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On Religious Attitudes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2008
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When Christians worship God, their cultic activities display, in widely varying combinations, attitudes of fear, respect, love, trust, awe, deference and obedience. They worship the Lord with all their heart, soul and strength, confessing their own insignificance in comparison to God, yet expressing confidence in the divine mercy which they believe will assist them through the trials of this life, toward a joyful existence beyond the grave. In the liturgical churches, the dominating mood varies according to the tables of feasts and fasts: Christmas and Easter are times for joyful song, brightly coloured vestments and festive activities. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of penitence, sorrow and sombre hymnody. (‘Remember, Oh Man, that dust thou art…’) Throughout the year, the houses of worship are places of bowed heads and lowered voices, of respect and sobriety, and sometimes of veneration for icons and the objects used in worship. The inventory of revered objects varies considerably, as do the activities thought to be appropriate in this connection, ranging from the Low Protestant's respectful handling of the Bible to the High Churchman's prostration before the Monstrance, in the Benediction of the Holy Sacrament. But it is clear that divine worship normally involves reverence and awe and that it usually involves some form of self-abasement (bending the knee before).
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References
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page 365 note 1 I state this point quite strongly, not only because of the anomalies which result from the contrary opinion (e.g. the worship of Father Divine), but also because I believe that respect for persons, including oneself, and the adoption of a principle of fairness are fundamental elements of any defensible moral perspective. This latter claim is, of course, controversial, but I believe it can be supported by arguments drawn from Kant, Mill and a number of contemporary philosophers.
page 365 note 2 Cf. II Samuel 6: I–II, I Chronicles 13: 1–14.
page 366 note 1 Hartshorne, Charles, op. cit., p. 3.Google Scholar Psalm 90, verse 2.
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