One of the arguments against the Orthodox church is the apparent use of dead formalism in worship. The argument is that we are simply going through the motions and none of it has any devotional value, it is simply "mindless, man-made formalism." An honest answer needs to be formulated and articulated.
If course, any answer or response given to these accusations need to be understood from within the Orthodox worldview. It cannot be any other way. To try to understand the Orthodox faith from a Protestant/other religious perspective makes as much sense as trying to understand Russian when you only know English.
Rightly understanding the worship service, as articulated and worked out in the Divine Liturgy, is based upon the fact that it was given to us by the apostles/apostolic tradition. This means that it is not man-made. Is it formal? Of course it is. But I would argue that something excellent and worth doing will be well formulated. Is it dead? Working out the worship of God, as given to us by God, will never be dead if done with a heart for God.
This last point is especially important. Reading a poem to a loved one will not carry any meaning if the reader is acting without love. To read a poem to someone simply because you know that it is important to them is an expression of love. Even without knowing what the words mean, the love can still be the motivator. How much more so when one has worked to understand the poem.
The illustration is even more powerful when applied to the reality. To express our love for God in a form given by the apostolic tradition is exactly what God desires. It is only dead formalism when there is no love moving it.
If course, any answer or response given to these accusations need to be understood from within the Orthodox worldview. It cannot be any other way. To try to understand the Orthodox faith from a Protestant/other religious perspective makes as much sense as trying to understand Russian when you only know English.
Rightly understanding the worship service, as articulated and worked out in the Divine Liturgy, is based upon the fact that it was given to us by the apostles/apostolic tradition. This means that it is not man-made. Is it formal? Of course it is. But I would argue that something excellent and worth doing will be well formulated. Is it dead? Working out the worship of God, as given to us by God, will never be dead if done with a heart for God.
This last point is especially important. Reading a poem to a loved one will not carry any meaning if the reader is acting without love. To read a poem to someone simply because you know that it is important to them is an expression of love. Even without knowing what the words mean, the love can still be the motivator. How much more so when one has worked to understand the poem.
The illustration is even more powerful when applied to the reality. To express our love for God in a form given by the apostolic tradition is exactly what God desires. It is only dead formalism when there is no love moving it.
Ultimately, we need to strive to understand what it means to love God and how we can best exhibit/display that love. This will only come about when we love Him in the way that He has defined, not in the way that we like. Hopefully, as we become more and more holy, those two concepts will become identical. We can work out our love for God, in the Divine Liturgy, even without fully understanding what it all means. But we should always be moving toward God motivated by a love for God. One is always moving. The direction though, will be either towards God or away from God. You choose.
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