How Worship Helps Us See the World

WORLDVIEW AND WORSHIP: THREE QUESTIONS
In the next several months we are going to consider the relationship between Christian worldview and the worship of the church. There are three sets of questions that we would like to consider in this discussion. Let me try to state them as succinctly as possible.

First, what doctrinal guidance and influence should a Christian worldview have on the content and character of the corporate worship of the church? How can and should the church’s biblically based, all-embracing vision of life inform the proclamation of the Word and the administration of the sacraments in the church’s worship?

Second, how might the totality of the church’s worship embody and manifest a scripturally based, comprehensive account of the cosmos and human existence? How should the liturgy (of whatever kind) inform and shape the essential consciousness and worldview of the Christian community? How should worship help us better understand God, the universe, our world, and ourselves? How should it also articulate the unique identity of the church as well?

Finally, what is or should be the compelling influence of both worldview and worship on the spiritual and moral formation of believers and their way of life in the world? In what way might worldview-based worship form the heart of the church’s essential paideia (education/training) in transforming the thought-styles, desires, and habits of believers into God-glorifying Christ-likeness? What epistemic (knowledge) assumptions and kind of pedagogy (teaching methods) make such transformation possible, so that believers become “constituted differently.” These questions address matters of orthodoxy and orthopraxy, and are of great consequence for God’s kingdom, church, and glory.

BELIEF, PRAYER, ACTION
An historic way of discussing this dynamic trilogy of worldview, worship, and way of life is found in the classic, ecclesiastical terms of Lex Credendi (the rule/law of belief), Lex Orandi (the rule/law of prayer), and Lex Agendi (the rule/law of action or practice). At the heart of this celebrated discussion has been the question of the priority of the first two of these elements—belief or prayer—and the relationship of both of these to the third—action and practice.

Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox
In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, that priority has been given to prayer or worship and the formula has read Lex orandi est lex credendi et agendi, that is, the rule/law of prayer is the rule/law of belief and action. In other words, prayer or worship is taken to be the source of belief and right behavior. Liturgical experience is determinative for doctrine and its ethical adornment. For example, Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann explains that the formation of an Orthodox worldview is not derived intellectually, “but above all from that living and unbroken experience of the church which she reveals and communicates in her worship, in the leitourgia always making her what she is: the sacrament of the world, the sacrament of the kingdom—their gift to us in Christ.” Accordingly, if one desires a deeper theological understanding or a biblical outlook on life, one need not read a book or take a class, but instead should attend worship. The church’s worship is the root of the worldview/theology tree, and “what is prayed indicates what may and must be believed.” In biblical language, the argument is this: “O taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). This worship (orandi) emphasis looks like this: Worship >>> Worldview + Way of Life.

Protestantism
On the other hand, by attributing supreme authority to God’s Word (Sola Scriptura), the Protestant tradition has sought to exercise Biblical or doctrinal control over both worship and way of life, and has generated the essential reformational conviction that Lex credendi est lex orandi et agendi, that is, the rule/law of belief is the rule/law of prayer and action (though this expression is used rarely in protestant circles). The reformers in particular sought to cleanse doctrine, liturgy, and Christian practice of its imperfections based on Scripture and Scripture alone, recognizing that because of her frequent lapses into error and sin, the church must be reformed and always reforming (ecclesia reformata semper reformanda).

John Calvin, for instance, taught in his Institutes that the church must be submissive to biblical authority since it is “built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles” (Ephesians 2:20). Accordingly, to foster theological understanding or worldview development, someone of this persuasion will not necessarily go to church or attend worship, but will probably read Scripture or a book, take a class, or go to a conference! Indeed, the Apostle Paul corrected the liturgical infidelities of the Corinthian church on doctrinal grounds by pointing out that “God is not a God of confusion, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). The doctrinal (credendi) emphasis expresses this relationship:  Worldview >>> Worship + Way of Life.

Now these traditions—Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant—all agree that there is, or at least should be, a harmony and interplay between belief (Lex credendi) and prayer (Lex orandi), as well as way of life (Lex agendi). But they disagree over which of these first two should “set the pace,” and both emphases, it seems, contain dangers. The Catholic and Orthodox stress on “prayer” has resulted in questionable “beliefs” (according to some). The Protestant concentration on “beliefs” has negated “prayer” (according to others). In other words, the former liturgical tradition generates doctrinal anxieties, and the latter doctrinal tradition is liturgically deficient. Both, therefore, have something to learn from each other—respectively, the restoration of doctrinal direction to the liturgy, and the renewal of liturgical meaning to doctrine—when it comes to this triad of worldview, worship, and way of life.

A TRINITARIAN MODEL
Now if I am forced to choose between these two alternatives, as an evangelical protestant, I assert my belief in the primacy of Scripture’s authority in all matters of faith and practice. Thus, I advocate that a Christian worldview, or what is believed Biblically and theologically (Lex credendi), ought to be foundational and determinative on the worship of the church (Lex orandi). At the same time, I affirm their reciprocal relationship, and believe that the liturgy of the church (Lex orandi) ought to manifest its biblical and theological beliefs and be expressive of a Christian vision of the world (Lex credendi). Furthermore, I assert that a Biblical worldview (Lex credendi) and form of worship (Lex orandi) are central to the formation of gospel Christians, and should have a radical impact on their way of life in the church and world (Lex agendi). Hence, my model is Trinitarian in nature, involving the “perichoretic” diversity and unity of these three fundamental elements as this diagram indicates:

But we have some big problems here. First of all, churches understand and impart only a fragment of a biblical worldview. Second, as a result, a biblical worldview is rarely on display in the churches’ worship. Third, this breakdown of worldview and worship authenticity has diminished the discipleship of believers who are also encumbered, often un/subconsciously, by the deadly, idolatrous influences of contemporary culture in them and their churches.

What we need, therefore, is fresh insight into the grandeur of the Biblical vision of reality, its impact on the church and in her worship, and how this renewal of vision and worship can reconstruct the catechetical development of the saints and their walk in the world. Next time, we will begin with look at a biblical worldview and its theological implications that may inform and guide the church as its rule or law of belief—its Lex Credendi.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.
World without end. Alleluia, Amen.

Dr. David Naugle is head of the department of philosophy at Dallas Baptist University.

Articles on the BreakPoint website are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Chuck Colson or PFM. Links to outside articles or websites are for informational purposes only and do not necessarily imply endorsement of their content.