What we discover, in the end, is that the intellect by itself
can never lead anyone to the virtues of the soul. Mere rational knowledge—even
about God—does not provide growth or movement toward sharing in the life of God.
Some scholars have suggested that Protestantism is built on a Gnostic scheme of
a knowledge that saves. This is too extreme. Yet Protestant Christianity's
special emphasis on knowing God and God's revelation in a very cognitive sense
suggests that its spirituality is too closely tied to a way of knowing God that
is best represented by the fact that the sermon, not the liturgy, stands at the
center of most Protestant worship services.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Apophasis ...
... Reveling in the Mystery. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
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Frank, I wish we had a looooong afternoon (and part of the evening) to discuss this ... maybe on a weekend when we could attend one-another's services.
ReplyDeleteAn emphasis on perception, memory, judgment and reasoning - as contrasted with emotional or volitional processes - in one's relationship to God just doesn't seem to 'click' in my Protestant mind. What I see is a mix of both at work, one helping the other, and vice-versa.
Of course, this will vary (more emphasis upon one or the other) as one moves from denomination to denomination within Protestantism, or from congregation to congregation within a single denomination.
IMHO, the knowledge that "God is near" overcomes everything from the most basic to the most refined of cognitive states. While worshipping at the Karen Baptist Church of Mae La (on the Thai/Burma border), the sermon (in Karen) was completely lost upon me. Yet there were liturgical moments where we connected - the Lord's Prayer, the Affirmation of Faith, Communion - regardless of the language barriers.
What you say, Jeff, reminds me of when, many years ago, I saw film of a No play at the National Gallery. The actors of course wear masks, whose expressions are fixed. It was explained that by tilting his head to one side and raising his hand in a particular way, the actor was understood to be expressing great grief. It all seemed very alien and I doubted if I would get much out of it. But I followed along as best I could and when that gesture of grief came my eyes filled with tears. As for faith and churches and rituals, :where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." God is most accessible.
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