.
I've been having thoughts along the same lines recently. Stuff to do with real religion and spirituality being complex, messy, and difficult, and every time someone tries to really express that complexity, messiness and difficulty, someone else will come up with a snappy summary that is simpler and easier, so that's what gets remembered and forms the basis of a new religion.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-15 02:46 am (UTC)I suppose it's true, albeit loaded. One might respond that science is a defense against scientific theories.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-15 04:51 pm (UTC)There isn't much room for direct experience of God in, say, the Lutheran liturgy.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-15 05:34 pm (UTC)That's not true in my experience -- rituals are wonderous things that very often spark our direct experience of the Divine. I am not specifically familiar with Lutheranism, but if they're forgiving sins and celebrating Communion then they are up to their waist in the Mystery no matter how formal the service is, and the Spirit has plenty of room to do its work.
I'll grant that the Lutheran liturgy probably doesn't afford one insight into the specific direct experience that is weighing on one's mind at the moment. That's not a bug. I would suspect that small-group study is an important facet of any faith tradition. That's exactly where the religion is, six people learning to talk about the most personal and unworldly relationship they have, and using that language to bridge the spiritual experiences of each other with the theological framework of the global leaders and ancient teachers.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-15 03:12 am (UTC)