I have recently seen a number of articles on Facebook addressing what some call the heresy of worshiptainment in
contemporary Christianity. As an
Orthodox Christian I find the new controversy over entertainment in worship and
the labeling of it as heresy in contemporary Christianity to be intriguing to
say the least and a complete oxymoron to say the most.
First, the accusation of the heresy of worshiptainment is intriguing because I thought the
concept of heresy in contemporary Christianity was all but dead. After all, how can you have a serious belief
in heresy with thousands of different denominations, beliefs and practices
along with the individualistic and private interpretations upon which
contemporary Christianity is built? From
an Orthodox Christian perspective contemporary Christianity has reduced the Christian
Faith to its least common denominator of a few cardinal doctrines that allows
everything else to fall under “we agree to disagree”. Of course, what is or isn’t a cardinal
doctrine is decided by each individual or denomination, all of which makes
heresy a very slippery thing to get a handle on.
However, it is encouraging to see the concept of heresy
being brought forward as a viable possibility in contemporary Christianity.
Second, the accusation of the heresy of worshiptainment is an intriguing concept from an Orthodox
Christian perspective because one of the cardinal doctrines of contemporary
Christianity is the highly guarded concept of freedom in worship and the
rejection of required forms or styles of worship. Now, suddenly, out of nowhere, there seems to
be certain requirements for form and style in worship that heretofore were in
the realm of “freedom in the spirit”.
It is encouraging to see some in contemporary
Christianity beginning to question some of their basic premises of worship and
to begin to see a crack in the dyke that began some 1500 years ago and has ever
since been leaking profusely and with increasing insanity.
Third, the accusation of entertainment in worship as
being a heresy is intriguing from an Orthodox Christian perspective because we
perceive all contemporary Christian
worship as forms of entertainment to a greater or lesser degree in contrast to
the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Christian Church. The ancient order of worship revealed by God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and observed in the Church for 2000 years has been abandoned by contemporary Christianity. All forms of worship in contemporary
Christianity have been revised, shortened, modified and innovated to suit the
desires and likes of this person or that person or this group or that group. They all aim at pleasing different tastes of
different people. Now, suddenly, some
want to define what is acceptable or unacceptable for all. It all seems a contradiction of the very
essence of the freedom treasured by
contemporary Christianity.
Fourth, it is intriguing to hear this so-called worship
heresy defined as the great heresy of the
Church today. As an Orthodox
Christian I see heresy in worship as the result and outgrowth of numerous other
and even greater heresies in contemporary Christianity. We worship the way we believe and we believe
the way we worship. The variety of forms
and content of contemporary Christian worship grows out of what is believed or
more often than not, what is not believed.
Contemporary Christianity has lost or rejected the doctrine of and
connection to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church as a visible,
definable and known reality in favor of an invisible imaged and nebulous Church
of many faiths and doctrines. It has
lost or rejected the divine services, the apostolic succession and magisterium,
the true belief in and practice of the sacraments to mention a few. Heresy in worship is the natural result and
outcome of this loss. Little more is left than to mimic the world with entertainment and consumerism in one form or another.
The Divine Liturgy and all the divine services of the
Orthodox Christian Church are understood to be the product of the voice and
guidance of the Holy Spirit guiding the Church into all Truth. These services are the necessary forms, words
and expressions for the correct and true confession of the One, Holy, Catholic
and Apostolic Christian Faith and therefore are not subject to or open to change or innovation by any one or any group. Any deviation from the divine
services of the church reflects a deviation from the correct beliefs and/or
practices of the Church. We see what
1500 years of countless deviations in faith and practice have lead to in the
chaos and crisis of contemporary Christianity.
When heresy prevails the true life of the Church is
choked out. The church then becomes a
mere philosophical fellowship wherein the religion of man finds his spiritual
needs satisfied and, if he discovers other fellowships that appear to do this
better, he leaves one group for another in pursuit of his needs being met. This is not the Church that St. Paul called
the pillar and ground of truth and the body of Christ in which Jesus Christ,
both High Priest and sacrificial Lamb of God gives us His body and blood to eat
and drink, where we were born anew into Him and into His death and resurrection
in Holy Baptism, and where the Holy Spirit works in and through the Church as
His Body to sustain and preserve our faith and life in Him.
