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To: Heart-Rest

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Liturgy is man’s replacement for God’s commandments.
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147 posted on 04/19/2012 9:55:00 PM PDT by editor-surveyor
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To: editor-surveyor
Liturgy is man’s replacement for God’s commandments.

With all due respect, BALONEY! There is not one iota or smidgen of truth in your statement there, editor-surveyor.

The actual definition of "liturgy" is "a prescribed ritual for public worship". Virtually every Christian Church I've ever attended employ some form of prescribed ritual for their public worship services. For example, Baptists and Non-Denominational churches usually have services scheduled on a certain prescribed specific day and time every week, and follow a fairly strictly prescribed liturgical pattern, usually including prayers, Bible-readings, hymn-singing, sermon-preaching, taking up a collection, etc., and often in the same exact order every week.

"Holy Roller" Protestant churches usually include those Baptist elements, and add a lot of arm waving toward the sky and rhythmic swaying, much bellowing out of various "prophecies", people being "slain in the spirit" (falling down and lying completely still, or squirming and rolling around ecstatically on the floor), speaking in tongues (often saying things that always seem to sound something like "shimminy, shamminy, shimminy shoo, shibboleth, shabboleth shippity pooh..."), and so forth. Other Protestant denominations' public worship services usually resemble these liturgical formats to one degree or another. Some are more explicitly liturgical and structured than others, but most Christian denominations use some form of liturgy in their public worship services.

The actual truth is that the Catholic liturgy expresses great honor and respect for God's commandments. The liturgy is an adherence to, and celebration of God's commandments. Prior to many Catholic celebrations of the Mass in most Catholic Churches, the "Sacrament of Reconciliation" will often be offered. To participate in that healing Sacrament, individuals are supposed to first make a sincere examination of their conscience, and they most often start that examination by stepping through the "Ten Commandments" and the "Beatitudes" (and other moral directives of Jesus Christ).

(To see just a couple quick examples of how Catholics use God's commandments to examine their consciences before taking advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, check out these web sites.)

   Typical Examination of Conscience Using Ten Commandments

   The Sacraments of Healing (using the Ten Commandments for an examination of conscience before confession)

In 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 (RSV-CE), Paul describes the words and actions of Jesus during the "Last Supper". Unless you can read these words and somehow believe that this sacred ritual was never to be repeated again, or that it was not to follow the pattern of words and actions taught them by the Lord, you have to admit that this is a formula for a "prescribed ritual for public worship" directly given by Jesus to his apostles. In other words, it was, without a doubt, a form of formal liturgy, given by Jesus himself. If Jesus promotes a form of liturgy, is that somehow replacing "God's commandments"? (Here are those texts.)

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.
28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.

1 Corinthians 11:23-29 (RSV-CE)
Remember, Paul is describing and recommending this formal liturgy long after the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, and after Paul's dramatic public encounter with the risen Jesus. Remember also that, long prior to all that, YHWH set up specific liturgical forms of worship for the Children of Israel, as extensively documented in the Old Testament. Also, Jesus and his family participated in the liturgical forms of worship prevalent in the Holy Land in their days there, and Jesus was also known to read from the Sacred Scriptures in the Synagogue during their public liturgical celebrations.

So, I would strongly recommend you distance your astute self from your comment with prudent but unfettered haste. Your comment sounds interesting, but lacks any truth or merit.
358 posted on 04/22/2012 7:21:58 PM PDT by Heart-Rest ( "The Church is the pillar and bulwark of the truth." (1 Timothy 3:15))
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