I’m not exactly looking for new forms of worship; as much as I am wanting to learn from what appears to be a human impulse to worship. Human beings seem to have a penchant to worship. Forming desire for the good, the beautiful, is the true is at least part of the function of our collective practices, yet why do we so often choose to desire the bad, the ugly, and the fake?
- What are some gods our culture and our subcultures bow to?
- What are the forms or expressions of adoration used to express this worship?
- What about other expressions of faith, religion, and spiritualities?
- Might there be anything followers of the way of Jesus can learn from listening to the many cultural forms of worship?
I’m not looking to steal or engage in cultural appropriation… but to learn, grow, and deepen my personal and our collective practice.
It seems vital to state that all forms or worship that I engage in were culturally formed and passed to me through traditions. And I can no longer assume rightness in my cultural heritage… in fact the more I learn about the history of many of the worship practices handed to me through my traditions the more I wonder about what we were trying to form or worship in the first place.
Of course this might invite a community to flesh out Christ’s “you have heard it said – but not so in the Kingdom of God” kind of teaching, and maybe even invite a more radical form of followership that would challenge norms of culture. It sure seems like much of North American Christianity supports and reinforces many of the gods of our culture thanks in part to the glories of dualism.
Peace, dwight
